The importance of saving money.

carzony

Hi Folks,

I'm surprised by the number of people in work who are not in a position to save any money at all.

I've always been a very heavy saver and love to know I have money in the bank to fall back on. I'd say over 50% of my money probably goes into saving every payday

Are fellow Boardies saving ?

Currently trying to renovate house and stay on top of the mortgage, so no savings for me (well, i do, but they're tied against a loan, which is the house loan/mortgage, so can't access them til that's paid off).

Hope to be able to get back to saving properly someday soon though. Maybe next year. 50% of income seems an excessive amount, to me, though.

ginandtonicsky

About 30% of my monthly salary goes into savings, and any work commission that comes in, aiming to buy this year so it’s a sizeable pot at this point, about 70k so far. Get a real kick out of saving and more recently, investing. Well able to spend it too though!

Mantis Toboggan

carzony wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I'm surprised by the number of people in work who are not in a position to save any money at all.

I've always been a very heavy saver and love to know I have money in the bank to fall back on. I'd say over 50% of my money probably goes into saving every payday

Are fellow Boardies saving ?

You obviously don't rent or own a property!

Mantis Toboggan

OP it's great to save but remember you cannot take it with you when you die, you only live once, enjoy it.

Snow Garden

With a recession coming this year it would be wise to have some savings.

s7ryf3925pivug

Anyone in a position to do so should max out their pension contributions. This avoids paying tax on a big chunk of your income and puts your money into an investment fund. The drawback is that the money is locked in there until you retire.

It is socialism for the rich really. And it's feeding the beast that is the stock market that rules us. But it makes the most sense financially.

Nigel Fairservice

I try to save 25% of my monthly income. Some months are easier to do it than others. I've dipped in and out of my savings when needed but I'll always eventually replace what I took out. Saving was hard to get into at the start. In my younger days I often got paid on Friday and was broke by Monday. It has been good for my financial discipline.

My parents always told me to never borrow money for something I could reasonably save for. I've stuck with that as much as possible. I've never borrowed money for things like holidays. I have a little bit of savings now and thankfully no significant debts.

I have found it practically impossible to save any significant amount of money in the last number of years. With ever increasing car insurance costs, health insurance costs, plus other household bills there seems to be very little disposable income left compared to 2003 - 2004 for example.

My worry is that there will be some sort of tax grab on people's savings when the Germans come looking for the €150 billion+ that we owe, we have been paying interest-only on that money for the last few years.

pleas advice

My 2c

Franz Von Peppercorn

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I have found it practically impossible to save any significant amount of money in the last number of years. With ever increasing car insurance costs, health insurance costs, plus other household bills there seems to be very little disposable income left compared to 2003 - 2004 for example.

Yeah. Foods cheaper than it was. Everything else isn’t. Not sure how the economy will cope with interest rates ever increase.

My worry is that there will be some sort of tax grab on people's savings when the Germans come looking for the €150 billion+ that we owe, we have been paying interest-only on that money for the last few years.

No we haven’t. Interest rates have been low. And those loans (hardly all from the Germans) can’t be recalled all at once.

Franz Von Peppercorn

25-30%. Hard to do more if you pay mortgage, bills etc.

cojomo2

75% is saved...anytime I build up a nice chunk, it goes into the mortgage. Have a rainy day fund also. Hate being in debt to anyone so having a mortgage doesn't sit well with me.

devlinio

Mantis Toboggan wrote: »

OP it's great to save but remember you cannot take it with you when you die, you only live once, enjoy it.

But you also have to be pragmatic. There's no point enjoying it if you have no security. ie. Buy a house while your young, so you have it when you're old.

jester77

I keep 6 months salary readily available in case sh#t hits the fan. Plus a few k in a current account for a spontaneous emergency. Have some long term high interest savings accounts, and investments as well.

Savings are always good, I'm always amazed at the amount of people that only start saving once they decide they want to buy a house. They end up sacrificing everything and start complaining about the system and how hard it is to get a deposit together. Start as you mean to continue, you'll never here to make any sacrifices and you'll be fine.

