[Finance] How much savings do you have ?

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I have a few grand but spunking it all on a new bathroom which is probably a really silly idea. but I will stop overpaying the mortgage for a few months to pay it back.

I am over paying the mortgage by £500 a month in an effort to be mortgage free in 9 years (so I will be mid 50's) this seems more sensible than money in the bank not earning interest.

However I am an only child and when father snuffs it I will inherit his property and a few sheckles so I do have that to look forward to. In an unrelated question - how cold will it be this winter and can anyone tell me the best way to disable a boiler?

 

[Weststander]

The rot started when dividends to pensions were taxed, another accelerant to people realising buying a house and renting it out was a better option than saving in a pension.

Still, at least the cycle of boom and bust ended......

By 2014 alone, that had robbed all pension funds of £117.9bn of cash that otherwise (under the old system) would have been invested. With 20 years of growth on that sum, invested on equities etc, lost.
https://www.ftadviser.com/2014/05/07/opinion/tony-hazell/savers-could-have-lost-bn-in-brown-s-pensions-raid-WTQAjLW5DSRp9HUxwNZN7K/article.html

 

[LamieRobertson]

Pensions...retirement....what are these words?

 

[LamieRobertson]

You're quite right and I guess it's down to do what you can. I didn't finish the story last night, and must gave pressed cancel instead of post when i edited. But we have now paid off a still quite big mortgage, all other debts - credit cards, car loans etc, got money left over from Mrs Doc's lump sum, whose pension we can comfortably live on and save as well. And I have and as yet largely untouched decent pension pot. We did use some of mine 4 years ago to do some stuff, including buying a second-hand motorhome for £25k - best thing we ever did.

But several times over the last few years we had despaired of ever being ok. We now are, and I hope things work out for others..... but know they won't always.

When ive paid the mortgage off I'll still only own a quarter of the house....and in an idle moment wondered if I might sell it and buy a motor home...go touring and then park up outside one of the kids homes to plug in electrics etc ...not sure it would go down well.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Can't really take heart when most pensions are a pile of shite compared to those of the previous generations though.

Male pensions. Many women paid the married woman's stamp (NI contributions for the youngsters) because they were assured they would get a state pension based on their husband's contributions.
I stopped working when I had my son in 1970, did a couple of little part time jobs, had my daughter in 73, but didn't go back to work until 1977. Something told me I wanted a pension in my own right because my ex was three years older than me, so I wouldn't have got any state pension until I was 63, despite retiring at 60. So, I started paying full stamp. Many didn't, but as divorces and remarriages started increasing, many women found their ex husband's contributions didn't count. The years receiving child benefit did, but the first child didn't count towards child benefit.
As I said, I started work 20 hours a week in 77, but the firm didn't allow part timers to join the pension scheme. This resulted in union action in the early 2000s as all part-timers were women. Test cases were taken to court on sex discrimination legislation and were won. I was awarded another 7 years (out of the 12 I should have had) contributions in 2004.
So, I do have a small private pension, but had to fight for every penny of it.

 

[Weststander]

Male pensions. Many women paid the married woman's stamp (NI contributions for the youngsters) because they were assured they would get a state pension based on their husband's contributions.
I stopped working when I had my son in 1970, did a couple of little part time jobs, had my daughter in 73, but didn't go back to work until 1977. Something told me I wanted a pension in my own right because my ex was three years older than me, so I wouldn't have got any state pension until I was 63, despite retiring at 60. So, I started paying full stamp. Many didn't, but as divorces and remarriages started increasing, many women found their ex husband's contributions didn't count. The years receiving child benefit did, but the first child didn't count towards child benefit.
As I said, I started work 20 hours a week in 77, but the firm didn't allow part timers to join the pension scheme. This resulted in union action in the early 2000s as all part-timers were women. Test cases were taken to court on sex discrimination legislation and were won. I was awarded another 7 years (out of the 12 I should have had) contributions in 2004.
So, I do have a small private pension, but had to fight for every penny of it.

Great move in going back to paying full national insurance! A bit less net pay, but now you're reaping the benefits with a much higher state pension.

Pension funds & divorce - thesedays the spouse with the lower (non state) pension pot value, would get a fair chunk of their spouse's pension pot value. Unless the divorcing couple agree otherwise, for example they apportion equity in the house differently to compensate.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Great move in going back to paying full national insurance! A bit less net pay, but now you're reaping the benefits with a much higher state pension.

