What do you wish you’d known when you first became financially independent? Tell Lloyds Bank for a chance to win a £300 voucher! NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

Lloyds Bank have asked us to find out what Mumsnetters wish they had known about personal finances when they first became financially independent.

So, what do you wish you'd known? Maybe you didn't quite appreciate how expensive buying a house would be. Maybe you didn't think about saving when you were younger. Perhaps you wish you'd known how best to invest your savings. Or did you find it all quite easy? We'd love to hear your stories!

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 Love2Shop voucher!

Thanks
MNHQ

[WowOoo]

Having a disposable income after being in a permanent overdraft was like a dream come true. I was lucky to have a father who told me to save as much as I could from as early as possible. I think he noticed I was going a bit crazy with spending. I am glad i listened to him years ago as my savings really helped me out. All spent now of course. I wish I had such a large disposable income now.

[gazzalw]

To save, save, save from a young age and to set up a personal pension as soon as one has a job. And to get onto the property ladder as soon as one financially is able to...(DW and I would have probably been living in a London home worth £500K more if we'd got into property 10-15 years sooner rather than spending it on expensive hols and )

[Tarzanlovesgaby]

• to save an amount each month
  
• to research long term saving schemes (pension) that are cheap to join when still young
  
• to use all sorts of (online) calculators to get best deals on big purchases
  
• read up on consumer rights

[SleepyForest]

Don't buy things you don't need. Never lend money to someone you wouldn't give it to, it is very likely you won't get it back.

[moopymoodle]

To make sure I always had rainy day savings in the bank

[MissFitt68]

I wish I'd known a bit more about credit references/reports/rating etc and how it all works. Hindsight and all that

[BlackCatSleeps]

I wish I'd set up a long term savings account years ago. If I'd saved more before I had my children (in those days I had no idea how much freedom I had with my money), we'd feel much more secure now.

[lottietiger]

To start saving as early as you possible can, set up a direct debit from your salary so you don't miss it. Buy a property as young as you can as it only gets more expensive.

You will always need savings for something unexpected.

[Memyselfandthatotherperson]

Life is expensive - house, car, kids. 10 years of savings can go in an instant

[Maniacalparrot]

Get on the property ladder as soon as possible

[ButtonMoonLoon]

I wish I had known how tough it would be to get on the property ladder, I would have started squirrelling away a decent chunk of my salary each month. Instead I enjoyed holidays abroad and travelled extensively. I don't regret that at all but wish I'd planned ahead a bit more.
The other thing that I wish I'd planned ahead for was the cost of childcare!

[annandale]

That it's not compulsory to go on holiday. When I was younger and fairly skint, I was lucky enough to have a big extended family full of helpful relatives who, loving travel themselves, thought it was very sad that I didn't earn enough to go on holiday, and helped me by paying for me to go. The thing was that there were always additional costs they didn't allow for (cost of passport, travel to the airport etc) and I couldn't afford even the small extras. It never really occurred to me to say 'that's very kind but no thank you' because, you know, it was a holiday and it would have seemed incredibly rude to throw their amazing generosity back in their faces. It's taken me years to work out that I don't much enjoy travel and prefer my own pleasures, many of which are free.

[MagicAlwaysLeadsToTrouble]

That there is some truth in the phrase "look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves"

In that little savings do add up. I often look back at all the lunches I bought (when a student) rather than taking a packed lunch & think that I could have saved a fortune that I could then have spent at the bar

[Titsywoo]

I wish I had started saving as soon as I started working at 18. I also wish I had known how hard paying off debt would be and wouldn't have taken out loans and credit cards that I couldn't afford. That way I might have gotten on the property ladder in my 20's not my 30's and would have had equity therefore ended up in a bigger house!

[tricot39]

That financial advisers rarely mention the benefits of overpaying on a mortgage to reduce the term of the loan...... Fortunately my dad told me that secret and slow, steady top ups mean we will be mortgage free. Totally achievable for normal families (yes we live in SE England).

[MakeTeaNotWar]

I wish I had understood the importance of saving for the future instead of living for the moment. I should have bought a property much much sooner than I did until of waiting until the peak of the housing bubble and paying over the odds :-(

[flamingtoaster]

Even as a child with pocket money my father told me it wasn't what you earned that was important but what you saved. I saved as a child. He was against any form of credit - you saved up for what you wanted. Both of these pieces of advice served me well when I became financially independent. I wish he had encouraged me to get on the property ladder as soon as I could.

[StillNoFuckingEyeDeer]

To start a pension.
Not to get a mortgage.

[CheeseAtFourpence]

To have been much more sensible with spending. When I think what DH and I spent on exotic holidays over the years when we were young I cringe. I was naive about mortgages and interest rates. Pensions were something for older people to worry about.

I wish we had saved more earlier on - although we do have some fabulous memories!

[InAndOfMyself]

I wish I had been taught to save as a child. I was never made to save or appreciate deferring gratification for a better reward. I really want to teach my children better.

[CopperPan]

I wish I'd known about the tax relief on private pensions and started one earlier. I only started one last year and I have a lot of catching up to do.

[camtt]

well, when I was a student it would have been great to have known that 'debit' meant minus money.

I wish I'd understood that disposable income is more important than headline salary - I earn more than double what I did pre-kids but my disposable income is much less. I didn't save enough when I could have done.

[del2929]

save save and save.

[tangledyarn]

I wish I'd just had a much better general understanding of money! I didn't really understand how interest rates worked on credit cards, how hard it would be to get on the property ladder (still not managed) or that I really needed to get saving for a pension asap. I would encourage my younger self to save a lot more rather than to spend..but I properly wouldn't have listened ;)

[Firewall]

To save save save and be savvy with shopping at the right times!