No savings at 42

pwurple

PokeHerKing wrote: »

Regardless of wfh and lockdown most people will not be able or want to sell their car. We looked into taking my wife's off the road as the insurance is up for renewal at the end of November but its not really worth it, 3rd party is still required and its only a 100e in the difference and its a new car so tax is peanuts anyway.

Defo saved on petrol etc but our utilities bills feel beefier as we're here 24/7 now and she's constantly freezing!:)

The OP's spending was stated as being on Travel and I'm assuming going out. They should have seen a dip in those. My main spends are my mortgage and family cars. it was an example, not an instruction. Clearly the OP is a single man with no dependents, so I was not equating the situation.


So, OP, What are you spending on right now?

You can't save until you KNOW what your outgoings are. Otherwise you just end up plastered in debt.

I'm taking a wild stab at what single fellas with a decent income and no savings have spent it on. Gambling & drink are the usual suspects, or a shopping addiction to toys like guitars or flashy watches. If it's those, he might need some assistance coming off them.


Lame cliche alert, but knowledge is power. You can't fix what you don't understand.

Addle

What are you all saving for?
If I can save €100 a month after everything, I’m doing relatively well.
I have a mortgage and a make pension contributions.
I’d say yours is a pretty common situation OP. Now you know how it makes you feel and that you want to do something about it, so so you will.

Xaniaj

Addle wrote: »

What are you all saving for?
If I can save €100 a month after everything, I’m doing relatively well.
I have a mortgage and a make pension contributions.
I’d say yours is a pretty common situation OP. Now you know how it makes you feel and that you want to do something about it, so so you will.

I'm saving for early retirement!

OP, as suggested, I'd got with a spending diary or something similar just to see where exactly your money is going. From there, try and adjust one small thing at a time and up the saving from there.

fits

Addle wrote: »

What are you all saving for?
.

Next car
Improvements to house and garden
College fund.
Rainy day

JustAThought

fits wrote: »

Next car
Improvements to house and garden
College fund.
Rainy day

Peace of mind.
Walk away fund.
Emergency situation
Zero SW support to pay a mortgage if illness/anything goes wrong
Comfort knowing that when the * hits the fam I will have a financial safety net

Now also looking to turn the house heat on & up for the next 5’months and be able to pay the extra 30% without having financial meltdown

holiday home /bolthole overseas perhaps

Jb1989

Yous all must be on great wages. Not everyone has means left over to save

LegacyUser

Jb1989 wrote: »

Yous all must be on great wages. Not everyone has means left over to save

I wasn't on great wages when I started but its the mindset of 'left over to save' that was stopping me. I had debts and wasn't living in the cheapest area but couldn't move and had no money left each month, saving seemed like a luxury I couldn't have but I stated seeing saving the same as other bills, something I needed to start doing or I never would. I started very small but slowly I got out of debt, got better job and was already in the habit of saving so just changed the amount I was saving. It's all context of what you have - if you are struggling saving 10, 50 or 100 euro over a few months might not seem much to some but be a major effort for you and it's a big boost physiologically to hit a target regardless of how big or small it is.

Tork

Yep, putting any sort of money aside every time you're paid is well worth doing if you can. Sometimes setting up a standing order and putting the money into a separate account can help. If you get into the right frame of mind, you won't want to even dip into that account once the money starts to add up.

If you're not on good wages, then, unfortunately, you need to make changes to get a better job. I found myself trapped in a dead-end career path and got sick of the low wages. I identified a different career, upskilled in my own time and then had to put up with low wages and renting a tiny box room until things improved. It was well worth it in the end but wasn't easy at the time. You do what you have to do - better paid jobs are rarely handed to you.

mr_edge_to_you

OP - I would urge you not to panic. The reality for most of us is, that if we're fortunate to have healthy lives and live to our 70s we'll be working well beyond 65. There's plenty of time to fix the situation.

Revolut and the likes will help in the short term with monitoring spending but you do need a long term plan. With that in mind, I would strongly advise that you engage the services of a suitably qualified and experienced financial planner who can help you put a meaningful plan in place. I know many people say that the Irish obsession about owning your own home is dated and old-fashioned thinking and that is changing. That's fair enough, but if you're going down that road, you need to ask yourself, how will you afford that rent in your 70s?