NIMAN

jester77 wrote: »

I keep 6 months salary readily available in case sh#t hits the fan. Plus a few k in a current account for a spontaneous emergency. Have some long term high interest savings accounts, and investments as well.

Savings are always good, I'm always amazed at the amount of people that only start saving once they decide they want to buy a house. They end up sacrificing everything and start complaining about the system and how hard it is to get a deposit together. Start as you mean to continue, you'll never here to make any sacrifices and you'll be fine.

For these folk, it's always the gubberments fault.

Greentopia

Yes I've always been a saver. Never been in debt in my life and I'm in my middle age years now. No mortgage, no credit cards or overdraft, nothing.

My parents instilled in me the value of saving at least 10% of my money every month because that's how they lived and it stuck with me. I'm very grateful to them for their good parenting skills.

I'm renovating my house right now so much of my savings is going into that but that's something I don't mind spending money on as my home is my sanctuary and gives me joy. Plus any improvements will increase the value when I eventually will sell it. I still manage to continue to save though and will refill the pot when I'm finished.

I should say I don't have any kids and don't smoke, drink very minimally, don't have an expensive lifestyle and am happy to live below my means so it's been easy for me to save. Obviously for people with families and big mortgages or high rents it's often impossible to have anything left over at the end of the month.

When Rabo Bank opened in Ireland I started an online savings account, where a chunk of my salary would go into the account. I had kind of ignored the savings, not paid much attention to them other than for tax returns purposes. Then when Rabo pulled out of Iteland I had to close the account and found I had the makings of a lovely brand new hybrid car to replace my diesel. Insurance and road tax dropped immediately in spite of car being more powerful, and i spend €20 every six weeks on petrol. Great, now that I’m retired.

Still waters

It's not easy save when you're self employed, there's always something to pay or you lose out on a contract or revenue come looking for money or one of the machines breaks down.
You'd get a good run for 3 months but anything in surplus always seems to go back into the business or revenue have the hand out.
Dont get me wrong, I do complain but I wouldn't have it any other way, it's good to be my own boss and not just a worker bee working in an office, plus I have a little nixer on the side every so often that keeps me in cash so it's not all bad

rn

Vital to save something every month. I've always done so since started earning. It's just a pity there are such poor returns for savers. There should be some sort of SSIA type scheme for newly earning people joining the workforce to get the habit established. I believe part of reason young people spend every single penny of every paycheck is because it's losing value in the bank due to historic low interest rates.

monkeysnapper

Its cars I cant get my head around .

I know so many people that have no money or debt and drive brand new cars . And I'd say something if they really needed it badly .

I see really nice cars . 10 year old ones , low enough miles and going for small money . Why tie a car around your neck for face.

I couldn't give a shyte what people think of me , we have mortgage and that's well enough to be paying.

Greentopia

carzony wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I'm surprised by the number of people in work who are not in a position to save any money at all.

Ireland is only ranked 19th for disposable income 22% below the OECD average: http://www.finfacts.ie/Irish_finance_news/articleDetail.php?Ireland-in-19th-rank-for-disposable-income-22-below-OECD-average-749

and "the OECD said Ireland at 25% had the highest percentage of low pay in the OECD area" so no surprises very many people here can't afford to save any money at all, especially when you factor in high rents, childcare, and the general high cost of living.

I noticed when I lived in two other wealthy EU countries that a lot more people had a lot more discretionary income than here. And these were countries with high income taxes. The cost of childcare, housing and education are crippling here.

RockyMills

I’m on a piss poor salary but I’m currently living at home saving for a house and I don’t pay rent at the moment so I’m in a decent enough position to save. I have €10k in a savings and another savings account for my mortgage which has almost €30k in it. I’ve also been paying in to my pension for the last 18 months but this isn’t a huge amount (less than €10k).

