What are long term savings for?

Stubod

As some comment above, we also struggle to spend. A life time of saving is a hard habit to break. Our initial aim was to pay the mortgage off ASAP which we did in our 40's. Then we planned to save so that we could retire early, which we did by spending a few years living off savings. 

However I have recently started to take some (all be it rather small), DB pensions and combined with my OH's pension, intererst on savings and investments, and a small amount from a part time job our current income exceeds our expenditure. Later this year we have another small pension due, and the following year our state pensions kick in, so our long term savings are now not really needed for day to day living. (Although this may well change if inflation continues the way it has).

We always planned to travel more, but covid, and more recently family health problems have put this on hold for the time being.

In hindsight (wonderful thing), we should have spent more on getting the things we wanted when we wanted them, but at the time there was always the worry of redundancy / lack of income.

caeler

Frequentlyhere said:

horsewithnoname said:

I’m thankful that I travelled when I was fit enough to do it. I’m now quite restricted by arthritis (since my late 40s) and now wouldn’t be able to do half the things that I have done. There are a lot of things to bear in mind, but life is short and sometimes the time to do things is when you are able. 

e.g. backpacking through Colombia might sound amazing in your twenties, but a bit too uncomfortable/risky in your fifties.

;-)

poppystar said:

I’m so pleased it’s not just me. I’ve never heard of others struggling to spend. 

 🙂

I visited Colombia in my late 30s on a cruise! Sounds glamorous but it’s more affordable than you think it can be. Cruise company now defunct sadly but great way to see places. 

And whilst I’ve just admitted to going in a cruise, I do struggle to spend. I’ve been thinking about getting a new TV to replace my 9 year old one but I’ve talked myself out of it a third time now! Nowt wrong with my current TV. 

phillw

I am a saver and I have to be quite strict, because otherwise I can be very reckless.

A lot of spending no longer interests me, I'm single and if I visit another country then I'll be the same person in another country.

I'm currently saving, because there is a very good chance that I'll not have any money soon.

Krakkkers

"I'm currently saving, because there is a very good chance that I'll not have any money soon."

You can't leave us in suspense.

phillw

caeler said:
I do struggle to spend. I’ve been thinking about getting a new TV to replace my 9 year old one but I’ve talked myself out of it a third time now! Nowt wrong with my current TV. 

I think my 42" 1080p 60hz TV is 14 years old.

It still works and it's got inputs that I use, which modern TV's don't have.

I'll miss it when it's gone.

strawb_shortcake

I really resonate with this thread, I've always been a saver since I was very young. 

Spending on my children I'm probably too soft and with 18th birthdays, and financially supporting one of them to go half way across the world on a school trip kind of contradicts my first statement - I don't even want to work out how much that cost me.

However, having spent my 20th Wedding anniversary at the cinema with a teenager in tow, despite my best efforts to do something different, that's changing I'm going to spend some money on myself even if it does still feel selfish!

Ocelot

phillw said:

caeler said:
I do struggle to spend. I’ve been thinking about getting a new TV to replace my 9 year old one but I’ve talked myself out of it a third time now! Nowt wrong with my current TV. 

I think my 42" 1080p 60hz TV is 14 years old.

It still works and it's got inputs that I use, which modern TV's don't have.

I'll miss it when it's gone.

My Tv is 12 years old. I inherited my father's almost brand new TV 6-7 years ago, and it just sits upstairs, unused. 

My current TV's sound goes every so often, but I can always get it back. I keep on saying I'll try the new tv one day (if I can find the remote and if it still works)!

pridehappy

I believe it sounds like it's time for you to plan your financial future. Sit down, have a cup of tea, and think! I'd give my advice and what I'd do below, although, make sure to ask around for other advice.

Fixed-rate/long-term/investments:
I believe it's still a good idea to work out a sensible amount of money which you can invest over the long term and receive secure, good profits. It's nice to have as a piece of mind that you've got this money and allows you to also set aside anything you'd like to gift to people as an inheritance if you wish to. It will also allow you to grow your funds efficiently.

Instant access savings:
It's nice to enjoy yourself (although keeping track to ensure you don't overspend) and a good rate instant access saver will allow you to do this. Sure, returns aren't as high as locking it away although it means you can access it anytime you like, allowing you to enjoy the finer things in life whenever you want to, or do things last minute. Some instant access savings rates are still good, I'd recommend the Virgin Money M Plus Saver or one from Skipton Building Society.
M Plus Saver | Linked Savings Account | Virgin Money UK

Private banking:
Depending on your financial situation, you might be eligible for private banking services, such as HSBC Premier. Although, most of them have quite poor interest rates and you can find better services elsewhere.

I hope this helps a little, although I can't provide as much advice on pensions.

MBR1

I find it best to use instand access savers or defined instant access, which usually have good intrest rates, and switch to a new bank once a yr to get the best rates.

Noneforit999

Savings are important, absolutely no question about it.

You could lose your job
Your car engine could go bang
Your boiler could fail

Having zero in savings is not a good idea, its inevitable something will happen and you need to find a few grand which likely means credit card or loans if you don't have anything in savings.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have enough disposable income that they can comfortably afford to live as well as put money into savings each month but if you are, you should. 

On the flip side, do you need to squirrel away every single spare penny you have and then live frugally? Personally that is not for me, we could probably stick £1000pm into savings each month if we really lived minimally but we have enough in savings already that we don't need to do that.

My wife's mum passed away recently at 57. 
Her parents had loads of plans for their retirement, they had saved enough to buy a nice motorhome and their mortgage was paid off.
Made me realise life is for living and making memories, hence why we don't save £1000pm