Plenty of time to sort it out.

sashafierce

Meant To Say wrote: »

Op is concerned about having no savings but wants to pre-order a PS5...

My pet peeve on boards is people stalking through posters other threads and using them against them on a different issue.....

Meant To Say

Meant To Say wrote: »

Op is concerned about having no savings but wants to pre-order a PS5...

OP who admits they have no budgeting skills is exposed as having no budgeting skills shocka!

Hannibal_Smith

Mod Note

Folks, as per the Charter, please offer advice to the OP when replying to their thread.

Thanks

HS

OP, I'd recommend downloading a budgeting app for your phone, one that allows you to enter and track your spending. If you're any good with spreadsheets I'd also recommend creating one. Tracking your spending over time will at least give you a picture of where your money is going.

Johnny_BravoIII

Create 'pots' for your money and manage your 'pots':

- Pot 1 - Day-to-day account - wages paid into this account (25% approx)
- Pot 2 - Bills & Loans - Automated transfer amount (weekly/monthly) from pot 1 to pot 2 to meet bills. (25% bills, 10% loan approx)
- Pot 3 - Savings - Long-Term - Inaccessible bank account ( credit union). Automated transfer from Pot 1 to Pot 3 to (weekly/monthly) (20%)
- Pot 4 - Savings - Save-to-Spend - Holidays, luxury items, clothes. Automated transfer from Pot 1 to Pot 4 (20%)

Requires multiple bank accounts but once they are set-up, its all automated and requires no thinking.

Additionally, I transfer €150 from pot 1 to a revolut account weekly. The analytics is quite good.

The idea is that you don't want "penny-pinching" to dominate your life.
You know there is €100 - €200 in your Pot 1 weekly to do with as you please.
Everything else is taken care of. You only have to decisions on Pot 1.
Blow it if you want, but you will go hungry and start making smarter decisions.
"How do I spend my Pot 1 (example €150) this week.

E.g. if you are earning €35,000 per annum. Your take-home should be circa €2,500 per month.
IMO you could save 40% €1,090 per month.
€1,000 per month * 12 months = €12,000 per year * 10 years = €120,000 * 20 years = €240,000
That's a nice nest egg to retire. Remember every Irish citizen is entitled to €13,000 per annum pension payment.
The above invested in a pension fund would be the way to go.

amdublin

Starting from the time when I was on crap wages to now on good wages, and all the times in between I've always found this worked for me: Second I got paid, I transferred what I wanted to save into the savings account. Whether it was 100 euro when I was on cr@p wages, or the 1000 euro now on good wages, I transferred it the second I got paid.

I found if I left it until the end middle or end of the month it was not there to save.

People have mentioned "they have no money left over to save" and I get that...you always spend what is in the account.

Transfer it and pretend it doesn't exist! You will get by with what you have after transferring.

OP (and anyone else), my two cents for what it is worth. Hope it helps

august12

amdublin wrote: »

Starting from the time when I was on crap wages to now on good wages, and all the times in between I've always found this worked for me: Second I got paid, I transferred what I wanted to save into the savings account. Whether it was 100 euro when I was on cr@p wages, or the 1000 euro now on good wages, I transferred it the second I got paid.

I found if I left it until the end middle or end of the month it was not there to save.

People have mentioned "they have no money left over to save" and I get that...you always spend what is in the account.

Transfer it and pretend it doesn't exist! You will get by with what you have after transferring.

OP (and anyone else), my two cents for what it is worth. Hope it helps

Totally agree with this.

bitofabind

amdublin wrote: »

Starting from the time when I was on crap wages to now on good wages, and all the times in between I've always found this worked for me: Second I got paid, I transferred what I wanted to save into the savings account. Whether it was 100 euro when I was on cr@p wages, or the 1000 euro now on good wages, I transferred it the second I got paid.

100%, do this OP. I've been doing this for the past five years or so. 25% of my monthly salary gets transferred into savings as soon as I'm paid, along with bills etc and then I'll live on the remainder.

