The "Save 12k in 2017" Thread!

LA.Nyx

#102 - I have managed to save £1666.90 this month. :j :beer: :j
I have never managed to save more than £500 so I am very pleased!

RichyRich

So I'm going for a slightly updatedstrategy.

Despite my earlier comment about not opening another current account I realised that my TSB Regular matures at the end of this month (should be about £3,075, thank you TSB!) so I opened a 2nd BofS Vantage which is has the biggest max balance for 3%. On 1st Feb I can transfer my £3,xxx into that and have a little bit of room for growth in there as well as Tesco of course. That gives me a maximum space of £14,500 in "accessible" cash plus the more restrictive cash possibilities in my Nationwide and FD Regulars (£3,600 and £6,000 by maturity all being well).

Anything above this will be going into a Nutmeg ISA as I will (hopefully) have enough cash to fall back on should the worst happen.

I opened the Nutmeg ISA yesterday with £500 and a £100pcm direct debit. Once my cash accounts are full I am proposing to put additional contributions into Nutmeg.

I haven't figured out how to account for Nutmeg in my calculations yet - as it's an investment it can obviously decrease as well as increase in value. So I will either use the sum of all my contributions or its current value as at declaration date. In truth I'm edging towards the latter as it will be easier to work out although is clearly a double edged sword as I will benefit from growth (gets me towards target quicker) but will suffer from contraction (moves me further away).

A little bit about me. "Save 12k" is part of a longer term plan. I'm 31, married, no kids, living in London with a reasonable job (but spend too much). Hoping to retire at 55 so need the means to do that. I am very fortunate that if I can continue in similar work and don't go overboard on buying unnecessary things then this should be achievable.

I pay 10% of my salary into my company pension and my employer pays 8%. This is not counted towards my "Save 12k" target. We also overpay our mortgage by between £100 and £200 per month (based on what's left over in the joint account after all the bills go out - this isn't counted towards the "Save £12k" challenge either).

I believe that the minimum age to take pension is changing to track the statutory retirement age by ten years, which will mean that I can't retire at 55 unless I have another income source. That's where Nutmeg comes in - I can draw on my ISA savings before I can draw on my pension. The projection for Nutmeg at the current investment rate of £100 per month should leave me with a pot that will tide me over until I can draw my company pension.

It's an ambitious goal and by the time I get to 55 I may well have changed my mind, so I guess it's more accurate to say that I'd like to have the option to retire at 55 should I wish to do so at the time.

I find this thread incredibly motivational and helps me to maintain discipline in achieving my goal; without thinking about saving £12k and maximising my monthly update I can easily become sidetracked.

I look forward to sharing in everyone else's success too and hope that we all achieve our individual ambitions whatever they may be.

Good luck everybody!

Jo_Blogs

_Amaryllis_ wrote: »

I've managed £1251.93 for January. It would have been a bit more but I had to buy a new hard drive for my laptop.

LA.Nyx wrote: »

#102 - I have managed to save £1666.90 this month. :j :beer: :j
I have never managed to save more than £500 so I am very pleased!

Well done to everyone :T:beer::j

Jo_Blogs

RichyRich wrote: »

So I'm going for a slightly updatedstrategy.

Sounds as though you have a great plan

sonas_baby

121 reporting in with a total of £591.29 for January sheet already sent in to you, This thread is sure keeps you motivated towards your goal :money:

Suffolk_lass

laura84gr wrote: »

What date does this get updated? I get paid the last working day of the month and just don't want to miss it or jinks myself declaring too early ����.

Slowlyfading will be along in a while and pick up the January updates. Like you I always wait until the last working day of the month to get paid and make the final tidying savings. Last year (my first) she always did a post-end of month clear up spreadsheet update as loads of us forget or get distracted as well as having different month-ends and we don't update at the same time. Fear not, put your form in saying which month it is, and it will be added to the right one.

SL

Starzy

#164 - Made a good start to my £6000 target so far this month and have put away £575 for Jan.

Keep up the good work everyone! :j

Fruittea

Well my savings have been given a lovely boost. My very kind mum has given me £5k towards a car so my savings will be over the top this month. I also have some things selling on Ebay so won't declare until the last day of the month as I have a few paid dog walks to do which will go straight into the saving update.
Everyone is doing so well - I thought January would be lean!

bobobski

Some mixed first months on here I see - lots of people doing great and lots of people feeling the January pinch!

I'm gutted I can't post my first month yet. But the good news (for those who remember that my company went under in December so I lost my job) is that I have a new job... and a pay rise. The only downside is they pay on the last working day of the month and I'm itching to start posting my numbers, even though they're going to be awful for January!!

snozberry

No. 96 reporting in

£1000 saved this month. This money was taken from my wages when I was paid at the end of December and I didn't spend it. I have no idea how I did it tbh. I am hoping that there will be several more months like this!