Donate to Remove ads

Got a credit card? use our Credit Card & Finance Calculators

Thanks to johnstevens77,Bhoddhisatva,scotia,Anonymous,Cornytiv34, for Donating to support the site

Increasing your Net Worth

Think it, Plan it, Do it
Golam
Lemon Pip
Posts: 59
Joined: August 11th, 2019, 9:35 pm
Has thanked: 192 times
Been thanked: 38 times

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#450815

Postby Golam » October 17th, 2021, 4:34 pm

Best financial decision was setting up my own business.
Best 'tool', by far, Excel.

Must add that Lemon Fool has been a great resource in helping the establishment of and the building of my finances post retirement.

DrFfybes
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 3731
Joined: November 6th, 2016, 10:25 pm
Has thanked: 1171 times
Been thanked: 1964 times

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#450832

Postby DrFfybes » October 17th, 2021, 5:13 pm

Aminatidi wrote:Spend less.

Save more.

Invest more.

Don't underestimate the difference not buying all that Manure you don't really need can make.


This, plus

Be born relatively late in life to 'comfortably off' parents.
Marry someone in a similar position
Don't breed.

Obviously it might be a bit late for some or all of these.

TBH for us it was a house sale falling through in 2004. We really wanted the new one so begged, borrowed, and Stoozed 5x joint salary. For over 6 months the interest payments were more than my takehome. Then the old place sold, the mortgage plummetted, and we realised we hadn't really missed out on much living on one salary. So we continued to do so.

Fast forwards 16 years, a few payrises later and haing 20x annual spend in savings was quite feasible, and that was before a couple of nice inheritances.

But those 6 months or so were the one where we realised there was a lot of stuff we just didn't need to spend on.

Paul

JohnB
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 2497
Joined: January 15th, 2017, 9:20 am
Has thanked: 677 times
Been thanked: 997 times

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#450833

Postby JohnB » October 17th, 2021, 5:17 pm

Becoming a contractor and discovering salary sacrifice SIPPs

PhaseThree

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#450837

Postby PhaseThree » October 17th, 2021, 5:34 pm

katie wrote:What’s the best financial decision you’ve made that helped boost your net worth? Also, what tool do you use to keep track of your net worth?


There have been many over the years (Moving to France then Switzerland, then California, saving constantly, buying a house at the right time etc.) but the one key financial decision I took was in my mid-teens.
I invested my entire net-worth at the time (~£50) in a Sinclair ZX81 computer kit and a soldering iron. Everything else is a direct(ish) result of this decision.

AleisterCrowley
Lemon Half
Posts: 6381
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 11:35 am
Has thanked: 1880 times
Been thanked: 2026 times

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#450847

Postby AleisterCrowley » October 17th, 2021, 6:37 pm

What’s the best financial decision you’ve made that helped boost your net worth?
Company pension
ShareSave second


I use Excel to track everything - not perfect, but it's what I use in my 'day job' so I know my way around it

Mike4
Lemon Half
Posts: 7084
Joined: November 24th, 2016, 3:29 am
Has thanked: 1637 times
Been thanked: 3791 times

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#450859

Postby Mike4 » October 17th, 2021, 7:08 pm

Lootman wrote:
dealtn wrote:
pje16 wrote:Thre will be some (probably more than few) Fools who will benefit (greatly) from the higher rate tax relief on the way into their pension and pay only basic rate on the way out

The richer, and more successful ones, will pay more than the basic rate though.

Yes, my pensions alone would be almost enough to push me into higher-rate tax. There is also the risk that income tax rates will be higher in the future. Of course there is also the risk that the tax benefits of iSAs will be diminished.


Yes and not only that, but it seems in retirement we will in future have to pay NI too! How does that work then? Isn't NI the whole point of NI to fund our pensions?

