Finances

[Foe]

Finance Thread

How is your financial situation?
What does your current expenditure look like?
What are your key outgoings?
Do you have any long term investments?

So I've spent this evening trying to get a feel for what my financial situations is.

• I have about £1500 of direct debits a month.
• I've accumulated a crap load of shares that I can't start accessing for another 2 years.
• One of the other share schemes I'm paying into is effectively a "savings account" given the lack of improvement of the share price in the last 2 years.
• I've got a loooooong way to go in my mortgage - but I think I can probably afford to start overpaying regularly and chuck in a lump sum before the year end. That opens up the possibility of doing the same again next year to a lesser extent to reduce the term, pay less interest overall and start chipping away at the sum.
• I'm currently in pretty good shape financially. If I have a flat mate for the next 6 months+ I'll be able to bank a fair whack.

[Lewis]

I don't have any money, but if I did I like to think I wouldn't be all that desperate to talk about.

[Magic]

Look how much money I have!

[Shindig]

I'm fucking fine, thanks. Although I have an ISA-related query.

Say I put £10k on an ISA earlier in the tax year and another one hits maturity with £6k or whatever in it. When that matures and gets put into a different issue, will it actually go ahead or has my limit been hit? That's something I've always wondered. I'm guessing its fine because otherwise people with massive funds in one would be hitting limits every time maturity hits.

[Giggles]

Making just short of 50k and the Mrs is around the same. Rent is 1350 a month. Her car is paid and I have a free one. No other outgoings bar the basics. No investments. Around 15,000 in the bank so far for the wedding. Owning a house isn't currently an option due to the situation.

[Magic]

Wow that's pretty great Giggsy, you must b...oh, oh you mean Euros?

[Smiffy]

.....

[Giggles]

Wow that's pretty great Giggsy, you must b...oh, oh you mean Euros?

No I earn and spend pounds here just for the hell of it, either that or I'm just not into dick measuring.

[Kikó]

I'm fucking fine, thanks. Although I have an ISA-related query.

Say I put £10k on an ISA earlier in the tax year and another one hits maturity with £6k or whatever in it. When that matures and gets put into a different issue, will it actually go ahead or has my limit been hit? That's something I've always wondered. I'm guessing its fine because otherwise people with massive funds in one would be hitting limits every time maturity hits.

If I understand the question correctly then you can only transfer in the total ISA amount every year. You can transfer a previous years issue into another issue which still counts as the money from that year.

[Pepe]

I earn a small amount and spend a little less than that. No debt or anything. Spend mostly on hobbies and food.

[The Merse]

If I understand the question correctly then you can only transfer in the total ISA amount every year. You can transfer a previous years issue into another issue which still counts as the money from that year.

Reads the same to me. A previous years issue is transferred with P-something or other (you don't see this, your bank does it normally) and therefore the taxman doesn't count it against your allowance.

[Manc]

My monthly expenditure is around 60% of my earnings atm. Proper shit.

[Boydy]

I don't have any money, but if I did I like to think I wouldn't be all that desperate to talk about.

Look how much money I have!

I knew this thread would basically be that when I saw Foe had started it. Didn't he start the same one on the old board too?

[John]

In fairness to Foe, his bank account is the one aspect of his life he's ever spoken about on here that nobody is in a position to laugh at. Even when he talks about his apparently brilliant, highly skilled job it's all in the context of a 'woe is me, why can this money not be free' attitude that's just about indistinguishable from Shindig circa 2009.

[Foe]

Oh dear. Feels like a lot of people took my thread for bragging which wasn't the intention. I'm actually in the other position, trying to work out how fucked I'll be if I get made redundant early next year. Which is a distinct possibility.

There was a finance thread on the old board where I asked all sorts of questions about shares, investments, mortgages etc. Right now all my eggs are in one basket, and being 3 years into a career in an industry in a slump that basket is pretty small.

[Magic]

I knew this thread would basically be that when I saw Foe had started it. Didn't he start the same one on the old board too?

