How much savings do you have and what age are you?

Pman1000

MattS1 wrote: »

Fair play! Do you work in sales/finance?

Investment Management in London. So all that saving is going towards a large mortgage around my neck for the next 20 years!

Figel Narage

27, 60K Euro saved. Don't have a really well paying job just very good at saving

0gac3yjefb5sv7

Figel Narage wrote: »

27, 60K Euro saved. Don't have a really well paying job just very good at saving

That's very good too in fairness. Are you living at home? That's still a lot to save at that age!

unhappys10

37 and 15k, sounds crap but I took a roundabout route to where I am now between travelling, being a mature student etc and I only started properly working in my chosen profession 2 years ago.
Ps got married and had a baby also in the last 2 years.

Figel Narage

Joel Yellow Infantry wrote: »

That's very good too in fairness. Are you living at home? That's still a lot to save at that age!

Thank you. I do live at home. It could be higher as I paid off my parents mortgage and went back to do a masters which set me back a little but it would be over 100K if I didn't do those things. Have to emphasize, I don't have a really high paying job or anything but I save whenever and wherever I can, don't drink, smoke, or do drugs, nothing that would cause a big drain on the pocket, Still have a social life but with no money spent. I occasionally let people know if they ask regarding savings but I always say how much you would need to sacrifice to get there (i.e. cut down alot on drinking/eating out) then they don't want to know anymore haha. Thankfully I don't really enjoy drinking or blowing money eating out so it's not a sacrifice to me. It is just sitting there at the moment though and the plan was to buy a house but with the Dublin prices, that's not happening any time soon...........

Squozen

46, €96k, but no mortgage yet so I'd expect most of it to go on a deposit once we find a place. I'd have a mortgage already but I just got retrenched (ah well, more money for the deposit!).

Figel Narage

Squozen wrote: »

46, €96k, but no mortgage yet so I'd expect most of it to go on a deposit once we find a place. I'd have a mortgage already but I just got retrenched (ah well, more money for the deposit!).

Very nice, good job. A large deposit like that could get you a box in Dublin haha. No but good job, my plan is to get a really large deposit and buy something in Dublin. Have you actively saved heavily or saved a little bit over the years and its ballooned into what it is now?

Almost 28, about 24k and all of that came in the last 2.5 years of starting a decent paid job. But still spent a lot travelling and seeing parts of the world while I still can.

Had saved about 8k while living at home until 23 but moved to London and the realities of living autonomously and paging for food, rent and bills hit me and that was blown out of the water within a year to supplement a low salary and lack of planning. No regrets here though, best thing I've ever done in hindsight.

I've no doubt that once I get a mortgage the current figure will be depleted again for some time.

GoldenSlumbers

Figel Narage wrote: »

Thank you. I do live at home. It could be higher as I paid off my parents mortgage and went back to do a masters which set me back a little but it would be over 100K if I didn't do those things. Have to emphasize, I don't have a really high paying job or anything but I save whenever and wherever I can, don't drink, smoke, or do drugs, nothing that would cause a big drain on the pocket, Still have a social life but with no money spent. I occasionally let people know if they ask regarding savings but I always say how much you would need to sacrifice to get there (i.e. cut down alot on drinking/eating out) then they don't want to know anymore haha. Thankfully I don't really enjoy drinking or blowing money eating out so it's not a sacrifice to me. It is just sitting there at the moment though and the plan was to buy a house but with the Dublin prices, that's not happening any time soon...........

that's admirable you helped pay of your parents mortgage. fair play

frankyboy1986

33 yo, have 10k saved up the last 6 months, 178k left on mortgage, I generally fix mortgage for a year and when year is up go on variable for a very short time 1 or 2 weeks, pay whatever I have saved up off it and fix again

tscul32

You can only compare like with like.
We're mid 40s and don't have a huge amount saved. But apart from our mortgage we have no loans. 2 cars, 151 and 171 are owned outright and should be trouble free for a few years. Doesn't sound like much but we do have 350-400k equity in our house. We could sell that and come on here saying we've 400k in savings. We also have 3 kids, 2 of whom cost a LOT in therapies and interventions that we were delighted to be able to manage cos relying on the state to help them was pointless and they have worked incredibly well so completely worth it - but probably sucked in the region of 20k from us over the years. My career also disappeared on the middle of that cos it just wasn't practical for both of us to be gone from 7.30am to 7.00pm mon - fri. But the other half has done very well and I'm back working part time for now so the savings are getting boosted. However college is also just around the corner and fees (sorry, registration fees) for 3 (at least 2 at a time) will probably eat that. We've also had to survive on very little when our income was half what it is now while our outgoings were pretty hefty for the kids, so all the little extras now feel like real luxurious treats. So we'll never be massive spenders and hopefully the savings will go up and up. Although there is that extension we're thinking about.....

