Tightwaddin'

Would be a good investment so long as you don't bin it on a corner and write it off!

I always think i'm good with not buying stuff i don't need it, then i remember i have 12 bikes.

amen

How many bike would a cargo one count as?

the cargo (1.5)+ brompton (0.5) = 2

So 2 bike if the Brompton stay in the cargo!

This x 1000000

Right... sorry. Technically this is all my own doing. Realistically only possible because I had a stable home, lucky enough to go to a grammar school (a free one), and had a bit of financial education as a teenager. Being lucky enough to live in NZ for a few years had probably the biggest impact on my life, because it's a place where people don't give a shit what car you drive or what clothes you wear - where people spend more time together and seem much happier for it.

So despite sounding smug (sorry again) I do think it's possible to live a less consumerist and more stable and fulfilling life by just being a bit of a tightwad and focusing your money on the things you enjoy, and that's probably better for everyone. Wank over.

Life's too short. You may get hit by a bus tomorrow so enjoy what you're doing now.

@Sumo I do enjoy my life. I have more time to go hiking/biking because I'm not overly-worried about getting in as much overtime as I can. I'm in the pub 2-3 times a week. Expensive meals with friends/a weekend away/Christmas presents don't cause any stress, because I don't have cripplingly-high rent or a Volvo to pay off. But the first couple of years were rough.

not surprising that 'the young' spend so much money... many of them have sod all chance of buying a property so instead of saving for a deposit they spunk it on the latest gadget.

To be clear the housing situation in this country is absolutely awful. It's possible for young people to buy a property (I have a family friend who just bought her own 180k flat at age 21, and she's a receptionist, which shits all over my achievements) but it's far more difficult than it should be. It would be all too easy to say 'young people are choosing gadgets over a deposit', because we live in a consumerist society, and it's difficult to overcome that. Especially if you don't have that little bit of education and confidence that a stable home brings.

as to the important things: you drive a banger but what about your bike(s) ?

Surly Krampus Ops (MTB-bikepacker) and a 40 quid Raleigh 3-Speed that I commute on. But I'm thinking of getting something on C2W because my commute is 25% road, 50% bridleways or doubletrack, and 25% shitty raised bit between two farmed fields, and the 3 speed is not really suitable. And a Brompton that my partner and I share.

We lived in a university town in NZ

Not Palmerston North is it? I went to Uni there :)

No, Dunedin. The other university town. Palmie's fucking fancy compared to Dunners.

Now you're crossing over into the bragging territory. You're really financially secure, cool, good for you. Honestly it doesn't matter if you earn £10k or £100k, you're living within your means and are therefore able to spend on certain things you like, congratulations. What was the whole point of this thread again?

My point previously was to give a different perspective on managing cash flow. Living for the moment rather than planning for the future. I wasn't having a jab at you, but the fact you think I was, and the fact this thread even exists, indicates to me that you're insecure about your life choices and are trying to prove to yourself that it's been worth it all along.

In many ways it's not surprising that 'the young' spend so much money

In what way? should we not spend money?

It's easy to buy a 4k television whether a mortgage is out of the question.

I can either spend half my lifetime trying desperately to get a mortgage without taking too much out of a mim wages salaries, or enjoy it now and live in a rented shared household.

Of course you can. That's your choice. But all those seemingly little purchases of tvs watches clothes etc all add up.

The fact is that most people on average or even good money still wouldn't be able to get the money together for a deposit, even if you went with out, so buy the TV and the trinkets by all means.

I didn't have nice things when i was in my early 20s because it was an objective to buy a property. Some people aren't bothered about that, and its understandable.

two kids... Thanks!

@ChasnotRobert Cheers. Truth be told I am unsure whether this can continue when we have kids. Childcare costs are quite high even though our region has great provisions (salary-sacrifice vouchers etc). I don't really know where the balance lies between paying for childcare and one of us being a stay-at-home parent... I mean ideally one of us would stay at home until the kid goes to school (by which point Kid 2 comes along) but whether that's economically feasible, I don't know. How did you find it? I've been eyeing up a nice Skoda Octavia for when we have two kids in the back... I can see how it's easy to slip.

mortgage paid off in full in the next 5-7 years. I'm 31 and have a good pension through work - some people I know of the same age have no pension provision at all and that would terrify me.

@princeperch Congrats on the mortgage. In my situation I'm unsure whether it's going to be worth paying off a mortgage early or investing the money elsewhere... I'll probably just try to do a bit of both. My pension is one area that potentially sucks - I've only been working in the UK for 8 months so I've just been matching my employer contributions. I am thinking of ramping it up to a 15% contribution since my house deposit is good. But then again, you can't usually touch pensions until normal pensionable age... again I think a mixed approach is probably best.

I read Walden when I was younger but was devastated to find out that when writing it, Thoreau lived about three miles from town and went back every few days to stock up, hah! But still a good romantic read. I'd like my own cabin up in the highlands... but we're limited on wild space in this country and I wouldn't want to impose upon it, so a nice tent will do.

