i would like to save up for a honda supercub 125cc motorcycle BUT i have always been terrible at saving money (i always end up being tempted by my depression to just spend it on stupid stuff etc).
i am 51 now so i should know better but i always do it when trying to save up (and really fed up of doing so/it is partly depression and lack of self control).
the annoying thing is that i gave up both drinking and smoking at the same time cold turkey back in 2004 and to this day haven't touched either since then.
i just wonder what others might suggest as to how i can save without touching the money until i have the cash to buy said honda supercub? i don't want to take a loan etc as i just want to save up the full amount.
it would be my first motorized transport since i was 18 and i would be able to go to the coast and further afield that i just cannot do on my bike (lack of fitness etc) and also just for my mental health tbh as i do love motorcycles (actually passed my full bike license when i was 17 before my car license).
thank you in advance for any replies 🙂
Savings account that only let's you take money out after a certain amount of time and a monthly direct debit? My bank also does one that also rounds up any card purchases and the extras are paid into the savings account.
Your issue is that with savings you aren't committed to the purchase and the temptation is to take the money out and spend it before you saved up enough. If you're genuinely bad with money rather than just prone to bored of waiting the following may not be a good idea, and I know you said no loan. But consider doing it on a 0% credit card.
In essence you're doing the same, you're committing to pay a certain amount into the 'savings' except this time you are really committed, short of selling the bike to get the cash to spend on something else that temptation is gone. Looks like about £4K on a 0% card, which if you have a decent rating would get you 18-24mo, paying in £200/mo would clear it just about. I'm assuming from what you said you weren't planning on saving that long anyway, so maybe you could do it in ~12mo?
And you'll have the bike to improve your MH and make you less likely to a boredom splurge anyway.
You want a savings product that locks you in. Most it’s a penalty for withdrawing. But some might actually stop you. At the risk of man splaining you want the money in an isa so the returns aren’t taxed
The 0% card suggestion is good (you can also do things like Klarna for 12 or 24 month payments with some interest).
Maybe set up an ISA? Decent rates of interest and you can't easily access the money, the only downside of course is that you have to wait for it to mature. Also, in order for it to be meaningful amounts of interest, you need a decent chunk to put away in the first place and regular payment into it.
I set up an ISA a couple of years ago with a one-off payment for some work I'd done on the side, put in regular payments of £100 or so (direct debit) and occasional extra top ups but the end amount of total interest when it matured wasn't exactly earth shattering.
I'd do the 0% thing and accept it's like a savings account in reverse. Assuming you can make the payments, that forces you into a "savings" mindset but you have the bike in your possession!
I did that with my commuter e-bike. Got bored of waiting for C2W, the bike was on a Black Friday sale deal so I bought it on a Klarna 6mth interest free scheme and accepted that the next 6 months were going to be paying back (quite a large!) amount of money. But it was better than putting that amount of money away each month and waiting.
There are lots of ISAs around that allow multiple payments in but just one or two withdrawals in the year. Rates around 4%, so semi tied in but no waiting to mature.
Give your money to me and I'll look after it...😉
There are lots of ISAs around that allow multiple payments in but just one or two withdrawals in the year.
I'm not sure that's strictly true. They allow withdrawals but you just lose interest. That's no use to the OP who needs something stronger to keep himself in check.
You could go for fixed rate bonds that actually prevent withdrawals but you'd need to open one a month, which would be a pain.
My employer has an option to pay into a credit union, money goes straight in there from my wages so I don't really see it. I have to apply to withdraw, takes a day or so to get the funds. But the union is a franchise which I think you could possibly set up from any employer (locally) might be worth seeing if there's one local to you?
I'd do the 0% interest thing too.
Or have a trusted mate or relative sort out the account and not let you have access until you have finished saving.
Not Vlad though, I'm not entirely sure of his motives. 😁
Set up a direct debit to another account which isn't accessible by card or linked to a shopping amount like Google pay or PayPal. So that every pay day or the day after a percentage of your cash shifts to the inaccessible account.
It might take a year or two to get to the amount required but it should give you time to contemplate the purchase.
Set up a cash ISA, with your bank, or another provider like others have said.
I did this 20 years ago and was happy to see the cash accumulate over time.
Buy Premium Bonds (now from £25.00) - the faff of getting your money out will stop those impulsive spends - and you may win a million £s! 😀
No need to bother with an ISA. For the kind of we're talking (£4-5k?) the interest is going to be nowhere near the £1k threshold for paying tax on it, and you'll be emptying it in a year or so anyway so just go for whatever account has the highest interest rate regardless of whether or not it's an ISA.
But yes, I'm with tthew, get someone you trust to open the account and then give them however much you want to save with specific instructions not to let you at it until there's enough for a bike. Or a joint account which requires two signatures to withdraw from.
Moneybox ISA . Not for the tax evasion purposes but ease of use. Great APP that wont clog up your phone and waits for you to ask it stuff , no random pop ups.
Set it up for weekly deposits , Say £20 a week . Its enough so it will grow relatively quickly but not so much that it will leave you penniless at the end of the month.
Then after 6 - 8 months get a 0% CC and buy the bike using the ISA saving and the CC . Enjoy the bike and keep paying into the ISA as its now habitual , you are used to not seeing the cash . then in 8 - 9 months pay off the CC.
The worst spenders become the best savers so I wouldnt be surprised if you keep the ISA open and let it grow . Please tell me you have a PPP/SIPP running ?
A lot of banks do accounts called regular saver. Typically have high interest rate (6-7%), have a max pay in amount each month of £200-300 and you can't get at the money for 12 months iirc.
Zopa have one, nationwide too I think and first direct did them in the past
Under normal circs and if set against credit (I'm not, in the right situations) I'd say a Moneybox ISA is right but as per the OP's answer, the issue is availability and the option to withdraw it and spend on something when the mood takes them. That's not stopped by the ISA; hindered maybe.
To the other point - save for 6mo and then spend it and add in the rest on a loan - I could go for that and remove the 6mo stipulation but instead do it in a way to save as long as possible and then when the mood takes, buy the bike with the rest on the 0% card. But doesn't stop them ignoring the plan and spending on something else as they still aren't committed. And secondly, back to the OP:
i would be able to go to the coast and further afield that i just cannot do on my bike (lack of fitness etc) and also just for my mental health tbh as i do love motorcycles
Don't underestimate what fixing the MH would do for the ability to not sabotage-spend when they get low mooded... and I think having a bike at the start of summer has a better chance of addressing the MH issue than getting one in Nov/Dec and hating the experience because they're cold and wet and, etc. Sure, that'll still happen in Nov-Mar but at least they'll have had a summer of enjoyment to lean back on.
Save for 6mo, and then an option of getting a bike you won't enjoy very much or instead withdrawing it and spending on something with more instant gratification but less overall...that sounds like a failure in waiting.
Get the bike now. Balls to those that say credit is evil, and enjoy it and get some pleasure in your life.
On the flip side to the go get the credit now.
What's the affordability looking like for the repayments. No worse feeling for depression than unaffordable debt.
I would caution very much against gung ho purchasing of a depreciating liability without a solid repayment method.
I agree with the muffin man. Premium Bonds.
They're a novelty purchase in themselves so I enjoy buying and having them more than I would just putting the money in a savings account. Then there is the frisson of checking the app on the 2nd working day of the month (at 1 minute after midnight) to see what prize might be wanting). I always have a resistance to cashing them so they might do the trick.
thank you for the replies and advice 🙂
i am currently on universal credit (was on esa) so some of the options are not available to me but i am definitely thinking about opening a savings account or leaving the money with a friend to hold on to.