Ups and downs, I got married at 26 and first kid at 29 so not much time living at home saving a fortune. But when all the 20 somethings in this thread are still paying their mortgages at 60, I'll be living it up debt free ðŸ˜

Figel Narage

GoldenSlumbers wrote: »

that's admirable you helped pay of your parents mortgage. fair play

Thanks buddy. I guess it was the least I could do as they brought me into the world and worked hard for me and my siblings.

somewhere45

(wall of text incoming)

Mid to late 40s

One kid in her mid 20s, one on the rise.
Most peps don't seem to mention just how expensive it is to raise kids, education etc. Then again covid might change all that.
(No need for paying for accommodation etc)

- Liquid assets around 25k (emergency fund, some in cash savings, some in saving plans),

- Mortgage. Around 1/3 left. 150k.

- Savings for 2nd child child level education €250 per month (12k saved so far). Another 5 years or so go before that comes into play
Firm believer that she/him has to learn to value "work to play" and earn their own way and will help to add to this. However

1. If studies take up a lot of time, I would prefer time is spent on education rather than that working in spare time.
or
2. Very introvert but hey will probably change in time. Very smart money wise ( spent a lot of time teaching budgets etc ) so there HAS to be time for fun as well.

- Sadly got stuck with getting involved in a buy-to-let which sucked €400 per month since 2007. (mortgage vs rental income, NOT in Dublin so rent nowhere covered mortgage and running cost). Rent Pressure Zones killed it for us. So much for being mr nice guy and keeping rent at reasonable level. See advice at end of this post.

- Wife in public sector and raising fast through the rank so pension sorted for her.

- Daytime job (IT). Been working from home for the last 14 years, decent wage but could have been making a lot more has I jumped jobs in between.
80k per year, could be on 130k+ but would have wasted 2-3 hour commuting every day). Tax system in Ireland = just not worth it.
However stock option = own 5% of the company and we are currently positioning company for a takeover. ( Due to the nature of the business covid meant nothing to us )

- Side gigs. serial entrepreneur. 3 companies so far. One bust during 2001 bubble, 2nd on kept it going for 13 years, sold 2 years ago (see more below). Decent profit, paid off chunk of mortgage.
Last one, intend to offload 1/3 ownership within the next 5-6 months, covid messed up plans.

- Pension. 60k. Could have a lot more but buy-to-let mistake messed that up by around 200k.

---

Advice after 25 years of working.

1. Switch jobs as often as possible. Each switch = higher salary+benefits. Vital.

2. Up-skill all the time when time permits. Vital.

3. Start pension as soon as possible and I mean as soon as possible. Compound interest really adds up. Vital

4. Save up for an emergency fund. Vital

5. Learn to budget and budget hardcore. Use apps for shopping. Only buy what you have on the shopping list. Vital
( If you dont have a clue, go read something like "The total Money Makeover", very US focused but the base principals are the same)

6. Don't start your own company unless it brings in a ton of money. (IF you do make sure to it it early in life and learn from it.)
By the time you get responsibilities (Mortgage, kids etc) stress levels go sky high and to be honest you will never get the years back that you should be spending with your kids. They grow up way too fast.
The Irish tax system does NOT reward entrepreneurship. (Only way is to plow a ton into pension.). Honestly consider moving to another country and run it from there. Have an Exit plan( when to exit, and have everything agreed beforehand, legal it up)

7. Do NOT take on anything you can not exit from fast. (Buy-to-let was the downfall of me)

8. Never start a business with Family and/or friends.

9. Surround yourself with smart people, you will learn a lot.

10. Get cheap car/s, total waste of money.

10. Have fun along the way, money is not everything. Do it before settling down. Travel the world! (well when possible again)

onrail

somewhere45 wrote: »

(wall of text incoming)

Mid to late 40s

One kid in her mid 20s, one on the rise.
Most peps don't seem to mention just how expensive it is to raise kids, education etc. Then again covid might change all that.
(No need for paying for accommodation etc)

- Liquid assets around 25k (emergency fund, some in cash savings, some in saving plans),

- Mortgage. Around 1/3 left. 150k.

