What's your best saving tip?

Jake'sGran

IvanOpinion wrote: »

Saving is important but it is not the end all, there has to be a good balance .. there is no sense in saving loads of money for your future if the stress kills you in the meantime.
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I have saved a lot of money but now have nothing to spend it on except my grandchildren of course but it looks like they have picked up their mother's habit of spending. The 19 yr old is taking possession of a new car this weekend and the 17 yr old had his computer custom built. My son had over 20K on a credit card when he was rushed to hospital as he had a burst stomach ulcer and only just made it.

I'd like to walk in the sun abroad near the sea in a favorite place but no one wants to come with me (I'd pay of course) as I only like May or Oct and they like it very hot. OH is just not interested. No one will insure me but I am not too concerned about that (bad heart disease). It would be great to have some changes to the house but cannot face having builders around for days.

I have been a saver for a long time:
food all home cooked, made my own and childrens clothes, made lovely curtains from other people's throw outs. I use a credit card all the time because they give money back at Xmas. The tips are too many to list. So, who should get this big savings pot, my family or the NSPCC?

Primrose

Jake's Gran - deciding who to leave your money to is a big dilemma, especially if you have a financially reckless family and you have a suspicion at the back of your mind that they might just just be sitting back waitiung for the time when they might inherit it without having to work for it and get their finances in order of their own volition.

I'd be very tempted to have a chat with them and tell them that you have things you want to do with your money that may not necessarily mean they will automatically inherit because you have different attitudes towards money and the way it's spent, and because you worked hard for yours, you want it to go somewhere where it will be deserved.

Maybe if you have some charities you would really like to support, make sure your Will includes them. You can always update it at a later date if your family get their financial act together. Alternatively, you could consider putting conditions in your Will, that for example, if you're leaving money to your grandchildren, they can only use it toward the purchase of a property, and it must be paid over to a solicitor as part of the transaction, or that they can't inherit until the age of 30, (when they might be a little more sensible.

I personally believe that family members have no automatic right to inherit but should grow up thinking they have to make their own way in life. It seems to becoming an increasing custom these days that very rich people are not leaving huge sums of money to their children. My parents lived a frugal life in retirement so that "they could leave money to the kids". I didn't want their money. They had taught me to grow up being financially prudent, and I was, so whenever I visited them and saw them walking around in coats in winter or making other unnecessary economies just to save a little money on the heating bill, it greatly upset me.

Have you thought about investigating a Saga holiday? There will probably be quite a lot of single people on them in your age group who you could chum up with.

longforgotten

As for work lunch...we have a small kitchen at work with a fridge and microwave. So my plan is to keep a tub of bertolli for the fridge and a stock of tinned soup, baked beans etc in the desk drawer. Just need to take in some bread and I'm well away. Toast, baked beans on toast, soup and a roll etc. etc etc. Just the ticket now the cold weather is with us.

Thinking I''ll then put say £3 in the piggy bank for each lunch I don't buy from Boots meal deal( + extras )

edinburgher

Save when you save!

By that, I mean put aside the money 'saved' through special offers/cashback deals/random bargains into a savings account or you haven't saved anything - you've merely spent less, which is not the same thing!

So, if you save £5 through offers on your groceries and can afford to do so, put the £5 in a savings account, don't feel good about yourself and blow it in one order at the pub...

Jake'sGran

Primrose wrote: »

Jake's Gran - deciding who to leave your money to is a big dilemma, especially if you have a financially reckless family and you have a suspicion at the back of your mind that they might just just be sitting back waitiung for the time when they might inherit it without having to work for it and get their finances in order of their own volition.QUOTE

Thank you Primrose. I gave a wrong impression of my daughter I think. She is very generous and although she is always changing things e.g. beautiful bathrooms and en-suite thrown out for even more beautiful ones, she is kind and has made a great job of bringing up her boys. She gives away the furniture etc that she wants to change. They are high earners too. I suppose the truth is that we can't make our children behave the way we behave. But I can't get the holiday idea out of my head! I looked at Saga but their hotels are not in the right places for me.

shebrett

Jake'sGran - I believe the new term is SKIers - spending the kids inheritance. Please don't save it all just to give it away, it would seem like such a waste of all that time doing without only to then leave it for someone else to get the benefits from it. Get some very expensive and trustworthy builders and take yourself off on a cruise while they do the work

An aunt of mine also had no-one to travel with so she tried some of those single womens only style mini tours and gradually met friends she was comfortable travelling with and now she's forever off on trips abroad with them. I do hope you can find a way to go out and enjoy all your savings.

longforgotten

I so agree with Shebrett. This is your time , your money.

Get out there and enjoy it, whether at home or some lovely holiday.

Cap_Scarlet

Be careful about buying second best - it may seem cheap at the time but it will probably break or won't work properly!

Mikeyorks

Jake'sGran wrote: »

But I can't get the holiday idea out of my head! I looked at Saga but their hotels are not in the right places for me.

Forget the hotels and take yourself on a cruise ....... Saga run two boats (Ruby and Pearl) both of which are small and have a very high ratio of staff to passengers.

Up to Norway is an excellent 7 day tester if you don't do 'hot'. Around the Baltics for 14 days is another 'slightly north' option (by sea into Stockholm is breathtaking). Or early winter around the Canaries gives very pleasant temperatures (but the Bay of Biscay can be a bit choppy on the way down!).

If you can't drag the OH along ...... close to 50% of the passengers on Saga cruises are 'singles' and they look after them well

Vincenzo

We save by knowing how much of our wages are going to be spent on essentials each month. How? By always being a month in arrears......everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING we spend goes on a credit card. Not only do we benefit from the cash back on the card (paid for our car insurance this year) but the bills are timed so that they come in just before our salaries so we know exactly how much we have left to save. We find this much easier than waiting to see how much is left. I suspect if we did that, we would save much less.