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.
+1
We are definitely at the sensible end of spectrum. We keep about 6-9 months worth of net salary in a cash mortgage offset account. Work hard to try to get enough bonus to allow me to pay the maximum allowed into pensions each year. Also paying off a mortgage on an investment property as well as overpaying a bit on current mortgage but not too much as it’s a sub 1% tracker. No car finance - our two fairly ordinary cars are 4 years old and 7 years old and will be kept until 10 years old. We clear credit cards every month and keep around £500 buffer in current account. If there is anything left after all that lot (rarely) it goes into an ISA. So we don’t sail close to the wind but everything I earn is siphoned away into different pots which means it feels like we rarely have money sloshing about for luxuries. This approach means retirement in 7 years at 55 will comfortably be an option, which has been the aim since I turned 40.
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.
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
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).
My view is you come into this world with nothing.....
If you leave in debt.
You’ve made a profit🤡🤡👍
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.
[QUOTE=swanbourne;4798402]Trust me, there's lots I want to do.
Eddie(/QUOTE)
Sorry, I was being facetious. I know you would like to get from under sometimes.
Cheers,
Neil.
Retired at 42, rentals properties in the bag all paid for, other personal properties around the UK.
Our youngest is 12 in main stream education, my daughters about to start uni, oldest son doing well with the building and utilities connection firm I help him set up, happy days, then.
My wife has had a brilliant idea to send our granddaughter to a private school with the backing of her parents, guess who’s picking up the bill.
I don’t believe in private eduction but I was not in the loop when this was decided.
It never stops this paying out lark.
Sent from The land of hope and glory.
Last edited by Volvomanuk; 21st June 2018 at 06:57.
Never sailed close to the wind. Mr moderate here, happy with what I’ve got. 61 now, modest house paid up when I was 50, half decent paid for car, reasonable savings in isa's/prem bonds etc, moderate business in owned and paid for business premises that I could sell up tomorrow (in fact I really may sell up tomorrow!) moderate pension coming in, currently in good health as are the wife and kids, both kids in own homes and happy relationships. All I need to make my life complete would be grandchildren and we have a suspicion they are not far away.
Last edited by Motman; 21st June 2018 at 07:28.
"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination".
Oscar Wilde.
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 mum always said save some for a rainy day and spend the rest. I have and do.
I’ve enough for a bottle of wine over the weekend, I’ve a couple of grand in the bank 2 legs 2 arms don’t have cancer and if I die on my bike over the weekend who cares. Your a long time dead. Who cares what people have there always people a lot worse of than anyone of us on this forum.
Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
....And my wife’s suspicions were spot on! It was her birthday yesterday and our son and his partner came round today to give her her present and card. They also produced another card with this inside:
We're over the bloody moon. Couldn’t be happier, better than the biggest lottery win. It’s what life’s all about, isn’t it?
Congratulations to you and all your family. And yes, that’s what life’s about.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Terrific news.
Congratulations to you all.
Sent from my SM-A320FL using TZ-UK mobile app
Congratulations- the greatest gift :-)
Amazing - fantastic - make me smile alot !
THats lovley mate... congratulations
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
When 90% of cars in the UK are on finance it does make you wonder how close to the wind most people are here. I see it at the school gates when I drop my kids off in the morning, all the parents, who most I guess are on average or less than average income turn up in their new SUVs and the like. Not me. If I can't afford to pay cash I don't buy it. I drive a 10 year old car but at least I own it, not the bank.
You'd be surprised how little you can live on.
Obviously, there won't be any new 50K cars or 10K watches and the ritual of begging to be allowed to join 'your AD's list for the latest dubious colour combination of Submariner, will have to be parked for a while, but you don't need any of those things or an exotic holiday every 3 or 6 months.
Of course, it does depend on you living within your means all the time.
About 15 years ago, I was out of work for 18 months - I earnt next to nothing in that period (I had a two mornings a week job as the IT technician at my kid's infants school for part of the time) and my wife's income was also quite small, although she did go back to work full time, thankfully.
We carried on paying the mortgage, we both had cars (mine was fairly new at the time, but fully paid for), we had summer and skiing holidays for the whole family.
What we didn't have was a huge house (good investment, but a burden when you can't meet the repayments) or other burdensome luxuries.
I think of myself as semi-retired now, having been made redundant back in March, but I'm heading towards quarter or less, so fear I may be back in full employment too soon for me.
I guess I've always taken a cautious approach - I could, on reflection, have spent a lot more on a bigger house along the way and have more in assets, but those 18 months would have been a very stressful time if I had.
I'll never (short of a lottery win) buy a 10K watch or a 50K car though
Remind us how things turned out for him...
"Better to live through other's quotes than die a broken, miserable man"
Snowman
M
Last edited by snowman; 17th July 2018 at 09:26.
They say money can’t buy happiness but it sure makes being miserable more pleasant.
I break my finances down into 3 areas, necessities, nice to have and luxuries. The necessities are of course mortgage, bills, council tax, food, petrol, then into "nice to have", new clothes, short break, then luxuries are the watches/extended holidays etc.
As I approach retirement, I have split my three columns into two parts, pre and post retirement. I can see at a glance how my lifestyle will change vs how much I've set aside for my pension income.
I've got a few mates from all walks of life just coming into retirement and almost all of them (living in London/SE) say that £24k a year covers the first two areas. So, £2k a month pension, everything else is for luxuries.
I suspect my car thread may be one of the offending posts that started this ;-)
I spend a lot of time on my car and am fortunate enough to get an allowance from work to cover the cost (of ‘owning’ it) so whilst I could get something cheaper and maybe make £50 a month profit I get something decent and enjoy it!
In terms of managing money I’d say I’m probably closer to the wind than most of here but equally I don’t worry about it at all. I work hard to earn my money and I enjoy it.
Judging by the amount of people on here desperate to buy used underpants and socks on sc, I’d say a lot of people are sailing close to the wind
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.