Ok i am hugely fortunate - live in a lovely house (read money pit), well paid job, coming up to 50, 15 y.o. son who is growing up fast and flourishing, wife of 19 years, relatively small mortgage 140k
Might sound like a crazy question but how how much do you have in reserve wrt easily accesible money
I’d generally rely on the back of Mum and cypermethrin
I keep a black balaclava at the bottom of the wardrobe.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
I keep a fresh gimp in my black balaclava at the back of the wardrobeOriginally Posted by number2
I keep a black balaclava at the bottom of the wardrobe.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Splurrrt lolz.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Fair points - and perhaps well deserved
What prompted the question was reading a number of posts on PH where folk are shelling out 50-80k on a car - and all credit to them for them in that position
But how wealthy do you need to be to make that a reality - sure you could leave it for 1k plus pcm but do people really do that ? Perhaps I am living under a rock and should crawl back under it....
Blimey a typical TZ thread here, everyone huge earners with immense savings, never consider credit of any type, must pay off mortgage immediately and aim for retirement soon after puberty
Chill out everyone, live your lives and spend some cash occassionally (if you are lucky enough to have some) when you are still young enough to enjoy it
All this six months salary for a rainy day advice must be pretty annoying to read when you can't afford to get by month to month/feed your kids etc
“Bring out the gimp”
“But the gimp’s taking tea with Tumnus”
Don't just do something, sit there. - TNH
OP. I’d recommend 6 months salary (net) in liquid cash to tie you over. Then invest in stock / share in rapper ISAs - of course have enough cash to pay off any mortgage. I’m 57 this year and plan to retire a bit early.
U wot
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Reference cars on credit I run two cars, one was bought outright using savings (nothing posh) that I needed to own as I intend ruining it ferrying St Bernards about etc
My other is on PCP (about 20k list price) and I pretty much see it/justify it as renting a tool that I need to get to work etc and having peace of mind that it is reliable/warrantied is the draw but it isn't mine and it is unlikely to ever be, that being said I like driving it and enjoy it very much
I no longer own any expensive watches, I never felt comfortable wearing such valuable jewellery, the way I felt about wearing/protecting them made me realise I was punching above my weight
Unlike most on here I don't earn a huge salary, I have a small house and a reasonably big mortgage, we never worry too much about money though and so I feel pretty privileged
I learned not to be impressed by the cars people drive around in many years ago. Most people grow out of it eventually........sadly some never do.
Best luxury in life is not having to work, I managed to achieve that several years ago. I’d rather have an old car and a lie in every morning!
Aim to get out if debt as soon as possible, pay your mortgage off as early as you can. Frankly if I was 50 and still owed a lot I’d be concerned, having a fancy car would be well down my priorities list.
Paul
Last edited by walkerwek1958; 16th June 2018 at 00:03.
I'd join you tomorrow if somebody came along with a decent offer.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
You'd only get bored Eddie!
Cheers,
Neil.
Trust me, there's lots I want to do.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
What is there to grow out of? Some people actually like cars and motorcycles, and like to spend their money on something that gives them pleasure..
Others like going to work, and get a lot of satisfaction from it.
Tell you what Paul, i think we may have been seperated at birth.
Time is more important than money.
My friend and his wife, despite earning similar money, live in a house twice the size of mine and have 2 cars less han 2 years old. Asks me for the lend of a couple of hundred quid at least 3 times a year.
I dont know how, or why, they live like that.
I understand your sentiment - I'm lucky in that both me and the other half both earn well, and have low fixed outgoings. Despite this, I feel like I'm a long way off buying a new £35k + car, or PCP ing one. When I see £500 a month I just see a mortgage for a buy to let flat or something more 'worthwhile' to me.
But then that's how I balance risk - spare money off my mortgage with healthy overpayments. If I fall on hard times, I can have time to sort my self out and get back online.
Fixed financial commitments make me worried - so I avoid them unless required. Im happy to drive a 10 yo car in exchange.
