Your financial rules.

[PeteXXX]

Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves.

 

[Webbo2]

Spend, spend, spend you can’t take it with you.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Income should cover needs, savings, wants in that order. If you do not have enough for a want after covering monthly needs and savings amounts; then it will have to wait. Anything left over can be added into a “want” savings account.

 

[slowereveryyear]

I was brought up in The 40's and 50's when credit was almost unheard of. My parents taught me to live within your means.
It enabled me to save enough to put down on a house ( £500!) and still have a few luxuries. All this changed when I got married. She turned out to be a spendaholic and bled me dry. When we split I had debts for the first time in my life with little to show.
I got over it by working my socks off, met and married a girl who hated owing money. Thirty six years later were still together, have no debts and we enjoy simple pleasures.
I still think very carefully before buying anything new.
It's possible to recover from a financial disaster but better to avoid one.

 

[Gunk]

Doable, imo, if you're in your 60's, always had a good salary, always managed your money wisely.
My main financial rule at my time of life is not to die with too much money in the bank.

Plenty do die with not much in the bank, the total average household non-mortgage debt in the UK is £18,392

 

[Webbo2]

I don’t think me and Mrs W have ever any savings except prior to buying our first house and another period after I got made redundant and went in to nurse training.
We have no mortgage and have a decent enough income to help our daughter out a bit.

 

[Alex321]

Everyone on an internet forum is mortgage free, buys their £40,000 car for cash and has £250,000 in a cash ISA

Not cash ISA, but that much in stocks & shares ISAs, and only paid £24K for the car. Otherwise, that is us

 

[Ming the Merciless]

buys their £40,000 car

A good financial rule is not to splurge your money on cars

 

[biggs682]

A good financial rule is not to splurge your money on cars

Been there done it and i don't regret it one bit

 

[Drago]

Everyone on an internet forum is mortgage free, buys their £40,000 car for cash and has £250,000 in a cash ISA

Some of us survived driving old sheds for cash and not taking foreign holidays, preferring to play the long game with our shekels.

 

[Gunk]

A good financial rule is not to splurge your money on cars

My Dad used to say “buy a house you can’t afford and buy a car you can afford to throw away”

My parents owned a huge rambling house in Northampton and ran old bangers.

 

[MrGrumpy]

no pockets in a shroud !

on a serious note I had an Auntie whom turned out to be the richest person in the cemetery ! lived a frugal life and for what ! : (

 

[FrankCrank]

I've been debt-free since 38 years old, and retired aged 43. This is all down to serendipity, rather than having any kind of financial plan. The main reason was moving into the IT industry at a good time, and getting a high salary for a really cushy job, at least compared to some of my friends who remained 'blue collar'.

One thing stuck by me in recent years, that there's only one thing worse than dying penniless. I'll leave you to guess the answer

 

[Once a Wheeler]

Buy absolutely everything with a credit card. Always pay off the credit card in full every month so you never pay any interest. During the month keep your salary in a cautious stocks and shares ISA or in Premium Bonds. Over time, the investments, which pay out tax free, will gradually prosper and you will build up a running nest egg by exploiting the interest-free loan element in credit card agreements. Needs discipline, but makes your salary into an investment stream.

 

[Mike Ayling]

A good financial rule is not to splurge your money on cars

Yes, the value drops 20% when you drive it out of the show room.