[Closed] Do you have £100 in savings?

(re: kitchens / bathrooms)

"[i]may increase saleability?[/i]"

If you're selling now, or in the near future, sure. But if you're staying 10+ years then by that point it's just an old/ unfashionable kitchen. Long-lasting value would be from major changes like an extension.

I guess non-essential upgrades means nice bathrooms and kitchens - doubt they had much to value.

Guess it depends on the house/area, what was there before, how much you spend and how long you're going to be there for. Unless you get it horribly wrong though I suspect it's hard to lose money on home renovations, especially if you intend to sell in the short term. So many people just seem to want a house that looks straight out of the Next catalogue that they can just move into. Textured wallpaper and orange walls must have saved us £80k at least!

If you're selling now, or in the near future, sure. But if you're staying 10+ years then by that point it's just an old/ unfashionable kitchen. Long-lasting value would be from major changes like an extension.

Depends what's there, but I'd rather have a nice kitchen for 10 years than live with a crap one before doing it up to sell. Whether that was funded by cash (which would otherwise probably have been put into the mortgage) or a bigger mortgage is a different matter, it's just an illustration that spending money you don't have isn't always the path to poverty.

Well also it depends on how much you spend relative to the value of the house as well as how much they appeal to potential buyers. Some people have strong ideas on what they want and will want to redo everything anyway - better off people mostly?!

Well also it depends on how much you spend relative to the value of the house as well as how much they appeal to potential buyers. Some people have strong ideas on what they want and will want to redo everything anyway - better off people mostly?!

Wouldn't have said better off, we're not (relative to the street), hence we bought the cheap house we could decorate how we like.

Unless you're so rich that money isn't a consideration, or the house's value is derived from something other than its decorative state (location, or somewhere where few houses come up for sale) I'd bet most people who want to decorate themselves also want a bargain.

Your own enjoyment <> adding value.

The previous owners of our house enjoyed artex on the walls, purple & yellow panelling, and strongly striped wallpaper hung ever so slightly wonky so that all the furniture looked like it was leaning to the right ! It [b]did not[/b] add value (luckily for us).

DIY can sometimes end up costing you money in the end - the 1st house I bought had all it's sockets at a wide variety of interesting angles.

I have £4k in savings but also have £4k on a 0% credit card (being paid off monthly so it will be at £0 when the introductory rate ends next June).

So you're at 0 then 🙂

Err, yeah LOL

This time next year, though, we'll be millionaires!*

*£1,800

15 years ago I was in debt to around 17k. No mortgage at the time, this was just money spent of shit and going out getting hammered.

I knew I needed to get out of the rut so made a real effort to sort to rot, stop being so exstraviagnt and save.
The biggest Turing point for me was finally getting into the black/ positive number is the bank account.
There was a real mental switch seeing that number increase ...... and I've been a saver since. Yes, I still gave a splurge now and again BUT, it's rare and a real treat.

Your debit card plays for things with past hours of your life.
You credit card pays for things with future hours of your life.

6% return is pretty conservative for a stocks shares isa

Last year the FTSE All Share returned 0.98% including dividend reinvestment and excluding charges. The year before 1.18%, and the year before 20.81%. The FTSE-100 was worse in all three years.

Over the past 10 years the All Share has grown 21%, or 2% per year (excluding dividends and charges). The FTSE-100 11% over 10 years.

£3k of credit card debt on a 39 month interest free card that will be paid before the period ends. 2k in savings and a mortgage, so roughly -91k at the moment. Card debt is due to missus quitting work to be a full time mum and the subsequent loss of earnings coinciding with bits of the house dying. Luckily my job is pretty stable and I've recently had a decent salary raise.

Doesn't really worry me tbh, life is too short to worry about money IMO. I've been debt free and in more debt at various points in my life. If things go pear shaped I'll find a way to deal with it. There are plenty of people who's lives are a lot worse than mine.

How did you guys decide it's best for you if Mum stopped work? My wife wanted to stay in work and it's working out OK - just one kid though.

Last year the FTSE All Share returned 0.98% including dividend reinvestment and excluding charges. The year before 1.18%, and the year before 20.81%. The FTSE-100 was worse in all three years.

Over the past 10 years the All Share has grown 21%, or 2% per year (excluding dividends and charges). The FTSE-100 11% over 10 years.

Yes, but much higher returns have been available elsewhere, with a similar level of risk.
Many people won't even consider stocks and shares as an investment though. It's seen as far too risky. Not surprising really, as the only time share prices hit the front page is when they fall 20% or whatever. People are, though, bombarded with the "good" news that house prices are rising rapidly.

Did have, not any more. I've currently got about £8K worth of loans and credit cards. My partner lost a well paid job but didn't have any savings herself so I've had to prop us both up for a few months and there's been a family funeral to chip in for recently but that should be rock bottom really. Onwards and upwards from here.

On the flipside I'm 7 years into my mortgage and have a workplace pension so my net worth is probably about £0.01.

