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Original poster

Am I the only 26 yr old with no savings???

57 replies

Toothache · 09/06/2004 12:40

This question has been triggered by many things. One being someone posting on here that they would rather not dip into their savings for £15,000 for something! I nearly fell off my chair!

We have no savings (well.... about £300 in an ISA). We did have about £2000 but spent that on appliances for the kitchen and furniture when we bought our first house. Ds was born 2 mths later and we've never really managed to save since then!

I fully intend to start saving after I return to work fulltime early next year, but am I the exception???

At 26 yrs old I wouldn't imagine many people who have a mortgage and kids have much in the way of savings...... or do they??

Opinions please....

OP posts:
Original poster
Toothache · 09/06/2004 14:15

Eh No SQ - I wasn't having a go... it merely made me think that I was perhaps unusual and particularly careless. I didn't mean to offend you.

I live below my income to.

OP posts:
serenequeen · 09/06/2004 14:16

i'm not offended. i rarely discuss money things on mumsnet as people's situations are so different... but that house thing has been doing my bleedin' head in so needed some advice...

serenequeen · 09/06/2004 14:17

well done for living below your income - it is bloody boring at times!

Original poster
Toothache · 09/06/2004 14:23

Ah but let me clarify 'income'.... I'm including an credit card credit limit increase as income.

OP posts:
serenequeen · 09/06/2004 14:23

lol

lilymum · 09/06/2004 14:25

I'm 28 and we have some savings, not sure how we've managed as we've been on one income for 5 years since I've been a SAHM and paying quite a lot in rent, and would like to use savings to put towards buying a house, but since we'd need about £150,000 to put down a deposit, and savings are about a tenth of this, can see it's never going to happen. We don't have pensions or life insurance or anything sensible like that, just can't afford it.

We don't take holidays abroad - go and stay with my parents in North Wales near the sea - and my dad gave us an old car of his when we needed one which saved us having to buy one, so I guess we save a bit that way.

Original poster
Toothache · 09/06/2004 14:26

150,000 DEPOSIT?????????

On what? A castle????

OP posts:
lilymum · 09/06/2004 14:27

Toothache, I think on reflection I'd rather have no savings and a mortgage, especially with house prices the way they are. Tend to turn pea green with envy when people talk about owning their own homes.

strangerthanfiction · 09/06/2004 14:27

Savings? What are they?

Original poster
Toothache · 09/06/2004 14:28

lilymum - Were you serious when you said you needed £150,000 for a DEPOSIT on a house?

Where do you live? Even by London prices that seems a bit extreme for a deposit?

OP posts:
lilymum · 09/06/2004 14:28

Toothache messages crossed...We could probably afford a mortgage of c£100K on dh's salary, and modest 3-bed semis on road we live in retail between £220 and £250K - we live in Oxford.

lilymum · 09/06/2004 14:29

Trying to persuade dh to move to outer reaches of Scotland though as we might be able to afford something there...

oliveoil · 09/06/2004 14:32

This thread could begin to sound like that Monty Python sketch 'cardboard box? Pah you were lucky, we lived in the gutter' etc, with everyone competing to see who is the skintest (proper word?)

Original poster
Toothache · 09/06/2004 14:33

Not the outreaches of Scotland Lilysmum! I live in Central Scotland 30 mins from both Glasgow and Edinburgh and we bought our house 3yrs ago for £35k! 2 bedroomed semi with driveway and garage. It'll sell now for £50k.

Even in the posh parts around here you'd get a 3 or 4 bedroomed house for 100-150k.

OP posts:
lilymum · 09/06/2004 14:34

Toothache - it's not even a particularly upmarket part of Oxford, just your average 1930s suburb, not very prosperous. It's actually relatively cheap for Oxford. Crazy world.

Original poster
Toothache · 09/06/2004 14:35

lol OO!
That wasn't the intention, honest!

OP posts:
lilymum · 09/06/2004 14:35

Just realised I should be off the computer and collecting dd1 from school!

Fio2 · 09/06/2004 14:37

I am 26 and in minus amounts

oliveoil · 09/06/2004 14:38

Have I got the cheapest morgage repayments? £241 a month.

I live in a padded cardboard box btw

yingers74 · 09/06/2004 14:40

well I am 29 with very little savings! And have just read something on AOL that says we will all probably have to work until we are 86

katierocket · 09/06/2004 14:40

aloha - don't even start on tax bills

yingers74 · 09/06/2004 14:45

Further I think once you have a mortgage then pretty much savings go out of the window, add children to the mix and you can forget it!!!

BTW Hello everyone, am new to mumsnet, became a SAHM about a month ago, all is very new to me. Katie is 15 months and discovered being at home is hard work, very different to going to work and a tad lonely! I know very few other mums, none of my close friends have children although one is now pregnant!!!

Any tips on coping?

Original poster
Toothache · 09/06/2004 14:45

HA OO I WIN!!!

I pay £220 per month on my mortgage.... and that's a replayment mortgage too.

OP posts:
Original poster
Toothache · 09/06/2004 14:46

Yingers74 - Alcohol.

OP posts:
yingers74 · 09/06/2004 14:52

Toothache LOL , am off to the fridge now!!!

I spoke to the child tax credits people today, they have sent me 12 letters in the last week, all of which are incorrect! I have spoken to them four times, i keep saying the same thing but they all seem to hear different things!!! There has to be an easier way! has anyway else had such probs? I think they make it so difficult so in the end you just give up!