Random thought the other day - I've never had more than £2300 in my bank account

Rich1976

I don’t earn £2300 after tax either. Me and my other half bring home a total of £3300 between us after tax. We have no debts, including no car loans or finance agreements and we have a low mortgage balance remaining. Our monthly mortgage payment is around £450. We also have no kids.

so whilst we are not on big salaries and certainly neither of us earns near the ‘average wage’, we save quite well each month and affords us a nice holiday abroad every year as well as things to improve the house.

Every person is different and the way we all manage our money is different. Some people budget, some people don’t. People at work will say to me ‘ I don’t know how you can afford to go on holiday with everything going up’ . But the fact is we can and they need to look at what they’re spending their own money on.

Appliance_engineer

Rich1976 said:

I don’t earn £2300 after tax either. Me and my other half bring home a total of £3300 between us after tax. We have no debts, including no car loans or finance agreements and we have a low mortgage balance remaining. Our monthly mortgage payment is around £450. We also have no kids.

so whilst we are not on big salaries and certainly neither of us earns near the ‘average wage’, we save quite well each month and affords us a nice holiday abroad every year as well as things to improve the house.

Every person is different and the way we all manage our money is different. Some people budget, some people don’t. People at work will say to me ‘ I don’t know how you can afford to go on holiday with everything going up’ . But the fact is we can and they need to look at what they’re spending their own money on.

That's a good achievement.

I do feel that not having a property has kept me on the straight and narrow because I'm fairly sure that had I ever had collateral, I'd have gone down the route of getting loans against it, and probably would have done the cars and holiday thing.

Many years ago, I applied for a loan of about £2000 to my bank and was immediately knocked back with a firm "NO", and I never again bothered applying for any kind of credit.

My frugality isn't necessarily what I wanted out of life - it was a necessity of the income I had available, but as I said previously, I don't have the fear of a knock on the door all the time as I'm sure many people on my estate have all the time.

Nebulous2

When I left school a family friend told me:- 

"It isn't what you make that is important, it's what you do with it. One person will earn £120 a week and spend it all, another will keep a family and save something on £80 a week." 

Have a look at the number thread on the pension forum if you have some spare time. Pensions Planning: The NUMBER — MoneySavingExpert Forum

We've almost entirely been a single income family. I've worked in care all my life, and never been a huge earner. Yet a public sector pension and moving to a cheaper area let me mostly retire in my late 50s. 

We had several children and holidayed regularly in France. Generally driving there and staying on a campsite or in a holiday house / gite. That holiday was a priority for us, and we were prepared to sacrifice to get it. Money in the bank wasn't a measure that concerned me, as long as the bills were paid, and to be honest I can't remember what I had in the bank. 

We all have different priorities and make different lifestyle choices, but there are always choices. Some of them may be more palatable than others. 

I have a friend who is a central heating engineer, and he loves it. He likes his own company, likes driving, he is in a rural area, and meets a lot of interesting people. I've no idea how well or otherwise he is paid. He has told me he doesn't expect to be able to retire before state pension age. 

If you are comfortable in your own skin, then it helps not to look too much at what others are doing...... 

CliveOfIndia

Appliance_engineer said:

My frugality isn't necessarily what I wanted out of life - it was a necessity of the income I had available

Personally that's how I've always lived.  When I was younger, the vast majority of my income went on necessities - mortgage, food, bills, the usual.  I had very little spare, and my annual holiday was a week camping somewhere not too far away, plus maybe a couple of weekends away somewhere cheap and cheerful.  My cars were always "old bangers" that served me very well.  But I was never in "debt" as such (yes, of course a mortgage is a debt, but you know what I mean).

Fast forward to the present day, I guess I'm what you'd describe as "comfortable".  Not rich, by any means, but we go abroad on holiday most years (not every year), something I could only have dreamed of when I was young.  Our cars - still old bangers, just slightly less old than I used to own, because I don't see the point in shelling out for a new car. 