The problem with stock market investments is that they require more knowledge for many people to be comfortable with what they are doing and mostly people don't want to commit the money for appropriate lengths of time. To be comfortable investing you need to be happy with seeing significant paper losses at times and not panic. There was some panic selling after the Brexit vote and those that got out of the market lost out on the later gains.

Anyway, if you don't have £100 in savings this is all irrelevant!

How did you guys decide it's best for you if Mum stopped work? My wife wanted to stay in work and it's working out OK - just one kid though.

We both wanted to stay at home until he reached school age. She won as I was earning more. It's just something, that for us, was the right thing to do. Appreciate everybody is different. Missus loves spending every day with him and I actually get quite envious at times. Would have been completely debt free, but decided to take extended leave from work due to the baby being ill when he was born. Then our roof decided to die, hence a bit of debt.

My wife returned to work when ours had just turned 1 yr old and she has regretted it ever since (feeling like she had missed out on bonding time with them) but at the time it was too good a job to turn down - part time, term time hours walkable from home and at the secondary school we want them to eventually attend (not LEA controlled so staff members get the benefit of their children getting automatic places).

So she'll go back when he starts school? We manage with mix of breakfast and after school clubs, gets to do loads of extra activities which is a bonus.

Yeah, possibly part time depending on how things progress with me. She was a self employed driving instructor before Funkmaster Jr came along and is thinking of doing something new. I've recently taken on a very different role, on a site nearer home, in order to get home quicker. More toddler time 🙂

If she wants to work full time I can possibly flex my hours for the school run. We'll see what suits when the time comes though

After a horrid childhood spent with a single mother hiding behind settees from the next debt collector, I swore to myself I'd never have any debt.

I was successful in that aim.. actually that's not quite true.. I had one debt, a mortgage.. the thought of it gave me sleepless nights so I worked my balls off to pay it off in about 10 years.

I now have substantial savings.. but at 50 years of age wonder what the hell the point of saving it all was. I have a comfortable lifestyle and a house that's already too big for me. My kids were spoilt to death and wanted for nothing but are now adults. I could have blown the lot on fine wine and hot women.. Now I'm too old to cope with anything more than a hot chocolate.

So I spend my life looking at digits on paper.. too afraid of a life without that safety net to actually spend any of it hehehe

I'm comfortable with debt if it's against an asset.

Mortgage, fine. Unsurprisingly.

I've had loans a couple of times when I've needed (wanted) a car, but always well below the purchase price of the car, so that if things really turned sour I could sell the car, clear the debt and have enough left to buy a banger as a replacement. And always paid off the loan before its term.

Taking a loan to pay for a holiday.... that's the kind of thing I can't understand.

You know, this is a funny one. I think it just has to be how you want to live your life. I hate managing money, hate it. It should just facilitate things. However I have friends for whom it is an all consuming hobby.

elzorillo, interesting point - a father of a friend worked his hole life in Standard Life, and over a few beers one night many years ago (we were just out of uni) he told us "I've followed religiously the advice I've been giving to clients all these years: save, invest, insure, plan for the future. Now, I'm retired, very wealthy, but I'm 70 years old and look back on all the things we could have done when I was younger. What the hell am I going to do with all the money now?"

I have a little savings but I earn very little compared to most on here. Good thing about not having money is you don't spend it on things you don't need (I only use credit card on foreign holiday, which is one week a year), I've only bought two tyres and brake pads in the last year and a half, oh actually some shorts because my other ones had such a big hole the saddle nose would get stuck in it.

Almost all my income goes straight out on rent and bills, hopefully be able to find a permanent job soon so can spend it on a house instead of someone elses.

It should just facilitate things. However I have friends for whom it is an all consuming hobby.

Indeed, I know folks for whom money is an all encompassing part of their lives, it's accumulation, where it's kept, and how "hard" it works for them, it seems like it's almost a second job in their lives. One chap in particular I know has quite a fortune, he's also bloody unhealthy (overweight, poor diet, too much stress etc etc) he'll die before he gets to spent any in his retirement

Around where we live (Harrogate) I am sure that (despite the veneer of wealth) there is a whole shit load of crap on credit cards / PCPs / loans etc. Every other person seems to have a Range Rover or equivalent and all the parents at our kids' school seem to have everything they could want despite only a few of them actually having careers that seem to match their spending.

My wife doesn't understand why we never have any money compared to them but I suggest that we probably have much more...

Late to this thread as I had to check with my accountant. No

Every other person seems to have a Range Rover or equivalent and all the parents at our kids' school seem to have everything they could want despite only a few of them actually having careers that seem to match their spending.

A freind of mine who did a lot of divorce work as a barrister said a similar thing. So many of his apparently wealthy clients had few real assets, lots of people just 1 pay cheque away from handing the Merc/RR back.

Now, I'm retired, very wealthy, but I'm 70 years old and look back on all the things we could have done when I was younger. What the hell am I going to do with all the money now?"

I have another friend (:-)) who was a financial adviser and he said so many of his clients where obsessed with security to the detriment of their current life style.

I have a few quid put away but I will be working until 61/62 but we have always gone on holidays as a family, the kids can both Ski (although we only go every 2/3 years because it is so expensive) but we have had some holidays every year. Having money when I cant get out to run/cycle etc doesnt interest me much.

