Savings / ISA / Pension

Eco_Miser

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel wrote: »

Re: banks. I'll try and explain (briefly) - me and my ex had joint finances and he dealt with everything. He would tell me to sign and stupidly I would. Towards end of relationship we had baliffs. Turns out we had £35k worth of debt. I'm terrified of getting back in that situation and I'm scared if I mix my accounts I'll mess them up and end up with charges/debts etc.

That's a good reason to do things your way. It could be costing your around £20 a year in foregone interest, which you may think worthwhile for the added clarity. Having account 2 for spending is actually another opportunity to go overdrawn and incur charges.

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel wrote: »

I DO have a budget sheet but it is basic.

It has all my bills and their costs then it's like a calendar. There's an income/outgoing and balance coloum

I have a sheet like that, with all planned spending listed to the day, and kept up to date if anything changes. That way I can see what needs to be moved, where to, and when; and if the current projections will lead to an overdraft - in which case I can take avoiding action.
I have a second sheet which records what has actually happened. The difference is the first says everything's OK if you stick to the plan, the second says, you need to pay more into the account to meet the conditions this month.

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel wrote: »

Can you move pensions around? Or is it stuck with whomever I pick?

You can move Personal Pensions. There may be charges for this.

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel wrote: »

At the moment I can only put around £100 a month into a pension, that will change when I've stopped saving for a car etc and I can add that money.

How do I work put how much I "need" to put away? Do I count the (current rate) of the state pension and work out what's left?!

These pension and retirement questions are best asked on the Pensions board, where a different (but overlapping) set of experts can apply their knowledge.

atush

Generally speaking, to decide how much to put in a pension will depend on what you think you will need as income when you retire, and at what age you hope to retire.