How much should a normal 20yr old have saved?

[shanease134]

Just a curious question. I have never had a PROPER job just done a few bits there and now but always managed to save what I've made.

The question is, what should the normal 18-20yr old have saved with no parental help?

Is this some kind of weird stealth boast?

None.

In my case, I had £2k overdraft and about £8k in student loans (which were used exclusively to pay for student fees. I was one of the first years when student grants disappeared and loans came in. Means tested on parents income. But they didn't pay the fees, said I had to. They did give me £100/month when I was living at home to supplement my part time job. I moved out and that increased to £150 then £200 by final year. It didn't cover my rent.)

Why exactly do you want to know? You're coming across quite strangely, can't figure out your motivation.

A lot of people I have spoken to move out for no reason even if they can't afford just because they're bored.

Bored? People move out because they are adults and want to live independent lives. Many of us just didn't want to be in our parents' homes at 20.

Your original question isn't really answerable. For example a 20 year old has had 2 more years to save (or build up debt) than an 18 year old. You can't compare. I was working at 18 and built up savings, my DC were at uni, so all have debt. I've no idea what you are going to get from this thread that will be of any use really..

At 20, I had 6k of student debt and probably about £30

Is this some kind of weird stealth boast?
That's what I was thinking . The OPs posts make for some strange reading

I only had debt at that age. I moved out at 18 and my mum moved into a 1 bed flat at around the same time so no option to stay at home and save before hand.
Once you're paying rent and bills its almost impossible to save.

Another who is not clear what you are after from this thread.

It is as clear as clear can be that it is not "normal" or "average" to have saved £20K by the time you are 20.

When my dd turns 20, she will have been out of school 1 yr and 1 week. What kind of job are you going to get, straight from school, that pays you enough to 'live' / pay your way, and also save £20K ?

Even if you leave school at 16 and get an apprenticeship (keep in mind everyone is supposed to be in education until they are 18 now), your income is not enough to save that on, whilst living / pying your way for 4 years.

Or is "your friend" starting with some kind of savings account they have been given ?

Anyone with an ounce of sense will realise haveing £20K stashed away at 20 isn't 'usual' or 'normal', which makes your posts come across as rather goady.

Tenner down my bra for a taxi home.

Unless we walked, when I'd spend it on a munchie box.

Of course £20k saved at age 20 isn't normal! Many in their 30s and 40s don't have this!

I was at uni working every shift I could but still skint so I had no savings. But without uni I wouldn't have gone on to be a high earner in my late 20s.

What a silly question. What would an abnormal 20 year old have saved?

£20k of savings at the age of 20? Op are you serious? I can’t imagine how anyone would be able to do that

@BackforGood

Another who is not clear what you are after from this thread.

It is as clear as clear can be that it is not "normal" or "average" to have saved £20K by the time you are 20.

When my dd turns 20, she will have been out of school 1 yr and 1 week. What kind of job are you going to get, straight from school, that pays you enough to 'live' / pay your way, and also save £20K ?

Even if you leave school at 16 and get an apprenticeship (keep in mind everyone is supposed to be in education until they are 18 now), your income is not enough to save that on, whilst living / pying your way for 4 years.

Or is "your friend" starting with some kind of savings account they have been given ?

Anyone with an ounce of sense will realise haveing £20K stashed away at 20 isn't 'usual' or 'normal', which makes your posts come across as rather goady.

The reason for this thread is to try to understand why the younger generation is so terrible handling money if you want me to be honest. The majority, not all, depending on their circumstances which I can understand is terrible when it comes to handling money which is what I've noticed.

It is easy to save 20k before the age of 20 in my opinion if you're attentive with money. You could work everyday each summer and constantly save, do every little thing to earn some extra money and waste none of it like the majority do.

This once again comes down to personal preference because the majority of young people would rather waste their money at a young age than save with no reason for the saving.

This is a 'how long is a piece of string' question, though there is a lot out there written on savings patterns of different groups.

For me, at 20, it changed a lot over the year - there were parts of the year where we had quite a bit for living on and then had to eat into that well into overdraft and repeat a few times, plus other savings we were doing for the indefinite leave to remain fees that we knew were coming up the following year (which were far less than they are now, but still a significant amount at that age). I was also putting away a bit a month for DS1.

Of course, it depends on your situation but why did you move out if you weren't financially stable?

Many teenagers don't get the choice of waiting until financially stable to live away from their parents, and, as I said, staying with parents doesn't automatically mean they can access their parents' financial stability or build up their own.

@Enrico

Tenner down my bra for a taxi home.

Unless we walked, when I'd spend it on a munchie box.

