How much do you save?

[Yorick]

I worked on the idea that every £15k saved was 1 year earlier to retirement. It's a great incentive.

[v8-powered]

Between the missus and I, circa 50% sometimes more. I also max out my pension contributions annually from my business...

[Noggin]

I've not earned/made any money for the last three and a bit years, so nothing!!

I honestly didn't expect to get old, so really hadn't worried about the future

Now, being realistic, the maternal side of my family live for (what seems like) fcking ever, so I need to start sorting myself out

However, where I live I have ridiculously minimal outgoings. I can survive ok not much. But I'd rather be able to actually do stuff

Once I start working/earning I need to sort things out so I have a little stash to be able to go do fun things but also sort out a French pension (if I can ever get through and sort out stuff with HMRC/DWP I'll have a pension from the UK which is see me be ok - but adding a French pension will mean I can do more!).

[Nobby]

After the recession of ‘89/90 I would save everything I could, fearful of a rainy day. After about 5 years I put away a regular amount.
I’m still waiting for that rainy day and my pot is a fair wack

[ZRX61]

$500 this week....

... which is half of the $1000 I have to pay out in bills next week.

[Horse]

I also max out my pension contributions annually

I was a bit late starting saving into a pension. When I did, it was one of the few times when I ever did long-term financial planning! But it does mean that I have several 'years' of final salary scheme.

Plus 2x 'stakeholder' pots. Which I probably ought to take advice on amalgamating.

[Asian Boss]

When I was single - about 50%
Since missus and kids - 0%

I can't work out what's changed.

You should try getting divorced. That makes it cheaper.


Not!

[v8-powered]

I also max out my pension contributions annually

I was a bit late starting saving into a pension. When I did, it was one of the few times when I ever did long-term financial planning! But it does mean that I have several 'years' of final salary scheme.

Plus 2x 'stakeholder' pots. Which I probably ought to take advice on amalgamating.

I also have a couple of final salary schemes and also have a few others DC schemes that are being wrapped up with my private pension, so hopefully come retirement will be comfortable. Luckily pension and investment advice comes free as wife is director of an IFA business

When I was single - about 50%
Since missus and kids - 0%

I can't work out what's changed.

You should try getting divorced. That makes it cheaper.


Not!

Got that shirt, 10 years I was pretty much taken to the cleaners - only thing she didn't take was my pensions!

[Taipan]

Save! Lolz....

[irie]

When I was single - about 50%
Since missus and kids - 0%

I can't work out what's changed.

You should try getting divorced. That makes it cheaper.

Not!

Tell me about it. 20 years ago I had saved 'quite a lot' but then the Mrs decided she wanted the money instead of me and due to the then divorce laws she walked away with the current day value of about £½m. Over a few years she then found out that when not working it doesn't last very long.

So I started all over again and through a combination of events was able to stop working in 2008. I have enough.

[Potter]

No divorces here, we're the same age and we've been together forever and I can't see that changing, but it made no difference, we still spent everything and had no savings until we were over forty.

Since I turned forty-five something changed, it's like I woke up one day with a whole new set of worries. Perhaps it's a mid-life crisis, I feel a compelling need to be financially independent.

Mrs Potter doesn't get it, she's happy enough plodding on and doesn't feel my urgency to get to a point where we don't need to work. It should only take another 4-5yrs but I'm terribly impatient about it all and stress over it.

Anyway, as I said this discussion was spurred by that article about most people having no savings and I thought "Yeah that was like us" but something changed and I wondered if that was also normal as you get older, but it seems not, some of you are older than me and save nothing and some of you are quite a bit younger and save plenty.

[Fruity]

Anyway, as I said this discussion was spurred by that article about most people having no savings ... it seems not, some of you are older than me and save nothing and some of you are quite a bit younger and save plenty.

Attitude and/or ability?

[Taipan]

No divorces here, we're the same age and we've been together forever and I can't see that changing, but it made no difference, we still spent everything and had no savings until we were over forty.

Since I turned forty-five something changed, it's like I woke up one day with a whole new set of worries. Perhaps it's a mid-life crisis, I feel a compelling need to be financially independent.

Mrs Potter doesn't get it, she's happy enough plodding on and doesn't feel my urgency to get to a point where we don't need to work. It should only take another 4-5yrs but I'm terribly impatient about it all and stress over it.

Anyway, as I said this discussion was spurred by that article about most people having no savings and I thought "Yeah that was like us" but something changed and I wondered if that was also normal as you get older, but it seems not, some of you are older than me and save nothing and some of you are quite a bit younger and save plenty.