No that was me.

[Dquincy]

[*]I've got a loooooong way to go in my mortgage - but I think I can probably afford to start overpaying regularly and chuck in a lump sum before the year end. That opens up the possibility of doing the same again next year to a lesser extent to reduce the term, pay less interest overall and start chipping away at the sum.

Don't understand why you would consider this. You're paying money into something that you'll never get back. Let's face, you will alway be paying a mortgage all your life (certainly the vast majority of it) so why bother overpaying something that will not end. Instead, why noy invest the money in something else which is more accessible and may potentially give you a better return?

[Foe]

Don't understand why you would consider this. You're paying money into something that you'll never get back. Let's face, you will alway be paying a mortgage all your life (certainly the vast majority of it) so why bother overpaying something that will not end. Instead, why noy invest the money in something else which is more accessible and may potentially give you a better return?

The benefit now in overpaying a mortgage is pretty high. If I put in £8000 as an overpayment say, I'm saving myself an extra 8ish grand in interest over the length of the mortgage. Whilst the mortgage debt is high chucking in more funds seems sensible.

That's effectively a saving of 400 quid a year for 20 years. I'd get more benefit paying less interest on a debt than I'd get with the funds in an account somewhere.

[Dquincy]

The benefit now in overpaying a mortgage is pretty high. If I put in £8000 as an overpayment say, I'm saving myself an extra 8ish grand in interest over the length of the mortgage. Whilst the mortgage debt is high chucking in more funds seems sensible.

That's effectively a saving of 400 quid a year for 20 years. I'd get more benefit paying less interest on a debt than I'd get with the funds in an account somewhere.

Not sure i entirely agree with the last paragraph. Surely your mortgage is around 4% (give or take a percentage). You can get more than 4% in shares or stockbroker shares, plus you have access to them. If you overpay a mortgage, that money is gone.

I appreciate your point of view, however i think life is for the living, so no point spending money on something that you may never benefit from.

[John Arne]

Surely he will benefit from owning the house sooner, paying less for it, and thus being able to sell it quicker? Though I actually agree with you, I would rather enjoy spending the money now on things I like, rather than saving money for that far in the future.

[Baz]

Yeah both are good arguments, really. It seems like [so long as he doesn't lose his job] Foe can afford to keep chucking stacks of money at his mortgage at the end of every year and have it paid off way before he initially thought. However for someone who doesn't have quite so much left over every December (hello!), it's probably worth keeping it to yourself to spend on things you can enjoy now.
@Giggles why is buying a house not an option?

Money is probably one of my favourite things in life.

[Foe]

The point is that if I don't overpay, I will pay that extra money. I'll be paying my mortgage regardless,
that's not going away, but I can make the overall cost to me smaller by paying more at the front end.

Shares is an additional risk and something that would require thought and diligence. This is just a 'quick win'.

Plus, I live a really simple "boring" life.

[Dquincy]

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy saving money rather than spending (kinda sad), which i seem to have now passed onto my wife (she used to love spending her monthly wages until we had to save for the wedding).

Paying off the mortgage was something i considered, so can see Foe's point of view. But i just feel that with inflation and interest rates expected to rise sooner or later, a fixed debt becomes less of a debt.*

* Providing the interest rate isn't horrific.

[Foe]

Stacks is the wrong word. But I can definitely pay more than I am right now, which feels logical.

If I reign in the interest now then 2 or 3 years down the line then I can settle back Into the payments.

[Dquincy]

Stacks is the wrong word. But I can definitely pay more than I am right now, which feels logical.

If I reign in the interest now then 2 or 3 years down the line then I can settle back Into the payments.

I'm intrigued by what your occupation is and your annual salary. Don't have to say if you don't want to as I know it's rude to ask... in English culture.

[niko_cee]

https://soundcloud.com/robtrezise/im...wolfenstein-et

[Kikó]

Pay off your mortgage. I don't agree with the short sighted nature of letting it tick along when you can pay large chunks sooner. I'd do that and work out how you can lower your direct debits.

