How to fall in love with saving money

cathybird

YoungBusinessman wrote: »

How are we all this fine evening?! Some not so good financial news......boiler packed in!!!

Oh noes!!! :eek:

Lucky we are covered and it got sorted today for nothing!

Yayyyy!!! :j:j:j:T:T:T

We overpaid £2k each to our mortgage so instead of 19 years left from 20 year term it's now 17 and years 9 months! Did the sums and can't pay off any of the loans before August/September next year without it costing me in fees so will get saving for then and pay off as much as I can.

That sounds like such a positive step forward. I must do some research and decide whether to pay any off my mortgage or start investing it instead. The mortgage is on a pretty low five-year fixed rate but I could pay 10% off without penalties. It must be a good feeling to reduce the term tho, YoungBusinessman

Also booked in with dentist, finally!! Going to keep them in a job for a few months as I need a fair bit done...almost dreading the expense but looking forward to sorting a tooth that's been chipped for longer than I care to admit. Need some frugal living get the bank balance restored, looking entry just now!!

Ouch :(:( I guess you'll be keeping your dentist happy tho (and yourself in the long run)

cathybird

Eco_Miser wrote: »

:j:j:beer::j:j

Well Done! I know that would have been hard for you, but you did it. Keep up the good work,

It was surprisingly easy :rotfl:I think the good example set by yourself and others must be sinking in

Eco Miser, very curious about something else you said, about 15 degrees feeling too hot. As an Australian living in Britain, who plans to stay here long-term, I am wondering about heating costs, which is a major expense, particularly for retirees - don't want to end up in the position of not being able to afford to keep warm, as many elderly people seem to do. Have you always preferred it on the cold side? Or is this something you acclimatised to? I am wondering if I can accustom myself to a lower preferred temperature. Which, as you have already pointed out, would also be better for the environment.

cathybird

In further good news, I've decided this month that since I've got a lower savings goal I will just transfer the entire £500 over from my paycheque right away, then see what else I can squirrel away by way of a challenge to myself. So that means I have now officially reached my goal of £1,500 by Christmas (and it's not even December yet) :j

:beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer:

Yay me.

I like Eco Miser's suggestion of committing £500 each month to savings/investments as a set minimum and then seeing if I can bump it up to £1,000 over the course of the month. I think to keep it interesting I do need to set myself some monthly challenges, of the "up your income" variety. Actually if I made it £750 per month tho that would make it £9,000 for the year, which would fit comfortably within the limits of an S&S Isa ... so could start putting that amount towards some "passive" funds. Then could see if I could save a further, say, £250 in cash each month, which could either be invested at the end of the year or used to bump up cash savings if I had had to dip into them for any emergencies during the year. Just thinking aloud here. Something to aim for in the New Year perhaps.

cathybird

I have set myself a higher food/bits and bobs budget this month of £200. Last month came to over £250 so I shall try to get it down.

atush

Cathy, have you forgotten xmas though? Need more in your food budget for this month with turkey the trimmings, extra in desserts and drinks?

And good idea bout the 500. The easiest way to save is when you do it straight off after payday.

Couple of suggestions (although I have 3 pages of your thread left to read now you've scoured the house for change, have you thought of de-cluttering and selling unwanted stuff on ebay?

Also books. I love books and read all the time. Have you thought of selling your used books on amazon? I do this and recycle the money into new books

atush

The more I have been thinking about the (pretty modest) investments I had back in Australia before I left, the more I think that I might be able to fall in love with saving for the sake of having (a few) stocks and shares again and seeing them grow **. I can't remember how I got the cash together to buy them. Don't think it was any kind of disciplined savings effort, which is something I've never really managed, but I must have done it somehow. Anyway, I did well out of them and they funded what was meant to be two years of travel round the world (I ended up here rather than going back to Oz, but that's another story).

And that was going to be my next suggestion.

Now, I know there has been talk here about intimidating amounts that people have. but, some of us either started out in debt, or just built it up by small amounts. I stated saving (after I had an emergency fund like you are building now) by saving 50 a month for OH and me, and 25 a month for the kids. It was all we could afford as we'd just built a house. But out of those tiny beginnings, tens of thousands in savings have come (thru time and investment performance and pushing up to 100 and 50 each when we could afford it).

So investing 100 or more a month into a S&S isa alongside your cash savings could be a good idea.

Do you have a pension? I am not sure if you mentioned this?

atush

115K wrote: »

Thanks for your helpful post, this forum has taught me so much.:)

This is what worries me about the idea of investing. I don't think I am confident enough to take risks at the moment. Maybe when my mortgage is at a more reasonable level (around £20k) and my ISA savings are up more I will consider making different choices with my money.

This is why new investors should never invest in single shares, but collective investments like funds. As they are lower in risk as they invest in many companies not just one.

atush

Read it all now, and I can already see you are learning to love to save. Keep it up!!

WantToBeSE

Hi All

Had a funny sort of week. Had a huge (and painful) migraine, which resulted in having to get ant-sickness meds and extra strong painkillers after it carried on for 4 days..then just as i was getting better yesterday, my 9 yr old broke his ankle (again! 2nd time in 6 months!).

So, i am back! I havent been able to go to work all week, which has resulted in a loss of £118 this week

NOT GOOD! But alas, it couldnt be helped. I am back to work on Monday morning.

Have spent a fortune on petrol getting to various doctors and hospitals, so havent been able to save ANYTHING this week.
However, i am determined to have £600 in savings my the end of this year, so very close to beating that target!

Will catch up on the thread

cathybird

A friend paid me £109.50 for tickets I bought earlier in the year for us both so that can also go straight into the pot.