The 'Save £12k in 2012' thread!

guitarman001

Glad I never started this as I would never be on target. Have saved very little the last 4 months or so. Birthdays, MOT, car service, holiday to pay for. Bit gutted really. I should technically be on £35k overall but my shares have tanked a LOT leaving me with just £26k if I sold today...! One of my biggest regrets. I'm annoyed at not breaching the £30k barrier - I feel I should be nearer £40k by now. Disappointed isn't the word. And I'm 30 in a couple of years! Feels like I've got nothing to my name!

Also - I got a credit card for my holiday and started to buy things off it so as to save the interest in my current account for longer. I've been paying it off but I really don't like it. I can't keep track of what I've been spending as much as I used to and it feels like I've been spending more than I have to. Plus, the bill comes at an awkward time so it's like my spending spills over from one month to the next. Think I'll be ditching it after the holiday.

guitarman001

4.5% and locked in for FIVE YEARS?? No thanks! I stick with Lloyds Vantage - only 2.3% net but it's flexible and I'm not tied in. Also I see little point in ISAs. Any and all money I have will be going into paying a house off first and foremost. What's the point in saving pennies when the interest on your mortgage dwarfs that?

guitarman001

Just looked at my bank account and I've saved £2k since January. Very poor. Good news is that unless I take my dosh and move abroad I'll be looking at saving £1k a month from May onward, say for 6 months out of the remaining 8. So it'll be £7k for this year. And I stay at home!! I don't know how you lot manage it!!

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

guitarman001 wrote: »

4.5% and locked in for FIVE YEARS?? No thanks! I stick with Lloyds Vantage - only 2.3% net but it's flexible and I'm not tied in. Also I see little point in ISAs. Any and all money I have will be going into paying a house off first and foremost. What's the point in saving pennies when the interest on your mortgage dwarfs that?

I think you have to look at your own circumstances and decide what is best for you. We paid off our mortgage and now want to work towards retirement as work is having a negative effect on hubbies health...

It suits us to lock away the money but its not for everyone as people need liquidity.

I have a 5 year plan to save as much as I can and then re assess.

Just done the finances for the coming month as hubby gets paid on 15th and total is now £5672.57! We are having a night out on saturday though as a bit fed up with all the penny pinching so off for an early bird with the kids! (boy do we know how to live!) same food, cheaper price and we prefer to eat earlier anyway...off now as starting to sound like an old fogey!

guitarman001

Wow, if you don't mind me asking, how long did it take to pay off the mortgage? That is one amazing achievement!

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

guitarman001 wrote: »

Wow, if you don't mind me asking, how long did it take to pay off the mortgage? That is one amazing achievement!

Thanks guitarman001, I joined the 'mortgage free in three' years thread and we just did everything we could to get rid of it! It wasnt easy but we made it our priority and even when I joined the thread I didnt think we could do it but somehow we did. It is nice to live rent free and we are both part timers now and enjoying life so the scrimping was worth it.

We learnt a lot, mainly about our own values and attutude to life, we were slagged off by a lot of people for doing it as they said we were 'sad' 'should get a life' etc etc and some people even laughed at us for shopping at Aldi and wearing charity shop clothes.

The upside is that our kids (teenagers) are very astute and financial savvy and think for themselves which should come in handy in the future. They are grateful for everything and not greedy.

We dont earn mega bucks (I'm on nurses wages) and dont have rich (or any!) relatives that help but we do count every penny and work together. I suppose we are boring, we dont overspend, save for our retirement, save for the kids, work hard and count our blessings.

I say go for it, our philosophy on the 'mfi3' thread was that its a marathon not a sprint and you will eventually get there, just like this challenge!

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

guitarman001 wrote: »

Glad I never started this as I would never be on target. Have saved very little the last 4 months or so. Birthdays, MOT, car service, holiday to pay for. Bit gutted really. I should technically be on £35k overall but my shares have tanked a LOT leaving me with just £26k if I sold today...! One of my biggest regrets. I'm annoyed at not breaching the £30k barrier - I feel I should be nearer £40k by now. Disappointed isn't the word. And I'm 30 in a couple of years! Feels like I've got nothing to my name!

Also - I got a credit card for my holiday and started to buy things off it so as to save the interest in my current account for longer. I've been paying it off but I really don't like it. I can't keep track of what I've been spending as much as I used to and it feels like I've been spending more than I have to. Plus, the bill comes at an awkward time so it's like my spending spills over from one month to the next. Think I'll be ditching it after the holiday.

guitarman001, can we help you to get back on track on this thread? It sounds like you are drifting off track a bit so it only takes a nudge to get back on the straight and narrow again...

You mentioned birthdays, could you look round charity shops, jumble sales and car boots for gifts? Start planning for xmas now so it doesnt hit you where it hurts in December. I plan my expenditures long term and have been saving for xmas since January (just £25 a month) it adds up nicely and is welcome when the time comes.

Sit down over the weekend if you can and do a rejig of your finances, maybe look at your incomings/outgoings again as everything has gone up.

Good luck, we are all here to help each other

YoungBusinessman

Well seeing as i am now £29,000 in debt...(feel like i dont belong here!!)

I am going to aim for the £12k asap to then pay it off debts.

guitarman001

Thanks, DesperateHousewife!