Pension funds & divorce - thesedays the spouse with the lower (non state) pension pot value, would get a fair chunk of their spouse's pension pot value. Unless the divorcing couple agree otherwise, for example they apportion equity in the house differently to compensate.

Yes, that changed after my divorce in 1991.

Another anomaly, where widows remarry. They often lose their widows pensions.


One other thing I have, is a funeral plan. It's all sorted and paid for.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

My life is quite simple and I have no kids or a car (both a conscious decision) so outgoings are minimal and simple and easy to manage. I have my day job but have built up a second income stream which I’m quite involved with these days and is almost a legitimate business as opposed to the initial investment it once was; any surplus cash goes into this. So, minimal savings, but I have money locked in other things.

 

[Ludensian Gull]

We have a "bills" account. Alongside our joint account. We know what all our bills are.

Rent
Council tax
Gas
Electric
Water
Broadband
BT tv
Mobile phone x2
Car tax x2
Petrol
Diesel
Car insurance x2
Her car H.P.
My ST
Tv license
Her contact lenses
Her glasses
Childcare

And the rest I can't remember

We both put in enough to cover everything. We even over pay on gas and electric to cover the winter months.

Depending on whether I've done 40 or 50 hours overtime in the month we can afford for me to do an occasional away day.

After we've put that aside we have maybe 400 disposable. And out of that comes food.

Aldi is our saviour so we can feed ourselves and stock the freezer for 150 a month but still need perishables such as milk, butter, fruit etc.

That gives us about 250 to spend. Not a lot with a 4 year old that needs entertaining every weekend.

We live to our last £10 in the bank and that regularly has to last us 3-4 days.

We've got nearly 4k on credit cards after our last few emergencies but managing to pay off the minimum amounts and balance transferring every year to keep at 0%.

I've read the whole of this thread before replying to this and sat here in tears where ive gone wrong in my life and I could seriously slit my ****ing wrists right now.

I turned 40 last month. I still don't own my own home. The truth is now hitting home that I never will. And it kills me. I have a wonderful 4 year old little girl right now cuddled up next to me on the sofa asleep. And right now i am haven't got a stable home for her.

Last year we had to do the whole school application thing. And got our preferred choice 250 yards down the road. Then in january our landlord told us he was selling the flat we were in so had to move out. It turned our world upside down. We had a private landlord so only paid 800 for a deposit. We've had to find somewhere else to live using an agency and had to find a months rent in advance + 6 weeks deposit + over 400 in fees.

We lived there for 4 years and paid nearly 50k off his mortgage for him. Then had to leave. We're now 8 months into this new place. And will pay over 12k off this blokes mortgage.

I should be paying my own but I can't get any capital for a deposit.

There's that wonderful "help to buy isa" so if you put 200 a month in the govt puts in 50.

Average house price round here is 300k for a shite 2 bed bungalow. So even if I could save 200 a month I will have a deposit in 10 years. If house prices are frozen until then. But I'll be 50 years old and unable to get a mortgage. I don't have any inheritance coming my way either to help out. I'm hoping on an on going PPI claim to hopefully clear the credit cards.

I work 12 hours a day to earn overtime and currently do between 40-60 hours a month over to give us a bit of cash.

Life is ****ing great isn't it?

This post may come across a bit bitter and jealous. But to be quite frank I am. I'd give anything to have the security in my life that some of you have.

I truly feel for you mate, it's soul destroying at times. We struggle on very little as my wife is disabled so I'm her carer . We were fortunate to find a fantastic landlord years ago and was reluctant to leave him but where offered a 1 bedroom Almshouse in Suffolk so decided to take that ( benieft of being older ) so we are now secure. I'm sure things will change or you in the future and reading your post you're a hard working guy with a lovely family who love you no matter what . Keep your chin up mate , you're not the only one struggling believe me !

 

[Triggaaar]

It's ok. I'm waiting for a will to be paid out from a dear old friend who died last year. She was aged 100, bless her.

I'm reading that, picturing you rubbing your hands together.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I'm reading that, picturing you rubbing your hands together.

It's not that big, but will be a little cushion in case of boiler breakdown, or clutch repair on the car.

 

[Triggaaar]

It's not that big, but will be a little cushion in case of boiler breakdown, or clutch repair on the car.

