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

Absolutely everything!!!
Mainly for someone to explain to me what APR meant and interest rates.

I know now but that is from the bitter experience of paying off store cards racked up as an 18 yo, waaaay into my twenties

Start paying into a pension straight away when you get your first job - then you'll never miss that money each month

To save and pay something towards a pension. I couldn't realise how important it was to have some money for emergencies and how important it is to save for the future.

To not fritter money away on videos and cds!
To save money but also enjoy experiences.
Look into rates before you buy things and to constantly check them.

I wish I'd understood how to budget, and that it's better to save up for non-essentials than buy them on (expensive) credit.

Save all the time - you never know when you'll need it most

That just because I was saving some of my earnings didn't mean I should spend the rest on things I didn't really need! I really regret the amount I frittered away on clothes I probably never wore, just because I had the money to!

That you don't have to spend as much as you earn. Don't buy cars on finance. Don't buy insurance policies through financial advisers - they will seriously rip you off.

I wish I'd realised how much kids cost, like childcare, clothes, toys, educational stuff etc.
I now have virtually no disposable income and really wish I'd saved when i'd had the opportunity in my life before kids.
Also I would have spent some of my disposable income on more interesting stuff like weekends away/ experiences other than alcohol, takeaways, clothes etc
Hindsight is a wonderful thing they say!

to have got into a savings habit pre DC, because it's really hard impossible once they turn up and are always needing things.

To quote my mum "a small house has a big mouth "
She was right. Running a house on 8,000 per year with a 24,000 mortgage was hard. A steep learning curve.

Start saving as soon as you start earning.
Look longer term - this helps you avoid instant gratification spending which mounts up very quickly

I remember my dad telling I should see my overdraft facility as a last resort, not a goal to hit each month.

Save as much as you can from as early as you can.
Pay into a pension ASAP
How credit ratings work.

To fully research large purchases and to really plan my spending. I've wasted too much money over the years.

That credit cards are the spawn of the devil - avoid at all cost!

I wish Id started saving earlier, I wasted so much money on things i didnt need and some i didnt even like ! I also wish id saved into a private pension, something i regret to this day !

Save, save and save!!!

That credit cards are not the spawn of the devil and very useful if used wisely.

That most of the money earned is used on basic necessities - rent,, heat, council tax, tax, food, water, electric, gas and disposable income is non-existent, unlike pocket money which is just for fun!

I wish I had not overspent! At 18 I had my own place with a mortgage and thought it was great to have a credit card and typically overspent on that. It took me years to get back in the black

My biggest regret is not getting on the property ladder so I wish I saved and bought a house :)

The need to have a financial plan to balance spending and saving.

that it is vital to get onto the property ladder early. Left it too late!

Save as much as you can each month and don't waste money on things you don't need.

Save, save and save a bit more. Who knows what's around the next corner?