What savings should I have?

bigadaj

Things tend to ebb and flow, I had things much easier than my parents generation but harder than those people say ten years older. I think young people do have it tough currently, though many do waste money on stupid things. Property is still at a silly level compared to average salaries in much of the country student debt is effectively an additional tax on the young and they will be paying the pensions of teh older generations without benefitting from them, when they are very much reduced. The luxury of the bank of mum and dad is great for those who can access it. But social mobility is a real concern for me.

lazer

I want to get my savings to £10k then I will be happy


My current emergency savings are around £3k


Once I get to £10k other than a pension I will stop actively saving - I will stop watching the money and enjoy today instead.


Currently looking for a job nearer home - so could potentially save over £200 a month on travel costs - so shouldn't take long to make it too £10k.


When I was 28 I had almost £20k in savings - but bought a house and then got married the following year - so its depleted now!


After we got married, had various emergencies to deal with so it took us a while to get into a position where we can save again

Stubod

.......we lived in a hole in the road and had to eat gravel....tell the kids of today and they won't believe you.....

nb I think as a "general" rule..all things being equal, I have always aimed to save 10% of my salary per year..(ie from yr 1..up to retirement.....and that is money "saved"...ie in addition to any mortgage / pension etc....), but I accept that's just an arbitrary figure.....doesn't real mean anything...just feels about right?)....

...back to the hole in the road, and gravel for tea.....

Buzzybee90

Archi_Bald wrote: »

The interest rates some of us paid for our mortgages would make your eyes water. But we somehow managed to service the 13%+ loans, and we saved a lot of money by going without mobile phones, internet, laptops, hair extensions, tattoos, acrylic nails and clubbing.

Tattoos, hair extensions, fake nails? You have a very narrow view. I know no one my age with the above! Yes I have the internet and a phone, they're pretty essential for work.

When you think of young people, are you talking about chavs that hang about smoking & drinking? It really sounds like it.

And all the "I had old/cheap furniture", have you ever visited a student house? The only difference is in the 70s they were new, in the 10s they're very old.

ManofLeisure_2

lalman wrote: »

I agree with kwmlondon and totally disagree with kidmugsy.

1. I am a 28 year old man, 2 degrees and chartered accountant. Although I have a decent income, a 2 bed flat in a poor area of London is £250k. Is it sensible to borrow 5x or 6x my income to just get on the property ladder?
2. I don't drink or smoke - not wasting my money on that...
3. I do travel to see my family up north - but I feel this is a necessity rather than a 'luxury'...
4. When interest rates were 13-15% you do realise that inflation was running at 10% don't you?!?!?! the real value of your debt was getting eroded all the time... were as now we have a low inflationary/ deflationary environment, low interest rates and ridiculously high property prices... wages aren't going up and aren't looking to go up either to help shrink the gap over time....

So I am highly experienced, high educated individual but can't get a flat in a dodgy area... and we haven't got it tough?!?!

You get a state pension... we need to save up our own pensions because we won't have state pensions...

You get free/ grants for University... we had to pay 3k a year... kids these days pay 9k....

Unfortunately our parent's generation i.e. shafted the younger generation (US).

In conclusion - we do have it harder.

Yes, property prices in London are ridiculous. However, as a chartered accountant, surely you could find work in an area where prices are within your budget.

ManofLeisure_2

Buzzybee90 wrote: »

And all the "I had old/cheap furniture", have you ever visited a student house? The only difference is in the 70s they were new, in the 10s they're very old.

I have four children and all have been to uni. So yes, I've visited student digs. Believe me, none that I've visited were too bad at all.

Buzzybee90

ManofLeisure wrote: »

I have four children and all have been to uni. So yes, I've visited student digs. Believe me, none that I've visited were too bad at all.

Mine were awful, but the point I'm making is how the stuff is usually old and about 15th hand! Not new and high tech luxuries that are described above, none of us ever turned on the heating!

kidmugsy

guitarman001 wrote: »

I bet your mortgage was less than 4x single income?

Nope. I economised on cars by buying a secondhand motorbike.

kidmugsy

lalman wrote: »

"to just get on the property ladder?"

So you don't want to own a house to live in, you want it as a capital investment. Anyway, if you don't like London house prices move somewhere where houses are cheaper.

ManofLeisure_2

Buzzybee90 wrote: »

Mine were awful, but the point I'm making is how the stuff is usually old and about 15th hand! Not new and high tech luxuries that are described above, none of us ever turned on the heating!

I do understand that it's tough. However, each generation is faced with different challenges. When I was at uni, we also skimped on the heating and I remember an uncle telling me the same.
My kids were lucky and received financial help. To work my passage through uni, I stacked shelves in the evenings at a local supermarket. That's just the way it was amd I'm not complaining.