If you are over the age of about 35 in 2016 (and managed to buy a house when they were more attainable), have a reasonable(not massively paid) job/household income and have managed to avoid serious illness, divorce, supporting children from a number of different women and have resisted the urge to have/borrow the lifestyle of a premier league footballer/reality TV star on a middling salary, then there aren't really many reasons why you shouldn't have something in the bank for a "rainy day", even if you do owe a fair chunk on a mortgage.

Taking a loan to pay for a holiday.... that's the kind of thing I can't understand.

Spending £1,000s, that you don't have, on cars (mostly in an attempt to impress others, given that almost all cars are comfortable, brisk and well appointed these days -you just choose your price point) and short-lived holidays has always seemed daft to me.

The opposite case, where you have stacks of money, but live like a total pauper is equally peculiar.

How did you guys decide it's best for you if Mum stopped work? My wife wanted to stay in work and it's working out OK - just one kid though.

Basically, there was no childcare in our village and one of the benefits of being a teacher was she got pretty reasonable maternity for a while. Just were skint for the rest of it.

aren't they?

Depends. I bought my current car and put it on my mortgage. A crazy thing you may say but I had the money in an account that was offering much more interest than my mortgage was charging me. I always had the savings to fall back on but the loan was almost interest free.
I would borrow money to go on a family holiday TBH as long as I was confident I could pay it back. Time with family, especially young children is irreplaceable. I know a guy who almost never took a family holiday but always had some top of the range car that he couldnt really afford. I know what I will remember when I am old and the kids have left home and it wont be the X5 that I bought to impress the neighbours.

@johndoh..

I think you are partially right on that observation. Harrogate does seem to be in a little bubble of its own. At the farm (near Lady Lane) we see lots of big cars, flashy cars, very expensive road bikes, horses and what not going up and down the lane outside the farm. It's often been commented by the FIL "where's all that bloody money come from?" And I think he's right. But, all along that lane there are retired/semi retired ex Leeds/Bradford folk who've moved up here, they've bought a lot of the nice houses and spent quite a fair chunk of money renovating them all.. or so it seems.
Down in Beckwithshaw at the school there, every afternoon a raft of Evokes/RR's and large Audi estates turn up driven by Mum to collect the children, never see Dad though. You get talking and find that most Dads work away, Manchester, Leeds, London, York even. It's where the money is. I have contemplated moving up, yet work in London during the week, but can't pull myself away from the coast.

The problem I see with all this wealth in the area is the draw for some folk the be the same, to be seen driving around in new cars and such. Clearly some can afford debt, some can't and we can only sit by and guesstimate at the proportion of those that drive up/down the lane who are happy and comfortable in owning such large expensive vehicles.

But we could go on forever talking about social attainment and credit/debt leverage, it's for each of us to be comfortable with a ratio of what we have and what we want.

At the farm (near Lady Lane)

Is your farm the one right on the junction? If so, what is happening with the buildings? I see there has been a grant awarded to develop some of the run down ones...

No, that has always puzzled me too. Holidays are something you do with the money you have left over from living, aren't they?

I would much rather take out a small loan to pay to live life through travel than spend it on a 'thing'

£1800 savings, over 10k student loan which will likely never be paid back as I never earn the threshold where you have to.
2-3k on interest-free deals for bike things and tools for my work.
No house, just a shed......on someone else's land... 😕
I'm commissioning a hired assassin for when I'm 60-odd anyway. Take me out when I least expect it. Avoid the nursing home years, so hopefully I won't need too much behind me. 😀

Hi johndoh, no it's just up the road a little from that one.

We're all getting the grants in before Brexit, he's got plans to reroof his cow shed and build on the back of it for 15 more cattle. That muck heap he's got on the road, he has to cover too so it'll all be one large "shed".

Nice place to be up there isn't it.

If you do not have cash/savings of £100, why waste money on a MTB?

Didnt this one get done a while ago with x% of americans couldnt raise 300 dollars at short notice story?

Yep http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/could-you-find-300-in-an-emergency

Mudshark,Mrs S went part time, first two then 3 days a week after taking the maximum maternity then got made redundant at the start of this year (youngest then 2). Best thing that could have happened. She's still got the redundancy stashed, I had some savings at the time but we blew that going on holiday ;). Have racked up about a grand since, paid half off yesterday as Mrs S is now back at work. We werent exactly frugal while she eas off thpugh as we knew shed be as orkin again next year once the youngest got his free hours. We're both a bit unsure its the right thing right now as its full time but. Could be a bit much. Basically: screw the money, its worth a bit of debt to have a calm, clean, organized (as far as is possible with two kids) household especially for those first few years, kids were really settled while she's was off, they're taking a bit of time adjusting to the new regime.

£190,000 in a high interest Deutsche Bank savings account here, lovely!

Deutsche Bank

Or possibly not so lovely if the German government do a Lehmans!

I also live in Harrogate and have done all my life. It really is a bubble and the amount of people strutting around is ridiculous. Embarrassing really.