Finances and the future - your plans

Ahleckz · 1 Mar 2012 at 22:09

No future plans. I'll soon have a bit of money stashed around in a few savings accounts but it's more a fund if I need to change city and sort myself out rather than saving for the future.

I don't really plan to live to retirement age, so having a pension seems to me like a total waste of money. I'd prefer to spend my money whilst I know I'll be here to survive rather than stash it away in the hope that I'm alive to use it.

sigma · 1 Mar 2012 at 22:23

Ahleckz said:
I don't really plan to live to retirement age, so having a pension seems to me like a total waste of money. I'd prefer to spend my money whilst I know I'll be here to survive rather than stash it away in the hope that I'm alive to use it.

So what if you do make it to old age? Are you going to commit suicide?

Ahleckz · 1 Mar 2012 at 22:25

sigma said:
So what if you do make it to old age? Are you going to commit suicide?

If I get close to that age, then I shall reassess when I am there. Hopefully I'll be in a situation where I can sort something out. If not, I'll just have to play it by ear.

I don't see the point in putting money away at my age, when there are better things to spend it on.

rgzcampbell · 1 Mar 2012 at 22:35

I currently pay 3.5% of my salary into a nuvos pension scheme and my employer contributes 22.5%. I'm a postdoc research scientist so the pay is not great to begin with (28k rising to 32k in my salary band) but the pension makes up for that.

I also save £400 a month into a savings account/ISA/shares.

cm1179 · 1 Mar 2012 at 22:39

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.

Theophany · 1 Mar 2012 at 22:41

D.P. said:
Every-time I put any money into an investment, even choosing secure safe options with low risk I have lost 50-90% of the value.

You've made a shedload of bad decisions then.

Pick the right structured products or OEICs/Unit Trusts, you can't go wrong. Best course of action is to choose an IFA worth their fee (RDR considered) - or do a CFA and pick yourself

exhashdotdot · 1 Mar 2012 at 22:43

Wizardskills · 1 Mar 2012 at 22:47

I'm currently putting 7% of my monthly wage into a pension that I set up when I got my first job after graduating from Uni. I make sure I put at least 20% of my wage into long term savings (ISA's etc). I'm currently saving for a house deposit ATM so I'm putting away quite a bit more each month. However, once I have a mortgage I'm hoping I'll be able to put arround 15% into long term savings.

People should really plan for the future, you never know what is round the corner.

Gackt · 1 Mar 2012 at 23:50

I'll be lucky to live past 30. Live in the now, and prepare for the future as best as possible.

mattx2 · 2 Mar 2012 at 00:05

I'm lucky enough to work for a company that pays a 20% non contributory pension so as long as I work for about another 20 years retirement is sorted

batsy · 2 Mar 2012 at 00:16

Orford said:
One thing is for sure. The state pension will be very different by time your 67. Save as much as you can and make it work as hard as it can for you. If you have a good chunk each month to save, get some professional advice.

I have a work pension and at the very out side 4 inteligent over achiving kids who by time im retired will be looking after me. I call it the european model, they seam to take better care of there elderly family members.

Ive only just opted back into SERPS as its compulsery from April this year. Another goverment pension cut to help the young pay for the old.

They must go to good schools.

NotAGolf · 2 Mar 2012 at 09:37

Thanks for all the replies guys. As expected there's a mix from those people who are putting aside a big chunk to those that don't care!

I can see where those of you who aren't concerned with saving are coming from though. What good is money if you're too old to really enjoy it?

I think I want enough money put aside so that if I do start losing my marbles or my health deteriorates I'd have enough money to get shuffled off to a home or get any healthcare I need and not be a burden on my family. Realistically I'm not going to be gallivanting around the world at 70-80 if I manage to make it that far!

I would like to put money into property, but I don't think me or the gf will ever be big earners so we probably wont be in a position to buy additional property (unless we move up North). Although if we ensure that even if we move house we keep to our current mortgage duration we'll have paid off the house by the time we're 50. Sooner if we start overpaying like we're planning to. So that'll be a good few years mortgage free which should allow us to save up fairly swiftly.

TommyV · 2 Mar 2012 at 09:59

Very short term - Travelling
Medium term - Mortgage, treat myself to a nice shiny car
Long term - pay into my pension for the next...45 years

Christ how depressing

SuperBOB · 2 Mar 2012 at 10:00

I hope to be debt free by the time I am 30 - at which point ill be going back into debt to fund a road trip across America. Thats the plan anyway.

The Funktopus · 2 Mar 2012 at 10:08

I honestly don't know what to do. I've never earned enough in the past to pay into a pension scheme, and at the minute I'm going through a career change in order to boost my earning power in the future, so being a student I'm not paying in now either. I'll be 30 before I qualify and start earning enough to start. The only plus about my situation is that I'm on a sponsored Cadetship scheme, so I shouldn't have debt when I qualify.

Freakbro · 2 Mar 2012 at 10:13

Gackt said:
I'll be lucky to live past 30. Live in the now, and prepare for the future as best as possible.

I didn't think I would make it past 30....and here I am now at 41

anything I don't mind · 2 Mar 2012 at 10:20

Don't know if you saw this recently:

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/...irement-plans-shattered-plunging-payouts.html

I prefer to focus on earning as much as possible and won't be buying any property. I will continue to rent and if i have spare money will try and invest it or just save it by trying to beat inflation.

krooton · 2 Mar 2012 at 10:24

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?

Deleted member 77746 · 2 Mar 2012 at 10:28

groen said:
Don't know if you saw this recently:

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/...irement-plans-shattered-plunging-payouts.html

I prefer to focus on earning as much as possible and won't be buying any property. I will continue to rent and if i have spare money will try and invest it or just save it by trying to beat inflation.

Rent? Your just paying someone elses investment pot. Silly in my eyes. When you buy you own and it belongs to you aslong as you don't go with a shared equity UK scheme.

elmarko · 2 Mar 2012 at 10:30

I don't have faith any pensions will be worth anything by the time I'm old enough to get one.

I'm going to get some basic savings & try for a 2nd property - pensions are a pyramid scam anyway - which is already coming undone, no point getting on board a sinking ship.

Besides, I'd rather enjoy the money while I'm young & live in poverty when I'm old - I really don't care that much about my quality of life when I'm that close to death (compared to ruining my entire youth saving for death).