How much to live on

helensbiggestfan

£1k interest on your stoozing is fantastic, especially as it's risk free. Just goes to show how using leverage can work.  

(Leverage using other peoples money, usually the banks,  to make money).  

Excellent work.  

Organgrinder

Thank you. By the time the current deals are up my stooze should have generated over £2,000 in total - we always use any money gained this way on our travels or for a bit of frivolous spending.

I'm only doing it as we have absolutely no need for credit. 

We were also very fortunate a few years ago to fix our mortgage at 1.64%. We have more than enough put by to pay it off but when we can invest it at 5% on average I see little point in doing so. The deal runs out in a year's time, by which time all told we'll have had over 2 and a half year's interest earning a net £4,000 or so.

So between that, stoozing and bank switching incentives that's a lot of free money over that time period. I am grateful to all the people who post on mse for the ideas, as I'm pretty certain I wouldn't have gained that money otherwise.

barnstar2077

helensbiggestfan said:

From little acorns, do mighty oaks grow.!!!  You have to start somewhere.  

There is an other saying.  From Clogs to Clogs in three generations.  (Clogs were worn by the working classes who worked in factories and the mills). 

Basically what it means is the first generation builds wealth, the second generation spends it, the third generation is back to square one.  My view is, if setting up trusts can help preserve some of that wealth and possibly increase it, then they are worth looking at.  They won't be appropriate for everyone but I wouldn't just dismiss them out of hand, they come in many guises.  

Taking my parents as first generation. They were ordinary average working class people who worked hard and managed to scrape enough money to buy a small house. The first in their families to own property.   They left this to my sister and I.  Thankfully my parents enjoyed long lives so that by the time they died my sister and I already owned our properties so our inheritance was a bonus. She frittered hers away, I ploughed mine into my property.  

She lives above her means and is constantly in debt. I live below my means, have no debts and some savings and assets. Certainly not wealthy (yet!!!!). Working on it. Lol. My sister hasn't been able to help her only daughter get on the housing ladder who is stuck in a grotty flat she can barely afford to rent,  I was able to give both my sons deposits to get them started.  They both now own nice four bedroomed houses paying less on a mortgage than she does in rent. A scenario that's all too common for our young folk.  

Now I'm planning ahead to see what I can do for my grandsons, 4th generation.  At this stage I've no idea how much I can set aside for them but hopefully I can give them a bit of a leg up.  

Unless one has an extremely well paid job or has gained from inheritance then creating wealth takes time, often a lifetime. It takes some degree of sacrifice and forward planning.  

I am always reminded of the old adage......"Blessed are they who plant trees in whose shade they know they will never sit". Which of course isn't just about trees, it also applies to wealth creation and taking care of future generations.  I see it as good stewardship of resources.  

As an aside I always plant trees in every garden I create.  And every purchaser of the houses I've sold has been delighted.  

Rest period over, back to those wretched boxes.  Lol. 

Do you have a good relationship with your niece, could you take her under your wing a bit?  Seems like she was not as fortunate as your sons when it came to the parent lottery!  If your niece is the sensible sort it might not take much to help her onto the right track.

I have three siblings, one that married a good earner, one that has always had a sensible approach to life and a good career (and also married someone similar), and one that still lives in a rented flat at fifty, because of their rather dubious and unsavoury life choices.  The sensible sibling has offered to help them go through their finances to get their life back on track, but they "just want to borrow some money, I don't need a lecture.. why are you being so horrible" etc.

As for me, I have never had any career ambitions, but being inherently frugal means it has all worked out okay anyway! :  )

helensbiggestfan

You know the old saying....."You can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink".   Sometimes we just have to wait until people are ready to receive the message.  My niece isn't ready.  Some people are a bit like ostriches. Until they are ready to face the music there's not much you can do for them. 

My youngest son was a shocker with money until he had his lightbulb moment, it was the eldest who was the sensible one.  

However, once the youngest got on board there was no stopping him.  He has more than made up for any lost time.  He has become quite knowledgeable about money and he reviews his position quite regularly.  In fact he's working on his pension plan as I write this..... 

I have never been a particularly high earner either, I wasn't a high flyer by any means but I did ok.  I think the trick is to keep a handle on your living expenses and not fall into the lifestyle creep trap.  I follow a guy on you tube who always says "A rich man is one with no bills to pay".  By that he means discretionary spending on things like car payments, clothes, subscriptions, just general excessive consumption.  

Of course we all like to live well.  I'm no exception. I freely admit to having champagne tastes. Alas I also have a lemonade budget 😂  but with a bit of planning and a dash of creativity and flair I can usually manage to do everything I want.  

Last year I had major dental treatment. A cool £15k worth, lol. But I took my time in planning how to fund it without going into debt. And I have to say the end result is worth the wait and sacrificing a couple of holidays.  

helensbiggestfan

I too am extremely grateful for this site and all the lovely people whose generously spare the time to share their knowledge.  

I don't know why I never gave stoozing a try in the past but I shall certainly look into it once I have settled in my new home and rejigged my finances.  £4K interest over 2.1/2 years is a fantastic achievement.  

Free money, what's not to like. 😉

LL_USS

MSE forum is a godsend - of course I don't just listen and follow someone's advice but lots of ideas to let us think.