Times change,
The beginning of last week I had a nice house with a still a fair bit of mortgage to pay off, but I work very hard and earn ok, so it is getting smaller each year, a wife who works but also can spend a fair bit, two teenage son’s, a car that works but nothing speacial that is paid for out right and I have savings in the bank, in case anything goes wrong and I need to pay the bills.
Today I have all that except, my wife has left, we are now separated and I think it is permanent but we are being civil, kids are with me and are staying as that is what they want, but been told she will take what is entitled too half what the house is worth once it is sold and outstanding mortgage paid and then half of all my savings. (Already taken half of the joint account).
This hopefully will be when kids are at a age when they will can move out, one is nearly at that age. She works in divorce law bless her, knows her stuff.
Happy days,
bit of a shock, but not really a surprise as sadly we were drifting apart and she was staying for the kids apparently, obviously only told me once she had everything in place to move on, it is sad I miss her, so do the kids. We are all coping not easy for her either.
We will survive, expensive cars and watches are just objects to me, what is important is our children.
Money, I can at the moment carry on earning, once my wife has taken what she is legally entitled too, I will still be able to live.
Sorry, back on topic.
I know people with all the expensive lifestyle with nothing in reserve and if they hit crisis, they have hit rock bottom fast with nothing to show for it.
I started with nothing, when I was a kid we did not have much but my dad always made sure we had food on the table, somewhere safe to sleep and told us he loved us. He worked like a lunatic to provide right up the day he died.
So things can change very quickly,
My view do what is right for you. I know a chap who is living the high life, very expensive cars, he says if it all ends tomorrow and I am left with out a penny it has been one hell of a ride, you can not take your money with you when this life ends. Fair play to him.
But for me, I had nothing once it was hell of a struggle, so need to keep a reserve in case things go wrong so there is still food on the table and roof over our heads.
when I am gone I hope to leave the kids with a good memory of me and a bit of money in there bank.
Sorry, A bit deep but it is good to talk apparently.
Have a good weekend everyone.
Just another thing that slaps you (us) in the face and puts all the other BS into perspective.
Stay strong and be safe. Good luck for the future.
pastrana72 - my thoughts go with you - a dose of reality for us all
Literally nowt. It's a very dangerous position and one I've been in for a few years now but every penny I have is invested in my shop. I couple probably liquidate for £50,000 I guess but that would take time and even then a good 50% of that would be owed out.
Wife earns a decent wage but childcare is crippling us and we're living paycheque to paycheque.
I doubt we're alone in this but it's still a crap spot to be in. Lucky I'm not that arsed about money these days. Things always pick up.
I did not mean it to be, but thank you. What will be, will be.
I am back up and moving forwards.
Thank you as well. Staying strong is the key. I am looking to a future in a positive way.
3 to 6 months salary as a fall back in the bank or somewhere you can access it is a good plan. Over the years I have put away 12 months + as a back up.
If I need to purchase something as a bit of tech or a luxury, I have always made sure I can use it to the maximum, build on it or maybe if I need to get out of it, loose not to much on it.
I am like everyone on here, has a interest and passion for wrist watches. I only need one but over many years I have many.
I bought what I liked and only what I could afford. I started buying watches years ago that I could not afford replace now as the values and interest in those vintage watches has grown.
If they all had to go, it would not be the end of the world for me.
On the whole I have enjoyed the watch collecting hobby and if everything needs to go, then I would get back what I spent easily, if not a return.
We are not talking profiteering here, things I purchased 10 years ago off forum that now have a higher market value.
I suppose I have always been a bit risk averse and needed to keep a back up to put food on the table for the family.
If it was just me on my own, I might go for it a bit more but with others relying on me it is not a option.
However, I respect the attitude of others who take a calculated risk.
Last edited by pastrana72; 16th June 2018 at 10:24.
Thats rubbish, the silver lining is that she's moved out, one of my friend and his wife split up, she decided she hated him, but didn't move out of the house, she finally left after 8 months when she had bought a new place.
Anyway, back on topic, I like to have a rainy day fund, I work for myself, so if I couldn't work, no one would pay me, but I could last a year if I had to. However, this doesn't make me any more careful with money, I still like nice cars, watches, plenty of holidays, etc etc, it's a good job we don't have children!
