Am I being financially smart ?? Or being terribly naive & stupid ?? Please advise..

new32234

Down to the point I believe I'm in a lucky position where I'm in my 20s still young still learning & I'm able to save 80% of my net income. I have in my mind to continue to do this for 10 years or so.

I'm trying my best to think of my future 10 15 years down the line. I aspire live in a nice enough house preferably without taking out a mortgage, to own a sporty car without taking out a loan, an easy ish enough life financially anyway for the future wife & children if I'm blessed to become a husband & a father. I know I lose a small amount of the value of the savings with inflation.

Quick background I'm in my 20s, have a degree, work full time, I come from a low/middle family income & a working class area.

Am I being financially sensible ?? Is there something I'm not getting or understanding ??

I'm so confused

please help

TimeToShine

Sounds good but I wouldn't think too far ahead, life is what happens to you when you're busy making plans.

new32234

TimeToShine wrote: »

Sounds good but I wouldn't think too far ahead, life is what happens to you when you're busy making plans.

If I keep it going I just hope that I don't regret in my 30s what I'm currently doing now in my 20s. But of course I won't fully know that until I get to my 30s..

I was so confident & believed I was doing the right thing, now I'm extremely unsure hence my thread

CaraMay

Are you having fun / a social life / meeting friends even when saving that much?

new32234

CaraMay wrote: »

Are you having fun / a social life / meeting friends even when saving that much?

Not as much as I would ideally like but that's mainly due to part time education/study weekends as well as working full time during the week

so it's mainly time/energy constraints that at the moment hindering the fun stuff. Rather than simply just not spending the money

thegreatgonzo

new32234 wrote: »

I was so confident & believed I was doing the right thing, now I'm extremely unsure hence my thread

What happened to make you doubt yourself?

Noodles81

TimeToShine wrote: »

Sounds good but I wouldn't think too far ahead, life is what happens to you when you're busy making plans.

Very true, is it John Lennon who said that?

Hi OP,

I do admire greatly your forward thinking and wanting to be diligent in your financial affairs. You remind me of my father who would say try never to have any loans ever. Now I'm a disaster if that's the benchmark, as I've a car loan and a mortgage! But I've a permanent position in the DES so I'm safe enough.

However I wouldn't get too caught up in aspirations for 10/ 15 years down the line. Yes by all means have a nice few bob put aside but live in the now too. You will need a full rounded life to be a good husband and father. And I can guess these are also very important to you from what you have written. You may need to date a few ladies before you know what qualities you would like from a life partner. You may live with some too, which would be a great indicator for you both.

As these will eat into the amount you could save, you may feel like skipping that stage and jumping into marriage with the 1st girl you fall for, but I'd urge you not to. Go travel, expand your view of the world. For an intelligent educated person like yourself, there will always be money to be made until you choose to retire.

And you will think differently at 30 compared to 20. Life makes you re-evaluate. I myself made many of the mistakes I mention above. I was a "5 year plan" type and I still am! But now I have learned to let each day unfold, as I was unwittingly pushing the envelope in areas of my life to accomplish my goals. But you can't do that, nor is it healthy to do so. I ended up getting quite disillusioned before I realised I had made a lot of my own misery by expecting this and believing I should have that by now.

Your logic is sound. But life doesn't play out in the purely logical realm. It can blindside you...with the good as well as the bad. You may still feel empty when you have the house, car and wife and kids and wonder "where did my life go?" Illness could strike you or your loved ones. Relationships might breakdown. But if you live in the now, enjoying all life has to offer, (but with an eye on the future too) then when it arrives you may be more able to enjoy it and appreciate it for what it is....a spectrum of the good to the bad.

Best wishes

new32234

thegreatgonzo wrote: »

What happened to make you doubt yourself?

The fear of being in my 30s regretting that I wasted my 20s

Also I find a lot of people I know of or my work colleagues etc around my age are renting (I sympathise with them in a financial sense) therefore the money they're left with after rent, food, bills etc is very little compared to me. But they don't seem to concerned or deterred by what they're forking out for rent... & this kind of gives me the question of am I not getting something that is blindingly obvious.. is there a catch ?

there's 1 or 2 other things as well...

CaraMay

Well are you living at home? Do you parents still want an adult living with them? Are you missing out on the experience of being independent?