@MarzipanCrumble and @helensbiggestfan indeed plans for children change. I only have a master plan with principles such as what are important things to teach them, and when perhaps to start passing money to them and notes of how to avoid gifting turning sour etc (and even these notes change). Helen I have not thought about the future of how to help grandchildren yet lol. I don't have a high-flying job or high pay, but good management of money plus some luck in timing for financial decisions have worked well for me. I did not have any financial help from anywhere but I think young people these days would really struggle when the housing market is so broken so I'll give my children some initial help. I wouldn't just leave them money for them to decide what to do with it - it has to go directly into their housing need i.e. when they buy.

@helensbiggestfan: I am also a surviving partner and I've been extra careful in terms of legalwork and finance. I've updated my will any time there's a significant change, for e.g. when I bought a house or when one of my children turned 18 recently etc. Clearly explaning in the will arrangement for executor of my estate, guardianship for the children, where are the funds and how I would like them to be used and when - these are the main things right?

helensbiggestfan

LL. sounds like you are doing the right things.  You're right as the survivors we do have to ensure all "i's" are dotted and "t's" crossed, especially when you have younger children who are still minors.

 Have you done POAs. 

Organgrinder

Well today I thought I'd better redo my budget as I'd read an article saying council tax in my area was going up a whopping 8.2% this year.

So I also added in known pension increases (1.7%) and what many assume will be the teachers' pay rise this year (2.8%).

My other costs save for food and petrol/lpg are pretty much fixed but I do need to switch savings/ISA providers once bonuses are paid out. The actual returns aren't looking great at the moment but by the time the bonuses get paid it should average out at just over 5%. Not great but real term growth so can't complain.

Nebulous2

Pat38493 said:

Albermarle said:

helensbiggestfan said:

LL_USS said:

Interesting discussion regarding risks...

It is indeed a culture-bound attitude. Chinese, South East people tend to take the golden middle point, not showing anything extreme especially in public, and call it "playing the stock market". Americans have higher percentage of their assets in stocks and shares whilst British favour a higher percentage in property (well, let's see how much this trend will change after all the tightening rules for the BTL sector).

Whilst I am risk-adverse in general, I still think if I don't try lots of things when I am still quite young then I will never experence these when I am older. I cycle to work even when I am warned our roads are not cyclist friendly. Scared at first but I thought "little kids could go so why not me", so I then went on all the most "scary" roller coaster rides when I took my children to Disney Land/ Alton Towers/ Thorpe park.... I ride a moped (only with a bit of hesitation ) when I travel in Asia. Perhaps still not skiing though :-).

My husband  and I used to go to a casino sometimes. I know, I know.  My poor dad was horrified,  but my husband and I enjoyed it.  We were sensible, we gave ourselves a budget and stuck to it. If we lost our stake we quit.  If we did well we quit whilst we were ahead.  Oddly enough our track record was pretty good.  Obviously the only real "winner" in the long term is the house , same with bookies.  

As an aside I once made a killing at Ascot on Ladies Day and all for a £1 stake. . There were 5 ladies in our group.  So for the first race we put £5 between us on no 5.  It won. Not knowing how to play the game properly we put the lot on no 5 for the second race. It won.  After that we did change our numbers but we just kept letting the winnings ride.  We kept winning.  By the 4th race we had attracted quite a crowd, cheering, laughing and egging us on. The bookie was looking a bit concerned.  We won again. After winning the 5th race we decided to quit whilst we were ahead and take our winnings.  Beginners luck.  

Casinos and race meetings are fascinating places  to people watch.  You really do get all sorts.  At the casino the most reckless gamblers were the Chinese.  They would lose small fortunes and act as if it didn't matter.  "Keeping Face" lol.  I found the same when we were in China.  They will bet on anything.  It seems to be a macho thing.  

Roller coaster rides.....no thanks. They make me feel ill and give me vertigo.  I once visited a lighthouse in Orkney and passed out.  Not my finest hour.  My vertigo seems to come and go.  Once went for a walk along the cliffs at Lands End. The vertigo was so bad, my poor husband had to practically carry me back to the car. And yet i am fine with chair lifts and cable cars.  Go figure.  Lol. 

Looking back the most reckless thing I did was hitch hiking. Didn't give it a second thought. It was a different matter when I had my own children. I even hated them getting taxis, even when they were with their mates. I much preferred it when they let us pick them up.  

 I was never really happy until they were home safe and sound.......

Apart from the responsibility of becoming a parent, times have changed a lot in our attitude to safety and risk.
Remember you could drive drunk without a seatbelt as one example.
Also rose tinted spectacles have a place as many seem to think the world is a more dangerous place nowadays, than it was in the good old days, when they as children could play out on their own without fear of abduction etc.
Just think about the Moors Murders ! ( which happened close to where I lived and I was about the same age) .

If you want to understand the terrifying extent to which most of us believe that today's world is a much worse place than it was in the past, and much worse than it actually is, I reccomend the book "Factfullness" by Hans Rosling.

  I've just lashed out and bought it. Currently 99p on kindle.  @Pat38493

LL_USS

helensbiggestfan said:

LL. sounds like you are doing the right things.  You're right as the survivors we do have to ensure all "i's" are dotted and "t's" crossed, especially when you have younger children who are still minors.

 Have you done POAs. 

@helensbiggestfan no I haven't. I thought it would be under the appointment of executor for the estate in the will, which I have. I will need to sort out the Power of Attorney form then (I have just searched to see that the form is on the Gov's website). Thank you for this Helen :-).