Six Million Britons have no savings at all

Jonbvn

PasturesNew wrote: »

I found out last week, trawling through MSE, that money in an ISA isn't taken into account for Working Tax Credits purposes!! And, as you never know if you might one day be eligible for something like that it's best to tuck it away as you go along as you can't shove it in back-dated.

Also applies to money paid into pensions and NS&I tax-free products.

This can lead to the bizarre situation where very well paid directors making sizeable pension contributions can claim WTC's

I remember some rather angry threads a few years back where people were !!!!!ing about this.

Prudent

SingleSue wrote: »

I have savings....the grand total of £30.57 (which includes a £5 Morrisons voucher), in a easter egg hunt pail.

Quite chuffed with it to be honest, it is just spare change thrown in at the end of the day...although a real begger to count it as it is mostly 1p's and 2p's!

It has a purpose too, it will get us over the 1st weekend of our holiday for food and fuel.

Keep going though. I am a counting the pennies person and really do believe that the little adds up. I became a single parent and bought my house in 2002. I could only afford one in dilapidated condition and so that is what I bought.

Several my neighbours were replacing their heating systems boilers at the time as because of the age of the houses most had run their lifetime. Worried by this, I set up a boiler fund. Every week made an economy and added the money saved to the boiler fund. MSE helped greatly! On the worst weeks this could just be 50p but on good weeks it was much better. Thankfully my heating system has ticked over and is finally being replaced next week. In the meantime my 'boiler fund' has paid for a new kitchen and a new bathroom.

I am glad that the heating lived. The new boliers wont work with the current plumbing etc so it is the huge expensive of a whole new system and removal of the old tanks etc.

I personally need the security blanket of savings and prefer to look at getting the best products rather than blowing money beacuse rates are rubbish. At best I think it makes sense for everyone to try and have some emergency savings.

leveller2911

CLAPTON wrote: »

buy indexed linked savings certs

In all honesty how many of the 6,000,000 who have no savings have ever heared of Indexed Linked savings? they wouldn't know where to start looking.

We regularly see adverts about ISA's etc , tax free savings etc but down at the bottom of the adverts theres always small print which normally tells you the true interest rate (or lack of) that you will actually receive.

I blame the banks and building Societies because they know many people haven't got the gumption or the means to find out where to get a decent rate so they shaft savers with 0.2% interest rates.Many won't have access to the internet let alone online Banking.

Clapton is many in Society don't live in your World, theres is a world of hand to mouth existance for many along with apathy and I don't mean the dole scrounging kid factories ,I mean the ones who have never earned enough to have a private Pension or the unemployed without kids.Its not a dig at you Clapton ,its just the way it is

BleepinHell

ILW wrote: »

Not much incentive when you know anything you do save will be virtually halved over 10 years due to current inflation rate. Better to blow it now.

So true. And any savings will go towards your care fees.
Possible in the future even health costs
Pay full Council tax
No top up on state pension because you have savings
Get it spent

Bullion_Baron

Sad state of affairs that people have so little to fall back on in case of a rainy day. So many years were spent plowing money into overpriced housing assets that promptly collapsed in value. I hope we as a society learn some hard lessons from this.

diable

Who gives a !!!!!! if others haven't saved as somewhere along the line someone will bail them out. I just hope that I've worked hard enough as not to worry about a rainy day or month or year.

lostinrates

Really2 wrote: »

Can't be,


There many on here with six figure deposits.

Perhaps it encourages it:)

I was one of the posters with a 6 figure deposit. However, once its gone into the house its ''gone'' from savings. Its simply something offset against our debts now.

we have some savings in euros (anyone else feel me sweating over those recently?) for euro expenditure. And an ISA which is atm my emergency fund, but if its not used for emergencies before autumn might well be the structure of the new kitchen.

re packed lunches etc, seems sensible, especially for singles/small families where it seems a sensible way of utilising leftovers augmented with some fruit and veg.

expatdave

What is the point in saving?

Life is short so make the most of it!

The UK sucks when it comes to treating people right, they have the human rights act that basically helps criminals most of the time.

You work hard and pay tax and NI every month and struggle to make ends meet, whilst other people abuse the benefit system and do not work. These people on benefits are often better off than people that work!

Then you get old and have to go in a care home and the government takes your savings from you or makes you sell your assets to pay for your care, whereas people who have never worked get it for free!

Who are the mugs?

michaels

I was looking in to this - Year 1 take full salary and save half to live on in Y2 during which full salary is paid in to pension and live of savings plus tax credits - Y3 as Y1 etc. Possibly a variation on this when it is uni time for kids when several low income years might be needed to allow for maintenance grant5s, reduced fees etc.

A flexible mortgage is a great savings vehicle as it also avoids having capital and of course savings in ISAs to avoid interest and capital gains being counted although of course even ISA savings count as capital so disqualifying council tax benefit and free school meals etc.

Jonbvn wrote: »

Also applies to money paid into pensions and NS&I tax-free products.

This can lead to the bizarre situation where very well paid directors making sizeable pension contributions can claim WTC's

I remember some rather angry threads a few years back where people were !!!!!ing about this.

Percy1983

I will say I use public transport and take pack lunches everyday, as it is my employer actually gives us free travel on public transport (strangely some people still drive and pay parking despite this). I do transfer savings and bank accounts around for the best deals too.

As for my idea on savings, to me personally I am currently saving for a deposit, after that I will keep savings so I am always a few months ahead of myself, any surplus over that will be spent on paying off the mortgage, TVs, holidays etc.

By all means there is no point constantly saving if you don't intend to spend it, but on the flip side to have a rainy day fund is a very good idea.