There’s a guy I used to be very friendly with that is living and working in Dublin. I had the misfortune of joining him for a few drinks last weekend where he spoke non stop for two hours about how good his life is and how much money he’s earning (he’s 29 and earning €100k a year). I had to admit I was fairly jealous of him talking about his salary and the perks of his job but then he admitted he has no savings, he’s spending €1,600 a month on an apartment and he has no pension yet - he’s spending as he’s earning. I earn one third of what he earns but I left the pub delighted with myself knowing that I’m currently in a far better place financially than he is. I can’t stress how important having savings are. Things could go belly up at any stage for any person no matter what they work at and I’m glad I’m in a position to save what I can.

dartboardio

Op i presume you dont have a mortgage or children if you save over 50 percent every payday. Or a large salary.

I can save 50-60% of my wages each week but thats because I am young.. No children or responsibilities

Its easy to save when in that situation.

Mad_maxx

It's more important for men to save, if a couple split, the law will see the man couch surf as long as his wife or partner is looked after

Greentopia

jester77 wrote: »

I keep 6 months salary readily available in case sh#t hits the fan. Plus a few k in a current account for a spontaneous emergency. Have some long term high interest savings accounts, and investments as well.

Savings are always good, I'm always amazed at the amount of people that only start saving once they decide they want to buy a house. They end up sacrificing everything and start complaining about the system and how hard it is to get a deposit together. Start as you mean to continue, you'll never here to make any sacrifices and you'll be fine.

Aren't you German? that would account for your skill in saving.
Never been to a country where people are more dedicated to saving. They all seem to save at least 10% of their income. My German guy is brilliant with saving money, he always has at least 3 months savings in his bank accounts and is never in debt.

monkeysnapper

RockyMills wrote: »

I’m on a piss poor salary but I’m currently living at home saving for a house and I don’t pay rent at the moment so I’m in a decent enough position to save. I have €10k in a savings and another savings account for my mortgage which has almost €30k in it. I’ve also been paying in to my pension for the last 18 months but this isn’t a huge amount (less than €10k).

There’s a guy I used to be very friendly with that is living and working in Dublin. I had the misfortune of joining him for a few drinks last weekend where he spoke non stop for two hours about how good his life is and how much money he’s earning (he’s 29 and earning €100k a year). I had to admit I was fairly jealous of him talking about his salary and the perks of his job but then he admitted he has no savings, he’s spending €1,600 a month on an apartment and he has no pension yet - he’s spending as he’s earning. I earn one third of what he earns but I left the pub delighted with myself knowing that I’m currently in a far better place financially than he is. I can’t stress how important having savings are. Things could go belly up at any stage for any person no matter what they work at and I’m glad I’m in a position to save what I can.

So let me get this straight , you feel great because your living at home for free .

Classy....

I spent a few years in the very fortunate position of living in grace and favour accommodation with other cost of living benefits, and because I don't smoke or drink it meant I could really take advantage of that opportunity to both save and sink funds into my pension. A few years and a move, a partner, and house later and I still do my best to save as much as possible and I max my pension contributions while I can because I know I may not always get the chance.

I take care of the general money situation, if the OH was in charge we'd be much less organized and would certainly be paying over the odds for things like insurance, utilities and services as he would never in a million years shop around for anything, ever. He's more than happy to abdicate all responsibility to me which is annoying, and a relief, in equal measure.

Not everyone has spare income to save or have a pension, but if you have (and have enough to enjoy life) then it's worth putting some thought into planning for the future. It's reassuring to have a cushion in case life throws something at you.

Spanish Eyes

Saving is something that you do for certain things you want, if you are sensible.

There is no interest on savings anymore. Bear that in mind.

I have always been a saver, but now, in my dotage am a SKIER. That means spending kids inheritance! LOL.

thomasm

Pension what ever you can. To get €100 in your account only costs €60. Growth is tax free as opposed to 33 to 40% non pension. Factor in annual charges, stamp duty on the way in and inflation and it difficult to make money outside of pensions

Greentopia

Mad_maxx wrote: »

It's more important for men to save, if a couple split, the law will see the man couch surf as long as his wife or partner is looked after

It's important for everyone to save regardless of gender. Women are not immune to accidents, bankruptcy, illness, divorce and anything else life can throw at us.

You shouldn't get married if you don't go into it with your eyes wide open and knowing what the possible legal outcome might be for you if things go belly up. No-one forces anyone to get married

RockyMills

monkeysnapper wrote: »

So let me get this straight , you feel great because your living at home for free .

