Am I overthinking savings at my age?
Discussion
I am about to turn 21 and live in a rented cottage with my girlfriend. I take home about £300 a week at the moment but that will go up with time (hopefully by about £50 at least in the new year, then up from there as I progress + when we are busy there is about £30 extra a week in overtime pay at least). She only earns about £900 a month. I have £15k in savings from a mixture of savings, some inheritance and downgrading my car. I tend to save roughly £350 a month, some months a lot more, some months less. She is only managing to save about £100-£150 a month currently as she is training to be a primary school teacher. We will live in the same place and have the same bills for at least the next 5 years until she qualifies as a teacher and gets a full time job.
I feel as though I am overly obssessing about penny pinching and saving as much as we can, but is it really that important at my age? Our monthly outgoings total about £1100 (over estimating that by a fair bit I would imagine).
Do I need to be worrying that I'm not always saving as much as I was when I lived with my parents? (I used to save probably 90% of my income).
I am avoiding purchasing extra bits for the house just because I don't want to be spending too much or having to dip into my savings.
Am I just being a bit OTT here, or should I be focussing on saving as much as possible over the next 6 years before she gets a 100%+ pay rise when she qualifies?
We split everything 50/50, so there have abeen a couple of tight months where a car bill has come up for £300 or so and it has been a struggle, but we are yet to be unable to pay for anything.
This is a bit muddled, but I'd appreciate any feedback as I'm not really sure where to start in terms of saving and finances!
I feel as though I am overly obssessing about penny pinching and saving as much as we can, but is it really that important at my age? Our monthly outgoings total about £1100 (over estimating that by a fair bit I would imagine).
Do I need to be worrying that I'm not always saving as much as I was when I lived with my parents? (I used to save probably 90% of my income).
I am avoiding purchasing extra bits for the house just because I don't want to be spending too much or having to dip into my savings.
Am I just being a bit OTT here, or should I be focussing on saving as much as possible over the next 6 years before she gets a 100%+ pay rise when she qualifies?
We split everything 50/50, so there have abeen a couple of tight months where a car bill has come up for £300 or so and it has been a struggle, but we are yet to be unable to pay for anything.
This is a bit muddled, but I'd appreciate any feedback as I'm not really sure where to start in terms of saving and finances!
Edited by gman88667733 on Wednesday 28th November 14:45
Edited by gman88667733 on Wednesday 28th November 14:46
I think the fact that you have a handle on your spending and saving means you'll never 'sleepwalk' in to any money issues - ie continuously spending more than you earn.
As long as you keep putting away a little bit every month then you can't go wrong, but there's no point in trying to put every last penny away. You've got to be able to enjoy your lives as well - the odd treat won't harm.
I assume the end goal is to purchase a house? Just don't be tempted to blow that £15k on a car!
As long as you keep putting away a little bit every month then you can't go wrong, but there's no point in trying to put every last penny away. You've got to be able to enjoy your lives as well - the odd treat won't harm.
I assume the end goal is to purchase a house? Just don't be tempted to blow that £15k on a car!
The end goal is to buy a house, yes.
I purchased a £12995 Yeti last year and it was a huge financial mistake as I eventually sold it for £8000 this year after not liking it. Hence my downgrade to a £2500 octavia!
So would you say there is not set ideal amount to be saving? I don't want to turn into someone that refuses to buy things that we could do with, but I am getting that way
I purchased a £12995 Yeti last year and it was a huge financial mistake as I eventually sold it for £8000 this year after not liking it. Hence my downgrade to a £2500 octavia!
So would you say there is not set ideal amount to be saving? I don't want to turn into someone that refuses to buy things that we could do with, but I am getting that way
Your far too young to be stressing about it. The fact your both saving anything is good enough IMO. Do you have a pension? That’s one thing to definitely start as soon as you possibly can as your other half when qualified will have a very good one. I read something that most people struggle to save £100 a YEAR! So your well Ahead of the game. Enjoy your life while your young if you have kids and a mortgage in a few years then worry about savings. That’s not to say don’t save anything but you sound like you wouldn’t anyway some people are savers some are spenders.
You’ve got 2 years of an emergency fund in the bank.
At your age I had about £20 in the bank and had just tanned my entire summer job’s savings and my entire student loan on a hideously expensive to run car.
I think you’re doing rather well!
What are you saving in to? Instant access savings / cash ISA / HTB ISA / fixed term savings etc?
At your age I had about £20 in the bank and had just tanned my entire summer job’s savings and my entire student loan on a hideously expensive to run car.
I think you’re doing rather well!
