How much do you save?

[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.

[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.

[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.

[weeksy]

the nerds.

That still makes you the exception, you are a bit of a nerd boy, not some bloke flipping burgers or driving a forklift in a warehouse.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Well yes....the young people I know are almost all undergrads or recent grads from STEM subjects, so they naturally have a grasp of numbers!

They still seem to do dumb shit, but at least they understand why saving early is good for them.

[Horse]

Well yes....the young people I know are almost all undergrads or recent grads from STEM subjects, so they naturally have a grasp of numbers!

They still seem to do dumb shit, but at least they understand why saving early is good for them.

Possibly the financial leeway to be able to do so makes a difference? If they had to pay, for instance, higher London rent, or were in lower paid jobs, that might affect their ability to save.

As a contrast, my first house was bought with a 100% mortgage and a bridging loan from the bank to cover the fees. Filly (of that time) had only just got a job, so no savings or wages history, and lenders didn't seem to care (compared with now) about ability to pay from earnings after bills.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Well obviously there are practical considerations yes, but lots of people still have disposable income. You're right that the course of my life has meant I'm generally only in contact with financially secure people so my experience is going to be skewed.

How many people genuinely have no money at all left over every month though? How many of those people have a new car on PCP or spend £100 on a weekend drinking etc?

I'm sound well old

[Mr. Dazzle]

So far it's worked out, I lived recklessly where money is concerned and it just pushed me to earn more, rather than be more sensible.

Well yeah that works too

Just a question of how confident you are that'll work out.

[Horse]

How many people genuinely have no money at all left over every month though? How many of those people have a new car on PCP or spend £100 on a weekend drinking etc?

I think that, for a few years, I did more for the benefit of Wadworths shareholders than I did for my own savings