Or have I got that wrong too...?

pje16
Lemon Half
Posts: 6050
Joined: May 30th, 2021, 6:01 pm
Has thanked: 1843 times
Been thanked: 2066 times

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#450873

Postby pje16 » October 17th, 2021, 7:32 pm

Mike4 wrote:Isn't NI the whole point of NI to fund our pensions?

Yes and other benefits as well
https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance/w ... nce-is-for

vagrantbrain
Lemon Slice
Posts: 316
Joined: November 17th, 2016, 7:12 pm
Has thanked: 112 times
Been thanked: 159 times

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#451105

Postby vagrantbrain » October 18th, 2021, 8:27 pm

1) Finding TMF about 2002/3 and having a lightbulb moment that spending more than I earned wasn't going to end well long term and taking in the collective investment wisdom there and here.

2) Dragging myself off the tools and into a management position. Bores me to death some days but the doubling of income and being able to comfortably invest >25% of my income makes up for it.

greenrobbie
Posts: 29
Joined: July 10th, 2017, 3:26 pm
Has thanked: 23 times
Been thanked: 26 times

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#451109

Postby greenrobbie » October 18th, 2021, 9:03 pm

Taking out Permanent Health Insurance for both my wife and myself on starting a mortgage. We had to claim on the policy within 2 or 3 years of starting it. Without its payments over a period of 28 years we would have been close to destitution, as opposed to being moderately comfortably-off.

rhys
Lemon Pip
Posts: 66
Joined: May 2nd, 2019, 10:55 am
Has thanked: 43 times
Been thanked: 35 times

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#451361

Postby rhys » October 19th, 2021, 5:15 pm

Didn't know what I wanted to do in life so got a physics degree, since I reckoned it would keep my options wide open.

Five years later left employment for contracting. That step precluded me from the management ladder, but did allow me to retire 26 years later. I realised very early that saving a little more than the next man, each month, let me feel more and more financially secure. During one contract, a colleague ventured that she'd decided to take taxis only having just landed a well paid job. Meanwhile I stuck to LBYM with apartment rentals, cars and fashions. Never skimped on food or wine, though. But to each is own. Fortunately married a very well educated woman who came from a poor background, and has always watched the pennies.

chair
Posts: 2
Joined: October 14th, 2021, 3:24 pm

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#451752

Postby chair » October 20th, 2021, 6:47 pm

Is excel always everyone's tool of choice? Has anyone tried any budgeting apps or are they just not worth it

Hypster
Lemon Slice
Posts: 256
Joined: November 5th, 2016, 9:53 am
Has thanked: 1206 times
Been thanked: 108 times

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#451871

Postby Hypster » October 21st, 2021, 7:24 am

chair wrote:Is excel always everyone's tool of choice? Has anyone tried any budgeting apps or are they just not worth it


I used Microsoft Money from 1995 to 2009 and have been using YNAB since then.

Darka
Lemon Slice
Posts: 773
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 2:18 pm
Has thanked: 1819 times
Been thanked: 704 times

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#451872

Postby Darka » October 21st, 2021, 7:41 am

I use Excel for tracking our portfolio and YNAB for budgeting.

gryffron
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 3605
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 10:00 am
Has thanked: 550 times
Been thanked: 1584 times

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#452462

Postby gryffron » October 23rd, 2021, 11:34 am

chair wrote:Is excel always everyone's tool of choice? Has anyone tried any budgeting apps or are they just not worth it

No. OpenOffice Calc is free*.

Other people's software never seems to do exactly what you want. Spreadsheets are configurable to do everything.

* Actually Calc does have a few annoying foibles compared to Excel. Particularly the need to click to click twice before typing in an inactive window, and illogical keyboard navigation. But not so much I would pay the ongoing subscription fee for Excel.

Gryff

stevensfo
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 3435
Joined: November 5th, 2016, 8:43 am
Has thanked: 3805 times
Been thanked: 1398 times

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#452628

Postby stevensfo » October 24th, 2021, 11:07 am

gryffron wrote:
chair wrote:Is excel always everyone's tool of choice? Has anyone tried any budgeting apps or are they just not worth it

No. OpenOffice Calc is free*.