[Shindig]

Reads the same to me. A previous years issue is transferred with P-something or other (you don't see this, your bank does it normally) and therefore the taxman doesn't count it against your allowance.

Good to know. Although the return on this issue is devastating. Down from 3% to 1.3%. Its variable though so I should be able to withdraw it as soon as something comes along I like the look of.

[The Merse]

Good to know. Although the return on this issue is devastating. Down from 3% to 1.3%. Its variable though so I should be able to withdraw it as soon as something comes along I like the look of.

2016 should be a better ISA market. Regardless of the base rate, everyone is lending more at the moment, and needs to attract greater liabilities (I still find it ridiculous that what you hold in credit with a bank is referred to as a liability but there you are...).

[Spammer]

I'm not being paid much for my job but I'm careful and I'm usually able to put aside £300 per month. Not sure what I'm saving for though - a mortgage, I guess.

I'm a bit tired of having a shit wage but I'm retraining so I can't really complain as they've shifted my hours to fit in with my college time. It'd be nice to earn decent money though. One day .

[-james-]

The amount of money I'm able to make is proportional to how much money I already have, so I'm doing fairly well, and putting a good bit aside. I don't think any cunt is going to want to give me a mortgage, though.

[Giggles]

Yeah both are good arguments, really. It seems like [so long as he doesn't lose his job] Foe can afford to keep chucking stacks of money at his mortgage at the end of every year and have it paid off way before he initially thought. However for someone who doesn't have quite so much left over every December (hello!), it's probably worth keeping it to yourself to spend on things you can enjoy now.
@Giggles why is buying a house not an option?

Money is probably one of my favourite things in life.

The price of them is rocketing again here and there's a fair shortage at the moment as the building hasn't kicked off again since before the downturn. You could conceivably live in the middle of nowhere but both jobs are based in Dublin and the traffic is gone that bad that even a 60 mile commute would take 2.5 hours.
There's also new regulations here that any first time buyers must have 20% of the value of the property saved before a mortgage is even considered, and even at that you probably won't get it without 30%.

[Spammer]

It's debt awareness week this week, so I might as well post this up in case anyone could do with any help.

I've been working with a debt charity recently called StepChange, who offer FREE and IMPARTIAL debt solutions to people. You might think that a lot of companies do this, but many aren't free or impartial at all, and many charge fees and amend their advice based on what gets them more money.

Stepchange offer advice on dealing with arrears on the rent, electric, gas, water and council tax, magistrates and criminal fines, CCJs, car finance and HP stuff...as well as help with managing credit cards, overdrafts, store cards, catalogues and so on. We can help by setting up debt management plans, token payment plans, give information on your rights...amongst other things. Ee can also help with lots of different kinds of insolvency proceedings - bankruptcy, DROs, IVAs etc - in case you've gotten yourself into some serious shit.

All information given is completely confidential and not shared with anyone outside the charity without your permission, and we're biggest debt charity in the UK are pretty well known amongst creditors too.

Website: http://www.stepchange.org/
Telephone number: 0800 138 1111

Debt still carried a massive stigma so it can fucking cripple people, so just putting it out there

[Henry]

I can't complain. I'm paid well, my expenses are fairly low (small mortgage) and In have a lot of disposable income to spend on eating out, travelling and other things that I like.

[Chrissy]

I'm skint but happy. I've ditched a well paying secure job to do something I love. I have zero debt though, made sure I cleared everything off and saved up for starting my own business etc.

In terms of ISA's etc and pensions, they are all good options. A guaranteed reserve is the way to go long term though if you are eligible. They pay slightly higher rates with associated clauses.

Been nice reading some of the posts on here. Seeing folk like Giggles and that doing well and saving up for a wedding. More power to you dude. Foe seems to be sorted as well.

End of the day folks money is just something that facilitates attaining/retaining other things. Don't stress if you've fuck all or in debt, take Hammer's advice and contact stepchange or other debt charities. Family, friends and being happy are whats important. So debt change etc will help prioritize what you can can't pay and deal with those you owe on your behalf if you want. I say this as a cunt that worked in debt recovery.

