Saving, Investing... Starting early

Ark_Welder

Simplest way would be to use your web browser to bookmark the thread(s). This would allow you to find them quickly without having to log on.

Or when you are logged on, use the Subscribe option under Thread Tools at the top of the list of posts: selecting User CP and clicking 'show all subscribed threads' will then give a list of threads to which you have subscribed.

Alternatively, click your username in the 'Welcome, Primetime. You last visited ...' bar, select the Statistics tab that appears next to the About Me tab and then click 'show all posts by Primetime'. Shows a list of your latest posts whichever thread they are in

Ifts

Primetime wrote: »

quick question, how do i locate my own posts so i dont have to scroll through pages to find it ?

thanks

Once signed in Click on > Primetime (at the top where is says Welcome, Primetime) > Statistics > Find all post by Primetime

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atush

you have a lot of money saved, so that really gives me a bench mark. you say you're saving for a house deposit... can you not usually save around £16,000 and go for it? or is it your choice to save more?

The size of any deposit needed will be factored on where you live (ie the price of houses/flats) and the size of mtg your salary can get you. So 16K might be enough in one area, but not many others.

Shiloe

Welcome Primetime I too am starting young [20 years old] hope you stick around because since I've joined I've became way more money smart thanx to all the helpful knowledgeable people that occupy the boards !

Primetime_2

ahh i see atush. don't know why i didn't realise that myself ha!

thanks ifts and ark!

alright shiloe! of course, trying to get on here as much as possible but its finding the time ha! very busy atm. you have plenty saved, think ill be making a trip to barclays today to transfer some money into my ISA to begin the 'saving'.

a quick question... im stopping driving my car to and from work (pointless 10 minute drive at that) so i can save some money. the problem is i want to buy a semi-decent bike for it... my friend has a kona for sale at £250 (will try and haggle) so going to have a look today. now im not sure if i should be spending that much on abike, but in the long term i probably will save some money? just want to hear peoples thoughts?

also starting to pay rent end of this month so i will need to manage money slightly better... ie cutting costs like wasting it on buying stuff for my car, on clothes i dont need etc etc.

thanks, ben

atush

That sounds pricy for a second hand bike.

Have you priced the same bike new online (it can be delivered) have you checked Halfords?

I don't see the point in spending 250 to save 200 on petrol really. Get a cheap bike.

Primetime_2

right cool. i have but because it's the 2009 version it's not on production anymore but second hand they were going for the same price.

i'm popping to halfords later on to have a look. so yeah i think ill get one for around £100 or less. i need to remember i'm trying to save money here :P

ruperts

Experienced cyclists say buy cheap, buy twice. The more pretentious among them call Halfords a toy shop.

There is also a safety issue especially if you are going to be commuting in sometimes rough conditions on busy roads. The last thing you want is a poor quality bike.

Remember also that decent accessories (lock, lights, helmet, pump, basic repair kit) are going to cost a fair bit.

If you look for deals on Halfords' more expensive bikes then I think you should be able to get a reasonable setup for less than £250, but some people would say that is still far too cheap and you shouldn't spend less than £500. By then it becomes a pretty serious investment.

If cycling to work means you can completely lose the car then it'll pay for itself very quickly and many times over. But if it's just saving 10 minutes worth of petrol, maybe not.

Eponym

Primetime wrote: »

epon, i couldnt thank you more than enough. been very busy recently hence why i am only replying now!

you have a lot of money saved, so that really gives me a bench mark. you say you're saving for a house deposit... can you not usually save around £16,000 and go for it? or is it your choice to save more?

i do have goals, yes, ideally just want to save money and not have to worry about it in the future!

atush, ive already figured out a few things i can save on and will be putting them into action very soon!

epon, it sounds very complicated in terms of having different accounts with money going in and out and credit cards etc. do i start with a credit card at some point (i know i would pay it off straight away) to improve my credit rating? i think i will be going to the bank sometime next week to put £200.00 to kick start my saving!

Hi again, sorry it's taken me so long to reply. I thought I'd subscribed to this thread but I guess I didn't!

To answer your questions:

I'll probably be looking at a house around £100,000-£110,000 (bartered down price with any luck!) Ideally I'd like a 25% deposit because that's when the better rates kick in. On top of that I'm budgeting £6,000 for fees (solicitors, surveys, etc) and decorating/furniture. So I will probably need somewhere in the region of £30,000-£35,000. Ideally I would like some savings left in case of some catastrophe like losing my job.

The amount I have is enough for a deposit, yes, but the rate will be poorer than it would be if I had a larger deposit. Not only that, but my wage is relatively low (just gone up to about £18,000) and mortgage companies take what you can afford into account when deciding whether to offer you a mortgage. typically it's around 3 or 4 times your annual income. I've looked at mortgage calculators which tell me (depending on the bank) I could probably borrow around £65,000, so that leaves £35,000 for the deposit! Not to mention the higher the deposit the lower the repayments every month, which is important for someone like me on a low wage.


I keep up with my accounts using a spreadsheet. I have them all listed, with which bank they are, the name of the account, the current balance, the interest rate and the date I last checked the balance. I have other tabs on the spreadsheet for budgeting, a list of payments I have to make every month etc. It's about discipline, making sure you remember to fulfill the terms and conditions of your accounts and so on.


As for getting a credit card, it's down to personal preference. I don't know much about credit scores but I believe credit cards will help as they show (so long as you use them responsibly) that you are a responsible borrower. If you know you will use them sensibly and only spend what you can afford, they can be useful as you can get a cashback card, put as much of your spending as possible on it and get some money back. Probably not much, but it all helps. Do make sure you repay it though as cashback cards tend to have high interest rates.

Primetime_2

right i see, is that after tax your wage? do you do side jobs as well to earn extra cash?

just trying to think of all of the possibilities.

yes the bike isn't serious and my car will still be on the road.

i bought on from halfrauds today ( i checked my local bike place and a website called uk.freecycle.org which is awesome for free stuff (people who just want rid basically) nothing on there. so i bagged a semi decent bike, for £79.99 with a lock - although i did have to build it by myself ha! saved me £20.00 there the thieving !!!!!!s.

so ill see how that effects my money.

i also transferred £200 over to my isa from my current account which now stands at around £300. i also set up my internet banking to make it easier to transfer money over! payday this friday so i should see that go up and october ill be getting plenty of hours so should be earning around £800+ in that month.

thanks for all the help so far to everybody.

think i might set up a spread sheet. but i want it set out simply so that will take me a while to tihkn of how to arrange it!

ben