Classy....

I’m saving to buy a house on a primitive salary. I’m not bitching or moaning about not earning massive money. I’m getting on with it as best I can.

Teddy Daniels

Thread should be called the importance of earning money.

Only way I could save loads of my wage is if I earned loads more.

mycro2013

I ve 6 months salary, locked in a prize bonds account just in case things go tits up. Trying to save month to month as I'm trying to get my mortgage application across the line.

OldMrBrennan83

carzony wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I'm surprised by the number of people in work who are not in a position to save any money at all.

I've always been a very heavy saver and love to know I have money in the bank to fall back on. I'd say over 50% of my money probably goes into saving every payday

Are fellow Boardies saving ?

Can't take it with you.

Pops_20

Currently saving approximately 40% of my monthly salary. No rent and no mortgage though, so I reckon I could push that to about 60%.
Only thing is I have an awful debilitating addiction to buying fancy parts for my car online, so that always takes a good chunk of money, even if not required.

I do have a pension for the last 15 months or so, but it seems to grow so slowly that it's not worth talking about.
People are always advising me to top it up with an annual voluntary contribution when you're young, to get the max out when you're old, but looking at the stats of how much I get per annum when I retire, it doesn't seem worth it.
50:50 low risk medium risk, and the return seems terrible.

monkeysnapper

RockyMills wrote: »

I’m saving to buy a house on a primitive salary. I’m not bitching or moaning about not earning massive money. I’m getting on with it as best I can.

I didnt mean that ....

I ment classy in that you got yourself a nice number , living at home for free and let the parents pay for you so you can save .... I'm sure they are delighted they are saving you money .

amcalester

Pops_20 wrote: »

Currently saving approximately 40% of my monthly salary. No rent and no mortgage though, so I reckon I could push that to about 60%.
Only thing is I have an awful debilitating addiction to buying fancy parts for my car online, so that always takes a good chunk of money, even if not required.

I do have a pension for the last 15 months or so, but it seems to grow so slowly that it's not worth talking about.
People are always advising me to top it up with an annual voluntary contribution when you're young, to get the max out when you're old, but looking at the stats of how much I get per annum when I retire, it doesn't seem worth it.
50:50 low risk medium risk, and the return seems terrible.

I’m not a financial advisor but I’d have thought if you’re young then some of it could go into higher risk investments.

Ive just started paying the max into my pension for my age, split between high and medium risk.

As I get older I’ll move it from higher risk to lower risk funds.

_Brian

Lots of things are important and it depends on your stage of life.

I gave up a job where I could save loads for a really flexible much less paid job where I get to spend loads of time with my kids.

I could have more money hanging about, but I’d rather be with my kids.

We have enough and the savings we have aren’t being touched.

Spanish Eyes

If you have a goal saving for it is great.

If you are a person who likes to live and travel, well.. make your decisions based on what you want.

The rules are only there for those who want them.

lainey_d_123

carzony wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I'm surprised by the number of people in work who are not in a position to save any money at all.

I've always been a very heavy saver and love to know I have money in the bank to fall back on. I'd say over 50% of my money probably goes into saving every payday

Are fellow Boardies saving ?

I've never earned enough to be able to do that. All my adult life, about 50% of my income has been spent on rent and bills, and the rest of it goes on other essential costs. I'm lucky to save 10% of my take home pay each month.

Candie

Candie wrote: »

I spent a few years in the very fortunate position of living in grace

Gratitude is the gateway to grace.

lainey_d_123

RockyMills wrote: »

I’m on a piss poor salary but I’m currently living at home saving for a house and I don’t pay rent at the moment so I’m in a decent enough position to save. I have €10k in a savings and another savings account for my mortgage which has almost €30k in it. I’ve also been paying in to my pension for the last 18 months but this isn’t a huge amount (less than €10k).

