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How much is in your bank account...?

acearchie

acearchie

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 15, 2006
3,264
104
Now I know around me this is a taboo topic but I figured with the supposed anonymity provided online that people might be a bit more open.

I am a student in the UK and still don't really understand the true value of money as I have yet to have had a paying job for longer than 4 months.

I am also lucky/unlucky enough to live with my parents whilst studying as I can't afford the London rental prices plus if I can save the money then why not.

I was wondering what people keep as their safety in their bank account. How much do you try and always keep in there for a rainy day/emergency (for example a new boiler).

I have always been a saver of money so I suppose some people will have lots saved up even if they don't necessarily have a high paid job.

In essence if you don't want to share how much you have I wonder if we could have a discussion on money in general and maybe how much you spend a week to maintain your current lifestyle?
 
mooblie said:
So, are you going to kick off with your balance?
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Yep sort of left that one out.

Well at the moment I am just south of £6,000. I am contemplating a masters degree and whilst it would be really nice to spend it on having lots of fun I realise that if I save now it'll pay off in the future.

I'm not an impulse buyer and tend to save for the more expensive things rather than buying small things. I probably spend about £40 a week on food and about £30-40ish on travel

P.s. before someone picks up on it. When I first started university living in london would have been too expensive especially since at that time I had no source of income.
 
In my liquid bank account I have just about 2-years salary. I used to keep less but with the uncertain economic state we are in I decided to lower my 401k contributions slightly and keep more liquid in a high yield checking account. And no, I'm not going to tell you the amount of money that equals.
 
ucfgrad93 said:
Sorry, but that is none of your business.
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I am looking for a more general view. What do you consider a good amount for an emergency fund etc or would you rely on credit.

I see posts around the web about would you buy an iPad "if you had the money" whilst I am not earning that much I do "have the money" but if I bought lots of things like that I would have none.

I suppose I'm just looking to try and discuss a thought that popped into my head.
 
acearchie said:
I am looking for a more general view. What do you consider a good amount for an emergency fund etc or would you rely on credit.
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Anything less than 6 months to a year of living expenses is setting yourself up for failure. I purchase nothing on credit. If I can't afford it, I don't buy it.
 
WRP said:
Anything less than 6 months to a year of living expenses is setting yourself up for failure. I purchase nothing on credit. If I can't afford it, I don't buy it.
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This is perfect advice and the sort of answer I was looking for. I assume that you are in a steady job although you mentioned that with the economic climate it could go any direction.

Probably a lot of the work I do will remain freelance and therefore it can sometimes be good and sometimes not so good, but I suppose that is something I will figure out when I come to it!
 
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acearchie said:
This is perfect advice and the sort of answer I was looking for. I assume that you are in a steady job although you mentioned that with the economic climate it could go any direction.

Probably a lot of the work I do will remain freelance and therefore it can sometimes be good and sometimes not so good, but I suppose that is something I will figure out when I come to it!
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I was freelance for years. That is how I learned this valuable lesson. I needed to absorb slow periods. A few years back I was owed for 7 months of work without getting paid. Sure, I was working that whole time, but dealing with slow to pay clients. That's rent, equipment, food, electricity, everything coming out of pocket with nothing coming in.

As I am now 33 I decided to get off the freelance tip and go get the guaranteed big bucks my experience allows with rather good security. I do however understand the world economy is not really hot at the moment so I would rather be safe than sorry. My job is secure but one never knows. As soon as you get comfortable is when **** hits the fan.

When I was in college I didn't have your bank account, but I also paid my own way and also lived on my own so every dime I worked for went to bills. Living paycheck to paycheck sucks.
 
WRP said:
When I was in college I didn't have your bank account, but I also paid my own way and also lived on my own so every dime I worked for went to bills. Living paycheck to paycheck sucks.
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I actually started at another university and it wasn't for me. Here I was living on my own and paying for myself but I still got the saving bug and was able to always keep some money tucked away. I think it's just a habit that I spend a low percentage of what I could spend.
 
WRP said:
Anything less than 6 months to a year of living expenses is setting yourself up for failure. I purchase nothing on credit. If I can't afford it, I don't buy it.
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I have a coworker that says the same thing and I find it interesting. I don't think purchasing on credit is always a bad decision - as long as you know you could afford whatever it is you're purchasing.

For example I recently bought a new car and the interest rate I got on the loan was silly low. Low enough that it made sense to take the loan and invest the money I would have spent on the car, getting a higher interest rate on the money invested than I was paying on the car loan.
 
I have a reserve of 1 year's wages, which in my case is equal to 2 years of living expenses. Most of it is in bank accounts, but I tend to keep 15 to 20 % in gold.
 
Seven figures.



With a minus in front of it. I bought an apartment, so I techincally won't have money in the bank for quite a few years.


EDIT: I am a student doing a Bachelor degree, so I guess we could relate. I don't have an emergency fund, I just make sure to have enough cash to pay my monthly bills and have food. Luckily, I have solutions available to me if everything goes down the drain.
 
Knowing my numbers would be of no help to you, as we are at opposite ends of working-life.

The cautions mentioned above seem wise in your situation, if you can swing it with your cash-flow.
 
Heilage said:
Seven figures.



With a minus in front of it. I bought an apartment, so I techincally won't have money in the bank for quite a few years.
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I hope for your sake that is seven figures in Norwegian money. Unless you earn six figures per year in dollars, of course.
 
I have several years living expenses saved up. I save equivalent to about an imac each month, yet have a 2 year old mac mini as my main machine. I save up for each thing I buy, and only buy it when I have saved up enough.

Getting out of debt (except mortgage) was the best thing I ever did, sorry if I'm all ex-smoker about it!
 
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