[Finance] How much savings do you have ?

[DIFFBROOK]

Each month, I have a spreadsheet showing our incomings i.e what I and the Mrs earn, plus child benefit. On the other side is all our outgoings, Gas/Electric, water, petrol, our direct debits etc. I also set out what as a family we will spend on going out that month. Anything left is over is savings and goes in a ISA.

Its a bit micro management, but it has meant that as a family we never have had outstanding credit cards, with good savings.

I don't know how people manage their money unless there is some kind of structure.

 

[kingcole]

Me zilch but I also owe zilch too. The Mrs, over 50K held in premium bonds but most of that was an inheritance.

Without intentionally sounding like an arse..... The maximum one is allowed to hold in premium bonds is £50k.

 

[Muzzman]

Not much and don't have any assets, unless you include my Fender Strat that seems to stay around the same price I purchased it at, neither increasing or depreciating in value. I don't owe anything though, have no credit cards and live within my means. Being debt free does come with a certain piece of mind that money can't buy.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Millions

 

[The Gem]

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.

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!

My Daughter bought me a couple of years ago a huge Pig money bank, Its about 18 inches from snout to tail 12 inches wide and about 14 inches tall. (You cant open it either)

I vowed to fill it with only £1 and £2 coins until it was completely full.

Then some idiot decided to bring out a new £1 coin !!!!! FFS.

Had to drill a hole in the bottom with one of them kitchen light drills for the ceiling, empty it, bag up the coins to change them when the new ones came out.

Had been putting coins in there for about 18 months to 2 years, and when it was all emptied, counted and bagged there was £3,000 in there, could not believe it.

So my ambition is now to fill it completely with £1 and £2 coins. Based on the space the 3k took up, I reckon when filled to the brim there with be 8k to 10k in there.

Happy Days.

I now have an old large whiskey bottle for coppers, one on the large Budweiser bottles for all silver and the Pig for the nuggets.

It's great because I'm old school I only use cash, so you always come home with change.

Cant be doing with all this credit card sh1t to pay for a night out. Cash is King.

 

[Theatre of Trees]

Not as much as i’d like. I was dreadful with money until about 25 though. I still find it incredible that money management wasn’t taught in school. I’m 31 now and have pretty much fully sorted myself out. Just finishing off my last small bit of interest free debt and then will concentrate on building up the savings. I’m over paying the mortgage by about £300 a month at the moment though as think that is much better concentrated on in the long term.

It is as part of PSE, remember doing it at Boundstone with year 11. Big problem is one, nobody takes PSE seriously in year 11, and two, some of the concepts of managing yourself in the real world are alien to the average 15 year old.

You don't really understand how to manage yourself until you actually start experiencing it.

 

[El Presidente]

A lot until the divorce, when, in a fit of insanity/depression, I gave it all away.

 

[Sorrel]

I owe much more on my mortgage than I have in my savings accounts, so I don't really think of myself as having "real" savings.

But I echo the advice above about getting separate accounts for saving; I have automatic payments after payday that move money to 3 or 4 different types of saving account (ISA shares, cash saving, shares etc.) with different levels of time-based access. Then I try to overpay the mortgage with any left over at the end of the month. That way saving becomes part of my budgeting, not some extra. It does mean that we have less ready cash (holidays don't happen very often), but I think it's safer.

Note that the above was determined after many years of not getting it together financially and realising that I needed to change.

 

[Seagull kimchi]

100k but that's it. No investments, a meagre pension to look forward to. no home besides a potting shed on a beach in India. Yet somehow I feel I wouldn't swop places with many.

 

[Garage_Doors]

Each month, I have a spreadsheet showing our incomings i.e what I and the Mrs earn, plus child benefit. On the other side is all our outgoings, Gas/Electric, water, petrol, our direct debits etc. I also set out what as a family we will spend on going out that month. Anything left is over is savings and goes in a ISA.

Its a bit micro management, but it has meant that as a family we never have had outstanding credit cards, with good savings.

I don't know how people manage their money unless there is some kind of structure.

I have a similar system but just leave the rest in the bank growing and throw more into a pension pot , is a IS A really worth it? I was under the impression it's only A few %?

 

[beorhthelm]

I have a similar system but just leave the rest in the bank growing and throw more into a pension pot , is a IS A really worth it? I was under the impression it's only A few %?

probably not much for cash (its a few quid at current rates), the real benefits come from shares in an ISA dont get Capital Gains Tax.

 

[Ding Dong !]

Very lucky to have had two sizeable inheritances in the last two years.

This has enabled me to have two properties mortgage free and well over six figures in savings.

Yes i'm very fortunate.

 

[Lethargic]

Good thread and I have to agree on teaching money management at school.

My present situation I have enough for a rainy day about £6K but that's it and at 53 it does get a little concerning. On the plus side we have been putting all our spare change into the children saving, so both children will end up with between £15K and £20K when they are 18 which will save me a little bit of cash in the long term.

 

[DIFFBROOK]

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).

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

I have a similar system but just leave the rest in the bank growing and throw more into a pension pot , is a IS A really worth it? I was under the impression it's only A few %?

I set up a nationwide 5% saver last month. I'll put £250 a month in there (the cap) for the year (again, a cap) and should get about £90 interest paid in time for xmas 2019

I also have the ISA but the £250 is obviously returning more in that account.

I also move my bank account (I have one which 'receives' my pay each month before I send it to the joint account) every 6 months to pick up the latest Welcome offer. £150 with HSBC, then £75 with Halifax. If both people in the household do it then its easy money.

 

[Guinness Boy]

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).

I was amazed no one had mentioned personal or employer pensions up to now. I have one of those though it's not exactly "flush".

There are some good apps for skimming now. Moneybox rounds up every transaction to the nearest pound and invests the difference between the higher "whole pound amount" and what you paid (i.e. it will save 25p if you buy something costing 4.75 and a fiver comes out of your account). Mine's in an equities ISA and the small amounts involved should, in theory, take advantage of pound cost averaging,

Revolut also lets you do this in to a normal account and will provide a card that instantly shows all purchases from it on to a phone app. It also lets you deal currency real time and pay in foreign currency abroad off the card without a spread or commission, meaning you can trade on currency differences, particularly at airports.

 

[NooBHA]

I'm waiting for Weegie Seagull or whatever his name is to post on this one coz ''apparently'' he is a ''Multi Millionaire'' -

 

[Albion my Albion]

I'm in debt.

To my Mrs. and her family

 

[Beach Hut]

More than enough so thanks for asking

 

[knocky1]

A sum that earns £3,500 in interest per annum but with inflation above that rate I am on a losing streak. I add to this annual loss with a self select share portfolio. The latter addiction and savings loss are currently propped up by property asset growth and income.