[Finance] How much savings do you have ?

[dazzer6666]

Had a £100 per month monthly savings scheme which could be used to buy some shares few years ago from work - needed to save for 5 years though. Made the worst investment decision of my life after three years and cashed in (my 3600 made like £200 interest). Bloke next to me at work did the same thing but completed the scheme. By the time he came to buy his shares his £6000 (for full 5 yrs) plus £1000 bonus for completing the scheme enabled him to buy the shares at the original price when the scheme started (about £11 each) and then sold them immediately at the market value which was like £80 each at the time - so he netted like 55k so for the sake of saving another 2 years it cost me 52k in lost earnings

Ergo if your firm offers a profit sharing scheme - INVEST! NB most proper schemes are backed by banks or building societies so at worse you would het your money back if the firm goes bust..

Have always done these.....mostly made decent money from them, but as you say you can’t lose really. If the shares drop in value you get your savings and interest back. The shares are usually discounted when you subscribe too, increasing the chance of making a few quid. Literally today got a share certificate through for the latest one - 3 years @ £250/month, shares about 50% up on original price so £5k profit.

 

[LlcoolJ]

Had a £100 per month monthly savings scheme which could be used to buy some shares few years ago from work - needed to save for 5 years though. Made the worst investment decision of my life after three years and cashed in (my 3600 made like £200 interest). Bloke next to me at work did the same thing but completed the scheme. By the time he came to buy his shares his £6000 (for full 5 yrs) plus £1000 bonus for completing the scheme enabled him to buy the shares at the original price when the scheme started (about £11 each) and then sold them immediately at the market value which was like £80 each at the time - so he netted like 55k so for the sake of saving another 2 years it cost me 52k in lost earnings

Ergo if your firm offers a profit sharing scheme - INVEST! NB most proper schemes are backed by banks or building societies so at worse you would het your money back if the firm goes bust..

Ouch.

A guy I'm doing some volunteer work with had the option to buy his rented flat in Hackney a while ago for £13k. He was worried that it would be a millstone, tricky to rent out etc. because he was moving to Sheffield.

He could have made a fortune on the rent and as he says now "I don't even look at the prices, it'd kill me".

I looked. He threw away about £350k, just on the value, never mind the rent profit.

We all make bad decisions and so much is luck.

 

[albiongirl]

None!!!

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[Thunder Bolt]

Had a £100 per month monthly savings scheme which could be used to buy some shares few years ago from work - needed to save for 5 years though. Made the worst investment decision of my life after three years and cashed in (my 3600 made like £200 interest). Bloke next to me at work did the same thing but completed the scheme. By the time he came to buy his shares his £6000 (for full 5 yrs) plus £1000 bonus for completing the scheme enabled him to buy the shares at the original price when the scheme started (about £11 each) and then sold them immediately at the market value which was like £80 each at the time - so he netted like 55k so for the sake of saving another 2 years it cost me 52k in lost earnings

Ergo if your firm offers a profit sharing scheme - INVEST! NB most proper schemes are backed by banks or building societies so at worse you would het your money back if the firm goes bust..

That's ok until your company has a takeover bid with a compulsory share purchase. You barely get back what you invested.

 

[pearl]

House is still eating everything - bought a just barely habitable (intact roof, water/sewage and electricity) probate sale a few years ago and I'm getting towards the end of the heavy expenditure. Windows, insulation, water tanks, heating replacement done and a new front door paid for not installed yet; rewiring is last of those. So depending on whether I've just paid for something or just about to it'll be anywhere from close to 0 to a few grand

However I've no short term loans, no HP contracts, no credit card balance and the mortgage is at about 27% LTV now. Pension pot has a reasonable amount for a 31 year old but really not enough. About a grand in premium bond equivalents and a few grand in Irish Continental Group (Irish Ferries) shares. When the house stops costing thousands every few months I intend to throw the equivalent in to savings and investments 50/50

I'd hold on to the Irish Ferries shares if I were you

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Don't care about savings or pensions as I live for the day as we could die anytime....why save for the unknown?

Whilst you’re here, I will be changing trains at Swindon week after next. I plan to have breakfast there, before boarding my second train. Are there any decent cafes within sensible walking distance of the station?

 

[Taybha]

Apparently my watch is worth more than the rest of my worldly possessions put together , if i then tell you it's a Casio AT550 , you can stop thinking about a kidnapping .