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

Geuze

DM_2092 wrote: »

I'm looking at earlier posts and thinking "how and where and what and how come?" can a 26 year old have over €30,000 saved!???

30k at age 26 is not typical.

Earnings hopefully rise fairly fast during the 20s.

30k by age 35 is more typical.

Yyhhuuu

DM_2092 wrote: »

I'm 28. I've 7 grand in savings and its all my dead sisters inheritance. What a weird post...

My condolences on death of your, she must have been very young.

I'm 45 and I have about €56k which I suppose doesnt seem much in savings. I save about €20k per year

Geuze

After 20 years of work I have 55-60k in financial assets, plus 200k in housing equity.

The world is very changed - many friends of mine aged 40 do not own houses, while one friend owns five houses at age 40.

Westin Abundant Socket

Westin Abundant Socket wrote: »

33, overweight, a 13 year old car and about €500 in savings.

In other words... An absolute failure..

In other words... a real person.

ExMachina1000

Geuze wrote: »

After 20 years of work I have 55-60k in financial assets, plus 200k in housing equity.

The world is very changed - many friends of mine aged 40 do not own houses, while one friend owns five houses at age 40.

How does the friend with 5 houses live? Does he live more frugally than the folks with no house to their name?

Zascar

Deleted User wrote: »

In other words... a real person.

Agreed, people reading this thread need to know its not normal for a 25-30 year old to have 25-50k in savings - this is extremely rare.

What I really wonder is what is the annual earnings of these people saving huge amounts and what % of their income are they saving? What sort of life are they having? Seems like they live an incredibly frugal basic life and missing out on a lot. Do you not buy stuff, travel, have experiences? I don't get it.

I have earned a far above the average wage for most of my life and pretty much spent it all along the way. Cars, motorbikes, travel, booze, etc - I;ve always had a lot of interests and hobbies that are expensive. Only when I got to 35 did I start to save properly. However, I did have a great time, I just wish I had of saved something consistently and I still could have had just as good a time. I also wish I had of started investing along the way too.

I made the decision to leave Ireland and move to a tax-free place and I'm saving 5 times that what I ever could in Ireland - so at least here I can catch up fast. Living in Dublin it's incredibly difficult to safe anything proper while having a decent lifestyle at the same time.

Jim2007

Zascar wrote: »

Agreed, people reading this thread need to know its not normal for a 25-30 year old to have 25-50k in savings - this is extremely rare.

What is the basis for this statement? Is it just your opinion or is there some credible report behind it.

Zascar wrote: »

Seems like they live an incredibly frugal basic life and missing out on a lot. Do you not buy stuff, travel, have experiences? I don't get it.

... Cars, motorbikes, travel, booze, etc - I;ve always had a lot of interests and hobbies that are expensive......

Living in Dublin it's incredibly difficult to safe anything proper while having a decent lifestyle at the same time.

You seem to think consumerism equals a decent life.... there are many people who don't agree and follow a different path.

An awful lot depends on your home experience and the company you keep as a young person. There are some people who were always careful with money, there are people who hang around with people who are careful with money...

Before making any statements about the general state of the nation I'd want to see some kind of statistics....

antimatterx

Jim2007 wrote: »

What is the basis for this statement? Is it just your opinion or is there some credible report behind it.



You seem to think consumerism equals a decent life.... there are many people who don't agree and follow a different path.

An awful lot depends on your home experience and the company you keep as a young person. There are some people who were always careful with money, there are people who hang around with people who are careful with money...

Before making any statements about the general state of the nation I'd want to see some kind of statistics....

This. I work hard for my money, and I wan't to accumulate enough to make it work for me. I have 0 interest in traveling, cars, eating out constantly.

If people consider that living, then kudos to them, but it seems like an awful waster, and a missed opportunity to get to your 30s with 0 money, but think you're great for your "experiences".