I used to spend my taxi fare on chips from the all night caff

No not at Uni but anyone at Uni will have had government support etc

Rubbish. They’ll have huge amounts of student debt!

This is the strangest question. It’s on a par with asking how much a 30/40/50/60 year old has got saved. The answer will always be ‘it depends’.

They might have rich relatives who’ve given them money, they might be in a good job and be saving loads. They might have been kicked out of home by their abusive parents and living in a bed sit on benefits, they might be at university, they might be recovering from a long illness.

So, you’ve got £20,000 saved, have you? Yay, you. I’m not sure what the purpose of this thread is.

It depends. As the answer to everything else money related usually does.

I had none at 20, barely have any now either! Mostly got eaten up by rent and general living costs.

@Redlocks28

No not at Uni but anyone at Uni will have had government support etc

Rubbish. They’ll have huge amounts of student debt!

This is the strangest question. It’s on a par with asking how much a 30/40/50/60 year old has got saved. The answer will always be ‘it depends’.

They might have rich relatives who’ve given them money, they might be in a good job and be saving loads. They might have been kicked out of home by their abusive parents and living in a bed sit on benefits, they might be at university, they might be recovering from a long illness.

So, you’ve got £20,000 saved, have you? Yay, you. I’m not sure what the purpose of this thread is.

It depends. As the answer to everything else money related usually does.

Once again this isn't about ME. I'm trying to understand different situations as to how the younger generation is with money.

@titchy walking (and dancing) is exercise and therefore requires carbs. 😉

This is a really weird thread tbh. Nobody I knew had savings when they were 20. Everyone I knew at that age was at university. They all moved out of their parents' houses when they started work after leaving university.

Of course, it depends on your situation but why did you move out if you weren't financially stable?

Well, partly because they wanted to live independent, adult lives, and parrly because pretty much all of them went and lived where they got a job, which wasn't where their parents lived.

We didn't need to be 'financially stable' before leaving home. We needed enough money to pay for rent, bills and food... which came from our monthly salary after we left home.

OP - it sounds a little bit as though you're trying to justify not moving out by suggesting that all young people need 20k of savings before it's reasonable to expect them to move out.

...so basically you’re just some bitter old person.. why do you care if “the younger generation” is bad with money? It’s not your money is it?

It is easy to save 20k before the age of 20 in my opinion if you're attentive with money. You could work everyday each summer and constantly save, do every little thing to earn some extra money and waste none of it like the majority do.

Really? Shall we have a little think about how? Saturday job at sixth form at £6 an hour for 8 hours. 100 Saturdays over the two years is £4,000. Except most parents don't give their kids pocket money once they get a Saturday job so spending £20 a week on cinema, clothes, make up wipes out almost half of that. Then university which is debt.

So yeah, dead easy For the record, older people tend to be the ones living in poverty, or with debt management orders. Not younger people.

Would circa 20k saved for a 20yr old be a good amount would you say? I am trying to compare with others but i don't know everyone's situation. I'm asking for someone else

OBVIOUSLY this would be a huge amount for a 'normal' 20 year old.

How is a 20 year old supposed to have had enough income to save significant sums unless they have a wealthy background, started work at 17 in some very highly paid commission-based line of work, or rake it in via OnlyFans?

If people are saving their student loan that is hardly an efficient saving...given the massive interest on those loans.

Foe heavens sake OP, just post the specific situation you want info on instead of pointless vague 'how ling is a piece of string' question.

This once again comes down to personal preference because the majority of young people would rather waste their money at a young age than save with no reason for the saving.

It comes down to personal circumstance.

It is easy to save 20k before the age of 20 in my opinion if you're attentive with money.

That's just utterly ridiculous. Teenagers in full time education need to be concentrating on their studies. A Saturday job is fine, but it's hardly going to rack up 20k.

It is easy to save 20k before the age of 20 in my opinion if you're attentive with money. You could work everyday each summer and constantly save, do every little thing to earn some extra money and waste none of it like the majority do

Or you could actually have a life. Go out, build friendships, travel, experience all life has to offer, have amazing stories to tell your grandchildren other than I stayed in and saved money. You dont get your youth back , that is the time to enjoy yourself. Your proposition sounds boring as fuck. We have savings now but working all the hours god sends and saving every penny in your 20s? God, no

My mums colleague and his wife scrimped and saved so they could have a very comfortable retirement. Hardly went out, didnt go on any long haul holidays, always bought cheapest of everything. The wife died of a sudden illness before they got to enjoy any of what they had saved. God does he regret it now.

You keep saying "no parental support" but also intimating that the person in question hasn't moved out of their parents' home yet, in which case they absolutely do have plenty of parental support financially!