# Savings !



## ron burgandy (Apr 18, 2007)

What do people generally keep bak for savings. I get to about 5k and then stop and spend the rest. What should be a good target ?

35 full time employed mortgage married wife employed part time


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## djgregory (Apr 2, 2013)

As much as you deem necessary to cover all your bills for up to 6 months if you and the life were un employed.

Im 21 with a mortgage and a new car and all the associated bills etc. I did have 5k but obviously spent most on mortgage fees that come with moving out etc.


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## T.D.K (Mar 16, 2011)

£10,000 - this is my rainy day/just-in-case-I-lose-my-job fund or future mortage deposit money.

The amount of people I know who don't save a bean is terrifying!


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## rob_vrs (Jan 4, 2012)

Get another job if you lose yours  but have a little surplus couple of K


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## djgregory (Apr 2, 2013)

rob_vrs said:


> Get another job if you lose yours  but have a little surplus couple of K


Impossible to guarantee that you can walk into another job, at least if you have money to cover yourself if it takes a little longer to find a job.


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## kh904 (Dec 18, 2006)

I do it the opposite way around.

I save as much as i can and decide how much i'm willing to spend on various things (typical asian thinking lol).
I have very few outgoings so i save around 60-70% (varies through the year) of my wages but those savings also go towards paying my car insurance each year in one lump sum, holidays, car running costs etc.

I can go out and have a reasonable good time without worrying if i'm going to be broke for the rest of the month. 
Also i have set up an excel spreadsheet of my income and expenses for the year. That way i get to see how much and where my money is going and plan ahead (well i am an accountant afterall )
You'll be surprised how much lunches, tea's coffee's etc add up over the year!!!

At the moment savings are getting obliterated by inflation so i've been converting them to precious metals when i can!


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## rob_vrs (Jan 4, 2012)

djgregory said:


> Impossible to guarantee that you can walk into another job, at least if you have money to cover yourself if it takes a little longer to find a job.


I disagree with that, my dad walked out of his professional job 3 years ago leaving a company car £35k a year working from home, in the last 3 years he has had in the region of 15jobs, yes not doing what he wanted to do but drove dustbin lorries, emptied bins, went back on the tools fixing trucks so I don't agree that it's not easy to get a job. You've got to want to earn money and search every possible avenue to get one, think he was without work for 4 weeks in the last 3 years


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## rob_vrs (Jan 4, 2012)

kh904 said:


> I do it the opposite way around.
> 
> I save as much as i can and decide how much i'm willing to spend on various things (typical asian thinking lol).
> I have very few outgoings so i save around 60-70% (varies through the year) of my wages but those savings also go towards paying my car insurance each year in one lump sum, holidays, car running costs etc.
> ...


I do it exactly the same as that, mates call me sad but I'm not the one paying £300 a year extra on car insurance and I don't have debts and I can afford to go on holiday every year. Everything is broken down monthly such as car tax, car maintenance then when it comes to it, I have the money and normally surplus too. Best way to do it


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## djgregory (Apr 2, 2013)

rob_vrs said:


> I disagree with that, my dad walked out of his professional job 3 years ago leaving a company car £35k a year working from home, in the last 3 years he has had in the region of 15jobs, yes not doing what he wanted to do but drove dustbin lorries, emptied bins, went back on the tools fixing trucks so I don't agree that it's not easy to get a job. You've got to want to earn money and search every possible avenue to get one, think he was without work for 4 weeks in the last 3 years


I never said it wasnt easy to get a job but sometimes you have to wait or it takes a little longer to get one hence why you would need a little extra cash to help you out.

It is IMPOSSIBLE to gurantee you will walk into another job, yes your dad might have but he is 1 person in 60 million. Whats to say he looses his job and then dosent/cant find another? I understand you have to be willing to find a job but even people who are willing to cant gurantee they will get another straight away.


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## Alzak (Aug 31, 2010)

rob_vrs said:


> I disagree with that, my dad walked out of his professional job 3 years ago leaving a company car £35k a year working from home, in the last 3 years he has had in the region of 15jobs, yes not doing what he wanted to do but drove dustbin lorries, emptied bins, went back on the tools fixing trucks so I don't agree that it's not easy to get a job. You've got to want to earn money and search every possible avenue to get one, think he was without work for 4 weeks in the last 3 years


Yeah but this way you have no chance to plan anything ... And I'm sure you will struggle to get mortgage etc in this kind of work situation.