What are you saving in to? Instant access savings / cash ISA / HTB ISA / fixed term savings etc?
It is all currently in an ISA. So I only get about £7 of interest per month, but that is better than nothing?
I can access the savings at any time, which I do sometimes for larger purchases (car repairs/insurance, new phone, etc...)
I do try and not touch it where possible, I've probably used it 5 times in the past year.
I can access the savings at any time, which I do sometimes for larger purchases (car repairs/insurance, new phone, etc...)
I do try and not touch it where possible, I've probably used it 5 times in the past year.
gman88667733 said:
It is all currently in an ISA. So I only get about £7 of interest per month, but that is better than nothing?
I can access the savings at any time, which I do sometimes for larger purchases (car repairs/insurance, new phone, etc...)
I do try and not touch it where possible, I've probably used it 5 times in the past year.
I’m not a financial adviser but if I was you, I would have a look at a Santander 1-2-3 account.I can access the savings at any time, which I do sometimes for larger purchases (car repairs/insurance, new phone, etc...)
I do try and not touch it where possible, I've probably used it 5 times in the past year.
If the cash back on council tax, utilities, phone etc cover the monthly fee, you’d get much better monthly interest on your £15k in that account.
Over and above that £15k I would get yourself a cash lifetime ISA, although the interest rate will be poor, the 25% bonus will spank any other cash ISA offering over a 5 year term at current rates.
The 1-2-3 money would be your backup savings, the lifetime ISA money carries a withdrawal penalty unless it’s for a house purchase but that’s your holy-s
t-disaster fund.Just to throw in an alternative point of view.... life is for living, and never forget that. While its sensible to be prudent and have some savings for emergencies, forgoing little things you want or need for the house because you're so worried about saving isnt really a very healthy mindset.
are you a 40 year old in a 21 year old body?
put away what you can afford to after paying the bills and living life a bit...don't worry about how much at your age...as long as you aren't spending outside your means and running up debt you are already doing pretty well.
At your age i was coming out of uni with £20k of debt and a maxed out £3k overdraft, and i've still managed to turn things around.
Not blowing money on new or nearly-new cars is also a top tip for saving money.
put away what you can afford to after paying the bills and living life a bit...don't worry about how much at your age...as long as you aren't spending outside your means and running up debt you are already doing pretty well.
At your age i was coming out of uni with £20k of debt and a maxed out £3k overdraft, and i've still managed to turn things around.
Not blowing money on new or nearly-new cars is also a top tip for saving money.
Part of the reason I am reluctant is because we are just renting, but it will be long term.
For example, it is a 16th century cottage and the bathroom flooring is old manky cork tiles and we would love to put some white lino over it to brighten and freshen it up a bit, but I keep holding off because of the cost!
I know it is daft. Maybe I should just buy the things we want and try not to get too worked up about it.
For example, it is a 16th century cottage and the bathroom flooring is old manky cork tiles and we would love to put some white lino over it to brighten and freshen it up a bit, but I keep holding off because of the cost!
I know it is daft. Maybe I should just buy the things we want and try not to get too worked up about it.
put a bit of pressure on the landlord to get the flooring redone.
I've rented for 12 years now, part of the beauty of it is that the buck stops with the landlord/agency for pretty much all the maintenance and repair...you may as well make use of that position.
Rent aside, you shouldn't be putting a penny into rented accommodation unless you can take it with you when you leave.
I've rented for 12 years now, part of the beauty of it is that the buck stops with the landlord/agency for pretty much all the maintenance and repair...you may as well make use of that position.
Rent aside, you shouldn't be putting a penny into rented accommodation unless you can take it with you when you leave.
ok, no right or wrong way as such you need to avoid being the bankrupt one or the one that everyone knows as a miser.
What does your girlfriend think of your outlook? It's important you share a similar outlook and are on the same page re sacrifices. Maybe discuss a few things you both want in the coming year and make that a goal to purchase them whilst still saving a little.
The car purchase you have hopefully learned from, that was possibly a bit extravagant given your savings level and house plans? That's the thing with savings it's ultimately there to be spent really but is tempting to spend on the (relative) spur of the moment, it's happened so don't beat yourself up over it but think how many bits and bobs for the house that car loss would have given you. To be fair it's not the spend per se on the car that was the problem more the fact that you should have somehow known it wasn't for you. Consider the purchases more rather than not make them, the higher the price the more it should be considered.
