The 'Save 12k in 2013' Thread!

snowgo

VfM4meplse wrote: »

I'm wondering what the point of saving anything is these days, given the pitiful rewards. I'd rather just give it to charity and get 40% back.

VfM4meplse I can appreciate that if you are just looking at current bank interest rates (the best easy access rate being 2.3% according to my Sunday paper), the picture for savers seems quite dismal. Unless your money is in an ISA, savings account interest is then further reduced by 20 or 40% by the taxman. As inflation is currently running at about 2.7%, then it seems as though one’s money is just losing value and it may seem that spending it (or giving away to charity as you suggest) might be the best thing to do. Indeed, the government have been hoping that low savings rates will encourage us all to spend and (they hope) stimulate growth in the economy.

But this seemingly dismal savings picture fails to take into account better opportunities that arise from time to time, and which often need ready access to savings in order to take advantage of them. For example in mid November, just when things seemed to be settling down a bit in Europe, I transferred a chunk of my 2012 savings to the Vanguard Lifestrategy 100% equity fund. Looking at my monies in that fund today, it shows that the increase in the past two months is more than 10%. Indeed most index funds (corner stones of passive investing strategies) have done very well in the past few months. Now I am in no way suggesting this as an investment strategy for others (I have a higher risk tolerance than most, and I believe that anyone’s decision about investing in funds should follow on from their own risk assessment). But my point is about opportunities. I would not have been able to take advantage of this opportunity if I did not have money available – from savings – ready to invest at that time.

Another example. There are quite a number of people in this thread who have mentioned saving for a deposit for a house. They are at the beginning of the process of home ownership with the long slog of paying a mortgage in front of them. I can remember when I was in that position, and paying out more than 50% of my salary every month on mortgage. It felt like a millstone round my neck at the time. But I paid off the mortgage eventually and I’m reaping the benefits now. I live free of mortgage or rent and my house is worth many times the sum I paid for it (even allowing for inflation). But that was all down to having the savings in place when an unexpected opportunity arose to buy my first home as a sitting tenant. Without those savings it would have been quite a different story.

I suppose what I’m trying to say – in a long-winded manner if you’ll all forgive me – is that having savings is like having a key for opening up opportunities, be that investing in financial products, bricks & mortar, a university education, or in the myriad of other ways that can enhance your own & your family’s well-being.

Barbeduk

Don't you just hate it when you type out a post and it disappears!

No savings for Jan, it's a bad month for us as our business goes flat in December. Which proves again why it's good to save as we're living mostly off money put by in 2012 rather than building up debt.

Here's to a better Feb. I'm determined to get that £12k! It'll be savings towards a deposit on an investment property for our retirement fund.

nikki2804

OH is not being dismissed from work. Woohoo!!

Waiting for my £26.26 to track on TCB (car insurance)

Absolutely choked full of the cold and I need to work on an application for work. Need to wait till the LO goes to bed but all I want to do is sleep

Payday for me is not until the 31st

College have short paid me £80. Once that goes in I'll put half in savings, the other half will be going on clothes.

slowlyfading

nikki2804 wrote: »

OH is not being dismissed from work. Woohoo!!

Fantastic news! :j

youngsaver1995

Would like to take part in this thread. Current savings around £6500. I am a sixth form student so only work part time, therefore saving 12K is out of the question. Monthly income increased recently from £160 to £240, so would like to have a aim to save £2000 this year. Expecting other small incomes through the year, plus £100 or so of interest on savings, so think I should add £2000 easily by the end of the year.

After 21 days I am down £2.58, not a good start. Will get paid in a week or so time so that will put me back on track.

Wentthedaywell?

InsertWittyName wrote: »

Payday today so new payment has gone into my company pension of £402.08.

Ooh, I never thought of counting my pension as savings, but I think I will in December if it looks like I'm not going to make my target!

Today, instead of buying a new coffee/occasional table, I got a piece of toughened glass cut that exactly covers the top of a wicker chest that I keep my wii board, exercise DVDs etc in. It looks really good as a table, saves space and cost me £20, not £120+!

lbnblbnb

slowlyfading wrote: »

lbnblbnb - just submit again and put "this is the correct one" or something like that in the anything else bit!

Will do, thanks!

killerpeaty

youngsaver1995 wrote: »

Would like to take part in this thread. Current savings around £6500. I am a sixth form student so only work part time, therefore saving 12K is out of the question. Monthly income increased recently from £160 to £240, so would like to have a aim to save £2000 this year. Expecting other small incomes through the year, plus £100 or so of interest on savings, so think I should add £2000 easily by the end of the year.

After 21 days I am down £2.58, not a good start. Will get paid in a week or so time so that will put me back on track.

You... I wish I had been like you in sixth form. I just graduated from uni last summer and this is my first job. Your savings vastly outweigh mine (£1000) and you are obviously ambitious. :T

I am reading a very interesting book (poor economics- actual economics book not a financial management book though it sounds like it). I thought you lovely savers would like to hear about it. About 2/3 through the book it began to ask the question why the very poor (less than $1 USD a day) do not save. It runs through the structural impediments, not being able to afford the banking fees, not being able to get to the bank etc, but more interestingly it speaks about how a farmer will choose to purchase fertiliser immediately after a harvest but won't immediately before the new harvest. In the time between these two times, if the money is kept in the house, emergencies happen so the money is spent. One of the participants spoke about why he bought the fertiliser, when he did after the harvest, he could then "suspend the event" or work out another way to pay for the items/emergency including working more in his second job.

It also speaks about how the very poor act as though they are hedge fund managers but with more risk. It's a very good book, I would suggest it to anyone who enjoys economics.

I'm thinking about putting more of my money into my ISA tonight, but I don't want to leave myself short.

alja

youngsaver1995 wrote: »

Would like to take part in this thread. Current savings around £6500. I am a sixth form student so only work part time, therefore saving 12K is out of the question. Monthly income increased recently from £160 to £240, so would like to have a aim to save £2000 this year. Expecting other small incomes through the year, plus £100 or so of interest on savings, so think I should add £2000 easily by the end of the year.

After 21 days I am down £2.58, not a good start. Will get paid in a week or so time so that will put me back on track.

Good for you saving already! It's roughly when I started taking a proper interest in saving money and I'm very glad I did I'm now just a few years older and have a decent amount of savings for my age I think!

Kerfuffle

I've managed to transfer 459.53GBpounds to my various pots.

304.16 to repay an interest free loan from Bank of Mum and Dad
83.87 to the 'Save 12K in 2013 challenge'
71.50 to overpay my mortgage.

# 144 167.74 / 2013.00 = 8.33%


I'll now go and figure out the form on the first page to make my very first submission.