You'd be surprised at how much of a kick you begin to get out of seeing that number go up and up as the months go by. I hit six figures a few months ago, it's given me a sense of security I'm really grateful for especially for the year that's in it. The trigger in your brain is that your Savings are now a monthly essential "outgoing", rather than "something I'll do if I have anything in my account at the end of the month."

Minime2.5

Thanks for all the replys thus far . I have 2 questions

1. Does the 50 30 20 rule apply regardless of earnings ? Surely a person earning 50k net a year should be saving alot more than a person on minimum wage . Sure 20% of 50k is more but shouldn't the percentage be greater ?

2. How should savings be split between long and short term savings? 50:50

Passenger

Minime2.5 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replys thus far . I have 2 questions

1. Does the 50 30 20 rule apply regardless of earnings ? Surely a person earning 50k net a year should be saving alot more than a person on minimum wage . Sure 20% of 50k is more but shouldn't the percentage be greater ?

The 50, the 30 and the 20 of the 50/30/20 rule are interchangeable. You can swap the percentages around. So you can save 50%, live on 30% and splurge 20%.

The percentages are a general guide so you have a system to manage your finances.

antiskeptic

Minime2.5 wrote: »

I've been really down about my financial situation in recent months. At 42 I have absolutely nothing to my name . No savings no house and that's despite having a permanent stable well paying job . I'm a single man with no dependents so I have no excuses really . I've just been a complete and utter idiot with my money down through the years . I've done some travelling which would have had an expense but that's no excuse for having nothing. I've basically just treated my salary like my pocket money and live from pay cheque to pay cheque without a plan. I'm not sure why I've posted here . There is nothing I can do about the past . Just some words of advice and insight. I'll be 50 in 8 years time which terrifies me being in the same predicament

Did the same up to my late-30's and had the same startled moment. I didn't bother with 20/30/50 or whatever that means. I just halted every single spend in a total commitment to saving. This with a view to getting a roof over my head.

It became almost addictive, finding ways to not spend money. Downsize your rental, sell your car and drive a banger, whatever...

You simply find out what you need to do to get a mortgage you can afford without killing yourself and set about getting one as quick as you can.

There ain't no feeling like not having a landlord knock (or have the potential to knock) on your door again.

fits

Minime2.5 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replys thus far . I have 2 questions

1. Does the 50 30 20 rule apply regardless of earnings ? Surely a person earning 50k net a year should be saving alot more than a person on minimum wage . Sure 20% of 50k is more but shouldn't the percentage be greater ?

2. How should savings be split between long and short term savings? 50:50

I never split according to any rule. It all depends on your needs. When I was earning better money than now I paid my bills, gave myself a small weekly allowance and saved about 2 k a month.

Tork

For now, OP, thinking about how to split your savings isn't the most important thing. You need to learn to walk before you run and for you, that means learning to live with less disposable income. It might take a while for you to get used to that, along with learning how to say No to yourself. You're probably a bit impulsive and just buy what you want when you see it.

For now, set up a savings account for yourself (easily done through online banking) and start transferring money into that. Once you get a handle on how much you can save and not dip into, you think more long term. I agree with the people who are advising you to look towards buying your own place. It isn't too late for you to sort that but you need to get cracking on it before you move too far into your 40s. Owning something outright by the time you retire will save you the headache of paying rent and give you stability. The more you can put away the better. Those percentages are just a guideline.

antiskeptic

One other thing. I flip houses occasionally and would budget (approx) on selling for 33% more than I put in.

Reckon on a period of suffering which will see you reel back in many of the years you've 'lost'

- save like a lunatic like I say

- by a solid doer upper. Something that is sound structurally, has good windows and electrics and heating system and probably an '80's extension. That's the expensive stuff. A dated decor executor sale, but one which has had money put in, for example. Then live with the dust and dirt and hassle of getting it modernised over time. Avoid walk in condition: like a ready meal, you're paying through the nose for the convenience

There are a huge amount of men your age, married with kids, a huge mortgage, in a precarious job and up to their eyeballs in debt. The amount they have to earn each month just to pay bills is probably double your income.

You are in a very fortunate position as you only have yourself to look after. It should be relatively easy to cut back and start saving.

ILoveYourVibes

OP obv you have to just start saving.