In fact, just the other day my Mrs. said "Come on, you work bloody hard and never spend anything on yourself, this year you should treat yourself to a nice car now that we can afford it".  We're talking probably £12k, £15k, something like that (still can't justify to myself the cost of a brand new car!) - far more than I've ever contemplated spending on a car in my whole life.  My neighbours all drive brand new Range Rovers, Porsche Cayennes, Jags, that sort of thing - and though it's a reasonably affluent neighbourhood, I'm guessing most of them don't own the cars.

Sometimes when we've both had a hard week at work, Friday evening we'll say "!!!!!! it, fancy getting a takeaway tonight, or going to the pub for something to eat?" - and we can, without counting the pennies.  We can go out for the day on a weekend to the Safari Park or whatever and not worry about the cost.  Simple things, cheap things by some people's standards, but to me it's the odd little treat that can give a lot of pleasure.

So yeah, it's about priorities.  You want to drive a flashy new car?  Good for you, if you can afford it and if it gives you pleasure.  3 ski-ing holidays a year?  Go for it.  But I'm with you - if you have the cash available then it's nobody's business but yours what you do with it.  But for me, I wouldn't get into high levels of debt to fund a lifestyle which I'd undeniably like but realistically can't afford.

Appliance_engineer

I keep saying that this isn't a moan or a complaint, nor am I asking for comparisons or examples of lifestyle or money-management. Nor am I saying that what I've done or how I've lived is good or bad or indifferent. It's simply a thought I had when it occurred to me that I'd never thought about what was the most money I've ever had in my possession at any one particular moment in my life. I feel that it's an interesting (to me) realisation.  

Not everything on a forum like this has to be a criticism, or a point to be made or a lesson to teach, or a lifestyle to promote.

Sometimes, a thought like this just puts things into perspective, and as I'm heading to retirement, I can look back over my working life to make sense of it all, whereas most people are still heading through their working life and it's maybe why the thought never occurred to me previously.

I do however find it interesting how people with similar jobs can have such varied lifestyles, and I've sometimes wondered if I'm "doing something wrong".

As is the way of forums in general, people always like to jump in to make a point and start weaponising every comment in order to push an agenda.

I'm not asking for life lessons or financial guidance, I'm not complaining about my lot, and I'm not pontificating or advising or proselytising.  I just put up a random thought on a forum. That is all.

MSE_ForumTeam5

We've removed a number of posts on this thread. Please could we keep to musing about people's varying attitudes to money, and keep aware from digressions about the definition of an 'engineering' job?

elsien

May I ask why some types of musing are allowed and others are not? Not about job types, but I thought the musing parts of the forum had been abolished sometime ago? 

Be helpful to know where that line is sitting at the moment. 

dertinbay

Appliance_engineer said:

I keep saying that this isn't a moan or a complaint, nor am I asking for comparisons or examples of lifestyle or money-management. Nor am I saying that what I've done or how I've lived is good or bad or indifferent. It's simply a thought I had when it occurred to me that I'd never thought about what was the most money I've ever had in my possession at any one particular moment in my life. I feel that it's an interesting (to me) realisation.  

Not everything on a forum like this has to be a criticism, or a point to be made or a lesson to teach, or a lifestyle to promote.

Sometimes, a thought like this just puts things into perspective, and as I'm heading to retirement, I can look back over my working life to make sense of it all, whereas most people are still heading through their working life and it's maybe why the thought never occurred to me previously.

I do however find it interesting how people with similar jobs can have such varied lifestyles, and I've sometimes wondered if I'm "doing something wrong".

As is the way of forums in general, people always like to jump in to make a point and start weaponising every comment in order to push an agenda.

I'm not asking for life lessons or financial guidance, I'm not complaining about my lot, and I'm not pontificating or advising or proselytising.  I just put up a random thought on a forum. That is all.

Brilliantly put. Shame on the MSE forum that you have to say it. 

MSE_James

elsien said:

May I ask why some types of musing are allowed and others are not? Not about job types, but I thought the musing parts of the forum had been abolished sometime ago? 

Be helpful to know where that line is sitting at the moment. 

If a thread is about MoneySaving (in a broad sense) then it's on topic for this forum (assuming it doesn't break another rule in some way). A thread about how people's attitudes to money shape what they choose to prioritise financially and in life would seem eminently relevant to this Forum.