Saving money, but what for?

[LocalLad]

Mortgage is a loan for an investment and not a liability, That investment is a property which in the long run has been empirically proven to increase in value than any other form of savings or investment. I know it is counter-intitutive to many but one should preferably have a mortgage during their working life. No pension fund in the long run has outstripped the average value increase of the property value in a city anywhere in the World.

A pound sterling or any currency for that matter is more valuable now than in the future. Its called the time value of money.

Holy chuff. So much nonsense in such a short post...

 

[TVC]

All the chicks you want ad a lear jet

And the rest you will just waste on stuff you don't need.

After my earlier post which smacked of extreme fiscal responsibility I feel I should point out that my ambition this year is to spend more than I earn. For those I have not bored already, this is my 50th year and I am spending it having as much fun as possible - something I promise to bang on about for the next 11 months. To that end, this evening I bought tickets to see a lecture at the Royal Institution and a gig by The Blockheads. Culture all the way

 

[gavroche]

I have been mortgage free for 4 years now and it is a great feeling. I get my pension now which more than covers my living expenses but I am still working 4 days a week to avoid being bored at home and gives me a financial bonus. I have the freedom to work when I want now , 4 days or less if I wish. Love it!

 

[Piemaster]

Something you can enjoy but also think of as investment. And I'm 50 this year too @The Velvet Curtain so its an Alfa Spider. It'll won't ever gain much in value but its a lot more enjoyable than some numbers on paper. My wife also fancies some sort of antique mantle clock.

Long term thing for us was solar panels, with bank interest rates being so poor. Probably not worth in now the FIT has dropped off to its present level

 

[stephec]

Or better as @vernon says, increase your repayments on the mortgage. The freedom you have when that albatross is paid off is wonderful

That's what I've always done.

When the fixed period ends we go to see a mortgage adviser and with falling rates the monthly cost is usually less.

Rather than take that we always ask if we can reduce the number of years, eg we had fifteen years left but kept the payments the same and took out a thirteen year mortgage.

By doing that every time we'll end up paying over nineteenth years instead of twenty five.

 

[vickster]

How old is the OP out of interest, retirement may not be an option just yet

 

[speccy1]

How old is the OP out of interest, retirement may not be an option just yet

I`m 39

 

[TVC]

Something you can enjoy but also think of as investment. And I'm 50 this year too @The Velvet Curtain so its an Alfa Spider. It'll won't ever gain much in value but its a lot more enjoyable than some numbers on paper. My wife also fancies some sort of antique mantle clock.

Long term thing for us was solar panels, with bank interest rates being so poor. Probably not worth in now the FIT has dropped off to its present level

Alpha Spider, good choice. I'm looking at something mini-ish.

 

[vickster]

I`m 39

Time to get married, have a couple of kids then you needn't worry about what to do with savings anymore

 

[tyred]

A good reason for saving is to accumulate enough to be comfortable when you no longer feel like spending most of your time being a wage-slave.

I reached the point where I no longer want to be a wage slave in my late teens. Work gets in the way of doing things I enjoy but don't get paid for!

 

[TVC]

Time to get married, have a couple of kids then you needn't worry about what to do with savings anymore

You raise a good point, the real reason that Lu and I paid the mortgage off early and have cash to do fun stuff is because we don't have kids, not because we have fantastic salaries.

I have been told in equal numbers by people that they wish that they could do the stuff that I do, and also that I am missing out on so much by not having a family.
We each write our own book and you can't compare your book to someone elses, particularly when you are on chapter one and they are on chapter twenty. Your chapter twenty will come once you have made the best of the previous nineteen.

 

[speccy1]

You raise a good point, the real reason that Lu and I paid the mortgage off early and have cash to do fun stuff is because we don't have kids, not because we have fantastic salaries.

I have been told in equal numbers by people that they wish that they could do the stuff that I do, and also that I am missing out on so much by not having a family.
We each write our own book and you can't compare your book to someone elses, particularly when you are on chapter one and they are on chapter twenty. Your chapter twenty will come once you have made the best of the previous nineteen.

I am single, my own boss, and like it that way........................

 

[cyberknight]

I cleared my mortgage in 2013. I walked into the bank with a wad of cash, whacked it on the counter and went home to a bottle of
Veuve Clicquot. I then dropped work to weekends and went to Uni. Ill be one of the few who graduate without debt. Its great to not have the mortgage and I can recommend paying it off.

Nice if you can do it , the bank crash fecked me over big time and now my mortgage will not finish till im 65 .

 

[vickster]

I am single, my own boss, and like it that way........................

Same here but sometimes I actually think it would be nice to share my life with someone else. Too old now for kids but I'm not especially looking forward to spending the rest of my life alone

 

[bigjim]

I'm in the final chapters of life I suppose. No debts, house paid for. . Decent amount of cash stashed away and worry about spending it before the state or my kids get to it. I've just given youngest son a sizeable amount towards a house deposit and have youngest daughters wedding this year. My kids would spend the lot in a heartbeat if I let them near it. My wife says 'get it spent', but childhood poverty experiences, dominate the brain sometimes. Though I still hanker after a nice motorhome.