My work fluctuates a lot and having weathered a couple of recessions before I don’t feel comfortable without at least a years worth of subsistence living (mortgage plus shopping at Lidl and one £6.50 bottle of wine a week) in reserve if things go tits up. When some people decided to fly a couple of aeroplanes into the twin towers all the work stopped and I didn’t do hardly any work for 6months afterwards! Sold a few bits of old equipment and scratched around for a few low paid bits of work and came out the other end with my deposit for a flat untouched and ready to go again.
Somebody i knew in the same line of business (advertising/design/editorial photographer) was still eating out 3 times a week and buying clothes from selfridges every weekend. He went bankrupt and sold their flat and ended up renting. That’s never going to happen to me.
Most people have hardly any money in reserve, literally 1-2 weeks. What amazes me is they are salaried so know exactly what comes in and out and when. You cut your cloth accordingly. Still see lots of new motors and iphoneX around so people’s priorities are skewed.
Recently selling almost all of my watches and getting to within one year (Spring 2019) of total debt freedom, including my mortgage, has given me such peace of mind. I’m 50 and at 55 I plan to retire from teaching and go self employed as a counsellor, and I am one year off being qualified. Both my kids have three years left at university so barring disaster or health issues, my plan should come to fruition - fingers crossed.
My perceptions of ‘value’ have changed a great deal in recent years and ‘frivolous spending’ has lost the gloss it once had. In fact, I look at how much ‘stuff’ I own and feel rather embarrassed with myself. Each to their own of course, and I have friends on interest only mortgages who drive amazing cars, and they have a ‘live for today’ philosophy which I cannot fully subscribe to. I don’t judge them, nor them me.
I’m very happy with my lot - 2 great kids and a lovely wife of 22 years (& 3 dogs), and I feel I have choices available to me should things go wrong in any way. Let’s hope they don’t.
When working, My comfort zone was always 6 months take home pay in easy-access accounts.
I saw the thread on cars which prompted a thought....I know 2 truly well off people ( my guess is 20-30k/month take home)who drive cars they own outright- a 2 year old Golf GTI and the other has a 10 reg BMW X5 ,they won’t do pcp etc .
Always worth putting something aside for a rainy day IMO. We aim to save half of our disposable income whatever that happens to be at the time, and enjoy the rest. It has come in handy when life has thrown the odd curveball.
I get nervous if I don't have 20k plus on hand for emergencies,we bought a house for cash back in February which stretched me at the time but it was a temporary measure only.
I've always been concerned about not having enough "rainy day" money so keep around six months of take home pay in savings and around the same in the watch collection which could be sold to release the funds if desperate.
Thankfully both my wife and I are pretty careful with money and have a comfortable lifestyle and get whatever we need. Our focus lately has been clearing the mortgage and paid a big chunk off as a lump sum and are overpaying monthly so it should be gone by the time I'm 50 in a couple of years. Hoping to retire at 55 having been in the public sector for 30 years though may carry on past that if I'm still enjoying it.
Cheers
Neil
For most people 6 months salary equivalent is just not a reality. Maybe, just maybe if you are middle aged and have had a good stable job for a while.
I'm asset rich and cash poor. Not rich in the sense of rich, but I have more tied up in assets than cash. I reasonably believe I could sell off a few things if I really needed to.
Being self employed, some months/quarters are better than others.
I managed to pay off the mortgage, then treated myself to watches and others bits and pieces for a while initially, but since then I've worked less, so there is little difference in disposable income now.
It's just a matter of time...
I don't know how some of our friends sleep at night! One friend asked me out for a beer one night, when we got to the pub he started looking very nervous asking if such a body was working. Turns out that she lets him have a tab behind the bar so wanted to get his beer on the slate and pay the day after when his wages went in.
Fancy house fancy cars but can't afford a beer!
It's not for me! We could probably survive for 2 years if we both became unemployed through selling my watches and savings.
We own 2 house outright that brings about 1k a month in which we are using now to over pay our mortgage.
