How to fall in love with saving money

7_week_wonder

Afternoon all!

Thanks for the book list Cathybird, I've made a note and will see if the library has any of the books.

We're having a very snoozy day here, although I am doing a small happy dance. On Saturday evening a warning light went on in the car saying our brakes needed checking. I wasn't very impressed as the car had only been MOT'ed at the beginning of the month and I thought brakes were one of the things that needed to be checked during the MOT. We need the car for a long journey at the weekend so this morning OH took it to the garage and I prepared myself for an expensive bill. A couple of hours later OH returned grinning broadly: the garage had spent an hour checking things: the brakes and brake pads were fine and the problem was faulty wiring to the warning light. So they sorted the wiring and when OH went to pay he was sent away with the message "Have a belated Christmas present". That's the second time the garage has sorted something without charge - I'm *very* impressed, especially as I would have quite happily paid for the hour's labour etc.

Meanwhile back on the savings planet: I can report that the index trackers I've got at the moment are mostly UK all-share trackers (legal and general; M&G, Fidelity and Gartmore). I've had them for ages and I really should get round to looking at the charges etc.

I am really confused by my current pension: I looked at paying extra beyond the basic amount (in effect to buy extra years) and to get an extra £1k per year I would have to pay £153 per month, or £1836 per year. Given that I've got 19 years til retirement and life expectancy for women is about 85 (so 20 years after retirement) that doesn't sound like a particularly good deal. I keep thinking I must have missed something, but I've checked the pension calculator twice now. So rather than putting anything extra in my pension I think it will be S&S ISA followed by funds outside any ISA wrapper.

Hope everyone is doing ok and making progres with their savings plans.

YoungBusinessman

Done a little budget, with a lot of hard work I think I can build on this years £15,000 savings. Iv invested the whole lot so I'm down to starting the year with January's expenses in my current account and that's my lot. Bit dldgey as I have a weather depending job so salary can be quite low Jan/Feb but more than make up for it in summer. I am no longer employed although I'm still at same company, just self employed now. This will allow me to pay less tax, claim expenses and have more freedom over my hours. Will be trying to maximise hours and income while minimize amount of nights out I have as that is my main expense.

Has anyone set themselves a budget for 2014 for the whole year to try and stick to? I'm going to do this but be slightly generous so anything over that amount should be saved. Ending this year with £2,000 ish in current account(January's expenses) I want it to be 5 times that for end of 2014 with some of debt paid off(think I will pay off half the debt and keep the biggest part which would take payments down from £825 a month to £328, a much more reasonable debt payment figure) as £825 a month is a hell of a lot to pay to bank as soon as I get it!

Gf has plans to put in new bathroom and decorate hallway and kitchen...hopefully can shop about and do both for a decent price so not wasting any money. Turn 23 in 2014, starting to feel a bit old when I'm more looking forward to what I can save in 2014 rather than what I can spend every penny I make on!

cathybird

7_week_wonder wrote: »

Afternoon all!

Thanks for the book list Cathybird, I've made a note and will see if the library has any of the books.

My pleasure - very MSE of you I just went straight out and bought them :rotfl: I reckon they will come in useful for future reference though (at least, I hope they will).

We're having a very snoozy day here, although I am doing a small happy dance. On Saturday evening a warning light went on in the car saying our brakes needed checking. I wasn't very impressed as the car had only been MOT'ed at the beginning of the month and I thought brakes were one of the things that needed to be checked during the MOT. We need the car for a long journey at the weekend so this morning OH took it to the garage and I prepared myself for an expensive bill. A couple of hours later OH returned grinning broadly: the garage had spent an hour checking things: the brakes and brake pads were fine and the problem was faulty wiring to the warning light. So they sorted the wiring and when OH went to pay he was sent away with the message "Have a belated Christmas present". That's the second time the garage has sorted something without charge - I'm *very* impressed, especially as I would have quite happily paid for the hour's labour etc.

Incredibly good news! You're the third person I know on MSE whose car has had a problem in the past couple of days - my car battery is dead and WantToBeSE's car battery went flat too! Wonder if it's the cold weather? Surely not with faulty wiring though. Anyway, the story had a happy ending, so that's good. That is impressive of your garage to be generous about it - most would have charged.

Meanwhile back on the savings planet: I can report that the index trackers I've got at the moment are mostly UK all-share trackers (legal and general; M&G, Fidelity and Gartmore). I've had them for ages and I really should get round to looking at the charges etc.

I am really confused by my current pension: I looked at paying extra beyond the basic amount (in effect to buy extra years) and to get an extra £1k per year I would have to pay £153 per month, or £1836 per year. Given that I've got 19 years til retirement and life expectancy for women is about 85 (so 20 years after retirement) that doesn't sound like a particularly good deal. I keep thinking I must have missed something, but I've checked the pension calculator twice now. So rather than putting anything extra in my pension I think it will be S&S ISA followed by funds outside any ISA wrapper.

I am going to make extra payments into my pension, I think - just have to think about it a little more, but it seems like a sensible thing to do (well I don't have enough to retire on, so I have to think of something :rotfl: ). It does have tax advantages - did the calculator show those at all? ...

cathybird

YoungBusinessman wrote: »

Done a little budget, with a lot of hard work I think I can build on this years £15,000 savings. Iv invested the whole lot so I'm down to starting the year with January's expenses in my current account and that's my lot. Bit dldgey as I have a weather depending job so salary can be quite low Jan/Feb but more than make up for it in summer. I am no longer employed although I'm still at same company, just self employed now. This will allow me to pay less tax, claim expenses and have more freedom over my hours.