[Magic]

It's debt awareness week this week, so I might as well post this up in case anyone could do with any help.

I've been working with a debt charity recently called StepChange, who offer FREE and IMPARTIAL debt solutions to people. You might think that a lot of companies do this, but many aren't free or impartial at all, and many charge fees and amend their advice based on what gets them more money.

Stepchange offer advice on dealing with arrears on the rent, electric, gas, water and council tax, magistrates and criminal fines, CCJs, car finance and HP stuff...as well as help with managing credit cards, overdrafts, store cards, catalogues and so on. We can help by setting up debt management plans, token payment plans, give information on your rights...amongst other things. Ee can also help with lots of different kinds of insolvency proceedings - bankruptcy, DROs, IVAs etc - in case you've gotten yourself into some serious shit.

All information given is completely confidential and not shared with anyone outside the charity without your permission, and we're biggest debt charity in the UK are pretty well known amongst creditors too.

Website: http://www.stepchange.org/
Telephone number: 0800 138 1111

Debt still carried a massive stigma so it can fucking cripple people, so just putting it out there

@Foe

[leedsrevolution]

It's debt awareness week this week, so I might as well post this up in case anyone could do with any help.

I've been working with a debt charity recently called StepChange, who offer FREE and IMPARTIAL debt solutions to people. You might think that a lot of companies do this, but many aren't free or impartial at all, and many charge fees and amend their advice based on what gets them more money.

Stepchange offer advice on dealing with arrears on the rent, electric, gas, water and council tax, magistrates and criminal fines, CCJs, car finance and HP stuff...as well as help with managing credit cards, overdrafts, store cards, catalogues and so on. We can help by setting up debt management plans, token payment plans, give information on your rights...amongst other things. Ee can also help with lots of different kinds of insolvency proceedings - bankruptcy, DROs, IVAs etc - in case you've gotten yourself into some serious shit.

All information given is completely confidential and not shared with anyone outside the charity without your permission, and we're biggest debt charity in the UK are pretty well known amongst creditors too.

Website: http://www.stepchange.org/
Telephone number: 0800 138 1111

Debt still carried a massive stigma so it can fucking cripple people, so just putting it out there

I've known loads of people that work there. Fuckinghell, were gona end up working together at some point I know it. You live only 5 minutes from me and are getting into a similar industry.

[Magic]

Hammer and LR dream team.

"Have you thought about drinking or trans clubs?"

[leedsrevolution]

Infact, i know someone who has recently joined step change. Fucking hell. Bet that you know em.

[Foe]

@Foe

nah, your wife isn't that poor, she's taking half your house. We'll be fine.

[Spammer]

Infact, i know someone who has recently joined step change. Fucking hell. Bet that you know em.

Gimme names and I'll tell you. First names'll do.

[John]

Look at Foe there, can't even take a pop at someone else without looking tragic. You'd be willing to take on a kid and stir Magic's porridge just for some companionship.

[Magic]

I now have £900 to do us until next pay day. This is by far the most perilous financial situation I've ever been in.

That was with an extra £250 on my wage for a night job and HMRC haven't started taking tax off me yet for the car.

[Foe]

I now have £900 to do us until next pay day. This is by far the most perilous financial situation I've ever been in.

That was with an extra £250 on my wage for a night job and HMRC haven't started taking tax off me yet for the car.

Going to have to raid your wife's leaving fund.

[Magic]

En route to pick it up. £350. Renamed to 'home improvement ' fund.

[Foe]

I'm losing my flat mate in a month, which puts me about 500 quid a month down. He leaves on the same day as I find out whether I have a job. So that day has the potential to be financially crippling.

Long term, not short.

[Manc]

Me and Magic will move in.

[Foe]

You sharing with or me?

[Manc]

[Magic]

Fucking hell, I've got £55 to last me until pay day. Thank fuck for credit cards.