Padre_Pio

antimatterx wrote: »

If people consider that living, then kudos to them, but it seems like an awful waster, and a missed opportunity to get to your 30s with 0 money, but think you're great for your "experiences".

It's a balance, money is for spending. Spend it on things that are important to you.

Zascar

Jim2007 wrote: »

What is the basis for this statement? Is it just your opinion or is there some credible report behind it.

Before making any statements about the general state of the nation I'd want to see some kind of statistics....

A third of Irish people have no savings at all
Irish people on average save less than 6% of their income

If you look at Irelands Income distribution, the majority of the country less than 30k - 80% earn less than €33k according to this site. If they save less than 6% on average, I don't think many their 20's have €50k stashed away.

My point was to the post of the guy with €500 in savings, it does not mean you are a failure. It's not ideal but it's not unusual to have little savings and you don't have to feel bad.

I'm not saying consumption equals a decent life, but it does help. I can't personally see how the guy who lives on 4k a year can have a better life than someone on 100k and spends most of it. But that does come down to what you want in life. Maybe watching sport on tv and eating beans on toast is all some need to be happy, but I'm not one of those personally. As already said in this thread before, what's the point of earning all the money and scrimping and saving all of it, to keep it under your mattress?

Thargor

Timistry wrote: »

Fair play to all posters, saving ain't easy otherwise we would all be millionaires!

I have been programmed from an early age to save. I lived a frugal life when I was younger, where I did not seek much but I was not deprived. I worked away during summer hols in school to fund the year ahead. Normally 2 days off between so no J1s or slacking ! weekend work most of the time.

I did an MSc in the UK but then the crash came and that career became extinct overnight bar academia. blah!

Went to Australia then for 5 years, starting doing odd jobs. Got known for my work ethic and worked my way up in a company, where I reached manager level. Took on another role then on an hourly rate and loved it!. Hopefully I will see the likes of those T&Cs again but in Ireland, probably not!

Moved home in 2016. Work for an MNC since then. Renting so no assets bar a 10K car.

No idea of what is in my Irish pension: becasue of Aus, its tiny.
Aus pension: 30K
Aus Cash: 100K @2% per yr
Ireland pension: ?
Ireland cash: 100K

Where are you getting 2% interest?

tech

looks like in a Bank in AUS?

Thargor

Even so though, 2% is high enough to attract massive inflows of capital from other countries that are at zero or negative, wonder whats the reason for that?

LawBoy2018

Thargor wrote: »

Even so though, 2% is high enough to attract massive inflows of capital from other countries that are at zero or negative, wonder whats the reason for that?

You can't just randomly open a bank account in another country, you'd need to have a visa to live there in most cases.

Padre_Pio

LawBoy2018 wrote: »

You can't just randomly open a bank account in another country, you'd need to have a visa to live there in most cases.

Not necessarily, you may need to be resident. Usually ID and utility bills are needed.

That said, you can open an account in any EU country from Ireland.

pew

About 10k in savings at 29.

It's not much, I will admit. I havent lived at home since I was 18 and went through periods of unemployment and very low paying jobs. I had a very well paying job in construction until 3 years ago when I left to take a lower paying job within the civil service, a decision I sometimes regret but in these times I'm grateful to have.

Living in Dublin of course has higher living costs but I try to be savvy with my money. Myself and my partner decided to move into a house share last year which resulted in us paying lesser rent than we were paying in separate houseshares. We did consider moving further out but after factoring in travel costs it worked out roughly the same

Hopefully I can up my savings more over the next few months and get a mortgage sorted.

Yyhhuuu

Zascar wrote: »

Agreed, people reading this thread need to know its not normal for a 25-30 year old to have 25-50k in savings - this is extremely rare.

What I really wonder is what is the annual earnings of these people saving huge amounts and what % of their income are they saving? What sort of life are they having? Seems like they live an incredibly frugal basic life and missing out on a lot. Do you not buy stuff, travel, have experiences? I don't get it.