Or you could buy a nice little something to remember them by.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Or you could buy a nice little something to remember them by.

I will do that, too.

 

[CorgiRegisteredFriend]

Priority is to have enough money to watch Brighton play home and away until the day I die.

 

[Sorrel]

Snap! I have a spreadsheet that I started in 1998 and shows all my income and expenditure for the last 20 years as well as keeping track of savings, ISA’s, Bonds, SIPP, other pensions and property equity. It also projects forwards 20 years based on expected income, assets and outgoings over that period.

I've got one that goes back to 1997 - but it does not project forward at all. If I could project forward with certainty I wouldn't need to bother with the spreadsheet.

 

[Madafwo]

I have a separate pension pot - which I cant add to as it is final salary based . Your right about the ISA having a meagre rate of interest - but I need ready access. We have a large inheritance from sale of my Mother in Law house, but as she is alive there are issues over whether Social Services will want the proceeds - as currently she is self funding her care home (will run out in 18 months - hence us looking after her house proceeds).

Is there not an option to top it up with an Additional Voluntary Contribution? I'm not a financial adviser by any stretch but I know the Railway Pension has the option to top it up with a couple of AVC schemes and would imagine it can't be the only place to offer that.

 

[Weststander]

I will do that, too.

A Rolex.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

We have a "bills" account. Alongside our joint account. We know what all our bills are.

Rent
Council tax
Gas
Electric
Water
Broadband
BT tv
Mobile phone x2
Car tax x2
Petrol
Diesel
Car insurance x2
Her car H.P.
My ST
Tv license
Her contact lenses
Her glasses
Childcare

And the rest I can't remember

We both put in enough to cover everything. We even over pay on gas and electric to cover the winter months.

Depending on whether I've done 40 or 50 hours overtime in the month we can afford for me to do an occasional away day.

After we've put that aside we have maybe 400 disposable. And out of that comes food.

Aldi is our saviour so we can feed ourselves and stock the freezer for 150 a month but still need perishables such as milk, butter, fruit etc.

That gives us about 250 to spend. Not a lot with a 4 year old that needs entertaining every weekend.

We live to our last £10 in the bank and that regularly has to last us 3-4 days.

We've got nearly 4k on credit cards after our last few emergencies but managing to pay off the minimum amounts and balance transferring every year to keep at 0%.

I've read the whole of this thread before replying to this and sat here in tears where ive gone wrong in my life and I could seriously slit my ****ing wrists right now.

I turned 40 last month. I still don't own my own home. The truth is now hitting home that I never will. And it kills me. I have a wonderful 4 year old little girl right now cuddled up next to me on the sofa asleep. And right now i am haven't got a stable home for her.

Last year we had to do the whole school application thing. And got our preferred choice 250 yards down the road. Then in january our landlord told us he was selling the flat we were in so had to move out. It turned our world upside down. We had a private landlord so only paid 800 for a deposit. We've had to find somewhere else to live using an agency and had to find a months rent in advance + 6 weeks deposit + over 400 in fees.

We lived there for 4 years and paid nearly 50k off his mortgage for him. Then had to leave. We're now 8 months into this new place. And will pay over 12k off this blokes mortgage.

I should be paying my own but I can't get any capital for a deposit.

There's that wonderful "help to buy isa" so if you put 200 a month in the govt puts in 50.

Average house price round here is 300k for a shite 2 bed bungalow. So even if I could save 200 a month I will have a deposit in 10 years. If house prices are frozen until then. But I'll be 50 years old and unable to get a mortgage. I don't have any inheritance coming my way either to help out. I'm hoping on an on going PPI claim to hopefully clear the credit cards.

I work 12 hours a day to earn overtime and currently do between 40-60 hours a month over to give us a bit of cash.

Life is ****ing great isn't it?

This post may come across a bit bitter and jealous. But to be quite frank I am. I'd give anything to have the security in my life that some of you have.

You would be surprised how many are in the same situation

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

How much savings do you have ?

Why would anyone even volunteer that information?

But seeing as this is NSC and has been asked by some random poster , then I for one am powerless to resist. £23.58.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

As an aside I had my best university friend die suddenly a few years after we graduated. It was very sad. And having a friend die so young has definitely skewed my attitude to saving; I’d rather spend money on experiences as opposed to stash it away for a day which might never come.