There’s a guy I used to be very friendly with that is living and working in Dublin. I had the misfortune of joining him for a few drinks last weekend where he spoke non stop for two hours about how good his life is and how much money he’s earning (he’s 29 and earning €100k a year). I had to admit I was fairly jealous of him talking about his salary and the perks of his job but then he admitted he has no savings, he’s spending €1,600 a month on an apartment and he has no pension yet - he’s spending as he’s earning. I earn one third of what he earns but I left the pub delighted with myself knowing that I’m currently in a far better place financially than he is. I can’t stress how important having savings are. Things could go belly up at any stage for any person no matter what they work at and I’m glad I’m in a position to save what I can.

Good for you to be lucky enough to have your life subsidised by your parents. Not sure why you think being able to save when you don't have anything substantial to pay for is some kind of massive achievement. Everyone would be saving four figures a month if they didn't pay rent, bills or food costs.

vectorvictor

lainey_d_123 wrote: »

Good for you to be lucky enough to have your life subsidised by your parents. Not sure why you think being able to save when you don't have anything substantial to pay for is some kind of massive achievement. Everyone would be saving four figures a month if they didn't pay rent, bills or food costs.

Don't be so jealous

Good financial planning is as much about maximising circumstances as it as about money

lainey_d_123

vectorvictor wrote: »

Don't be so jealous

Good financial planning is as much about maximising circumstances as it as about money

And you need to have those circumstances to start with.

Person A is taking home 1300 euros a month and out of that is spending 800-900 on essential things like rent, bills and food. They spend about 200 a month on social life, hobbies and transport and save the rest.

Person B is taking home 1300 euros a month and is spending 500 euros a month on buying gaming accessories and McDonald's takeaways. The rest goes in the bank.

Person B is saving far more than person A, but which one is more responsible? Person B is simply luckier.

monkeysnapper

vectorvictor wrote: »

Don't be so jealous

Good financial planning is as much about maximising circumstances as it as about money

This is totally true .

Bleed the parents for a bit longer ..... survival of the fittest.

When he or she finally does leave take everything that was bought and leave house bare . ....clear the cupboards....

But it doesnt matter because you saved a bit of money ......


Or


Become a grown up in a grown up world and start paying your way and move out a bit later than expected but leave with pride that you helped parents while you had them .


Its called respect.

jester77

Greentopia wrote: »

Aren't you German? that would account for your skill in saving.
Never been to a country where people are more dedicated to saving. They all seem to save at least 10% of their income. My German guy is brilliant with saving money, he always has at least 3 months savings in his bank accounts and is never in debt.

Nah, just happen to live in Germany.

I discovered the importance of saving when I was in Uni. I would work summers and weekends to pay my way through. It was near the end of semester before the summer break and I was doing interviews for jobs. I got a call on a Friday morning asking if I could come into an interview that afternoon, I said yes as it was a job I wanted. However I would need to take the bus and I had spent the last of my cash in the pub the previous night and wouldn't have cash until after work on Saturday. I tried to track down some friends, but they had all left for the weekend. I then went into the bank and asked for a 5 pound overdraft, no joy :mad: Ended up missing the interview. I re-evaluated a few things after that.

Fr_Dougal

carzony wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I'm surprised by the number of people in work who are not in a position to save any money at all.

I've always been a very heavy saver and love to know I have money in the bank to fall back on. I'd say over 50% of my money probably goes into saving every payday

Are fellow Boardies saving ?

Are you happy? Serious question.

khaldrogo

carzony wrote:

I'm surprised by the number of people in work who are not in a position to save any money at all.

How many kids do you have? Mortgage?

r93kaey5p2izun

I was saving 65% of my salary but am now down to 20% despite a big pay rise. I went from living in a hovel house share to having to rent a decent house because my mother became homeless. If I had stayed in my previous job I would have been unable to save anything now, thank god I decided to make the move last year. I don't see how many people in Ireland could realistically be expected to save given housing and childcare costs versus the prevalence of low pay. I think being in a position to save is an incredibly powerful advantage to have given the opportunities it affords you - particularly those who are in a position to save at a young age. Of course there are others too who squander their money and fail to save when they could. Personally I would find that a very stressful way to live.

khaldrogo

carzony wrote:

I'm surprised by the number of people in work who are not in a position to save any money at all.

How many kids do you have? Mortgage?