I have earned a far above the average wage for most of my life and pretty much spent it all along the way. Cars, motorbikes, travel, booze, etc - I;ve always had a lot of interests and hobbies that are expensive. Only when I got to 35 did I start to save properly. However, I did have a great time, I just wish I had of saved something consistently and I still could have had just as good a time. I also wish I had of started investing along the way too.

I made the decision to leave Ireland and move to a tax-free place and I'm saving 5 times that what I ever could in Ireland - so at least here I can catch up fast. Living in Dublin it's incredibly difficult to safe anything proper while having a decent lifestyle at the same time.

The best things in life are free....
Don't think buying stuff will bring happiness just like money doesn't bring happiness. You can enjoy experiences for free like meet-up groups etc. Travel can be very cheap thanks to Ryanair. I discovered that my friend was my pocket. I come from a frugal family and I inherited that frugality from a young age. I manage to save ~20K per year and my income is not high as luckily I have no rent or mortgage dont drink or smoke or drive. I'm not sure if people consider this a good amount to save ?

Prior to buying an item I ask the question do I need or want an item? I research each purchase for the best possible value and get a great kick out of a bargain. All my food is reduced to clear and the healthiest non processed I can buy. Today I enjoyed roast Lamb with home made mint sauce fresh vegetables and potatoes all for 50 cent. Hardly beans on toast.

I enjoyed several cheap foreign holidays last year thanks to Ryanair, often staying in budget accommodation. I'm not jealous of people in big cars or expensive designer clothes, I dont keep up with the Jonses. The rich don't need to flaunt their wealth.

Jim2007

Zascar wrote: »

A third of Irish people have no savings at all
Irish people on average save less than 6% of their income

If you look at Irelands Income distribution, the majority of the country less than 30k - 80% earn less than €33k according to this site. If they save less than 6% on average, I don't think many their 20's have €50k stashed away.

My point was to the post of the guy with €500 in savings, it does not mean you are a failure. It's not ideal but it's not unusual to have little savings and you don't have to feel bad.

I'm not saying consumption equals a decent life, but it does help. I can't personally see how the guy who lives on 4k a year can have a better life than someone on 100k and spends most of it. But that does come down to what you want in life. Maybe watching sport on tv and eating beans on toast is all some need to be happy, but I'm not one of those personally. As already said in this thread before, what's the point of earning all the money and scrimping and saving all of it, to keep it under your mattress?

Thanks for the links. One other point to keep in mind is that people posting here are not normal and I don't mean that in any disparaging way... it's just that they are more interested in their finances that the average person.

Another thing which I could not figure out from the links is how is mortgage payments treated?

Jim2007

LawBoy2018 wrote: »

You can't just randomly open a bank account in another country, you'd need to have a visa to live there in most cases.

Actually you can in most countries, unless you are a US citizen, a green card holder or a close relative of either.

In most of western Europe it is possible to open an account provided you meet the criteria of the bank in question. These usually relate to:
- Proof of identity
- Clean money
- Min balance
and so on.

The only accounts that I am aware of that is prohibited by law is a Swiss numbered account. You now need to be a citizen of Switzerland to hold such an account. But there are plenty of ways to get around this.

Yyhhuuu

Yyhhuuu wrote: »

The best things in life are free....
Don't think buying stuff will bring happiness just like money doesn't bring happiness. You can enjoy experiences for free like meet-up groups etc. Travel can be very cheap thanks to Ryanair. I discovered that my friend was my pocket. I come from a frugal family and I inherited that frugality from a young age. I manage to save ~20K per year and my income is not high as luckily I have no rent or mortgage dont drink or smoke or drive. I'm not sure if people consider this a good amount to save ?

Prior to buying an item I ask the question do I need or want an item? I research each purchase for the best possible value and get a great kick out of a bargain. All my food is reduced to clear and the healthiest non processed I can buy. Today I enjoyed roast Lamb with home made mint sauce fresh vegetables and potatoes all for 50 cent. Hardly beans on toast.