Micky Dolenz

new32234 wrote: »

The fear of being in my 30s regretting that I wasted my 20s

Also I find a lot of people I know of or my work colleagues etc around my age are renting (I sympathise with them in a financial sense) therefore the money they're left with after rent, food, bills etc is very little compared to me. But they don't seem to concerned or deterred by what they're forking out for rent... & this kind of gives me the question of am I not getting something that is blindingly obvious.. is there a catch ?

there's 1 or 2 other things as well...

Are you happy? who really cares what anyone else is doing?

People usually fork out for rent as they need to live somewhere. But the need to live somewhere usually comes from leaving the family home. Are you still living at home?

I rented for many years before I bought a house and I have to say, renting is the best deal ever. You pay a fixed rate regardless if the boiler breaks down or the ceilings fall in. Ownership is a whole different kettle of squirrels. Any how, that's a discussion for another day.

It boils down to if you are content or not, if you are, don't worry about what Jack and Sarah are doing. If you aren't, try and fix it. Most people aren't content btw, just striving to get there.

What kinda sports car btw?

new32234

CaraMay wrote: »

Well are you living at home? Do you parents still want an adult living with them? Are you missing out on the experience of being independent?

Yes I live at home I love living at home. The parents encourage me in what I'm trying to achieve for the future. They get/understand what I'm trying to achieve. My dad says its well for me saving the amount per week that I'm currently saving.

I hand up money to the house every week too.

I'm not too eager on becoming fully independent yet. I'm still young ish so I know there's still time.

thegreatgonzo

new32234 wrote: »

The fear of being in my 30s regretting that I wasted my 20s

.

Well life doesn't stop after 30. And not everybody has to do things in a certain order. What are your deepest personal wishes?
In my 20's I knew I wanted to travel and I worked to fund that. I didn't do it because I felt it was what people in their 20's should do, I did it because I wanted it since I was a 5 year old girl. The downside is that I've spent my 30's playing catch up on my career. I'd be lying if I said I've no regrets about not building the career first and then focusing on travel. I don't think it's possible to be totally satisfied with the choices we make and sometimes circumstances dictate the choices we have anyway.
There is nothing wrong with planning for your future the way you are, but it is important to enjoy the present as much as possible too. Also be prepared for things not working out to plan, life gets complicated:-)

new32234

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

Are you happy? who really cares what anyone else is doing?

People usually fork out for rent as they need to live somewhere. But the need to live somewhere usually comes from leaving the family home. Are you still living at home?

I rented for many years before I bought a house and I have to say, renting is the best deal ever. You pay a fixed rate regardless if the boiler breaks down or the ceilings fall in. Ownership is a whole different kettle of squirrels. Any how, that's a discussion for another day.

It boils down to if you are content or not, if you are, don't worry about what Jack and Sarah are doing. If you aren't, try and fix it. Most people aren't content btw, just striving to get there.

What kinda sports car btw?

I suppose I am content/happy. I mean I could be a lot worse off in general. I can't complain or moan too much a lot of people have it worse off than me.

The main financial downfall with renting is tenants will never own the asset that they're renting & the amount finance you spent on rent could've contributed to the property that you bought, there are of course non financial benefits to renting that you've mentioned though. That's all another discussion though.

Ah I can't mention the brand name. It'll cost over €125,000 though.

new32234

thegreatgonzo wrote: »

Well life doesn't stop after 30. And not everybody has to do things in a certain order. What are your deepest personal wishes?
In my 20's I knew I wanted to travel and I worked to fund that. I didn't do it because I felt it was what people in their 20's should do, I did it because I wanted it since I was a 5 year old girl. The downside is that I've spent my 30's playing catch up on my career. I'd be lying if I said I've no regrets about not building the career first and then focusing on travel. I don't think it's possible to be totally satisfied with the choices we make and sometimes circumstances dictate the choices we have anyway.
There is nothing wrong with planning for your future the way you are, but it is important to enjoy the present as much as possible too. Also be prepared for things not working out to plan, life gets complicated:-)

I don't want to spurt my deepest personal wishes on here. Too public.

Thanks for your insight though

My objective or probably what I need to try & do is to minimise the risk of being unsatisfied with the choices I make.

Micky Dolenz

new32234 wrote: »

I suppose I am content/happy. I mean I could be a lot worse off in general. I can't complain or moan too much a lot of people have it worse off than me.

The main financial downfall with renting is tenants will never own the asset that they're renting & the amount finance you spent on rent could've contributed to the property that you bought, there are of course non financial benefits to renting that you've mentioned though. That's all another discussion though.

