‘Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves’

124

Comments

  • atush
    atush Posts: 18,719
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Forumite
    Who are you to say they arent? I am. And my medication (when i have to take it) makes me feel ill anyway.

    Some may have alergy induced asthma. Which is higher in spring summer in the road racing season. Not on t he track obvs.

    But why UK althletes despite the numerous testing they have to do? Instead of those who are proven to be doping? Or are you just trying to be a wally?

    BTW, I am not from the UK.
  • I can see the virtue of looking after the pennies, metaphorically speaking, and see that in time the benefits will accrue so that life is much more manageable and comfortable. I was put in a position about 20 years ago where I was left with only a tiny amount of money to survive, and with a young family as well. The challenge was to become sufficiently smart with the available resources to not only survive, but to move on.

    All these years later I still look after the pennies, by buying only when the price is really sharp (bogof or half price, reduced to clear, etc.) but I no longer have to. The thousands of pounds I have accrued by being frugal mean my life is less stressed and much more enjoyable. Peace of mind is something difficult to price.
    Solar Suntellite 250 x16 4kW Afore 3600TL dual 2KW E 2KW W no shade, DN15 March 14
    Mortgage and Debt Free. Unfortunately Pension Free too!
  • MisterMotivated
    MisterMotivated Posts: 512
    First Anniversary First Post
    Forumite
    edited 17 September 2018 at 1:46PM
    I strongly disagree with the proverb in the OP. The first part is okay as it suggests that you should be careful even with small, seemingly insignificant, amounts. However, the "pounds will look after themselves" bit I find really irritating. Yes, looking after the pennies by avoiding expensive coffees, etc, is good, but ultimately pointless if the cumulative pounds are sat in a basic savings account earning 0.01% interest while some current accounts pay up to 500 times that rate. Also, if I stop buying expensive snacks from petrol stations, etc, that doesn't mean I don't have to bother about remortgaging and saving £100+ per month against being on the SVR.


    These days, the banks (and many other companies) are fighting to milk everything they can from customers; the days of a friendly bank manager making sure your money is working hard for you are long gone.
  • Mee
    Mee Posts: 1,441
    Name Dropper First Anniversary Photogenic First Post
    Forumite
    So are we saying we have to be careful with the pennies as well as the pounds?
    Free thinker.:cool:
  • gallygirl
    gallygirl Posts: 17,228
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Mortgage-free Glee!
    Forumite
    I agree and although I have enjoyed my money a bit more carelessly in the past I now live by this as I'm saving more than half of my wage each month to save up for a bigger house!
    I make pennies here and there online through swagbucks, receipt apps and QMee etc. and when the cash comes through I put it straight into my savings account.
    I sell things I no longer want on ebay even with as little profit as 50p after all fees if I would have otherwise thrown them out (and also I prefer to recycle).
    I know which supermarkets sell certain items the cheapest and stock up when I'm there.
    I rarely buy food or drink on the go and I don't have a mobile phone contract.
    I used to have a penny jar but hate it lying around and now I rarely use cash at all, only when there's a collection at work and I withdraw £10, put say £2 into the collection and then next time I'm at a self-service till I pay with every last penny in my purse to get rid of it and if the balance is more then I pay the rest with my card.
    When making larger purchases, for example a new fridge, I will find the one I want and shop around for where I can get it cheapest. If I'm spending a good few hundred pounds it's not like I can watch the 'pennies' as such, but there are still little things you can do like use cashback sites etc. and I don't think it's worth buying the cheapest fridge available anywhere if it is not what you want.
    I did all this in the past....... however:
    Is your pension provision adequately funded?
    What is it in invested in?
    What is the annual charge?


    Is your current mortgage best suited to your needs?
    Are your utilities and insurances as cheap as you can get them?

    etc. etc.


    There is a real danger of concentrating on saving smaller pennies while unseen items get left unattended. I think it was Rich Dad Poor dad who pointed out that time spent clipping coupons (or the equivalent) would be better spent researching low cost index trackers etc. I remember blushing when I read it :o. I then rectified it, but only after a good few years of higher than necessary costs (quite horrendous in one case :eek:).

    I'm not saying don't sweat the small stuff - it can be very motivating and I used to overpay my mortgage on an almost daily basis :rotfl: - but make sure the big stuff is well sweated first :D.
    A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort
    :) Mortgage Balance = £0 :)
    "Do what others won't early in life so you can do what others can't later in life"
  • TBC15
    TBC15 Posts: 1,446
    First Post First Anniversary Name Dropper
    Forumite
    Many a mickle makes a muckle.
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546
    Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary First Post
    Forumite
    The first part is okay as it suggests that you should be careful even with small, seemingly insignificant, amounts. However, the "pounds will look after themselves" bit I find really irritating.

    For every 100 pennies you save. Ypu'll have another pound in your pocket. Ok so inflation over the years makes pennies pretty worthless. Doesn't detract from the principle though. I started my first pension plan at 17. Small amount per month. Surprising how compounding has lifted it over the years though.
  • Thrugelmir wrote: »
    For every 100 pennies you save. Ypu'll have another pound in your pocket.


    I don't disagree with that. What I disagree with is the statement's suggestion that you only need to focus on the 'pennies'.


    Perhaps the proverb should be consigned to the history books as a relic of a bygone era, when the financial world was a bit simpler than it is today.
  • Sometimes it's a case of 'buy cheap, buy twice' for example I have a waterproof jacket that cost £230 bought 8 years ago that I wear every time I walk the dogs when it's raining it is the single best buy I've ever made but the initial outlay was large ( For a dog walking jacket ).
    However the majority of our food shopping is done at Aldi.
    I think it's more a case of value I.e a steak from Aldi will do the same as one from Waitrose in satisfying your hunger but cost less whilst the more expensive jacket bought after consideration of what's it's purpose is will last year's and make the initial outlay irrelevant in time.
    To sum up rather than looking after the pennies I believe it comes down to what value you get from a purchase so my jacket example at the moment has cost £30 a year but is still waterproof so the cost to me of the jacket decreases every year.

    I hope that makes sense.
  • chucknorris
    chucknorris Posts: 10,785
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Forumite
    Thrugelmir wrote: »
    Not a phrase it's a proverb.

    I found it astonishing that so many posters didn't realise that, and took it so literally.
    Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one birdThe only time Chuck Norris was wrong was when he thought he had made a mistakeChuck Norris puts the "laughter" in "manslaughter".I've started running again, after several injuries had forced me to stop
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.4K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards