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Organising my money...where do I start?

first78
Posts: 1,050 Forumite


Okay, so I'm pretty clueless about saving, investing etc. I'm 38 & my partner is 36 and we have 2 kids aged 1 & 2.
I'm due to start a new job in a few months which will pay just short of 30k, my partner earns just under 25k. Our direct debits are around £2200. We have 62k left to pay on our mortgage and our house is worth approx 70k.
I have no idea how much we should be saving for the future, how to manage to get a good work/life balance so we can pay for the things we need and have holidays, days out etc. Where do I start with this?
I'm due to start a new job in a few months which will pay just short of 30k, my partner earns just under 25k. Our direct debits are around £2200. We have 62k left to pay on our mortgage and our house is worth approx 70k.
I have no idea how much we should be saving for the future, how to manage to get a good work/life balance so we can pay for the things we need and have holidays, days out etc. Where do I start with this?
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Comments
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You each have a pension and life insurance to cover repaying the mortgage/ child expenses etc in the event of your demise?
You have each made a will covering the guardianship of your children?
You have the best joint current account for your needs? A joint Santander 123 is handy to hold up to £20,000 in savings and for all the household DDs etc.
Consider whether other high interest current accounts would be of use in your circumstances.
Consider a JISA for each of the children. https://www.gov.uk/junior-individual-savings-accounts/overview
Consider a stocks and shares ISA for each of you.0 -
Start by making a budget, listing income and everything you need to spend money on, which will be the £2200 plus other costs for food, clothes, cars, etc, etc.
This will give you an idea of how much disposable income you have left.
You're then left with the option of saving all of it, or spending all of it, or, more realistically, somewhere in between! It's entirely up to you how much you choose to spend on holidays, days out and so on, but it's usually recommended to build up an emergency fund of three to six months living expenses to give you a buffer in the event of losing jobs, poor health, etc.
To make the most of the money you do put aside, see the quick link above about How to Start Saving.0 -
You each have a pension and life insurance to cover repaying the mortgage/ child expenses etc in the event of your demise?
You have each made a will covering the guardianship of your children?
You have the best joint current account for your needs? A joint Santander 123 is handy to hold up to £20,000 in savings and for all the household DDs etc.
Consider whether other high interest current accounts would be of use in your circumstances.
Consider a JISA for each of the children. https://www.gov.uk/junior-individual-savings-accounts/overview
Consider a stocks and shares ISA for each of you.
We do each have life insurance to cover the mortgage and we both have pensions with work.
We don't have wills, I'm not sure we know anyone who would take over bringing up our children if anything happened to us both.
I have separate current accounts one with Natwest and one with TSB. Both kids have savings accounts with Natwest and once I'm working I plan to split the child benefit money equally between their accounts each month.
We want to move to a better house in the next 2-3 years...not sure how much we should be looking at paying on a better property.0 -
We don't have wills, I'm not sure we know anyone who would take over bringing up our children if anything happened to us both.
You should each make a will - discuss the guardianship issue with the solicitor.I plan to split the child benefit money equally between their accounts each month.
As a parent making a cash gift to a minor /unmarried child, consider using a JISA which is unaffected by the "£100 rule".
https://www.gov.uk/savings-for-children
I would suggest a joint account for regular household expenses - I hate to be gloomy but in the event of illness/ death etc, it makes life simpler for the spouse.
With regard to using high interest current accounts see post 4 https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/54861460 -
Our direct debits are around £2200.
...
Where do I start with this?
This is slightly different from the original question but I'd start right there with those DDs! There must be some fat to trim and spending £500 per month less will generate far more money than getting an extra percent or two on your savings.
My council tax, gas, electricity, water, TV licence, phone, internet and life insurance come to about £360 per month. Add in a mortgage that is several times bigger than yours and I'm still <£1,500. Granted I don't pay car and house insurance by DD but that would only be another £100 or so per month.0 -
You say you have pensions, but what type? How much as a % of salary goes in?
How much do you have in emergency savings? you should have at least 6 months outgoings in cash. Then look at S&S isas. Boost your pensions too.0 -
Where do I start with this?
My approach:
Start by thinking in terms of net wealth.
What is it now, and what do you want it to be in years X, Y and Z?
Income and expenditure can then be adjusted as you go along, to meet these net wealth goals. That's helps you to decide how much to spend and save.0 -
This is slightly different from the original question but I'd start right there with those DDs! There must be some fat to trim and spending £500 per month less will generate far more money than getting an extra percent or two on your savings.
My council tax, gas, electricity, water, TV licence, phone, internet and life insurance come to about £360 per month. Add in a mortgage that is several times bigger than yours and I'm still <£1,500. Granted I don't pay car and house insurance by DD but that would only be another £100 or so per month.
Our biggest DD is £1417 per month and that's for full time nursery for our daughters. Our eldest will be 3 next year so we will get 15 hours free then but for now there isn't any other option.0 -
Ray_Singh-Blue wrote: »My approach:
Start by thinking in terms of net wealth.
What is it now, and what do you want it to be in years X, Y and Z?
Income and expenditure can then be adjusted as you go along, to meet these net wealth goals. That's helps you to decide how much to spend and save.
Sorry if this is a silly question but what is net wealth?0 -
You say you have pensions, but what type? How much as a % of salary goes in?
How much do you have in emergency savings? you should have at least 6 months outgoings in cash. Then look at S&S isas. Boost your pensions too.
I actually have no idea what type of pensions we have with our employers or what % goes in.
Our emergency savings are about £700 just now.0
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