After the ex-wife rinsed me for 50k I was asset rich and cash poor. Bought her out of all the assets to make it as clean and as quick a break as possible. It's taken me about a year and a half to build up 4-5 months salary in the bank. Suprising how quickly it builds up when you're only providing for one person and not two.
On the downside I'm now looking at purchasing a new house, doubling the small mortgage that I have and stepping into the next phase of my life.
However much i spend, I've now got a much better hold on finances. Even buying the house I will try my best not to drop below the cash reserves I have and continue to build on them. I'm aiming for about 1/4 of my net pay per month either in ISA / Shares&Stocks or in general cash savings account.
It is frightening how hand to mouth some folks are. Been steadily saving and accumulating investments along the way since i took my paper round in 81
I’m self employed so always nervous as most of my money is in my business and a liquidation would not be straight forward and it is a cash hungry business too. I do understand how people with a reliable, salaried job used to be happy living cheque to cheque as it was fairly impossible to lose a good corporate job and pension etc all taken care of for you. These days I think that is a far riskier strategy.
Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
So few seem to get it, saving money is how you pay yourself. Not meant as a criticism.
Last edited by Passenger; 17th June 2018 at 21:05.
I seem to have bad luck. I had a huge medical bill of £140k related to my son falling ill overseas that I paid a third of and then remortgaged at the back end of last year. All debts gone and then an unforseen £40k bill related to my divorce 8 years ago has just landed FFS.
So I have no savings however on the positive I earn a decent salary (I'm a 45% taxpayer), and am on a 3 month notice period so if I lost my job I would have time to get another one (albeit it may not pay as well).
Sole earner with a wife that literally has no idea what saving means (told her due to this bill she needed to rein it in for the next 6 months - her idea of reining it in has been spending £450 on a Fuji lens, £150 on jeans, £110 on eyebrow treatment and all this in the last 2 weeks. FML)
Always spent within my means and strived to pay of the mortgage early.........
Went self-employed (with 2yrs backstop of savings) - and have always retained sufficient funds to allow me to sleep at night.
Even if in full-time employment, I’d want £30-£50k of savings to cover emergencies.
I sail close to the wind. Then I edge closer. I test the limits. Then I push beyond. Finance? Just another avenue for extreme risk taking. Like playing Connect-4 in a Koh Samui bar, or kickstarter watches. Some call it foolhardy. I call it character. I wear the exclusive hand-wound Rolex Superlative Chronometer WindupMaster.
W.Miller, Trumptonshire
My last 20 years in summary: I have gone from FT employed, married and no buffer to made redundant and divorced with nothing, to attached in a relationship, running my own business and also employed working PT but with mortgage now paid off and about a year's surplus. Not exactly a whole spectrum of sailing in the last 20 years but quite a lot of it I suppose. I certainly feel much more at-ease with the world now, not chasing the latest and greatest cars, ipads, phones, TVs or anything really. Happy I'm healthy and now have a far better work/life balance getting a substantial part of 3 days of the week off and enjoying the (varied) work the rest of the time.
I have a decent house and niceish car but have jack all savings. I just spend it all. I work in an industry were getting made redundant is pretty standard so have always had lifestyle protection which covers me for a year monthly. Combined with gardening leave of usually 3 - 6 months that's kept me debt free and paid during any periods without work.
I define sailing close to the wind as being overweight and/or unhealthy and taking no exercise because all the money in the world won’t matter when your health goes, and I wouldn’t worry about what others appear to have most of them are on credit or cant afford to keep their trinkets they just want to display them for your admiration.
RIAC
I have played Connect 4 in a Koh Samui bar. I wouldn't have bet on my success though!
I'm Lucky that we are a DINK (Duel Income No Kids) household with no cars or any long term finance (so no sky or anything like that) and we earn above average salaries* but don't live in an expensive area.
Without getting political in the pub, I'm not overly confident about the next few years so am sticking it away and taking on extra work (my contract allows me to do consultancy for cash).
* Real world not Tz-uk salaries.