Other people's software never seems to do exactly what you want. Spreadsheets are configurable to do everything.

* Actually Calc does have a few annoying foibles compared to Excel. Particularly the need to click to click twice before typing in an inactive window, and illogical keyboard navigation. But not so much I would pay the ongoing subscription fee for Excel.

Gryff



Have you tried Libre Office? I used Open Office for many years before reading that it was no longer being developed, whereas its offshoot, Libre Office, was. I admit to mainly using only the Word function, but found it a huge improvement, so maybe the Excel bit is as well?

Steve

PS Not sure about the UK, but in Italy, you can legally buy Microsoft Office licences on Ebay for 5 - 10€. These are the older standalone packages, not the 365 versions.

TUK020
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 2039
Joined: November 5th, 2016, 7:41 am
Has thanked: 762 times
Been thanked: 1175 times

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#453825

Postby TUK020 » October 28th, 2021, 11:24 am

stevensfo wrote:Have you tried Libre Office? I used Open Office for many years before reading that it was no longer being developed, whereas its offshoot, Libre Office, was. I admit to mainly using only the Word function, but found it a huge improvement, so maybe the Excel bit is as well?

Steve


Now converted to Libre Office (running on Linux Mint) and am very happy with it.

csearle
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 4762
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 2:24 pm
Has thanked: 4809 times
Been thanked: 2083 times

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#455022

Postby csearle » November 2nd, 2021, 6:12 am

katie wrote:What’s the best financial decision you’ve made that helped boost your net worth? Also, what tool do you use to keep track of your net worth?
Becoming a contractor abroad for a while. Discovering the High-Yield Portfolio (HYP) on TMF and implementing it. Living largely frugally.

Use Excel for the flexibility it allows in calculating and presenting things just as I want them.

C.

AWOL
Lemon Slice
Posts: 563
Joined: October 20th, 2020, 5:08 pm
Has thanked: 366 times
Been thanked: 277 times

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#455159

Postby AWOL » November 2nd, 2021, 3:42 pm

Darka wrote:I use Excel for tracking our portfolio and YNAB for budgeting.


$84 a year, does it go down on you too or just help you track your budget?

AWOL
Lemon Slice
Posts: 563
Joined: October 20th, 2020, 5:08 pm
Has thanked: 366 times
Been thanked: 277 times

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#455162

Postby AWOL » November 2nd, 2021, 3:51 pm

katie wrote:What’s the best financial decision you’ve made that helped boost your net worth? Also, what tool do you use to keep track of your net worth?


I decided to invest in equities, keep my costs low, and trust in time in the market rather than driving up trading costs by trying to time the market. The trick is not to win, but rather not to lose the game of investing.

I haven't never calculated my net worth although it's not difficult as I have a spreadsheet that tracks my investments current and historic value as well as calculating what salary I shall pay myself and tax on that salary (it was Excel when I worked, it's now Libreoffice Calc) so I could just add my non-investment assets to get a net worth and subtract my debts (two holidays booked but not paid for).

Darka
Lemon Slice
Posts: 773
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 2:18 pm
Has thanked: 1819 times
Been thanked: 704 times

Re: Increasing your Net Worth

#455178

Postby Darka » November 2nd, 2021, 4:29 pm

AWOL wrote:
Darka wrote:I use Excel for tracking our portfolio and YNAB for budgeting.


$84 a year, does it go down on you too or just help you track your budget?


It's even worse now, they have just increased the price to $98.99 per year, or if you pay monthly then it's "only" $14.99 per month.
I get a lifetime 10% discount (as I used ynab 4) but even so, this is pushing it and the app is not that good.

I just wish there was a better UK option.


Return to “Your Tomorrow Starts Today”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests