How much can you save?

bodmil

Everyone is doing really well! Really wish I was around for the election, that counting gig sounds a good one. Well done for finding out about it!
I've re-assessed what I can realistically afford as mortgage payments and am strictly limiting myself to 3.5 times my salary, not what the bank would lend me. So now I need to raise even more as a deposit to get a decent house. I really am going to be at home for the whole of next year, very depressing thought. I've upped my hours massively recently and thought it would just for a short stretch to get me ahead. Now it looks like it's got to be a permanent measure, which means no life for the foreseeable future. I wouldn't mind but all of my friends are doing this with partners and getting deposits from parents so they haven't got to save anywhere near what I have. I've no hope of finding someone when I'm so busy, and wouldn't want to buy with someone for a few years anyway.
So new short term goal, 45k total by the end of this year.
I'm off to lower the upper price limits on my rightmove alerts so I'm no longer tempted with nice places!

Rant over. Sniff.

tinkerbel

wow tkng you're doing well!! Are you based in the states then?
The expenses thing sounds good, even if its just free food!! I loved it when I got paid about 3 times the cost to go to an interview! (I know its to pay towards insurance, MOT etc but hey).
How do you know how much your bills are going to be though? we just sort of get bills a bit randomly and then we pay them but we don't know how much they are going to be ever.

Bodmil I think if you keep coming on here it will help you to not feel disheartened, most of us are in the same position, trying to save for houses and whatnot. Its so not fair you having to save so hard when your friends are getting help from their parents but you know at least you learn something and learning to save I think is a really valuable skill! Its just hard sometimes when you need to not spend as much when you go out togehter I think, like ordering tap water or something because (at least for me) if you really are wanting to meet a savings goal for a house or something, you have to cut back in other little things!

Just been on my bank and paid my massive CC bill I have now about £550 and only one more rent payment ~(£250) to pay and a few final bills then allll my finances will have to be reassessed as I will be graduating and everything will change eek!! Moved a token £11 to savings just now though - inspired by this thread!!

dippykitty

Just added £54.05 to the semi-regular expenses fund so it's just over the £400 mark there now. Shame I'm going to have to start depleting it soon to pay for an eye test, new glasses and possible the dentist too but I guess that's what it's there for!

Mags_cat

:spam: anyone?

I've reported it, I think....maybe someone else better as well - 'cause I don't know if I got it right.

cashbackproblems

bodmil wrote: »

Everyone is doing really well! Really wish I was around for the election, that counting gig sounds a good one. Well done for finding out about it!
I've re-assessed what I can realistically afford as mortgage payments and am strictly limiting myself to 3.5 times my salary, not what the bank would lend me. So now I need to raise even more as a deposit to get a decent house. I really am going to be at home for the whole of next year, very depressing thought. I've upped my hours massively recently and thought it would just for a short stretch to get me ahead. Now it looks like it's got to be a permanent measure, which means no life for the foreseeable future. I wouldn't mind but all of my friends are doing this with partners and getting deposits from parents so they haven't got to save anywhere near what I have. I've no hope of finding someone when I'm so busy, and wouldn't want to buy with someone for a few years anyway.
So new short term goal, 45k total by the end of this year.
I'm off to lower the upper price limits on my rightmove alerts so I'm no longer tempted with nice places!

Rant over. Sniff.

Im in a similar position but im being forced to move out and rent due to my job moving to london so no more rent free/food free living! At least staying with your parents helps you to save quicker as you have no major outgoings and a year will go mega quick!

Natwest and Santander are offering FTB's x4 of their salary and the rest will relax their mortgage lending over the next few yrs.

bodmil

cashbackproblems wrote: »

Im in a similar position but im being forced to move out and rent due to my job moving to london so no more rent free/food free living! At least staying with your parents helps you to save quicker as you have no major outgoings and a year will go mega quick!

Natwest and Santander are offering FTB's x4 of their salary and the rest will relax their mortgage lending over the next few yrs.

Yes, true I am lucky in that sense, although if you met my mother you might not believe it's a good thing.... :rotfl: Although I do pay rent and food etc living there. It's not as if I have a totally free ride, but it's certainly a lot easier.

I'm not sure taking out a mortgage of 4 times a salary is a good idea, certainly not for me as I have little experience of living away from home. I want to reduce the risk of having problems as much as possible. 3.5 still seems quite large when I look at monthly repayments.

tking

Hi Tinkerbel, I'm based in Australia actually. Thanks for your comments. I'm pretty happy to be saving each fortnight and love seeing the balance increase bit by bit! My expenses from work are pretty generous - I'm away at the end of the moneth for 12 days, so I get my 'normal' pay and then they give us a generous amount for meals etc. It's way more than I'd ever spend on a meal normally and luckily we're staying in self-contained flats so i can even cook and save more.

For my bills (gas, elecricity) I track how much they are each quarter - I only have a small difference between summer/winter as it's not too cold and I'm stingy with the air-conditioning! I guesstimate that it'll be about 10% more than I actually think it is and save the required amount per fortnight into my 'bills' online pot! So for electricty - usually around $250 per quarter - so I save $275 over 6 fortnights - $46. Same for gas, car insurance, registration (like MOT-ish), dentist, contents insurance - everything really!

I find it much easier that way - having a budget on excel makes me more accountable!

I'm saving for a deposit, so Bodmil I feel your pain - so much harder as a single and don't want to overstretch myself.

Good luck all!

hostie1985

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update from me, I have £17,816.49 in savings now, which I am really pleased about. Would be really good if I could hit the £18,500 at the end of the month, but I have spent loads of money this month - would be lucky if I could put £500 away this month.....

Hope everyones savings are doing well!

Hostie

xx

ljaneyr

hostie1985 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update from me, I have £17,816.49 in savings now, which I am really pleased about. Would be really good if I could hit the £18,500 at the end of the month, but I have spent loads of money this month - would be lucky if I could put £500 away this month.....

Hope everyones savings are doing well!

Hostie

xx

Well done! Even saving £500 is more than I could manage!

I'm too impatient to wait until the end of the month this month to move money to my savings as it seems like so long in between! I couldn't even wait until the end of this week to transfer the £37 that remains of this weeks general budget to my savings. I still have some cash in my wallet and nothing that I need before the weekend so it'll probably be OK. Get paid on friday from some temp work too so I should have enough for download petrol and spending money and I can get back to paying off my overdraft/saving for a deposit!:j

Mags_cat

I've been a Lloyds bank customer since I was 7. (Yeah, yeah..I know..but my mum worked for them all her life..I was kinda captured!).

I've been trying to upgrade my current account to one of their Vantage accounts (4% on £5k - £7k) for ages but the computer just said NO! I thought it might be something to do with the loan I have with them - but that'll be gone next month.

I was paying in a cheque recently and asked one of their advisors to ring me back. That was a week ago, no call. Ho hum...so I braved the telephone banking system and got through to an absolutely lovely lady who not only gave me a Vantage account (need to check that this does materialise overnight when the computer updates, mind you!) but a good run down on my financial health.

Only trouble is - now I'll have to stick another page in the spreadsheet so that I know which money's in which pot....it was so *simple* with seperate accounts. 4% is not to be sneezed at, however :T

Off to update things.