I think £15,000 is incredibly impressive, particularly for someone self-employed whose job is weather-dependent, YoungBusinessman.

Will be trying to maximise hours and income while minimize amount of nights out I have as that is my main expense.

Hey - just think, if you spend more nights in, you have all the fun of hanging out more with us here on MSE :beer:

Has anyone set themselves a budget for 2014 for the whole year to try and stick to? I'm going to do this but be slightly generous so anything over that amount should be saved.

No but I should, and I should be generous with it too because I tend to be quite unrealistic with budgets.

Turn 23 in 2014, starting to feel a bit old when I'm more looking forward to what I can save in 2014 rather than what I can spend every penny I make on!

You are in such a good position for someone who is 23. I wish I had been more money-minded at that age.

mark55man

7_week_wonder wrote: »

I am really confused by my current pension: I looked at paying extra beyond the basic amount (in effect to buy extra years) and to get an extra £1k per year I would have to pay £153 per month, or £1836 per year. Given that I've got 19 years til retirement and life expectancy for women is about 85 (so 20 years after retirement) that doesn't sound like a particularly good deal. I keep thinking I must have missed something, but I've checked the pension calculator twice now. So rather than putting anything extra in my pension I think it will be S&S ISA followed by funds outside any ISA wrapper.

.

I would ask this as a question in the pensions part of "pure money". A few factors such as are you HR tax payer now, will you be in retirement may make the numbers better for you, but I agree they don't look good. The regulars on the pension boards are very helpful - and cover a range of views

gallygirl

cathybird wrote: »

You are in such a good position for someone who is 23. I wish I had been more money-minded at that age.

I agree TB, you're an inspiration :T.

cathybird

mark88man wrote: »

I would ask this as a question in the pensions part of "pure money". A few factors such as are you HR tax payer now, will you be in retirement may make the numbers better for you, but I agree they don't look good. The regulars on the pension boards are very helpful - and cover a range of views

Agreed, this is a very good idea - thanks mark88man. I have a few questions I should probably ask there myself.

cathybird

gallygirl wrote: »

I agree TB, you're an inspiration :T.

well you know, gallygirl, I am sure people would also say that about you.

One of the things that hugely helps with saving money is hanging around with other people who do the same. So, one of the biggest favours that anyone who wants to save money can do for themselves is spend time on MSE. Just talking about it and seeing others do it is enough to spur you into action, you know?

Eco_Miser

I meant to reply to this earlier, but read to the end of the thread first, and forgot to return to it.:o

cathybird wrote: »

You come across to me as having great strength of mind, but there it is. If it's habit, it's a habit I need to develop

I don't know how I acquired it, but I know it's automatic,

cathybird wrote: »

Oh what fun!! That must have been huge fun. Did they travel up the Amalfi coast? Absolutely gorgeous. As big adventures go, that's a good one.

After so long, I'm not sure, but I know they did decades later on a round Italy coach trip.

cathybird wrote: »

You're making me wish I could ride a motorbike now. In fact (curiously) my Dad did ride one in his younger days, but gave up after he had a family.

So did mine. I travelled in a side-car for the first four years, but after that, it was a real car - a pre-war Morris 8 for nearly a decade.

cathybird wrote: »

It is sad about my mum. Australia is a hell of a long way from anywhere and I think her and my dad's generation weren't used to the idea that they could travel outside it very easily. That is where people in the UK have got a huge advantage, in that the continent has always loomed large as an easy place to get to.

The UK is part of Europe, just as Tasmania is part of Australia. Australia is a vast place and Australians can do an awful lot of exploring without crossing an international border.

cathybird wrote: »

I wish she had been able to travel to Europe at least once. My dad has been over here a few times since she died, but it always makes me think every time he travels that she would have loved it.

I'm sure she would.

Lomcevak

YoungBusinessman wrote: »

Has anyone set themselves a budget for 2014 for the whole year to try and stick to?

I'm a die-hard budgeter, but don't try and do the whole year - in my experience things always crop up (good or bad) so a budget needs to be a living thing. Personally I only budget money I have; I keep two months income immediately available, so money I earn in January will pay the bills in March, and so the budget for January and February can be very accurate as I know exactly what I have to spend, and I have a pretty good idea for March. But no further out than that, as I don't yet know what I have to spend in April. Maybe there will be a payrise, maybe we'll have a ban on our (quite lucrative) overtime. Just don't know, so i'm not going to try and guess too hard.

Ending this year with £2,000 ish in current account(January's expenses) I want it to be 5 times that for end of 2014 with some of debt paid off(think I will pay off half the debt and keep the biggest part which would take payments down from £825 a month to £328, a much more reasonable debt payment figure) as £825 a month is a hell of a lot to pay to bank as soon as I get it!

... but I do make goals like this. So what I do is have a list of financial priorities alongside the budget. So looking at mine, I have:

- build up £5000 in emergency funds (currently £3500)
- have £1200 available to book holiday in April (currently £300)
- fill 2014/15 cash ISAs by December

etc. (bit more complex in reality, but you get the idea)

So my January I know from my budget that I have about £1800 left after bills, living expenses, mortgage paid, etc. so will direct that to emergency funds and maybe a bit to the holiday fund and small amounts to other things. February will complete the emergency fund savings and March will complete the holiday fund, so April lets me start work on the ISAs. And if anything unexpected crops up I stop, replan, or reprioritize. Find it works out much better than trying to map out the whole of the year.