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Mid-twenties, how much should I have saved?
Comments
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Im 23, maintenance electrician so no fancy job title.
live in the north so wages will lower than you guys down south.
been careful with money since i started working.
have £20k in savings
if i hadnt bought a car last feb i would have £33k now.
stupid soft spot for cars!!!!0 -
I would have a tenner in my pocket (edit scrap that its wednesday)
20k is alot for a person to save in less than 2 years -
i earn little in comparison to most but living a decent life in the north west and being careful spending wisely.Dont want flash car ,got house have holiday and i think very important never had a expensive lifestyle to think i can get used to.:cool::cool: hard as nails on the internet . wimp in the real world :cool:0 -
Thanks for the responses! I didn't think above £20,000 was anything special. I also have a few non-banker friends (consultants) who have comparable savings to mine, which is part of the reason I wondered about my own.
sh856531, my salary is within the range you mentioned. I did have about £4,000 in savings before I started post-graduate employment. I worked for a year as part of my degree and was able to save/invest a large chunk of that salary to make up to £4,000.
I can guarantee that I'm enjoying myself, however, I'm careful with my money because I like to save up for things I enjoy doing (mostly travelling and eating). I go out as often as I can (work/weather permitting) and I spend a lot of my free weekends travelling Europe and the UK (as cheap as I can without compromising on my standards). I've even managed to save enough to travel to Cuba, Thailand and Egypt this year!
Before I started working, I had set my target as saving £1,000 each month. I didn't know whether I would be able to accomplish it, as it represented waaay over 50% of my salary. However, I set up a standing order at the first of every month to pay the money into my savings accounts and manage the rest of the month with what I have left.
Well done, I save almost half my salary too and also like to travel and eat out, it can be done if you're not a big gadget-head (or shoe/handbag-head). Well done to you.
Get to 119lbs! 1/2/09: 135.6lbs 1/5/11: 145.8lbs 30/3/13 150lbs 22/2/14 137lbs 2/6/14 128lbs 29/8/14 124lbs 2/6/17 126lbs
Save £180,000 by 31 Dec 2020! 2011: £54,342 * 2012: £62,200 * 2013: £74,127 * 2014: £84,839 * 2015: £95,207 * 2016: £109,122 * 2017: £121,733 * 2018: £136,565 * 2019: £161,957 * 2020: £197,685
eBay sales - £4,559.89 Cashback - £2,309.730 -
dan_cup, £13k on a car? I would die if I spent half that on a car. It's your choice and all, but a very poor financial decision imho (unless it's a classic).Get to 119lbs! 1/2/09: 135.6lbs 1/5/11: 145.8lbs 30/3/13 150lbs 22/2/14 137lbs 2/6/14 128lbs 29/8/14 124lbs 2/6/17 126lbs
Save £180,000 by 31 Dec 2020! 2011: £54,342 * 2012: £62,200 * 2013: £74,127 * 2014: £84,839 * 2015: £95,207 * 2016: £109,122 * 2017: £121,733 * 2018: £136,565 * 2019: £161,957 * 2020: £197,685
eBay sales - £4,559.89 Cashback - £2,309.730 -
amethystcash wrote: »Thanks for this - it didn't really help. It seems to be flawed but I just can't figure out how. My savings are all joint with DH. So if I have what we have to work out my share and work out the calculation, its telling me I'm pretty much destitute lol. And here was me thinking I was doing pretty well.
The thing that's confusing is that it takes current age and current salary. Two flaws spring to mind with that - First, with the age is it therefore assuming that you had potential to save for your whole life even in childhood. Second, with the salary, I'm now earning 4 times what I was when I first started working, but this takes a snapshot now - surely it can't be that simple??
Even more confused!
For some reason when people come don't like the results on this they blame the formula. However - the formula is a statistical fit on actual data. You can see from the responses on the poll that there are people out there who have already accumulated way above average given their age and income.
What did you do with all the money you've been earning? Did compound interest do its job over the decades of employment? If you're confused then I recommend you read the book and change your habits.
How can a 24 yr old be worth $1.5 billion if he didn't start earning money in the womb?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Zuckerberg0 -
I'm in a very similar boat (OP). I'm mid twenties and have about 20k savings in total now. In part answer to your question, more for comparison, I save 1k a month from my salary through SO also. I still have my student loan, some of it, but as another person stated, I don't really count it as it's automaticalyl deducted from my salary and never makes a noticeable problem or impact on my savings.
I'm not sure exactly how good that is, on the one hand I feel good for myself about my savings but the problem with savings is, once you get into the rhythm of things it never seems quite good enough and I'm always left feeling I can do better, especially when I read around on these forums
I basically do every little extra thing I can to top them up and the best thing is, I know for definite I can do better and in a relatively easier fashion. From the many tips picked up from here which take up little next to no extra time, I've been able to boost my savings by an extra 2k or so in a short space of time.
Since I started saving properly I find myself constantly looking for new ways to increase my income to further my savings, everything from cashback, online schemes such as surveys and flogging things on ebay, be it my own personal things or reselling for profit.
I have so many things I want to undertake to increase my savings and so many ideas, from proven methods to entrepreneurial. The only thing that slows me down is timebut even then I find myself bettering my organization skills to close the gap.
Even after all this I still enjoy myself and feel I can spend freely in a reasonable manner so it doesn't affect my quality of life in anyway
After reading some of the comments here, I feel better about how I'm doing, so many thanks0 -
Thats pretty amazing. I'm 22 in my final year of Uni, and have £1500 savings left, but a £17000 student loan, so I'm worth -£15,500!! So if you're £20k up already, you're doing well!
Most people in my year group (i took gap year) have graduated, and are spending time travelling and basically having a good time.0 -
I'm not sure it matters how much you have in saving, how big your house is, how fast your car goes or how good looking your partner is. The main question to ask yourself, are you happy?
However in the spirit of full disclosure, I'll address the four questions from my perspective.
Savings - £39k , House - 3 bed detached, Car - reasonably fast, Wife - something of a let down to be honest. Damn, it was all going so well.
I'm 35 BTW. Hopefully the wife won't read this, otherwise I won't reach my 36 birthday...0 -
tbh comparing your wealth to that of your peers will do nothing more than cause you stress or make you view things negatively - there will always be someone out there in a better position that you. Granted though it will make you feel good if ppl are telling you that you are doing well.
You can't openly compare these things as everyones circumstances are different, and everyones material value is different. Some will invest from an early age, some will buy property early, other will stick to cash savings. What matters is that you live within your means, plan/save for the future and be happy with your position.
What's a better position to be in - £25k in the bank and no property, or £15k in the bank and a few years into your mortgage term? How long is a piece of string.
An interesting read though0 -
If the mortgage is on a property purchased in the last few years, you're probably in negative equity so I'd take the £25K and no property TBH!Get to 119lbs! 1/2/09: 135.6lbs 1/5/11: 145.8lbs 30/3/13 150lbs 22/2/14 137lbs 2/6/14 128lbs 29/8/14 124lbs 2/6/17 126lbs
Save £180,000 by 31 Dec 2020! 2011: £54,342 * 2012: £62,200 * 2013: £74,127 * 2014: £84,839 * 2015: £95,207 * 2016: £109,122 * 2017: £121,733 * 2018: £136,565 * 2019: £161,957 * 2020: £197,685
eBay sales - £4,559.89 Cashback - £2,309.730
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