Finances and the future - your plans

jaybee said:
If I had a pound for everytime someone said that to me, I'd have a deposit ready to buy a house now.
Do you know how frustrating that is to hear for people that rent? Do you think they would be renting if they could afford to put a deposit down on a house and get a mortgage? I hear people telling me all the time that I pay in rent about the same as they do on a mortgage per month. Congratulations on that assessment, yes I do. Does this automatically mean I qualify for a mortgage and can get a mortgage for the value of a house in my area and that I have 20k+ laying around for a deposit? Take a guess...
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I rented for 4 years, wasted 20K I know how it feels. It took me 9 months to save for a deposit. In this time I had to move back to where I was before renting to save for the deposit for the mortgage.

Some people don't have any where to move back to so I understand that comment but that's not my fault and I can't resolve it.
 
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krooton said:
Those in their 20/30s need to remember how far medicine has progressed during just their lifetimes, who is to say we won't be able to have a much greater quality of life at 65 when we get there?
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If we do, it won't be cheap. That's where savings come in handy.
 
cm1179 said:
i have a pension
i have savings
when i'm older, the government will take it all off me to survive so i may aswell blow it all and have fun in my prime.
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buy some physical gold - can't be inflated away, and the government will not know that you have it. Don't need to buy loads, just enough to give you some extra security...
 
Good God - there is some utter rubbish in this thread about pensions.

Calling a pension a "pyramid scam" is utterly ludicrous - its like calling an ISA a pyramid scam.

There are a multitude of different types of pension - the classic "final salary" type scheme, often provided by the public sector, use a single "pot" of money. This, in recent times, has seen a huge shortfall. These are generally all closed now for new staff, so they shouldn't form part of your consideration.

The most sensible option is either a stakeholder pension or a SIPP. A SIPP is a fantastic way to save for retirement - you can reclaim your basic tax rate on contributions up to the limit (currently £50,000 of contributions per annum with a 3 year carry over), plus there are lots of providers that allow you to invest in all kinds of things.
 
I'm 25.. currently paying into an average salary pension fund but tbh state retirement age seems a long long long way away (almost 50 years ffs!) and I do expect my salary to increase quite a lot in the next 5-10 years so in the short term I'm definitely not saving as much as I potentially could.

I have a lot of respect for people my age who make sacrifices today for their retirement - just can't do it myself.
 
mrbell1984 said:
It's a big risk with retirement funds though because you might just not be here to spend it and it may be passed onto the next of kin.

A lot of things are risks, this been one of them.
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Surely anything other than assuming you'll be alive is a bit daft? If you are alive, you have a retirement pot. If you are dead, your family get the money.

If you choose not to save, and end up being alive at 65, what will you do?
 
Fingers and toes crossed my finances will break even in 2014.

I put a small amount of money into a pension and save / invest the majority.

The hardest thing is sticking to the budget you set yourself.
 
groen said:
I am sceptical about property as an investment, especially if i am going to live in. If the property market crashes and we see big reductions in prices, then i might consider purchasing property to rent out or flip. But these days with the amount of deposit required and the risk of negative equity and losing the deposit plus owning property ties you down to that location. Unless you buy to let, but buying to let can be a lot of hassle and you don't always make more in rent than your deposit because there is a lot of hidden costs etc. In certain situations buying a house can be a good idea, if you have a family and plan to stay some where for 20-30 years and don't mind riding the ups and downs of the housing market during that time. But i want to live around the world.
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This sums up my feelings.
 
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I'm 24 and have been working since I was 16, so far I have no savings bar a paid off house. My plan for the future is buy another 3-4 houses and not really give a **** about the housing market and use the rental as mortgage repayments/income. I hope by the time I'm 50 I have 5 houses paid for and live off the rent/my own company.
 
I'm 27 - I've had the benefit of earning well over the past few years. I have a co-owned house in a part of London where properties tend to hold their value and am relatively content.

Due to a number of massive screw-ups by the parent company I work for, I had my savings obliterated (lost about 60% in unpaid tax which I had to settle) and I've now overpaid on ym student loan and am waiting for get a refund.

My earnings are likely to take a massive hit over the next year or so due to the industry I'm in, and I'm now considering my financial options - I've (sometimes stupidly) lived within my means since I graduated, and I'm having to come to terms with being brought down to earth in the next 12 months. Of this I'm completely fine with, but I've made very little allowance for savings and financial security and will have to start assessing my spending and outgoings.

An interesting and rather unfun 12 months await! :(
 
koolpc said:
^^^

Good for you mate. Hope it works out. Great idea that.
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I hope so! I missed out on the "fun" parts of higher education like UNI and work pretty much whenever possible I.e I will have finished a 50hr week for my firm by the end of today and I'm working this sat-sun 12hrs each for my self. Nackering but I hope it will be worth it.
 
We worked like mad to pay off our mortgage which we completed about 7 years ago now. That is a blessing to get rid of. We also have a property we are trying to sell as my wife inherited a house.
 
koolpc said:
We worked like mad to pay off our mortgage which we completed about 7 years ago now. That is a blessing to get rid of. We also have a property we are trying to sell as my wife inherited a house.
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If your wife is the only owner then why don't you mortgage it, rent it out and use the capital for deposits on other places to rent?
 
I have been thinking about this a lot recently.


My dad worked extremely hard his entire life at times working two jobs, ensured my brother sister and I had the best start in life. Retired at 65, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in its advanced stages and passed away at the beginning of the month aged 68. It’s got me thinking what’s the point. People bang on about good pensions and the importance of saving for retirement. My Mum and Dad deserved so much together during their retirement, they were both cheated and I feel so angry about it all. I realise it's probably stages of the grieving process but still, I’m angry.


I bought my first flat 4 years ago and for a while I’ve played with the idea of renting it out. My brother has just offered to go 50/50 on the flat (buying out half my equity in the flat) and renting it out together. With the money from the buyout and some savings I have I’d have enough money to put a deposit down on another place. I realise there are a lot of pitfalls with renting out however between the two of us I think we will manage, I live in a prime rental area and judging by the rental prices around here I'll easily cover the mortgage payments. I've just put my car up for sale and am cutting back on some spending, I hope I can continue to save and if things work out well with the renting I’d consider investing more into property. I realise it's not some quick return but I don't want to be working into my 60's.



I'm currently in the police, have been for the past 4 years. I pay 9.5% of my monthly wage into my pension, I'm certain by the time I get to retirement age it wont be the same payout retiring police officers get today. To get my full whack I have to work for another 31 years. I don’t want to do this job for the next 30odd years.
 
Richy, how come you put your car up for sale?

I was actually going to send you a trust message in a wee bit asking about running costs and what not as the 350z is on my list of considerations (albeit, it would be the silliest of the 3 on the shortlist!)

OcUK discount? :D
 
Moses said:
You can get a letting agent to deal with all the hassle, if you really can't be bothered. But doing it yourself isn't hard.
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I know but knowing several people who have rented out properties and the hassle they had with or without letting agents being invloved has put us off completely
 
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