- Savings for 2nd child child level education €250 per month (12k saved so far). Another 5 years or so go before that comes into play
Firm believer that she/him has to learn to value "work to play" and earn their own way and will help to add to this. However

1. If studies take up a lot of time, I would prefer time is spent on education rather than that working in spare time.
or
2. Very introvert but hey will probably change in time. Very smart money wise ( spent a lot of time teaching budgets etc ) so there HAS to be time for fun as well.

- Sadly got stuck with getting involved in a buy-to-let which sucked €400 per month since 2007. (mortgage vs rental income, NOT in Dublin so rent nowhere covered mortgage and running cost). Rent Pressure Zones killed it for us. So much for being mr nice guy and keeping rent at reasonable level. See advice at end of this post.

- Wife in public sector and raising fast through the rank so pension sorted for her.

- Daytime job (IT). Been working from home for the last 14 years, decent wage but could have been making a lot more has I jumped jobs in between.
80k per year, could be on 130k+ but would have wasted 2-3 hour commuting every day). Tax system in Ireland = just not worth it.
However stock option = own 5% of the company and we are currently positioning company for a takeover. ( Due to the nature of the business covid meant nothing to us )

- Side gigs. serial entrepreneur. 3 companies so far. One bust during 2001 bubble, 2nd on kept it going for 13 years, sold 2 years ago (see more below). Decent profit, paid off chunk of mortgage.
Last one, intend to offload 1/3 ownership within the next 5-6 months, covid messed up plans.

- Pension. 60k. Could have a lot more but buy-to-let mistake messed that up by around 200k.

---

Advice after 25 years of working.

1. Switch jobs as often as possible. Each switch = higher salary+benefits. Vital.

2. Up-skill all the time when time permits. Vital.

3. Start pension as soon as possible and I mean as soon as possible. Compound interest really adds up. Vital

4. Save up for an emergency fund. Vital

5. Learn to budget and budget hardcore. Use apps for shopping. Only buy what you have on the shopping list. Vital
( If you dont have a clue, go read something like "The total Money Makeover", very US focused but the base principals are the same)

6. Don't start your own company unless it brings in a ton of money. (IF you do make sure to it it early in life and learn from it.)
By the time you get responsibilities (Mortgage, kids etc) stress levels go sky high and to be honest you will never get the years back that you should be spending with your kids. They grow up way too fast.
The Irish tax system does NOT reward entrepreneurship. (Only way is to plow a ton into pension.). Honestly consider moving to another country and run it from there. Have an Exit plan( when to exit, and have everything agreed beforehand, legal it up)

7. Do NOT take on anything you can not exit from fast. (Buy-to-let was the downfall of me)

8. Never start a business with Family and/or friends.

9. Surround yourself with smart people, you will learn a lot.

10. Get cheap car/s, total waste of money.

10. Have fun along the way, money is not everything. Do it before settling down. Travel the world! (well when possible again)

Great post, thanks for sharing. A ‘lessons you’ve learned from life’ thread would be incredible if it ever got going.

Top chief

Some of these savings are amazing , I understand saving is good but you have to enjoy life aswell and not just save save save , when I have kids there inheritance will be my house which will be plenty .Iv lost people in my life that never got to enjoy there retirement and spend money on what they wanted or wanted to do as died to young. And after going through a life saving operation at a young age I decided to not let life past me by and save everything at end of the day you might not get a chance to enjoy it when you retire from work . So go travel now go on short breaks away buy the car you want. Life is way to short as nobody knows what might happen in the future

I'm in my late 20s have 20 acres of land that was left to me in kildare will be be building a house on it in the near future and 30k saved in my savings account which I cant touch will be used towards the mortgage.

would be alot more but I spent alot travelling and buying cars iv wanted over the years , when ever we can travel again hoping to go away for around 3 months that would be my last big hoilday before I go for a mortgage.

Kevhog1988

Top chief wrote: »

Some of these savings are amazing , I understand saving is good but you have to enjoy life aswell and not just save save save , when I have kids there inheritance will be my house which will be plenty .Iv lost people in my life that never got to enjoy there retirement and spend money on what they wanted or wanted to do as died to young. And after going through a life saving operation at a young age I decided to not let life past me by and save everything at end of the day you might not get a chance to enjoy it when you retire from work . So go travel now go on short breaks away buy the car you want. Life is way to short as nobody knows what might happen in the future

I'm in my late 20s have 20 acres of land that was left to me in kildare will be be building a house on it in the near future and 30k saved in my savings account which I cant touch will be used towards the mortgage.

would be alot more but I spent alot travelling and buying cars iv wanted over the years , when ever we can travel again hoping to go away for around 3 months that would be my last big hoilday before I go for a mortgage.