Ah I can't mention the brand name. It'll cost over €125,000 though.

For some it doesn't suit to buy, buying is a long term investment and buying a home isn't an investment as such, it's a home and sometimes home isn't long term.

Take me for an example, lived/worked all over the place, rented and was happy out. As I said, any problems and I was on the phone to the property owner or management company and it was taken care of. I was in a position a few years back where I could buy a home I really wanted to live in and stay there for at least ten years, that was the plan so I bought it and lived there. A couple of years later, I get a job a couple of thousand miles away. So here I am, renting again with a house that I can't live in at home. My point is, renting brings a whole lot of freedom, it's not dead money, it's money spent on living. Yeah, I suppose if you plan on living on the same street forever, it may be considered dead money not to buy but how depressing is that.

You seem happy enough, like where you live. It's all good, you are very lucky to have that kind of relationship with your parents. Social life ok? Happy with work life? What more do you want, in fairness.

G'wan, you've told me the price, may as well tell me the car.

Ursus Horribilis

There's being financially sensible and then there's putting your life on hold. If you don't want to go travelling or to do the things your friends are doing then that's perfectly fine. You just need to be careful that you don't become obsessed with money or with saving it. Life is happening all around you while you're busy squirrelling away your money, living at home and studying/working. Maybe your outlook's being coloured by your upbringing and the money that wasn't there.

thegreatgonzo

new32234 wrote: »

I don't want to spurt my deepest personal wishes on here. Too public.

The question is one you should be asking yourself, I don't need to know what they are:pac:

Ursus Horribilis

new32234 wrote: »

Also I find a lot of people I know of or my work colleagues etc around my age are renting (I sympathise with them in a financial sense) therefore the money they're left with after rent, food, bills etc is very little compared to me. But they don't seem to concerned or deterred by what they're forking out for rent... & this kind of gives me the question of am I not getting something that is blindingly obvious.. is there a catch ?

Maybe you sense that despite them not having much money to their names, they've got something you don't have. A life. Not everyone will agree with me but I think there is a lot to be said for living away from home, renting with other people and enjoying life. I get the impression that you're so tied up in this grand plan of yours that you're missing out on human interaction and rounding yourself as an individual.

mailforkev

Saving money is great but don't let life pass you by.

I lived with my parents a few years too long in hindsight but it enabled me to build up a solid deposit for my house. So I traded a bit of freedom for my future.

Looking back I don't really have regrets but can see that I probably should have said "yes" to a few more things than I did.

Now that I'm a bit older and wiser I have learned to enjoy spending some of the cash I worked hard to earn. I learned that there's no point saving it all. Life is there to be lived.

As for the car, I will get that 911 eventually!

new32234

Odus fell down wrote: »

Maybe you sense that despite them not having much money to their names, they've got something you don't have. A life. Not everyone will agree with me but I think there is a lot to be said for living away from home, renting with other people and enjoying life. I get the impression that you're so tied up in this grand plan of yours that you're missing out on human interaction and rounding yourself as an individual.

I do have some sort of social life though it's not constant. I get along well with the work colleagues they're nice people.

Even say if I didn't live at home & I rented out somewhere I'd probably be around where I'm at in my life now. I just don't have the time nor the energy to be doing non work/education activities 3 to 4 days a week. In fact I'd have even less time on my hands as I'd have more stuff to do in the place I would be renting e.g. housework, compared to living at home where my is life relatively easy.

mickdw

I would say to the op. Saving 80 percent of wages is silly.
If he was to save 500 per month, that in my opinion would be very sensible and considerably more than most of his age.
I would say go on holiday often, buy the nice car while young.

Valentina

OP I did something similar in my 20s. Saved 60-70% of my nett income and sometimes more when I could. I still travelled, still had nights out, still lived! I dipped into the money occasionally for big trips, car expenses and the like but never let it go below a certain amount. This is what worked for me.

Once you are happy, can afford to put the money away and you're not missing out on anything then keep doing what you're doing.

LegacyUser

I'm a mother with children of 15, 21 and 24. I love them to bits and love it when they're at home.

But you should leave home. You really should. No matter how much easier it is to stay at home, you need to leave. You will never start to be your own person UNTIL you leave, and the sooner you do that, the better. Money doesn't matter. Independence is the only thing that young people should be aiming for. Not independence later, independence NOW.

kjl

new32234 wrote: »

Down to the point I believe I'm in a lucky position where I'm in my 20s still young still learning & I'm able to save 80% of my net income. I have in my mind to continue to do this for 10 years or so.

