[Finance] How much savings do you have ?

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

. I still find it incredible that money management wasn’t taught in school..

Agreed. 100%

I was EXTREMELY fortunate to have got a helping loan from both sets of parents when we bought 6 years ago(now both repaid). I have NO idea how I would have done it without them.

And (without sounding old) I now look at the 20 somethings and really feel for them. I needed £18k for my deposit....someone would now need £28k for the same property. How is the feasibly possible without help?

I went to Uni, got the SCARE of my life when I racked up debt after debt and occurred overdraft fees constantly and lived on about £20 a week for everything. It was horrible.

Now, I've gone completely the other way. I have my next 6 months forcasted on a spreadsheet, I check my bank account every day, update the spreadsheet, tick off when DD's have been paid, adjust my spending money accordingly etc etc. Sure, I've gone further than others would but it's great to know I'm aware of my situation at all times and it makes me more annoyed we weren't taught things like this at school but were taught how to make a coleslaw.

I'm now paying off a combination of wedding, honeymoon, new baby costs + the downside my wifes decreased income so currently I'm on a debt repayment mission of my two 0% credit cards.

 

[Bozza]

Many millions can’t afford to do that. Instead fire fighting each month to meet each DD or groceries bill as they arise.

I started this when I bought my first home and everything was very tight initially. My memory is a bit hazy, but I think I'd had one of those horror months and thought "I need to try and avoid that happening again". I'm not entirely sure how I got it up and running, but once in operation it was great to have in place, because it smooths the peaks in demands for cash.

 

[beorhthelm]

Me , about 1k but bit pointless as owe elsewhere

not pointless, very good idea to have some money available for emergency even if you have (modest, manageable) debts.

 

[AmexRuislip]

At the moment, a smitten of savings.
Most of our 'wealth' went to paying the mortgage off, last year, best thing we could've done.
No financial advice needed there.
As of now no debts, don't owe anything to anyone.
So it's the usual scenario, money gets put away, then something decides to die.....
AKA a laptop.
C'est la vie

Edit: forgot to add, just spent £105 on the bloody cat

 

[DavidRyder]

Every month I 'save' a few hundred pounds, and try to survive on what is left once I've allocated it all out on monthly bills. But I seem to always end up going back into that money saved! Wish I could save but seem to be breaking even each month. Could be a lot worse though so I'm not complaining.

Oh, I bought some Millwall shares over 20 years ago (it seemed cool at the time to own part of a club, even if it wasn't mine). Paid £100, I think they crashed soon after and I think they're probably worth about £15 now.

I have a coin jar too.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Many millions can’t afford to do that. Instead fire fighting each month to meet each DD or groceries bill as they arise.

JAMs - Just About Managing.

 

[Medwayseagull]

Now retired with sufficient income to live at a reasonable level. Have used and will continue to use some of my capital for long haul holidays until it runs out or I get too old to travel long distance. As the old saying goes " there are no pockets in shrouds ".

 

[BBassic]

Every month I 'save' a few hundred pounds, and try to survive on what is left once I've allocated it all out on monthly bills. But I seem to always end up going back into that money saved! Wish I could save but seem to be breaking even each month. Could be a lot worse though so I'm not complaining.

Oh, I bought some Millwall shares over 20 years ago (it seemed cool at the time to own part of a club, even if it wasn't mine). Paid £100, I think they crashed soon after and I think they're probably worth about £15 now.

I have a coin jar too.

Coin jars are actually brilliant.

I picked up a habit from my parents where when I get home from a night-out or something I'll pop any coin 50p or higher into the jar. Amazing how quickly you can amass a decent chunk of change that way.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

Edit: forgot to add, just spent £105 on the bloody cat

Yesterday I spent £650 on a tree surgeon and £300 on new car seats (no one told me the kid gets BIGGER)

Those are not exciting purchases

 

[DavidRyder]

Coin jars are actually brilliant.

I picked up a habit from my parents where when I get home from a night-out or something I'll pop any coin 50p or higher into the jar. Amazing how quickly you can amass a decent chunk of change that way.

I'm at the other end of the scale - 10p or less! But maybe I should do 50p or less. They'll be calling me Gecko before you know it!

 

[Wilko]

No debts, student loans paid off, no credit cards and a healthy amount of money in savings so that I can go to at least 6 new countries every year on my mission to see the world. The beauty of creative singledom and not having a family

 

[Goring-by-Seagull]

We "skim" - every day we round down whatever our balance is to the nearest fiver (ten if I'm feeling flush), whether it's £1.12 or a painful eye-watering £4.78 (hate those ones!) and transfer into a separate account.

You don't even notice it's gone and it does stack up quite quickly, between us way over £100 a month.

 

[tinx]

Up until last year I had no savings at all as I was working to pay off the mortgage so every penny I didn't spend went into that. Now I've done that I am able to save every month although I'm not saving anywhere near as much as I was paying on the mortgage and I don't seem to feel any better off as a result. I guess the whole you spend what you have rings true.

 

[beorhthelm]

Coin jars are actually brilliant.

I picked up a habit from my parents where when I get home from a night-out or something I'll pop any coin 50p or higher into the jar. Amazing how quickly you can amass a decent chunk of change that way.

i used to do this, after a night out put the pounds over a fivers worth in a pot. would easily pay for a night out later in the month, which would otherwise get frittered away on snacks and casual spending.
i wonder how more difficult it is to save with cards and touch payments? so easy to spend few quid here and there, and to the point not realise just how much.

 

[Charlies Shinpad]

No point in saving for a rainy day when it's drizzling all the time now.
And the other one my dad used to say to me is "There is no point in being the richest man in the graveyard"

Sent from my EML-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[happypig]

I've got a gallon whisky bottle, all coins go in there except brown ones and 5ps which either go in the charity jar or get left in the shop. Last time we emptied it we got just short of £1000.

We've got some shares, probably about 8-10k worth. A few 00 in the erniebonds. Mortgage should be paid off in a couple of months (inheritance). I been paying 500 a month extra into my pension for a while in order to retire early.

A tip for saving money, put a tenner in the pocket of your funeral suit; next time a loved one dies, instant happiness !

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

I had about £2k until this month when I paid out for next year's skiing holiday. But I bought my first house about a year ago so that's part of my excuse. I'm also doing a self-imposed course, which costs money. And I have a lot of hobbies, which again cost money. Plus a partner - and they definitely cost money, even if you're just paying for your half of everything you do!

 

[StonehamPark]

Been saving since Feb this year, up to £7,000 now and aiming for about £8500 by end of the year.

29 y/o, dont own or owe anything.

Not saving for anything in particular, just want a fair sized safety net below me for whatever reason.

 

[Badger]

I have the equivalent of over £50k, but that's because I sold my flat in Brighton before I moved out here in 2015. I'm in the process of buying a place in Toronto, so most of the money will be the deposit for that. I'll definitely keep some of it back as I always like to have at least a couple of grand in a savings account just in case I need it for something.

 

[banjo]

I got a few shares if that counts.