Calling those with a "high" level of savings/investments! (£50,000+)

YoungBusinessman

Rich is actually someone richer than you. A quick google search will find many business types who had it all, yet they didnt see themself as rich, they wanted more. They got greedy, it was never enough, in the end they lose the lot(or a large chunk)

I read Lehman Brothers - what went wrong book. It told the story of a German banker who was worth billions through chemists (i think, this is off my memory of reading it a few years back) and he gambled and gambled on the stock market trying to make more. He lost billions overnight, he then commited suicide despite still being a billionaire.

Martin Lewis is a man who has done very well for himself, i hope to be a leading example of the future on this site to show slow and steady wins the race. I have many things on my bucket list, i know i will enjoy life, taking each day as it comes. I absolute love my profession, i would like to do it for myself as opposed to someone else.

It is much harder to succeed in business nowadays it seems, if you dont even try you will definitly fail.

YoungBusinessman

I have a family member owe me more than £1600, i will be chasing this up the next month or so and threaten court action. Not a close family member at all, would rather have the money than try to build any sort of relationship.

Even part payment/gradual payment to get it sorted,debt is a year or so old and no signs of being paid back. Got all details together and proof of the loan being made.

roswell

I know you set 50k and that's a nice number but consider this 50k is only 2 general family sized cars.

Rich is relative if you have £10 in your back pocket and £0 debt your already richer than what 2/5 of the UK ? Richer than 70% of the population of the world ?

A million or a billion makes no odds unless you have a use for it, image if you owned your van, owned your house no mortgage ... How little would you need to be rich?

Put money in pensions, don't have an emergency account if you have a credit card / mortgage or any other debt and when your final value is nothing out and money coming in then spend a year saving to start investing but true rich isn't the car you drive or the house you live in :-)

YoungBusinessman

I know true wealth can be family, friends, lifestyle. Not just a figure in the bank. Life is what you make it, im only trying to make the most of it. £50k was just kind of throwing it out there and seeing what i got back, if i put millionaires there would have been no serious replies.

cos_2

I think I've seen my life flash by in some of the previous posts!

Left uni with some debt, got a reasonably good job eventually in the mid 80s and slowly climbed the promotion ladder. However, spent far too much money on keeping up with the Joneses. Ultimately, it means I've enjoyed cars and holidays and TVs and 'stuff', but spent a fortune on repaying credit cards and loans. Borrowing from my future self, as is oft discussed here.

A couple of near bankruptcies helped to spice things up and then the train came off the rails again with a divorce some 11 years ago. It meant starting again with a new mortgage and, to cap it all, I re-married and ended up paying her debt as well

Then amongst all the government cutbacks (and hating my job) I took voluntary redundancy over a year ago and now have a gross pension around a third of my final salary.

However, I finally got over my stupid need to keep up appearances :T

I've no debt apart from my (small) mortgage (buying a terraced ex-council house and doing it up is a great investment). I have a small amount of savings, the first time in my life I've looked at ISAs, bonds and funds, etc.

I'd like NOT to work again, unlike you! My plan is to use some of my savings to pay some of the bills until I turn 56, at which point my pension becomes index linked. I anticipate the increase will be almost enough to cover my mortgage and I won't need to keep drawing down the savings pot.

Then another 6 years down the line my wife will be able to claim Social Security from the US. It won't be much but should allow us a few more treats. Finally, when I'm 66 I'll get the UK state pension and the world's my oyster, or perhaps a small shrimp.

We expect to get a few holidays during this time as well and so the savings pot will be fairly depleted, but it'll be money well spent for what we hope will be many retirement years.

Sorry, I do tend to ramble . . . I suppose I'm trying to say I wasted so much buying things that weren't important that I've ended up trying to juggle my life around a few thousand pounds a year when it could have been so different. At least my outlook on life changed before it was completely too late, though

gadgetmind

somethingcorporate wrote: »

Rich is generally someone with more money than you.

And an alcoholic is someone who drinks more than their doctor.

Glen_Clark

somethingcorporate wrote: »

Rich is generally someone with more money than you.

Very true. I remember a survey asking people how much would be a comfortable amount of money to have. Even for those with many £millions the 'comfortable amount' was a bit more than they had already.

Perhaps we should remember that saying 'if you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter. For always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself'

Glen_Clark

apologies to those who have read this before;
LIFE EXPLAINED in a tiny Costa Rican FISHING VILLAGE

A boat docked in a tiny Costa Rican fishing village. A tourist complimented the local fishermen on the quality of their fish and asked how long it took them to catch them. "Not very long." they answered in unison.

"Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?"

The fishermen explained that their small catches were sufficient to meet their needs and those of their families.

"But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"We sleep late, fish a little, play with our children, and take siestas with our wives. In the evenings, we go into the village to see our friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs. We have a full life.
"
The tourist interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you!

You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."

"And after that?", asked the fishermen.

"With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one, and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to San Jose , Los Angeles , or even New York City ! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."

"How long would that take?" asked the fishermen again.

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years." replied the tourist.

"And after that?", said the fishermen.

"Afterwards? Well my friend, that's when it gets really interesting," answered the tourist, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?" asked the fishermen.

"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends."

[FONT=&quot]The moral of this story is: ........ Know where you're going in life.... you may already be there![/FONT]

Al_Ross

My wife says I treat every penny like a prisoner.

droopsnoot

I recently came across a blog that would probably interest several posters on here, if you haven't already seen it: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/

Usual note: I have no link to this site, other than as a casual reader. Also note there is some strong language used. But it's a very good read and talks a lot about how to achieve financial independence and early retirement without living in a cardboard box. Good enough to forgive the colonial spelling of "moustache" :-)