Hmm - save or spend?

djwolf

I'm currently 26 years old. I have some money saved in an ISA and have a reasonable regular income. I have a car loan and one credit card. I'd say both are manageable but I sometimes wonder whether I should be trying to save more but then I wouldn't have as much enjoyment and I'm still pretty young.

I suppose what I'm saying is it's difficult to know exactly how much to save and how much to spend. My parents used to tell me to try and save which is fair enough but then if that's all you do you won't get to enjoy your hard earned money while you can. I've known some people who just keep saving and then suddenly they reach retirement and don't have anything to spend it on. I guess it's a case of finding a balance between the two, spend up to a limit and have nice things but maybe try and put a little bit away in an ISA for later on. I still have plenty of time to put some away and I have an NHS pension which is steadily building up.

Primrose

We all have a finite amount of income and it's a matter of personal choice and lifestyle how it is spent. Do you want to live a life of pleasure now? In which case, will you whinge if you are later made redundant or become ill and cannot work and have no savings to fall back on? Sensible people know their own personalities and whether they can live with financial uncertainty. If they cannot and know that such an existence would cause them great stress, they make provision accordingly and save to protect themselves for the future. Right now you only have yourself to think about. Many young men in your position already have young families to provide for and this certainly causes financial priorities to change. . Ask yourself where in the scale of 1 - 10 you fall in terms of being able to live with future financial insecurity. Perhaps you won't always be working in the NHS with an index linked pension to fall back on. Will you want to buy a property one day or do you currently rent? What are your priorities? How will you cope if you unexpectedly become redundant through government cut-backs? Life is uncertain. Do you have enough savings to cover a minimum of 3 months living expenses if this happened? In any case, pleasurable activity don't HAVE to involve spending lots of money. Perhaps you could think about finding new hobbies, (walking, sport, etc) which don't cost vast sums of money. You say "I still have plenty of time to put some away". That presupposes that one of life's unexpected tragedies doesn't hit you next month. Be prepared and don't bank of good fortune staying with you. Start saving now and give yourself some peace of mind.

dshowgina

my sister is 26 years old too. and i think she never thought about saving money in case of emergency or something. she rent an apartment and has a credit card.every month she gets her salary, she keep the amount for the rent and credit card payment, then spends the left. usually, she has to live in reducing circustances at the end of the month. but she doesn't care and glad to be that. she said she would save money but the timing is not right now. i doubt. then, when is the good timing? is it when you realize that it's too late to save money? i just got my first full job for one month, and i plan to deposit a fixed amount every month, then enjoy the left part:D . i am not sure whether it is wise or not, i will do that in short time!

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