Do you always lack money at the end of the month?

[prwraith]

depends, I dropped about 200 on tequila the other week, which cut into that months savings.

But I never spend anything on leisure until I have 6 months of rent saved.

[Raelbo]

Unless, of course, your idea of retirement is some mansion and a couple of yachts.

I thought it would have been pretty clear from my post that you were replying to that this is not my idea of retirement. The point of retirement saving isn't to hoard wealth. It's to have enough so that when you retire you can maintain the standard of living you had while you were working.

It seems to me you are bunching up responsible, sensible savings together with hoarding - which is accumulating vastly more wealth than you ever plan to spend.

Lastly I am not sure I would be so smug if I was Finnish. You guys have it good at the moment, but with very low birth rates, you are going to have a massive problem when our generation hits retirement age. Without a younger generation to support the economy, no government can sustain welfare for it's retired citizens. So I would argue that even for Finnish people, additional retirement savings would probably be very prudent. That doesn't mean just putting money in the bank, it would mean investing in things like property and share portfolios - putting your capital back into the economy to create more wealth.

[drwelfare]

Always have money to spare. But yeah..when I still had a GF, she made what I made but blew it on...clothes and...fashion items...

I have seen people I know have their GF or wife blow every cent that both of them makes on fashion or drugs.

Things like that leave me feeling glad to be a loser

[Deleted]

right now i (solo, pretty much living as a university student) typically spend less than half of the money i earn as a researcher at university. Saving up the rest right now since i am planning to do graduate studies and maybe a phd in physics in 1-2 years and do not know whether i will find a suitable job i would like to work in during that time.

[Captain N]

Me and my wife both have well paying jobs so there is no really lack of money at the end of the month. However, there is always that chance that something catastrophic can happen that could be very costly - Our heater went out last winter and that was a $4500 replacement.

[Deleted]

I save around 500 euro every month, even more. I always knew how to handle money, prolly because I started working when I was like 14.

[Warlord Booty]

I'm a spender, but it also depends on many factors. If I go out a lot, people buy me things. Dates. Games. Our comps used to be expensive, as in, we'd be given money, but we'd party it up pretty hard on those trips and though many times we'd end up not having to pay for a lot, it's still costs more than i'd like.

And starbucks. 10 bucks a day, every day, adds up.

[Deleted]

Mortgages are about the most cost-effective money you can get. You'd probably be better off putting that money into an investment fund instead, since you'd earn more in interest than you'd be paying off on your mortgage and end up with more money at the end of that time.

that may be true, but also carries much more risk than repaying a debt.
Id also have to pay tax on any investment income/interest and im a higher rate tax payer.
It's also a nice feeling from a security pov about having less debt and being less highly geared.

[Xe4ro]

I try to keep above/around a certain level of money. But sometimes the vinyl craze gets me ;D.

[Giscoicus]

Yea

I blame steam.

[Ghostpanther]

Nope. Always have a little extra. And some saved for a rainy day. All it takes is some patience and good management of your resources.

[Reeve]

that may be true, but also carries much more risk than repaying a debt.

Not much. You can always pull your money out if you need to to pay off your loan, but unless you panic and pull your money out at the wrong time, long term well diversified investments are pretty secure. More secure than housing, these days.

Id also have to pay tax on any investment income/interest and im a higher rate tax payer.

You'd have to pay capital gains, sure, but that's 15% on money you have instead of not have. And you get to have a pretty massive mortgage interest deduction on your taxes.

It's also a nice feeling from a security pov about having less debt and being less highly geared.

It's also a nice feeling from a security point of view to know that you have investments you can pull out and use to pay off your mortgage if you need to, and you'll have more of it.

Do what you want to do, of course. I just want to throw that out there.

[Jakexe]

Not really. I'm 'alright' at managing my money but I get paid irregularly (sometimes twice a month, sometimes once in 4 months) so it can and has happened, mostly when I was single and a student. Now I have pretty much no living expensive's beyond utilities, I own my home and have no kids and I prefer to stay in instead of going into the city. I spend about 1/3 of what I earn so I have plenty of savings. Unfortunately I have a habit of eating into those savings when a shiny new tech. comes out so I should have a lot more saved but there's enough there to live off comfortably for awhile.

Also my girlfriend earns a ridiculous amount of money for her age so I have that to fall back on.

[Deleted]

Not much. You can always pull your money out if you need to to pay off your loan, but unless you panic and pull your money out at the wrong time, long term well diversified investments are pretty secure. More secure than housing, these days.



You'd have to pay capital gains, sure, but that's 15% on money you have instead of not have. And you get to have a pretty massive mortgage interest deduction on your taxes.



It's also a nice feeling from a security point of view to know that you have investments you can pull out and use to pay off your mortgage if you need to, and you'll have more of it.

Do what you want to do, of course. I just want to throw that out there.

Investments can go down as well as up, a debt is a known beast.
UK taxes don't work that way in respect of mortgage interest deductions from your personal tax bill.

[Duronos]

I'm terrible at managing money, god knows what I'd do if I made over 100k a year. I tip way too much and when I go on streaks of making a shit ton of money for someone my age I tend to flaunt the ever living crap out of it, personality flaws suck but I've been getting a bit better at it.

[Deleted]

I tend to put away most of what I make, my girlfriend is similar, so we generally have quite a lot at the end of the month. Currently, we're saving up for a trip.

I have friends who tend to be dirt poor by the middle of the month. Can't understand how you choose to live that way.

[Raeph]

I usually just make it. Sometimes I dip a few bucks into my savings which I refill the month after. My GF however hasn't saved a dime in 2 years, she makes 600 a month more than I do. When I made that much I saved 500 a month.

What about you? You have excess money at the end of the month or do you spend it all?

Usually end up with a small surplus, but then I'm somewhat exact in my budgeting. I also have a habit of, in budget, underestimating my income and over estimating my expenses. By Underestimating I mean that I plan for only getting my lowest amount of hours and OT possible each pay period (I get paid twice a month so I either will have a 9 or up to a 12 day pay period depending on how days fall). By Overestimating expenses I usually round up to the next 10 dollars (home phone/dsl bill is usually 86.14 USD and I plan for 90 USD a month).

[Nihilan]

I do well enough that i rarely ever think about money. I don't look at my paychecks or keep tabs on my bank statement. But then, i never chained myself down with a mortgage or kids though, so i have quite a bit of disposable income. While i am currently single, when in a relationship, the significant other never gets access to my accounts. She keeps her money, i keep mine.

[Deleted]

Most people here buy cars and houses by taking out a loan, the paying back of which would be included in the paying of bills I mentioned earlier.

Really? I'm 23 and I bought a 16.000 car last year, no loans..

I work 32 hours and my boss is paying for my part time education, which most students would be doing full time and then don't do shit the rest of the week.

So no, I don't lack money. After paying all the bills I still have about 500 left, meaning I save around 6000 a year.

I still live with my parents (I help pay their bills though) because rent is so damn high here in the Netherlands though.
I will move out when I've finished my education and start working 40 hour weeks again.

[Deleted]

As a student? Yes, sometimes.

Now that i have a job? No. I'm pretty good at saving and don't go out every weekend burning money on booze. I don't need the new Iphone everytime it gets released etc. I rather have money so that when i want something (mostly computer related, like a new headset) i can spend some extra without worrying.

At some point in the future the savings are probably gonna be put into a house.