Are you doing anything with the land at the moment?. Its in demand around kildare for grazing etc

Figel Narage

Top chief wrote: »

Some of these savings are amazing , I understand saving is good but you have to enjoy life aswell and not just save save save , when I have kids there inheritance will be my house which will be plenty .Iv lost people in my life that never got to enjoy there retirement and spend money on what they wanted or wanted to do as died to young. And after going through a life saving operation at a young age I decided to not let life past me by and save everything at end of the day you might not get a chance to enjoy it when you retire from work . So go travel now go on short breaks away buy the car you want. Life is way to short as nobody knows what might happen in the future

I'm in my late 20s have 20 acres of land that was left to me in kildare will be be building a house on it in the near future and 30k saved in my savings account which I cant touch will be used towards the mortgage.

would be alot more but I spent alot travelling and buying cars iv wanted over the years , when ever we can travel again hoping to go away for around 3 months that would be my last big hoilday before I go for a mortgage.

I get what you're saying but there is a balance to enjoying yourself and also saving. It is a hard thing to do, I know people who don't save and live totally in the present, spending alot of money on Friday and Saturday nights and to be honest I don't envy them. I'm quite a frugal person by nature so while I have savings and I do make a big effort with it, it's not like I'm not enjoying things, the things I enjoy are free or not too expensive and I dislike vapid consumerism and buying things I don't really need but I totally understand what you're saying nonetheless but the biggest advantage of having savings is if anything goes wrong I know it's there

Cobretti

Early 30s, on the island for about 6y. One year into mortgage, bought current car with cash. Saved up about 50k.
I say f... American dream

dennyk

In my early 40s here. Currently I have about:

- ~€48k cash, about half in my emergency fund and half just sitting in my current account (since I can't spend it traveling like I usually do... )

- ~€94k in taxable investments.

- ~€256k in tax-advantaged retirement funds; about €60k here in a pension fund and the equivalent of a couple hundred grand in my US IRAs.

No mortgage or other loans or debts. Don't currently own any property though; only moved here about five years ago and still renting at the moment, as I really like the place I'm living in. (Hoping to buy a unit in the same block one of these days...) Normally when I have this much spare cash I'd be putting some into my investment accounts, but as I am thinking of buying sometime in the next year or two (while I can still get a mortgage!), I want to minimise the amount of investments that I have to sell to come up with the deposit.

Been very lucky to be in a fairly lucrative industry (IT) both when I lived in the US and since I moved here. Also live alone and don't have any kids or anything, so it's easy to live reasonably frugally and save a fair bit while still spending on fun stuff like traveling (which I'd usually spend several grand a year on, before the COVID-19 mess). Don't go out and blow money on fancy cars or anything (currently driving a 15-year-old Golf, which works just fine for me, even if it does need a bit of work from time to time), and I'm lucky enough to live outside of Dublin, so my rent is really quite cheap for the size of the place I'm living in. Just took a new job as well, which comes with a substantial pay rise, so I'm looking forward to being able to save even more in the coming years. Might even be able to retire a bit early, eventually.

somewhere45's advice is spot-on for the most part. Being smart with your finances from an early age will pay dividends later. Having fun is important as well, though; always save and invest first, but once you've put that aside and paid all your bills, don't be afraid to spend a bit on something that's important to you (and that will be different for everyone). Just don't go overboard and spend money you don't have or sacrifice your savings in the process.

The Mighty Quinn

It feels impossible to accumulate savings at the moment. I'm in my mid 30s, less than 10K in savings. I've a modest mortgage and a few loans. I think the roadblock is my wife's salary being very low, combined with a loan her end, and we've a baby. Loans dropping each month I suppose, and we're meeting repayments, but it all seems a struggle all the time. Covid-19 paycut didn't help matters either.

I think - startlingly - a pattern is here of people who tend to have more money are single and childless. Or partnered up and had children later in life.

Geuze

The Mighty Quinn wrote: »

It feels impossible to accumulate savings at the moment. I'm in my mid 30s, less than 10K in savings. I've a modest mortgage and a few loans. I think the roadblock is my wife's salary being very low, combined with a loan her end, and we've a baby. Loans dropping each month I suppose, and we're meeting repayments, but it all seems a struggle all the time. Covid-19 paycut didn't help matters either.

