How much can you save?

gelato_cat

I'm sort of consoled by the fact that if I did buy something in London it would be submerged by the rising sea levels in a few decades anyway :eek:

The quality of life in London just isn't that great either (unless you can afford to live somewhere exclusive away from all the period conversions). The main reasons I would want to live there is to make the commute shorter, but it's just so cramped everywhere you go - even if you just want to go to Sainsbury's to get some milk. Doing anything seems to be such a battle.

My money isn't actually tied up like yours is and sometimes I worry that it should be, so that it would give a better return. I'm good at saving but not actually that savvy about where to invest, so it's all in highish interest accounts. I also don't have much in the way of pensions, so that's a concern too.

Like you, I certainly don't feel well-off as I don't have extravagant tastes and spend hardly anything. I think when you reach a certain point, say £15-20k, it starts to lose meaning. I remember telling someone in 2002 I had £20k in the bank - she thought it was a lot because she had nothing, but because I'd steadily seen the numbers go up it was normal to me. I add mine up now and am always aiming for the next £10k milestone - used to aim for the £1ks.

I get the impression that being in debt can be similar - once you reach a certain point, it becomes a bit surreal. I'm not trying to take away from the seriousness of it, but I can imagine that people can find themselves in huge amounts of debt very quickly and it can be hard to comprehend. I personally knew someone who was £30k in debt and when it came to spending more, her attitude was "s0d it, I'm this far under, another £1k won't make a difference". She didn't want to learn.

Or, to use another analogy - if you've ever experienced a winter in Toronto, you'll know that 0c is cold, -10c is very cold and you can't really tell much difference between temperatures from -20c to -40c cos it all feels the same - cold beyond belief.

Suze

save-a-lot wrote:

Hi

When I was a student the Wandsworth area was my stomping ground, I was at Roehampton Institute and even then 11 years ago the prices were quite steep. So I can fully sympathise with you.

Well, good luck with the planned move and I hope you reach the goals that you want. I know what you mean aswell about things feeling just like numbers. We have a pretty substantial amount of savings, but we have it tied up and the day to day life is almost as if we have no money at all sometimes. I think striking a balance between living a little and saving is the best approach

zag2me

Suzey wrote:

Like you, I certainly don't feel well-off as I don't have extravagant tastes and spend hardly anything. I think when you reach a certain point, say £15-20k, it starts to lose meaning. I remember telling someone in 2002 I had £20k in the bank - she thought it was a lot because she had nothing, but because I'd steadily seen the numbers go up it was normal to me. I add mine up now and am always aiming for the next £10k milestone - used to aim for the £1ks.

Totally agree with that, it just doesn't seem to mean anything once you go over a certain level, but because you have the mentality to save, you keep pushing yourself higher. Its only when someone else your age talks to you about it then you realise how well you have done :P

One thing I will say though is there comes a point when you can risk a bit of it on a proper investment like stocks and shares or similar. Money makes money and if you can get above inflation gains your pot will only increase in value and at a surprisingly fast rate

Just remember if you keep it in the bank even in a high interest account your money is always staying the same due to inflation, sometimes even decreasing in real terms value.

save-a-lot

zag2me wrote:

Just remember if you keep it in the bank even in a high interest account your money is always staying the same due to inflation, sometimes even decreasing in real terms value.

Very very true comment... I must start to think of investments rather than savings, as our money is in a few savings pots (all good ones though).

paulboy83

Well I've had all of £2.47 from Quidco after I bought some chocolate and a CD through there last month and £8.33 interest from my current account, not a great deal extra but its always a start! And I won £10 on the lottery on Wednesday, but that money is going to petrol.

I'm waiting for my ISA stuff to come through so I can sign it and start putting some money in there, and also for my Egg Money card, so I can start earning a bit of cashback!

pozalina

I was so pleased to see this thread!

I've been lurking here for a couple of years now and always felt there was a thread missing - for those of us not in debt but tryinh gto save as much as poss. So well done to the OP :beer:

I'm saving for a baby (not conceived yet, but we are trying very hard ) and so far have £4k in one ING account. I have an ISA with about £4500 which is intended to be pension money. Once I've built that up to 3-6 mths salary I'll be looking to invest.

I also have a couple more ING accounts for annual costs (car and house insurance etc), emergency funds (boiler blowing up etc) and xmas/birthday/holiday fund. I'm wondering if the annual cost money (about a grand) would be better off in my ISA as I'm nowhere near the 3k max yet this year.

So, my goal is keep saving and find more ways of cuttiong back so I can increase the amount I save. My dh calls me tight but he'll thank me in years to come, I know!

Well done to all you savers :T

Dan29

pozalina wrote:

I also have a couple more ING accounts for annual costs (car and house insurance etc), emergency funds (boiler blowing up etc) and xmas/birthday/holiday fund. I'm wondering if the annual cost money (about a grand) would be better off in my ISA as I'm nowhere near the 3k max yet this year.

If it gets to the end of March and you've still got spare cash, you might as well use some or all of your funds to top up the ISA to £3,000 paid in this (tax) year, I would have thought? If you need to withdraw some because the boiler goes kaput or whatever then you've lost nothing, but if you don't need it then it's safely in the ISA and you've still got £3,000 allowance spare for the next tax year.

moneysavingwannabe

save-a-lot wrote:

Hi

We have a pretty substantial amount of savings, but we have it tied up and the day to day life is almost as if we have no money at all sometimes. I think striking a balance between living a little and saving is the best approach

I know what you mean save-a-lot. I have been saving so hard for the last couple of years. I just have the urge to go and spend!

I have started acting like a student again. When it is nearly pay day I find myself putting £5 of petrol in the car so I don't have to use my credit card!:o

I'm concerned that we are used to having savings and we are about to blow the lot on an extension. Then get a 0% credit card to pay for the kitchen.
Slightly scary as I have never had a balance on a credit card.

Oh well just have to keep being very careful with money :eek:

Angelselondon

zag2me wrote:

Totally agree with that, it just doesn't seem to mean anything once you go over a certain level, but because you have the mentality to save, you keep pushing yourself higher. Its only when someone else your age talks to you about it then you realise how well you have done :P

I had this exact experience today at work. I used to get anxious when I had debt worry about how I'm going to pay it, I now get anxious on ways to save my next £10,000.

It's nice to have my pears respect when it comes to money, they ask my advice on budgeting and what to do when it comes to ISA's.

Well done everyone on this board,

save-a-lot

Angelselondon wrote:

It's nice to have my pears respect when it comes to money, they ask my advice on budgeting and what to do when it comes to ISA's.

Exactly true, I am (unofficial) financial advisor to friends at work and my family, all the family turn to me on matters financial... to me though alot of it is common sense.

jamesd

It's only common sense when you've done the learning here and elsewhere first.