I'm not a big earner so couldn't save a big pot up ready for retirement even if I wanted to, but I have chose a certain career path to prepare for it. We are both long term employees in the public sector and will have their pensions to go along with our state ones. I also wanted a good benefits package such as death in service benefits, so we each would be taken care of should the worse happen whilst our kids were financially dependant on us. We also have some property investments which should pay dividends. All of this assumes the pension pots don't get robbed and we don't have to liquidate asserts for health reasons etc.

I'm not going to say we're backward oiks, but we do seem to enjoy the simpler things in life. I have no need or desire to go to top restaurants or holiday at lavish resorts, so our meagre pot will likely go further than others?

Oh, it turns out I do save, as my wife just reminded me I pay £100 a month into premium binds and have been doing so for a few years now, so there must be a couple of grand in there, but I have no idea of the log ins so don't actually know and don't want to find out or I'll probably cash it in and spend it on some crap or another!

[Buckaroo]

My old Dad drummed it into us kids to do three things where money was concerned.

Work hard and don't be shy to ask for a good pay rise.

Only have important loans, such as a mortgage and pay it off ASAP, otherwise go without.

Save as much as you can but not so much that life was miserable.

I've just retired last week after 50 years of work. 97 percent of HMRC allowable pension pot as my pension, no mortgage, both kids through uni, debt free and we have some meaningful savings.

Thanks Dad.

My two kids are just the same, careful and know the value of money.

I feel very fortunate. I just need to enjoy it now.

[Cousin Jack]

I am at the age now that I am spending, not saving. I try not to spend more than about 105% of my income each month.

[Potter]

I'm not going to say we're backward oiks, but we do seem to enjoy the simpler things in life. I have no need or desire to go to top restaurants or holiday at lavish resorts, so our meagre pot will likely go further than others?

Same.
We do things now just because we can, but we're not complicated people and neither of us would thank you for a meal in a fancy restaurant or a holiday in a house on stilts in the Maldives. I've tried it and I prefer egg and chips and a week in Spain.

I think many people have wishful plans for retirement that are perhaps a bit more grand than they had in their daily lives, go travelling a lot, retire to France/Spain, buy a camper, go across America, buy a boat, etc. We've done it the other way around, we've done all the travelling, living abroad and boat stuff whilst we're still earning, so retirement should be a quiet affair where we potter about at home having a quiet life, I don't think we'll need much money - but having some tucked away would be nice, so if we are in the middle of winter and feeling miserable then it would be nice to have the means to jet off somewhere warm for a month.

I think for me it's an age thing and the changes in the world making me consider any future flies in the ointment. I never used to stress about not having enough savings because I always knew I was getting paid again at the end of the month, but the way the world is now you never know, so now I do worry a bit, hence the thread.

[Mr. Dazzle]

I honestly don't know what I'm going to be doing, or wanting to, when I'm your age (that applies to pretty much anyone reading this, given the demographics of this forum ) I have notions, but I don't actually know of course.

The one thing I CAN'T do is go back 30 years and start making preparations!

I guess I'm lucky, if that's the word, that I've always had a strong sense of cause-effect. If I want a comfortable future I need to save today, it's as simple as that in my mind! I'm not a miser though, I don't hoard 50s in my mattress....I just save what I consider a sensible amount, or perhaps more accurately don't burn cash.

Edit: One thing that really hammered it home though TBF was getting a mortgage. Comparing the amount borrowed to the amount repayable quickly highlighted how effective time is when it comes to money

[weeksy]

I honestly don't know what I'm going to be doing, or wanting to, when I'm your age (that applies to pretty much anyone reading this, given the demographics of this forum ) I have notions, but I don't actually know of course.

The one thing I CAN'T do is go back 30 years and start making preparations!

I guess I'm lucky, if that's the word, that I've always had a strong sense of cause-effect. If I want a comfortable future I need to save today, it's as simple as that in my mind! I'm not a miser though, I don't hoard 50s in my mattress....I just save what I consider a sensible amount, or perhaps more accurately don't burn cash.

Edit: One thing that really hammered it home though TBF was getting a mortgage. Comparing the amount borrowed to the amount repayable quickly highlighted how effective time is when it comes to money

I think you're very much in the minority with the 'younger' generation of today though. I may be wrong but it's not my perception.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

My pension is a bit fucked thanks to the company I used to work fors financial mismanagement, so really I'm only going to get the pension from my current company, but there's fuck all I can do it about it, so I get on with living.

[Mr. Dazzle]

I think you're very much in the minority with the 'younger' generation of today though. I may be wrong but it's not my perception.

FWIW a load of my young colleagues - even 19 year old still at Uni - have "lifetime ISAs" and similar already.

Loads of em buy stocks and funds, the nerds.