How to fall in love with saving money

organic_wanabe

That is sad news Cathy At times like this I try to hold onto the old saying 'Life is a dream walking, death is a going home'.

We look forward to having a savings update at the end of the month.

JoJoC

I keep writing a reply and it crashes. That's twice I've lost it!

Firstly, I'm so sorry to hear about your friend Cathy. I'm thinking of you and all that are af this affected by this tragic news. Sending hugs your way.

Secondly, OW, thanks so much for your advice. We don't have a waitrose near us but I'm sure my folks buy the Sunday telegraph so I'll get them to keep it. I'll also look online for the article.

I just thought I was doing well actually saving the money but I need to put some proper time and effort into making my money work for me.

WantToBeSE

I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your friend Cathy, I am keeping you and her family & friends in my thoughts.

cathybird

Morning all on this beautiful and sunny morning (well in London anyway). I hope everyone's been well

We buried my friend on Wednesday last week - it was in a lovely woodland spot among trees and the funeral ceremony felt quite positive, as much a celebration as a farewell. I am going to miss her, and in fact have thought several times already there were things I would have liked to talk about with her, except that she's not here. But there it is.

I am back again "after the break" - I have been going over bank accounts, figures etc, trying to sort things out for the second half of the year. I hadn't really previously taken my pension into my monthly savings calculations but now that pensions have been overhauled so they can be taken as a lump sum to be invested at retirement, I guess I can. So, basically there's £900 going into my retirement pot every month with my pension savings (some of which is from me, and some from my employers), and on top of that I am saving £75 into the work share scheme and £250 into an S&S Isa. I also plan now to save £150 per month into what I am calling a "rainy day" account (it's to cover various projects coming up over the medium to long term and thus needs to be separate from my "emergency funds"). The £150 could also go into the Isa, I guess - I haven't quite worked that one out yet. But anyway, all of that comes to £1,375 a month, or £16,500 a year. So, things could be worse.

Thanks once again to all who posted while I was "taking a break". It's much appreciated - nice to know you are there and thinking about this thread!

WantToBeSE

Hi Cathy, nice to have you back


Your friends burial sounds really nice (sorry if that's the wrong wording to use) and peaceful.


It sounds like you are in control of all of your savings and pensions and are doing really well

cathybird

hi WantToBeSE! Thanks It's nice to be back.

The funeral was really lovely - very peaceful. In the middle of really beautiful woods. It was my friend's wish to be buried there and I can see exactly why she had wanted that.

Are you still running your "take your lunch to work" thread? ... I must rejoin, and I want to go for the No Spend Day thing too - I meant to do that earlier and didn't get round to it.

I have let my updates slip for the save £12,000 in 2014 thread too - must get that up to speed!

When I did my sums I did feel positive and a bit more in control. Things are really not too bad, or that's how it feels.

JoJoC

Hi Cathy,

It's so good to hear from you.

Your friends burial sounds perfect- exactly what she wanted and a lovely way for all her loved ones to say goodbye. I hope that's a comfort to you, sending hugs your way.

I'm glad you've managed to work on your sums and get everything straightened out- it all looks fab to me! You've got everything under control! It's amazing that you're able to put so much into your pension/ retirement fund. I suppose one day I'll be able to do the same when I stop having babies and moving house.

How are the savings looking then? Is your signature up to date?

As I said before, it's great to hear from you and I hope life is treating you well.

cathybird

Hi JoJoC Good to hear from you too Thanks for the hugs. It was a lovely way to say goodbye. In fact, I say this as someone who hasn't been to many funerals, but I can't see how it could have been more "right".

The savings are looking not too bad, not sure if I am quite going to make my £12,000 goal, but will keep trying. My signature is not up to date - I must sort out the figures for June and July. How are you going with your savings? ... I must try to catch up with how everyone is doing

JoJoC

I'm doing not too badly with my savings thanks. I've tipped the £3k mark which is fab, I just need to sort a few things out and make a plan for my august wage, which will hopefully enable me to save more. We're really reining it in after an expensive few weeks being on holiday from work and eating out a lot!

I'm determined to get as close to that £8k target as possible!

cathybird

Morning all! Blimey, is it a week since I last posted? I was thinking it was a couple of days! Just goes to show I should pay closer attention ... Anyway, I've updated the signature now. Re the £12,000 goal, it looks likely that it will come in at about the 70% mark, which is not too bad given that I plucked the figure of £12,000 out of the air and had no idea how to really go about saving when I did. Also, it doesn't count what my employer puts towards my pension, which is £600 a month, so if you add it all up together it's really a pretty good savings rate. I'm happy.