Is it ever to late to save ?

margaretclare

bigadaj wrote: »

My father is the same age as you, and is still saving.

We've assumed he's found a loophole around the adage that you can't take it with you.....

No, you can't take it with you, but you may need it before the end. Things have happened to DH and me which reinforce the fact that you really do not know what is just round the corner, and almost everything is helped by having a little extra money available. I have never regretted having savings. I've always regretted it when I had none, and that was in the years when I was earning a reasonable salary, but also, coping with mortgage, children, you name it.

And also, it gets to be a habit, especially a habit you were taught when very young. In the summer/early autumn of 1940 there was a very real fear of invasion, and yet, there was a school savings bank and people sent pennies along with their children every Monday morning. A particular mindset maybe, but praiseworthy nevertheless.

Aretnap

The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.

darkidoe

Dird wrote: »

Adds no clarity

Well majority of the middle class earners can enjoy to afford a very middle class lifestyle, ie nice decent house, swaggy new cars, annual holidays, eating out in fancy restaurants etc as their salary increases, By the time they reach middle age, they find they are still stuck on their mortgages, still paying a car loan after changing a few new cars, now with the burden of having to support a growing family as well. (Lifestyle Inflation) They are stuck in a system where they are overly dependent on their salary when there is so much at stake and there isn't much leeway to save and might even live from paycheck to paycheck. I can imagine the burden and feeling of inevitability of being in such a situation. For example one might be earning a million pounds per year but if liabilies/expenses are close to 1 million pounds per year with close to zero savings, he is in a trap where by the end at retirement, he might not be able to support his 1 milllion a year lifestyle and there will be a big downgrade in his quality of life. Hence the trap.

One way to generate wealth is to avoid this middle class trap when you are young, freshly out of university. Instead of jumping onto the bandwagon of 'I want to get a new car because my salary can afford the monthly payments, or the holidays or the dining outs', there is there alternative of continuing the lifestyle of relative frugality. Basically, avoiding lifestyle inflation as much as possible, attain a high savings rate and invest for the long term.