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## rob_vrs (Jan 4, 2012)

Firstly I said he has had around 15+ jobs.

Obviously not but surely you can have a job in the mean time, yes maybe struggling for some but better than claiming or no job


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## kh904 (Dec 18, 2006)

rob_vrs said:


> I do it exactly the same as that, mates call me sad but I'm not the one paying £300 a year extra on car insurance and I don't have debts and I can afford to go on holiday every year. Everything is broken down monthly such as car tax, car maintenance then when it comes to it, I have the money and normally surplus too. Best way to do it


Yep, i get the same from my friends and family who call me tight, but they are the ones who end up begging to borrow money from me when their wages are spent halfway through the month on 'luxuries'!

I've told my sister i'm not doing it anymore, she has to learn and become responsible for her own actions. I think that's a big problem in the country, people having a comfy (or more than comfy) lifestyle on credit (I want it now rather than wait & save), buying things that they don't really need, and then end up broke and needing a bail out!

Why people can't pay off their car insurance in one lump instead of monthly DD @ 10%+ charge is shocking, while they walk around with the latest phone costing £30+ per month, fashion label clothing/shoes etc!

A little bit of sacrificing of the short term, for a greater long term benefit goes a long way imo!
For eg. I didn't go on holiday for a few years when i first started work, saved up really hard, and went on holiday that was paid by the interest earned on my savings! (Can't do that now with today's rates though).
Compare that to someone who borrows to go on holiday now and then pays it back throughout the year WITH INTEREST!!! Now that so-called bargain deal, isn't much of a bargain anymore!
That's why there's such a massive disparity in wealth between some of my friends & family and myself (who are earning similar money, & I don't even earn that much)!


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## djgregory (Apr 2, 2013)

kh904 said:


> Yep, i get the same from my friends and family who call me tight, but they are the ones who end up begging to borrow money from me when their wages are spent halfway through the month on 'luxuries'!
> 
> I've told my sister i'm not doing it anymore, she has to learn and become responsible for her own actions. I think that's a big problem in the country, people having a comfy (or more than comfy) lifestyle on credit, buying things that they don't really need, and then end up broke and needing a bail out!
> 
> ...


Agree with most of what you said above. However there is clever borrowing and stupid borrowing. People who cant afford to save up 1200 pounds for a holiday quickly may put this on a 0% credit card and pay off over 6/12 months. Thats clever borrowing. People who spend 1200 pounds on a holiday charged at 19.995 interest is stupid borrowing.

It may not make sence to most people with how i have worded it but it makes sence to me :thumb:


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## kh904 (Dec 18, 2006)

No, I understand you totally djgregory!!!

I agree that there's good debt & bad debt!


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## djgregory (Apr 2, 2013)

Good stuff, wasnt sure i had quite worded it correctly.


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## rob_vrs (Jan 4, 2012)

When i was 18 my dad wouldnt let me buy a car unless i had 1 years tax and insurance and was willing to save for next years monthly and since then thats how iv done everything, as with a holiday its the same


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## kh904 (Dec 18, 2006)

djgregory said:


> Good stuff, wasnt sure i had quite worded it correctly.


It makes sense, you're spending someone else's money at no extra cost to yourself (while your money can sit in the bank earning a tiny bit of interest) and then pay it off when it's due!


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## djgregory (Apr 2, 2013)

kh904 said:


> It makes sense, you're spending someone else's money at no extra cost to yourself (while your money can sit in the bank earning a tiny bit of interest) and then pay it off when it's due!


Correct, i do this every year for insurance or any other large bills.


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## Captain Peanut (Apr 19, 2011)

I've been bad in the past but am getting back on track.

The best move I have made was to open a basic bank account to use for paying bills. Transfer over enough to cover bills plus an extra £100 as a buffer/rainy day money. The debit card for the account is locked away to avoid temptation and will mean that I can pay for tax and insurance in one go when the time comes.

With my leftover pay I've allocated myself an allowance for petrol and spending money, the rest goes into an ISA.


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