Younger People (18-25) - Attitudes to money

mitchaa

I'm 25,

I think nothing about blowing £100 or so on a night out, £150 on a pair of jeans, or a couple of hundred on a coat.

Its only money, i could keep it in the bank and be knocked down the next day, whats the point in that Im 25, so its not long before im classed as an oldie, so enjoy it whilst you can is my outlook.

I was spoilt through my younger years, so maybe my spending habits stem from that i dont know Not done me any harm though, been fairly successful so far and do appreciate everything i have.

Each to their own and all that

SingleSue

I would be the person you would hate to take shopping Mitchaa, I would probably nag so much about it you would give up!

XDA

You are not alone.

Im 21 and I am very good with my money. I was encouraged to save from a young age. My parents never had any debts, and only have made a large purchase (car, tv, washing machine) if they had the money in the bank. They never had any credit cards or ever brought anything on hire purchase. I never did without though, and they were very generous with their money. I have sort of copied them and do the same as them with money.

I rent my own flat and live off my own wages without any input from my parents. I save as much money as I can, and dont really spend alot. I earn £19k a year and save most of it. I have no debts, loans or credit cards. I have about £7000 spread between 3 bank accounts. My brother for example is different. He earns alot less, but ends up spending a lot of it. He has no savings but he doesnt have any debts, loans or credit cards either.

My brother calls me tight, but it doesnt bother me. If you are good with money and have good savings then you'll do well/go far in life. I try and spend as little as possible, and save as much as I can. I hardly ever buy new clothes, and my only main outgoings are rent, council tax, food, diesel, gas and car insurance. I find that if I do have to spend big (car problems usually - £200 bill from garage for example) I have money available and dont need to worry how I am going to pay for it. It also means I have money in an emergency if required.

With the money I had saved up, I was able to live home at 20 and furnish my flat with a tv, fridge, washing machine, sofa's etc etc with no input from anyone else. That makes me pretty proud when I think about it.

Just recently i had to buy another car, and as I had money saved up I was able to withdraw £3.5k and pay for it in straight cash. The same goes for my car insurance - when i bought my first car i was able to pay the insurance premium on £1100 all in one go. Have been able to pay my insurance all in one go 3 years in a row! I am always a believer that if you dont have the money in the bank, then you cant buy it. You wait until you have the money in your bank account before you buy.

Now I hope to buy a house soon, and with my savings I should have a 10% deposit. Not bad for a 21 year old.

I feel for others much age who have new cars on higher purchase, credit/store cards and other debits. They go out an spend money they just dont have every single weekend. They'll feel the consequences in the future.

Badger_Lady

Of course we're out here!

My sister and I both left home when we were 16 - I moved to another county - so we've always been independent. My sister quickly blagged her way into a decent office job, while I spent some time bumming around before blagging my way into Uni (working part-time)... then I became a reasonably successful artist for a while, then got a very decent office job which allowed me to buy my first flat and then my first house... now I've hit 25 and I can afford to go part-time and concentrate on art again, knowing that the mortgage will be paid and I can continue saving for my future

Goodness I feel old...

mitchaa

SingleSue wrote: »

I would be the person you would hate to take shopping Mitchaa, I would probably nag so much about it you would give up!

My wife does that, although a Prada purse or a Gucci handbag normally sorts that 1 out, gives me a free reign to spend whatever i want then.

Not been shopping for myself in ages though, a good 6 months and i have not bought 1 item of clothing

SingleSue

Ahhh you wouldn't even shut me up with Prada or Gucci, I would see that as too much of an excess although a Radley may quieten me for a little while. :rotfl:

Or a meal in a fine restaurant......although I would still be watching the pennies!

Phirefly

lostinrates wrote: »

I'm 29, but I was younger, er, a few years ago

I was the only fulltime student on my university course who also worked more than a few hours a week: that shocked me. Continuing to work throughout my university course meant my small student loan was taken for 'prudnce' rather than necessity (and in fact invested into the business I started while at university). It also meant that my four year sandwhich course could be completed in three years, as I workd in a relevant sector negating a 'year in industry'.

At one, mad point I was in term time, working a job in industry, plus doing some part time hours somewhere else PLUS dealing with my business. As a result my papers were completed not only on time but early, I had to be super efficient!

That post just confirms it. We were separated at birth. We're even the same age. Thanks to you I don't need to post my thoughts and experiences on this thread as you've done it for me!

neverdespairgirl

Generali wrote: »

Mrs Generali (12 years as a nanny, 3 years a mother) tries to avoid saying, "No" to the Generalissimos. She does this by thinking about the situation first.

For example, whereas I might say, "Want do you fancy for dinner", getting the answer, "How 'bout crisps. And Chocolate." and so having to say no.

Mrs Generali will say, "Do you want stir fry or pasta for dinner"?

Also, rather than saying no she'll twist the conversation around. It seems to work.

My mother (never a nanny, but 4 children) says the same. Don't ask "do you want to wear a jumper?", offer the choice of the red jumper or the blue one.

neverdespairgirl

harryhound wrote: »

Bit of a problem dealing with the parasites though and hoping that the teeth would last a life time..

People in town were a lot worse off health wise.

Definintely - but teeth lasted quite well in the dark ages compared with later in history (sugar not a part of the diet, really) and people didn't live in towns that much. Towns were the deathbed of the population until about 1870, I think?

Phirefly

My sister uses that technique and it irks me. Giving the 3 year old a choice just results in a 10 minute umming and ahing session over the relative merits of strawberry over raspberry yoghurt. Tiresome.