The fact is that most people on average or even good money still wouldn't be able to get the money together for a deposit, even if you went with out

Maybe in London, and possibly the south east. The rest of the country... if you're on 'average or good' money I think it's entirely possible. Heck for two years I was earning about 17k and I saved most of that. But up north/in Wales/the west country, I think the difficulty is getting the 'average or good' wage in the first place, not the house prices.

@Sumo crossed wires I think, apologies. The point of the thread was to see if anyone else is doing the same thing - and it looks like some people are. I don't often talk about this to my friends because they are mostly incredulous that I can actually enjoy myself at all, which is I suppose why I assumed you were thinking the same.

I've seen too many people postpone life for an imagined ideal only to realise things don't work out the way you hope.

I agree with @Hobo that postponing too much can get you into a situation that you may regret. Hardly anybody can really plan and make things work out exactly how they think they want, you have to see where you end up a bit and try to enjoy the ride as you go along. At first I thought the thread was all about total deferred gratification, which, having done quite a bit of myself, I now see is not always a good idea. Actually it's quite a lot about consumerism and I can easily agree with plenty of stuff about that - having useless stuff that I don't use and love makes me miserable and I think it's bad for the world to have such stuff endlessly multiplying.

I found the book "How to Worry Less About Money" interesting. It's from the School of Life Series so it's really self help but you can claim it's philosophy. One thing I took from it was that people get hung up about money, saving it/wasting it/having enough/not enough, but you can just view it as a tool you use for doing economic work and the thing to figure out is whether you have too little/enough/too much for you to flourish in your life. Flourishing can involve doing things, having stuff you like, that's up to you. You just have to figure out if youtube on the toilet, extra bikes, a day a week less work, relatively early retirement, etc is the thing for you and try to adjust your finances accordingly.

£1 fee

Also, there was a tv show called Tightwads a few years ago now. You can find bits of it on youtube. It featured some real tightwads, and also as sort of light relief I think, a friend of a friend who was working a proper job and living in a van. A few years later, he certainly isn't doing that anymore, but not particularly as a result of his tightwaddery.

Not entirely related, but I was chatting to someone in class the other day about the stress of having to finish a project whilst also go to work or not be able to pay rent when an international student-who's a nice enough person but comes across as a bit lazy and immature-who had overheard comes over and starts to tell us how 'embarrassed' he is as he's 25 and never had a job. He also eats out every night of the week "as the local supermarket is so expensive its cheaper than cooking at home" I knew he pays a grand a month in rent already so inevitably comes from a wealthy family, but it still blows my mind.

Without going into Yorkshire miner mode, I got my first job when I was 13, and have lived independently/paid my own way since I was 16, with the exception of student loans that covered a percentage of rent at points where I've studied. I cannot imagine what a different mindset such an experience of going through life to that point would make to someone, both positively and negatively.

Aside from that, I think I'm pretty shit with money as live so far has generally been such a fucking grind that if I didn't indulge in some modest bike swag or have the odd pint/meal out I'd go fucking mental, but obviously career choices etc play into these things as does family support or lack of it. Turning 30 a switch definitely trips in your head though as I've been much more focused on achieving a degree of security than I had been previously when youthful nihilism tells you it's a waste of time anyway.

Anyway, well done on making it work-I wish I'd been encouraged to be a bit more mindful of my financial prospects at an earlier age.

4k television

The most stupid 'because pixels' development in tv ever... 4k is a better resolution on a television only when your eyes are 30cm or less from the screen. Utterly wasteful and stupid! fyi/csb...

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There was a thread like this on another forum I use. There are definitely two types of people: those who 'get' skinflintery and those that don't. Those that don't almost never will, because it's such an alien concept to them.

Considering most people on this forum live in a city where on average two thirds of the monthly pay check goes on rent, I think it's incredibly simplistic and borderline insulting to basically say "you buy so many TV's and watches that you can't afford to buy a house". Saving money is good and all, but I know from personal experience that it just isn't possible when you've only for a couple of hundred quid left over after rent, bills and food. I used to earn very little, I now earn more but not a lot, as it's increased I've never had any more disposable income, the only thing that's changed is I can buy slightly better groceries and maybe a new shirt every other month.
I spent about £600-£1000 this year on flying out to a few countries and doing bike races. That isn't realistically going to make a dent in a house deposit but it does mean there's things to look forward to during the year.
Yes there are people out there that spunk all their money going out to Tiger Tiger every Friday and laying down £150 on drinks then a £50 taxi home but they are few and far between. Trying to enjoy your life off the remaining 20% of your pay check is't being frivolous.

How do you split the bill at a restaurant @lae ?

Make the other half pay...

I've just bought a Waitrose 1 sandwich.

You can keep your Tesco Value lifestyle, I'm all in for the artisan bread and balsamic something something. Nom nom nom.

Yeah, nice sarnies

https://youtu.be/RwAKsADk-aQ

I gave up my car 2 years ago as a trial in advance skinflintery, living in the rural home counties with a minimum 10 mile commute by bike - bloody love it, still no car. Less tendency to pop into shops to buy stuff I didn't know I wanted, too. Like Waitrose sarnies!