I think - startlingly - a pattern is here of people who tend to have more money are single and childless. Or partnered up and had children later in life.

Repaying mortgage debt = saving.

Padre_Pio

Geuze wrote: »

Repaying debt = saving.

Maybe on a mortgage, provided the property is at least appreciating with inflating.

Paying off a holiday loan is not saving.

Jim2007

The Mighty Quinn wrote: »

I think - startlingly - a pattern is here of people who tend to have more money are single and childless. Or partnered up and had children later in life.

How do you manage your money? Do you have a budget and do you stick to it? In my experience people tend to do better when they work with a budget. They know where their money is going and what is coming up in the next week or two.

laserlad2010

31
Almost finished my medical training
€70,000 p.a. = 4000 p.m.

Mortgage (overpaying) 1700pm (100k equity in the house)
Home Loan 300 pm (paid off in 6 months time)
Investments, AVC and Savings 1000pm

My partner pays the Car Loan (500 p.m.) and contributes 500p.m. to the household running costs
Baby on the way

Never feel like I've much money to be honest. Years gone by I'd have blown money on anything going but now its budgeted out and even still feels like I'm on less than I am.

Total savings 7k (everything went into the mortgage March 2019)
Fair play to ye all on much more...

I would have a much lower expectation on how much savings a person should have if they own their home compared to not owning though. I don't see much wrong at all with someone only have 10 or 15k saved and owning a home as the reason most have a large amount of savings in the first place is to put it towards a house.

Blush_01

If you didn't laugh, you'd cry.

Allinall

Don't forget- savings are worthless until you spend them.

You may as well have a bunch of old newspapers lodged with the bank.

The Mighty Quinn

laserlad2010 wrote: »

Never feel like I've much money to be honest

Ahhhh piss off :P:D


Many could only dream to be as well set up as you are.

douglashyde

I'll go, in an odd/intense situation and cross road of my life and considering how to proceed next. I'm in a extremely fortunate position and have done well at an early stage. This is not relatable to most I understand but would encourage all to 'have a go' at an idea if they have one.

Both myself (31) and my fiancee (32) have well paid jobs - combined salary of about 200K with annual bonus. No kids yet.
I've for many years built bootstrapped businesses - sold some. These online businesses (about 4) generate net profits in the six figures now. This has all been done in evenings / weekends over the past 8 years, with major success coming in the last 1-2 years. I could easily and really should leave my PAYE job now however I'm very risk adverse when it comes to employment, ironically, this financially is a bad decision as my time is better spent else where - however I do enjoy my job.

I've also had good runs w/ investment choices (bitcoin, gold, equity (early investments in Shopify/Tesla/FB and more recently catching the COVID bull market - it's a dangerous game)).

Both of us come from modest background with no inheritance.

Equity: 280K (gold, bitcoin = 45%, personal stock = 40%, corporate stock = 15%)
Cash: 98K cash (rainy day)
Business Account: 185K cash
House Equity - 300K (600K left of mortgage)
Combined Pension: 100K (bad considering salary and will be looking at bulk contributions this year/next to rectify)
Mortgage repayment 2.6K mth (big) with 30 years left but no other loans.


My portfolio is seriously out of whack, need to invest businesses funds out of cash / spread equity risk into bonds/funds. Main thing, need to focus going full time on my own venture.

What I've learnt:
- Invest early, Invest often. Compound interest is key.
- Take lots of small risks. Google 'Asymmetrical risk'
- If you fail, fail small and try again and again and again.
- If in doubt, 'learn more' - podcasts, audible, books.
- Change jobs often, and aim for big jumps.
- What I'm learning personally overtime is, I enjoy making business work more than I enjoy the money. 'Money doesn't buy happiness however it's a good way of keeping score!'
- Friends have asked me how I make time, my answer is always get up earlier and go to bed later.
- I'd advice against equity investment unless you've significant cash. If you've 10K free, invest in an idea or education before even considering getting into the stock market. Retail investment over the past few years has become huge.
- We have expensive cars, bought straight out , while these were bad financial decisions, it's disposable income. I would discourage everyone taking on debt to purchase deprecating assets with the exception maybe being 0% APR. Each to their own however.

o1s1n

Allinall wrote: »

Don't forget- savings are worthless until you spend them.

You may as well have a bunch of old newspapers lodged with the bank.

They offer you a safety net, both financially and mentally with the knowledge you can support yourself if everything goes tits up.

Old newspapers probably won't do that...