I'm trying my best to think of my future 10 15 years down the line. I aspire live in a nice enough house preferably without taking out a mortgage, to own a sporty car without taking out a loan, an easy ish enough life financially anyway for the future wife & children if I'm blessed to become a husband & a father. I know I lose a small amount of the value of the savings with inflation.

Quick background I'm in my 20s, have a degree, work full time, I come from a low/middle family income & a working class area.

Am I being financially sensible ?? Is there something I'm not getting or understanding ??

I'm so confused

please help

Well personally saving your money is just throwing it away.

A good book for an investment strategy that is very low risk and yields about 8% a year, The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham

Atlantic Dawn

125k on a car that if your lucky in 3 years will be worth 65k is crazy. Go Vegas, go Monte Carlo and blow money, buying a car like that is idiotic unless you have a company you can attach the car cost to.

Micky Dolenz

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

125k on a car that if your lucky in 3 years will be worth 65k is crazy. Go Vegas, go Monte Carlo and blow money, buying a car like that is idiotic unless you have a company you can attach the car cost to.

Excuse me Sir, you obliviously don't know top end cars. Every man for his own.

Exclamation Marc

Provided you're happy with your life, saving what you can is a sensible approach. If you're saving to the point where your social life or life in general is taking a hit, reduce the savings and shell out.

Planning 10 years ahead though savings wise is far too idealistic. Until you move out and fend for yourself you'll never comprehend how blindsided you can be by unplanned expenses. Giving up money at home is good but when you're living away from parents you'll be surprised what hits your pockets and suddenly saving 80% is not going to happen, so don't get fixated on too far down the line.

Also on another note, life is short, I'm not saying don't save or that something bad may happen or even go out and blow it, but spend money on yourself and enjoy life, don't insulate yourself by saving. What if something happens in your 30s that means you can't enjoy your savings and you wasted your 20s by being financially over-prudish.

R.D. aka MR.D

Do you want a romantic relationship in the future?

I know very few people nowadays who are willing to play mammy or daddy to somebody who has lived at home because they like getting the housework done.

People leave home for a reason, it's to gain independence and develop skills. It's not the 1950's anymore, you are unlikely to find someone who wants to take care of you.

In my opinion, most people would see never having lived out of home(as opposed to having some independent experience and then having to return home for whatever reason) as a massive turn off.

Maybe you don't see a romantic partnership in your future and in that case I would say, the best money I've ever spent has been on experiences and not things. Things never bring the same happiness and memories as experiences.

Penn

OP it doesn't have to be one extreme or the other. You can still save a lot of money each month while also making sure that you're not missing out on stuff you want to do now by being too financially restrictive on yourself.

new32234

Hi thank you for all of your replies, I can't get around to responding to all of them individually

After sleeping on it I guess I'll continue to save at the rate I'm going at as I've nothing else to spend the money on for now anyway apart from dates or clothes or drink or food, I don't need to spend hundreds of euro per month on clothes for example. And I don't have the time to be very sociable every week due to work & education commitments.

I guess where I'm at in my life right now it makes a bit more sense just to save as much as possible

It's a bit more clearer in my head today than over the last few days

Neyite

The great thing is OP, if you want something different in a year or two, you'll have a financial cushion to fall back on. Where's the harm in that? So keep doing what you are doing for as long as you want to, as long as you are not missing out on things you'd like to experience along the way.

But do travel a little, and flatshare for at least a couple of years in your 20's if you can. You might not be adding much to your bank balance during that time but you cant buy that type of experience to help you become more rounded as a person.

Augme

Just to point out, you can be perfectly independent while living at home and develop the same skills. When I lived at home I did all my own cooking, cleaning, laundry, and ironing. I actually found living at home for longer helped better develop these skills because I was very conscious of not being a burden on my parents when I could be living somewhere else. Also because it was the family home I took more pride in it's appearance. In a rented house lots of people don't give a ****.

Trust me on this one, just because people move out of home doesn't mean they actually develop any skills to look after themselves. Lots of people who lived out of home are terrible at it. Can't cook(sticking a pizza in the oven isn't cooking), can't wash up after themselves, don't like cleaning etc etc.

If you're going to stay at home make a solid effort to learn how to look after yourself. It's a much easier environment to do it in then rented accomdation.