Three years is amazing! Those other people are probably dead jealous of you now..! I'm at a crossroads myself because houses cost a FORTUNE. I'd be looking at a £160k or so place probably for the rest of my life (not interested in housing as an investment as such). Net income about £2k per month (and after pension).

Per month, roughly:
£150 student loan (3 years to go)
£110 student loan through PAYE (that'll be knocked off the £2k net figure)
£150 petrol
£150 saving for holiday every month
£200 'fun' (£10 sports, £10 out with friends, £30 cinema/food at weekend with girlfriend)
£100 other (lunches, haircut, bits and bobs)
£15 car tax
£35 car insurance
£38 MOT and car service
£10 phone
£25 presents
£150 rent (to parents - very small!)

That's £833 month!! And I'm living at HOME! Student loan being paid off will help me out, but then if I ever get a place council tax and insurances will eat into that, so I think the figure stays the same, roughly. That figure feels right. Obviously I don't pay things off like car tax month by month.. so some months are more 'bumpy' than others in terms of outgoings.

So that's about £1k a month over 12 months. It really does add up - I know I can spend less than £200 on fun and £100 other (fudge factor) but really, I only see my girlfriend at weekends and £50 a weekend isn't too much... is it? I don't know how I'd cope with a big mortgage and dependents!

Still, £1k a month is better than nothing. I'm very hesitant to give that up. BUT, at age 28, I'm having thoughts of getting international experience in my job. Maybe move to Europe or the US for a bit. Then I'd have to pay higher rents and my savings would be MUCH less. I'm trying to decide if it would be worth it or not! My current job is amazing - very varied and great people.. a move could see me learning different things and would take net salary up even though I'd be paying more in rent. Anyway, that's another matter.

One of my friends landed a graduate placement with an oil company. £2.5k net..! He's going to get a friend to share a room for £400 a month. So that's effectively £2.9k net for him. His outgoings are approx £900, and he plans to pay approx £2k off his mortgage every month! This means he'll finish paying it in just 6 years (I think it'll more likely be 10). I feel poor in comparison - it'd take me at LEAST ten years... hopefully no more than 15 years if I got a place.

Paying a home off at some point is a big thing for me. Imagine the financial freedom. I'm envious, I must say!

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

guitarman001 wrote: »

Thanks, DesperateHousewife!

Three years is amazing! Those other people are probably dead jealous of you now..! I'm at a crossroads myself because houses cost a FORTUNE. I'd be looking at a £160k or so place probably for the rest of my life (not interested in housing as an investment as such). Net income about £2k per month (and after pension).

Per month, roughly:
£150 student loan (3 years to go) are you on the best rate for repayments?
£110 student loan through PAYE (that'll be knocked off the £2k net figure)
£150 petrol could you care share with colleagues or look at other modes/cheaper ways of transport ??cycle
£150 saving for holiday every month check out cheaper holidays ? cottages in UK
£200 'fun' (£10 sports, £10 out with friends, £30 cinema/food at weekend with girlfriend) check out groupon and early bird deals for meals, there are thread on the forum which look at cheaper ways of enjoying yourself, free museums etc, I did this with the kids when they were little in the school hols
£100 other (lunches, haircut, bits and bobs) self trims for hair (seriously!) or check out local colleges which do a decent job for low price (students who need the practice...its not as bad as you think!)
£15 car tax
£35 car insurance quidco?
£38 MOT and car service
£10 phone could you reduce your tarif? I get unlimited texts through orange for £5 a month
£25 presents charity shops!
£150 rent (to parents - very small!)

That's £833 month!! And I'm living at HOME! Student loan being paid off will help me out, but then if I ever get a place council tax and insurances will eat into that, so I think the figure stays the same, roughly. That figure feels right. Obviously I don't pay things off like car tax month by month.. so some months are more 'bumpy' than others in terms of outgoings.

So that's about £1k a month over 12 months. It really does add up - I know I can spend less than £200 on fun and £100 other (fudge factor) but really, I only see my girlfriend at weekends and £50 a weekend isn't too much... is it? I don't know how I'd cope with a big mortgage and dependents!

Still, £1k a month is better than nothing. I'm very hesitant to give that up. BUT, at age 28, I'm having thoughts of getting international experience in my job. Maybe move to Europe or the US for a bit. Then I'd have to pay higher rents and my savings would be MUCH less. I'm trying to decide if it would be worth it or not! My current job is amazing - very varied and great people.. a move could see me learning different things and would take net salary up even though I'd be paying more in rent. Anyway, that's another matter.

One of my friends landed a graduate placement with an oil company. £2.5k net..! He's going to get a friend to share a room for £400 a month. So that's effectively £2.9k net for him. His outgoings are approx £900, and he plans to pay approx £2k off his mortgage every month! This means he'll finish paying it in just 6 years (I think it'll more likely be 10). I feel poor in comparison - it'd take me at LEAST ten years... hopefully no more than 15 years if I got a place.

Paying a home off at some point is a big thing for me. Imagine the financial freedom. I'm envious, I must say!

Don't compare your situation to others, think about your own and do whats right for you. I try and measure my life through how happy I actaully am, not how happy I should be and if you are happy in your job now then that says something. Also, dont forget your partner will be bringing money in too.

We net about £3k a month and have 2 children, its a lot of money but can disappear quickly if you dont plan carefully, we shop around and plan for everything and have been skint over they years! You are on the right road, it takes ages to get sorted but you will. Hope this helps