I'm in my forties, earn a decent wage and put 30% of my income in saving every month. Very occasionally manage to save 40%. I do like my wee trinkets, but only buy them if I can pay them off in my next billing cycle. I don't keep more than a month's money within easy access, I'd rather it is earning something rather than giving the banks extra cash. Only debt I have is my mortgage on a property which is rented out. Touchwood, never had to dip into my saving for anything.
Certainly my upbringing was a factor in this - we were taught never to waste money, wasting food was a hanging crime.
Arrived in the UK 15 years ago and till I got a job lived on £200/month, things were a lot cheaper then! Still have a wind cheater that I bought for £ 15, which was a week's food budget back then.
Not interested in a fancy car, my car is 8 years old and has 97K on the clock, will need to get another one at some point & I'm dreading the prospect of spending that kind of dosh. Wife who earns more than I is careful with money too. Between the two of us we have enough for us. A boy in private education doesn't help saving!
My idea of a holiday is visiting folks and friends back in India. I don't see the need or the point of a weekend break to Paris or Lanzarote!
Don't get me wrong, I do buy nice things (not clothes) eat well (home cooked) and make sure my family want for nothing. I can be frugal on certain things and splurge on others but I'm in control.
While I see the point of people who live for the day. I don't get how people deal with the stress of living pay check to pay check, I'll have a heart attack.
As the previous post, wasting food was not the done thing. Growing up, there was emphasis on saving rather than spending. I transfer money into a savings account on pay day and always overpay on my credit card each month to clear the balance and to take into account any imminent spending. This helps in reducing the shock factor when the credit card bill arrives as I generally put everything on my credit card. Sometimes I think I should carry cash and would spend less as a result. Possibly taking a packed lunch would also make a difference.
I always carry my lunch, been doing this ever since I started working. I reckon it has saved me a tidy sum. I also carry my own coffee powder as well, yes I'm skint! On the other hand, colleagues particularly ladies don't like working with me because I always bring a large amount of snacks esp if I'm on night shift! It costs a tenner but I don't mind, good for morale! Most of my colleagues buy coffee, snacks and food from the canteen spending at least £ 6/day. My homemade lunch costs about £ 2/day.
I’ve never seen the urgency in paying off a mortgage so quickly either , rates are so low. With rates as low as they have been I’ve put more into BTL than I have been trying to pay off my own mortgage.
I know the consensus here seems to be anti car finance . But I bought a 3 year old 911 on finance in 2015. I am £8k away from paying it off in full and the car is pretty much worth what I had bought it for 3 years ago. Had I waited till now it would have meant I would Only be able to get a 6 year old car instead of 3 . I am a huge , huge car enthusiast . I don’t buy it to show off, I don’t post pics of it on social media etc to show off .
Instead of buying the car outright I put the money to 3 BTLs in Northern Ireland . Which give me a decent income and also have gone up in value .
If I fell into tough times I’d cash in the 911 but right now I have some great memories with it.
It depends on appetite to risk but I’m 37 now and in the last 10 years , especially when I didn’t have kids I took on as much risk as I could.
I’m self employed and when times are good , they’re good but when they’re bad they can be awful - it’s why I took on more risk , borrowed more . Because I’ve had to- so that in the leans times I could rely on another incomes with BTLs. Even juggled a few loans on 0% bank transfer deals when I’ve had to .
Since I’ve had kids I’ve slowed down. But sailing close to the wind- I’ve done it more than I haven’t . But it’s now given me a security I can rely on which I wouldn’t have had , if I played it safe and just paid off my mortgage or saved up .
I look at the watches , and cars as assets and if things get tough I can always cash them in but I get my enjoyment out of having them than I do from the security of having the cash in my bank for a rainy day.
I can't imagine many people sailing close to the wind out of choice- in a lot of cases I think its necessity.
Last edited by eagletower; 19th June 2018 at 07:52.
I always use loans, credit cards and finance for purchases over £2k. Even when I have the cash available immediately. Borrowing is so cheap, personally I prefer the security of cash at hand and a monthly bill but always in the knowledge that I have enough cash at hand to cover all liabilities (excluding mortgage).
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