As others have said I'd put some elsewhere, premium bonds is an option as you can get to it easily but not quite as easily as a ISA/online banking transfer. If you squirrel some away from instant banking ap type access then that adds an extra thinking time to any major purchase, but also it leaves a smaller savings balance for unexpected one off costs. Also if the new spending habits see that savings balance dwindle its more likely to give you warning sign if £1500 savings heads to nil rather than £13.5 decreasing to £12k?
Those leaving Uni are saddled with debts well over what you have saved so again as others have said you are already ahead, and realistically your career path will define how your future spending can be. If you sort of 'make it' as it were you can have it all to a degree, new cars, nice holidays etc etc (be mindful that if you are like the majority you will have to prioritise your spending to say cars or holidays, or perhaps just getting for years if kids come along etc.
What does your girlfriend think of your outlook? It's important you share a similar outlook and are on the same page re sacrifices. Maybe discuss a few things you both want in the coming year and make that a goal to purchase them whilst still saving a little.
The car purchase you have hopefully learned from, that was possibly a bit extravagant given your savings level and house plans? That's the thing with savings it's ultimately there to be spent really but is tempting to spend on the (relative) spur of the moment, it's happened so don't beat yourself up over it but think how many bits and bobs for the house that car loss would have given you. To be fair it's not the spend per se on the car that was the problem more the fact that you should have somehow known it wasn't for you. Consider the purchases more rather than not make them, the higher the price the more it should be considered.
As others have said I'd put some elsewhere, premium bonds is an option as you can get to it easily but not quite as easily as a ISA/online banking transfer. If you squirrel some away from instant banking ap type access then that adds an extra thinking time to any major purchase, but also it leaves a smaller savings balance for unexpected one off costs. Also if the new spending habits see that savings balance dwindle its more likely to give you warning sign if £1500 savings heads to nil rather than £13.5 decreasing to £12k?
Those leaving Uni are saddled with debts well over what you have saved so again as others have said you are already ahead, and realistically your career path will define how your future spending can be. If you sort of 'make it' as it were you can have it all to a degree, new cars, nice holidays etc etc (be mindful that if you are like the majority you will have to prioritise your spending to say cars or holidays, or perhaps just getting for years if kids come along etc.
The car was bought 12 months before we moved out and before it was even a likelihood, we only started renting because the place came up for very cheap. I have definitely learnt from that though.
My partner believes that I shouldn't worry too much about what we are both saving right now because both our wages will rise significantly over time, especially hers.
I think part of it is that I'm worried that she is only saving a little bit a month, if we want to split everything 50/50, a few unexpected bills could wipe her savings out. I'm probably more worried about that than my own savings now I think about it
My partner believes that I shouldn't worry too much about what we are both saving right now because both our wages will rise significantly over time, especially hers.
I think part of it is that I'm worried that she is only saving a little bit a month, if we want to split everything 50/50, a few unexpected bills could wipe her savings out. I'm probably more worried about that than my own savings now I think about it
If you have the discipline required to save when your income is low, you are getting into good habits that will pay off once you are dealing with greater overall income and expenditure.
Having said that, spending a few hundred quid on "fun stuff" now is unlikely to make any significant difference to your long term financial health, and you are only young once!
Having said that, spending a few hundred quid on "fun stuff" now is unlikely to make any significant difference to your long term financial health, and you are only young once!
gman88667733 said:
I think part of it is that I'm worried that she is only saving a little bit a month, if we want to split everything 50/50, a few unexpected bills could wipe her savings out. I'm probably more worried about that than my own savings now I think about it
Part of living with a gf, mate, is you support each other. If 'you' as a couple have a few big bills and you earn more, or have more money than she does, you'll end up paying more. Especially when she's at uni studying for a better paying job in the future. If you're earning more, you should really be contributing more, aiming for 50/50 and having expectations of her to meet this when she has less money to play with is a little unfair IMO.
But as for your finances as a whole-
In short, don't worry about it, when you're on your deathbed you'll regret the things you didn't do, and as for money, you can't take it with you.
Everything is a balance, and there are times to be sensible, but equally don't shortchange yourself in life experiences, and treat yourself sometimes...otherwise, what's the point?
I would give my right arm to have £15k in savings right now, as long as you don't blow it, you're already pretty sorted.
But as for your finances as a whole-
In short, don't worry about it, when you're on your deathbed you'll regret the things you didn't do, and as for money, you can't take it with you.
Everything is a balance, and there are times to be sensible, but equally don't shortchange yourself in life experiences, and treat yourself sometimes...otherwise, what's the point?
I would give my right arm to have £15k in savings right now, as long as you don't blow it, you're already pretty sorted.
Gassing Station | Finance | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff