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MNHQ

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

429 replies

AngelieMumsnet · 02/10/2015 15:38

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

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
OP posts:
florencebabyjo · 08/10/2015 22:39

We bought our first house 15 years ago just before the house market improved .We were just married and were both working full time.I wish now we'd stretched ourselves and bought two houses, one to rent out.We could have afforded it as had some disposable income and had a really small mortgage compared to what we have now. If we'd been brave enough to stretch ourselves we could have sold both houses five years later and have been mortgage free! My son and his girlfriend are just about to buy their first flat and I've told them to spend as much as they can afford and then pay off extra when they can. We worked out that for every £1000 we paid off our mortgage we saved £3000 in interest! We've tried paying off as much as we could when we had a bit extra and it made us feel more in control of our finances. The other thing that I've learnt is to buy second hand and use ebay! We've stretched our money so much further by doing this, and really made the most of what we've had.

Benzalkonium · 08/10/2015 22:47

Not just how hard it is to get a secure home, but also a secure employment.

I wish I had studied for a profession I enjoyed.

clopper · 09/10/2015 00:48

I wish I understood about stocks and shares and different ways to save money, especially when I was younger and had no dependents.

Anononooo · 09/10/2015 08:48

Wish someone had explained pensions to me.....

VaseandCandle · 09/10/2015 08:58

Spend within your means. There is a place for credit cards, but they appear to be sold as a necessity which everyone should have. They are not. If you can't afford something, you should not be purchasing it on a credit card.

StickChildNumberTwo · 09/10/2015 09:46

I wish someone had explained what options I had about a pension - I've always been good at saving which has been great in terms of being able to buy property, but my pension is going to be rubbish. I tend to stick my head in the sand over anything more complicated than savings accounts or fixed term bonds.

SuzCG · 09/10/2015 10:58

I think I was taught well when I was little about the value of money - didn't get given things willy-nilly so learned about the importance of saving and really valued things when I got them. Whilst I am in a slightly better financial position now than my parents were - I am still trying to teach my children the same lessons.
I also started working in a bank when I left school at 16 and I think this taught me a lot too. I could see the messes that a lot of other people got in with their finances and this gave me some lessons in what and what not to do regarding money. Also, they were very tough on staff accounts (tougher than on customers) and this gave me discipline regarding my money and what facilities were available to me.
Only thing I wish I had done was got on the property ladder sooner - I was worried about the commitment but think if I had pushed myself younger I would have been better off and more secure now.

crilly2014 · 09/10/2015 11:15

I wish i had known to never spend beyond my means...with a credit card and overdraft i've been trying to pay off FOREVER!! I have finally learned that if i dont have the cash i dont buy!

mshell1231 · 09/10/2015 11:27

I wish I'd saved a small amount of money out of every wage to help out now I'm not in work and looking after my family. Our savings could have been used for a house deposit years ago and we wouldn't be wasting our money paying rent and could own a home by now. I know I wouldn't have listened if someone told me this at a younger age though!

NettleTea · 09/10/2015 11:36

dont trust your finances with someone else until you 100% know you can trust them. A couple of unsuitable boyfriends, combined with joint accounts and house purchases has resulted in my never having a chance to have credit, or buy my own home again.

Patfola · 09/10/2015 12:07

It took me years to get out of debt I accumulated as a student. I had no idea what the real meaning of apr was and it was a trap that I couldn't get out of. I wish I'd had more hands-on guidance on how to save and how to spend as it wasn't the best start to my professional career after finishing university.

Byrdie · 09/10/2015 12:45

So many things... Never step off the property ladder... Buy quality or the best you can afford and sell on second hand what you no longer need. Invest your savings so they are put to work. Remember to keep all the things you need to fill in a tax return in one place.

LovelyBranches · 09/10/2015 12:58

Save at the start of the month. It's much easier than trying to keep money until the end of the month to save.

serendipity1980 · 09/10/2015 13:16

I wish I had known more about comparison sites and cash back sites (although not sure if they were around 10 yrs ago). They have made me lots of money in the last few years.

TheWildRumpyPumpus · 09/10/2015 13:23

My parents kept advising me to get onto the property ladder when I first got a job 15 years ago. Oh how I wish I'd listened to them!

Could have been mortgage free many years ago but I was too busy enjoying the London lifestyle to get off my arse and get down the bank. Could have taken a 100% mortgage and still been quids in with the way property prices rocketed.

HannahLI · 09/10/2015 13:42

I wish that someone had taught me how to budget and really manage my money on both a weekly, monthly and yearly scale. I just found it so hard and I don't think that my parents had any idea that they had not prepared me at all. Just because the money is in your bank account it doesn't mean you can actually spend it as often its needed for other bills etc...

SmileyShazza · 09/10/2015 13:53

I wish I'd known how to budget for unexpected bills and how to use a credit card the right way.

Luckily I've learnt how to do both those things now - yes it happened through doing things the wrong way and having to work my way out of debt but doing that taught me a very valuable lesson in money management which is something I will definitely be passing onto my own children.

xxmissbrightsidexx · 09/10/2015 13:55

I wish I could manage money better, & definitely wish I was able to save. A lot of the time after OH wage comes in we have more going out than coming in, so money in savings would be very helpful I just don't know where to start x

eabbott80 · 09/10/2015 14:14

I wish we had learnt more about managing finances even through high school. Working out the best mortgage rates or which savings options are best, different ways to invest money and what pensions are etc. would have been really useful to know. Teaching children to be financially responsible from an early age, especially teenagers, is so important. But most of all I think knowing how to budget would have been the most helpful to me when I first started earning and living on my own. It can be such a novelty to have money coming in that you don't appreciate that it all goes out again on bills!

superbfairywren · 09/10/2015 14:54

I wish I had thought to save once I started earning. My parents didn't give me any advice about money except not to get into debt at all. So I still spend everything I have and don't own a house. I hate that all our money goes on rent and we don't own our own home or have any money save for holidays etc.

Jasper15 · 09/10/2015 15:39

To do things early (eg buy property asap) and research things eg benefits offered by jobs , if a job has good prospects To keep an eye on things eg read the private pension annual statements and get advice (eg you can make additional reduced tax contributions.

Want2bSupermum · 09/10/2015 17:18

I've also always saved part of my salary. It's called pay yourself first. All employers have allowed me to split my pay into two. I would highly recommend this approach.

NotCitrus · 09/10/2015 17:26

That banks are most unhelpful if you are under 18, leaving me borrowing money off my boss until my first paycheque came through.

I knew about budgeting and living within my means, but it was hearing that understanding money is vital for feminism that led to me reading all the newspaper Money sections (I commuted from the end of the Tube so got all of them) until I understood mortgages, loans, and consumer rights.

How to argue for a refund under the Sale of Goods Act would have been really helpful when I was a teenager.

hunhun007 · 09/10/2015 18:12

I would love to know what is the best way to invest the money these days. It's really hard to undeerstand all the options.
Is my saving account the best place I can keep my "spare" money?

Want2bSupermum · 09/10/2015 18:49

hunhun it all depends on your savings. We have a years worth of expenses sitting in cash because DH runs his own business as well as his job so if the business went south we need a cushion.

After you have your emergency funds sorted the next place to save is your ISA. After that it's normally a brokerage account.