Let’s be honest.
The retirement plan we were sold?
It’s dead.
You followed the script:
- Worked hard
- Saved what you could
- Played it safe
And look where it got you.
Somewhere between the 2008 crash, Brexit, Covid, and this never-ending cost-of-living crisis…
...the old retirement model quietly died.
No memo.
No warning.
No exit plan.
But deep down, you know it:
- Your state pension won’t even cover the basics.
- Your salary keeps losing to inflation and rising living costs.
- Rent and house prices are a joke, really.
- The middle class? Barely exists anymore.
- And AI is coming fast for desk jobs like yours and mine.
That knot in your stomach?
It’s not paranoia.
It’s clarity.
You didn’t fail the system.
The system failed you.
Welcome to 2025: The New Economic Reality
The UK’s been hit again and again.
And with every blow, the promise of a stable, comfortable future faded.
This isn’t a rough patch.
It’s the new normal.
1. Wages are stuck.
Back in 2008, the median full-time salary in the UK was around £26,000.
By 2024, it had risen to £37,430 — an increase of 44% on paper.
But over the same period, prices have climbed 50–60%.
So in real terms?
You’ve lost ground.
Even in London, where the median salary hit £47,455 in 2024 — buying power hasn’t kept up.
Wages look better on paper. But most people are living with less margin, more pressure, and no room to save.
In fact, nearly a third of UK adults have under £1,000 in savings.
That’s the reality.
2. Prices are sky-high.
Yes, inflation peaked at 11.1% in October 2022.
And yes, by 2025, it cooled to around 2.6%.
But here’s the catch:
Prices didn’t come back down.
Inflation slowing just means the rate of increase dropped.
Not the prices themselves:
- Food
- Rent
- Fuel
They’re still 25% higher than before Covid
You feel it every time you shop.
Every time you fill up your car.
Every time the rent goes out.
Slower inflation.
Same pain.
3. Housing is a fantasy.
In the late ‘90s, the average home cost about 3.5× your salary.
By 2023?
That ratio hit 8.3× in England—over 10× in parts of the South.
In London?
It’s now 12.7×.
Even with two solid incomes and a colour-coded spreadsheet—it’s a long shot.
And if interest rates climb again?
Monthly payments spike.
Borrowing power shrinks.
You’re priced out — or stretched thin.
Buying a home used to mean security.
Now it looks more like a lifetime of debt, risk and chronic stress.
That’s the new reality.
4. Retirement’s not coming to save you.
In March 2025, J.P. Morgan strategist Karen Ward called the UK pension system a “slow-motion train crash.”
The full UK State Pension?
£11,974 a year.
Average retirement costs?
£25,000+ just to live modestly.
Most private pensions don’t keep up with inflation.
And unless you pay extra for protection — your money quietly shrinks.
Yes, 80% of eligible workers have a workplace pension. But most won’t have enough.
Even those who did everything right?
Still falling short.
The result?
Millions heading into retirement with shortfalls, stress, and no safety net.
This isn’t decades away.
It’s already here.
5. AI’s not hype. It’s happening.
In 2023, Goldman Sachs warned that up to 300 million jobs could be exposed to AI disruption.
Not factory jobs.
Browser-tab jobs:
- Analysts
- Admins
- Designers
- Coders
- Middle managers
McKinsey backs it up: By 2030, AI could automate 30% of the hours worked across advanced economies.
That doesn’t necessarily mean full replacement.
But it means fewer hours. Smaller teams. More pressure to “do more with less.”
If your work lives in slides, docs, or spreadsheets — AI is already learning how to do it.
This isn’t sci-fi.
It’s showing up in meetings, workflows, hiring, and promotions.
It’s already here.
And it’s accelerating.
So what do you do?
You’ve got two choices:
1) Wait.
Hope the system magically sorts itself out.
2) Build.
Take what you already know.
Stack a few new skills.
And start creating something that’s yours.
That’s what I’m doing.
And I’m sharing every step—openly, in real time.
What I’m Building (And Why)
I’m Jacek (Jack) Iciek.
I'm 40 years old.
Dad to a 5-year-old autistic son.
Full-time precious metals trader.
❌ No marketing background
❌ No ad budget
❌ No fancy writing skills
But I’ve got:
☑️ Real-life experience
☑️ A sharp bullshit filter
☑️ And a restless need to make this time count
When my son Alexander was born during lockdown, everything shifted.
I started auditing my life:
- Health
- Money
- Purpose
And I realised: I can’t keep relying on a system that’s already crumbling.
So I’m building something different.
A Personal Equity Business
Not a startup. Not a hustle.
A business experiment that grows with me — built around what I already know, what I’m learning, and what I care about.
It’s lean.
It’s online.
And it’s mine.
It starts with writing.
It evolves through learning in public.
And it grows by turning my knowledge into small, honest digital products that actually help people like me.
Not to become an influencer.
Not to chase dopamine.
But to build something real—on my own terms.
Why a Personal Equity Business Makes Sense Right Now
It’s not just an experiment.
It’s my personal hedge:
- Against inflation
- Against job insecurity
- Against the slow erosion of control over your own time
When you build personal equity, you’re investing in your story, your skills, and your ability to adapt:
- You’re thinking like a founder and testing like a scientist.
- You’re learning tools and ideas AI can’t replace.
- You’re opening the door to income — on your terms.
It’s self-development with skin in the game.
And it gives you what the old system no longer can:
A shot at freedom.
Being 40+ Isn’t a Liability.
It’s additional leverage.
We’ve lived through:
- Recessions
- Redundancies
- Burnout
- Bullshit
We know what not to trust.
We don’t fall for hype.
We just want something that works.
And we’ve still got a window — 10 to 15 good years of energy, focus, and relevance.
That’s more than enough.
If only we use it right.
Every Sunday: One Real Insight You Can Use
Each Monday, I send one short, no-fluff email.
Here’s what’s inside:
- What I’m building
- What’s working
- What’s breaking
- What you can steal
No hacks. No hype. No guru nonsense.
Just honest insight from the frontlines of building a Personal Equity Business after 40.
It’s called:
Meaning, Money & Mastery: After 40
Not content for content’s sake.
But a real-time case study in:
- Turning your skills into income
- Using AI to amplify, not replace you
- Showing up online without pretending
- Building leverage from lived experience
- Moving fast, learning faster
At the Heart of It All: The Iteration Loop
Try → Fail → Adjust → Try again → Refine → Traction
The faster you loop, the faster you:
- Get clarity
- Find your voice
- Build trust
- Grow an audience
- Create income
The Wright brothers didn’t wait for perfect.
They built.
They crashed.
They flew.
That’s the process.
That’s what I’m sharing.
That’s what works.
Who This Is For
✔️ You’re 40+
✔️ You’ve got responsibilities
✔️ You’re tired of waiting
✔️ You want to build something real
This isn’t about pretending.
It’s about building something honest, useful, and yours.
Who This Isn’t For
❌ You want overnight success
❌ You think AI will do it all
❌ You’re chasing “passive income” shortcuts
❌ You want a guru to tell you what to do
If that’s you — this isn’t it.
Final Word
Where are you now?
Stuck in a system that quietly stopped working.
Where could you be?
Building personal equity — something that’s yours, that earns for you, that grows with you.
The gap between those two futures?
It closes a little more each day you wait.
I’m not selling a course.
I’m not asking you to bet the farm.
All I'm saying is:
Start.
*It’s 100% free. It’s human. It’s for people who want to own their future — not rent it.