Calling all money/personal finance nerds (self-confessed or otherwise)

Legacy_user

Hey hey. I came across the term ‘personal finance nerd’ and realised that I have a bit of that in me. I wanted to hear from other money/personal finance nerds and ask what makes you a money nerd? And how does that influence how you manage your finances in terms of spending, saving and use of credit card/s? And what are your attitudes to all three? Also, what is your age and when did your money ‘nerdness’ begin and why? And has that helped (or is it helping) you to reach particular financial goals you have set yourself - be it to save a certain amount, reduce or eliminate date, buy a house etc?

System

Hey it’s just curiosity actually. I’m far from a journalist.

LHW99

Probably aged about 7 when I realised I could save my pocket money up for 2-3 weeks and buy a Famous Five book from Smiths (1960's).

username12345678

My mother would tell you about scolding me for putting 10p she gave me for sweets in to my piggy bank. In fact, she often used to borrow change from me (always paid back!).

I've always been a saver and I think it is to do with your mindset....I can foresee disaster in any situation so it naturally makes me cautious.

Others see only positives and have a 'something will turn up' and 'money is for spending' approach...and good for them.

Reluctantpensioner

I definitely count - probably at the far end of the numerical spectrum.

Since school I've always been a maths nerd. Once I started earning - finance nerdery was inevitable.
Hate debt. Hate insurance companies. Always paid credit card by direct debit.
Spotted and avoided both the endowment and PPI scams immediately.
I can still derive the equation for mortgage repayment from first principals. Even though excel will do it for me.... but not with inflation included!
Inevitably, I had one of the first offset mortgages - and paid off my mortgage ten years early - I extended the house 50% and did the same again.

Recently I was made-redundant/retired-early-kicking-and-screaming.
But my finance nerdity won't stop - I realised I had always been manager of my own pension fund. And looking back - not a very good one.
Now fund management was a full-time job. The number are scarily large - but I have to make it last over thirty years.
So now I am studying finance. I have just completed 15.401 Finance Theory of the MIT Sloan School MBA and am preparing to do 15.433. Free online of course: money saving never stops.

A year ago I could only count stars on a MorningStar fund report (or compute an annualised trailing return). Now I'm deriving my own ratios and computing the efficient frontier of my portfolio.

Happy Nerdery.

Terry_Towelling

Sweetcake wrote: »

Hey it’s just curiosity actually. I’m far from a journalist.

How far?

Anyway, there comes a time when you just have to spend it - what's the point in financial wealth if it isn't being used? Apart from future-proofing yourself (which is good) if you don't have an aim for the wealth, you might as well not have it - it makes no difference to you. You might just as well pretend you have wealth as hoard it and die without making use of it. I do understand you can bequeath it, of course.

I was 36 when I really started to save and watch the expenses because I realised that I did not want to have to wake up every day for years on end and trudge to work. Now I have no choice because I am carer to my wife, and working and spending are just pipe dreams. I track everything now because I suspect that my caring will come to an end and I'll need to use it to supplement my wife's assets to pay for her care - unless she dies at home (as I hope will happen). Just to be clear, I am hoping she dies at home, not hoping that she dies - but I know it's not that far away.

I remember an incident in my childhood when I was about 8 - I know it was pre-decimalisation but I still think the 50p was in existence in place of the 10 shilling note. Anyway, I was given 50p (pocket money which I'd never had before) and spent it on sweets - as you do. That was considered a complete waste by my mother and my pocket money stopped there - until I was 17 when I was given a monthly allowance of £10 to supplement my paper round money, until I went off to higher education a year later.

That's it, I'm not giving you any more for your study.

cloud_dog

My father paying us pocket money monthly when I was about 8 or 9. Virtually a whole month without money is a long, long time for a 8 / 9 year old.

Boy, that soon got me in to budgeting. :money:

System

Terry_Towelling wrote: »

How far?


That's it, I'm not giving you any more for your study.

Me saying how far away I am from a journalist, was actually in response to someone asking if my thread out of interest or because I'm a journalist. Funny they removed it after my reply.

Again I say, I don't work in the field of journalism, I work in mental health services actually and this is a thread out of interest.

So relax. There is not study involved.

Terry_Towelling

Sweetcake wrote: »

Me saying how far away I am from a journalist, was actually in response to someone asking if my thread out of interest or because I'm a journalist. Funny they removed it after my reply.

Again I say, I don't work in the field of journalism, I work in mental health services actually and this is a thread out of interest.

So relax. There is not study involved.

To be honest, I don't really mind if there is a study anyway - but thanks for letting me know.

My wife has mental health issues in that she has fairly advanced dementia. She is way beyond being able to comprehend anything to do with money, so I am managing everything. It is taking a bit of a toll on my mental health in that I don't really have a life of my own any more BUT I have never done anything more worthwhile than care for her.

Ploughing all of our combined wealth into funding care is really not how I envisaged the ending of our time together but, if it has to be that way, then fine - I have little or no control over what is happening other than to try and limit any tax liabilities should we need to sell everything.

EachPenny

Sweetcake wrote: »

I wanted to hear from other money/personal finance nerds and ask what makes you a money nerd?

What qualifies me as a money nerd is:-
a) Walking into a Virgin Money store and advising the staff they have a new Regular Saver account launched.

b) Politely listening to bank staff verbally plod through the T&C's for an account, then explain to them the bits they got wrong.

BucksLady

Terry_Towelling wrote: »

BUT I have never done anything more worthwhile than care for her.
.

Terry, that's such a lovely thing to say. My heart goes out to you and also everyone in the same situation x