I enjoyed several cheap foreign holidays last year thanks to Ryanair, often staying in budget accommodation. I'm not jealous of people in big cars or expensive designer clothes, I dont keep up with the Jonses. The rich don't need to flaunt their wealth.

Why are you saving money so? People save to buy stuff but for some bizarre reason you have no interested in buying nice things.

Zascar

Exactly. Might as well just work less and have more leisure time.

Bullocks

Yyhhuuu wrote: »

The best things in life are free....
Don't think buying stuff will bring happiness just like money doesn't bring happiness. You can enjoy experiences for free like meet-up groups etc. Travel can be very cheap thanks to Ryanair. I discovered that my friend was my pocket. I come from a frugal family and I inherited that frugality from a young age. I manage to save ~20K per year and my income is not high as luckily I have no rent or mortgage dont drink or smoke or drive. I'm not sure if people consider this a good amount to save ?

Prior to buying an item I ask the question do I need or want an item? I research each purchase for the best possible value and get a great kick out of a bargain. All my food is reduced to clear and the healthiest non processed I can buy. Today I enjoyed roast Lamb with home made mint sauce fresh vegetables and potatoes all for 50 cent. Hardly beans on toast.

I enjoyed several cheap foreign holidays last year thanks to Ryanair, often staying in budget accommodation. I'm not jealous of people in big cars or expensive designer clothes, I dont keep up with the Jonses. The rich don't need to flaunt their wealth.

Where did you get the lamb for under 50 cent ?

Zascar

It might be a good idea to have another thread on "How much do you spend each month" - would be interesting to see how peoples budgets break down. I'm very curious as to how some people spend so little but aparently live so well.

rosmoke

Bullocks wrote: »

Where did you get the lamb for under 50 cent ?

it's probably for petrol to drive around until finds a sheep on the road

Geuze

ExMachina1000 wrote: »

How does the friend with 5 houses live? Does he live more frugally than the folks with no house to their name?

Hard worker, from modest background.

Did well in college, studied hard, accountant.

Moved between jobs, I assume getting pay rise each time.

Bought first house near work I think. Moved jobs a bit.

Bought second house in main town of county that they are from.

Third house was in a tax relief scheme, in same main town, aim was to reduce tax paid on first two houses rental income, I think.

Then got married, spouse already owns a house.

Then bought the fifth house, at approx age 42, as family home.

Yyhhuuu

Bradley Wide Snotty wrote: »

Why are you saving money so? People save to buy stuff but for some bizarre reason you have no interested in buying nice things.

Saving is being financially prudent. Why does anybody save. Do you not save for some bizarre reason ? I have everything I need I don't need any more clutter. I do buy nice treats and holidays abroad. I'm actually saving for a property.Believe me I have plenty of leisure time.

Jim2007

Bradley Wide Snotty wrote: »

Why are you saving money so? People save to buy stuff but for some bizarre reason you have no interested in buying nice things.

So you’d prefer to buy any old crap even if you don’t need rather than leave money in the bank until you actually need it...

Well since I’d known all the things I might need down the line, I prefer to hold on to the cash.

Jim2007

Jim2007 wrote: »

So you’d prefer to buy any old crap even if you don’t need rather than leave money in the bank until you actually need it...

Well since I’d known all the things I might need down the line, I prefer to hold on to the cash.

No I’m not saying that either but there is a balance between saving like crazy and living like a pauper and saving while living to a good standard of living also.

Jim2007

Bradley Wide Snotty wrote: »

No I’m not saying that either but there is a balance between saving like crazy and living like a pauper and saving while living to a good standard of living also.

But that is all subjective... your idea of saving like crazy is other people's normal... your idea of a good standard of living is someone else's fugal...

Geuze

Here is data on wealth in Ireland:

https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-hfcs/householdfinanceandconsumptionsurvey2018/