uk-preppers.co.uk

grenfell wrote:

sethorly wrote:This is an area I have expertise in. The "standard" amount of emergency cash is 3 times your net monthly income, but you can get away with 3 times your monthly outgoings to start with. So for instance, if you bring in £1,500 after taxes every month and of that spend £1,000 on necessary outgoings, your first goal should be £3,000 in cash, with your second goal being £4,500. For extra comfort go for 3 times the gross monthly amount.

You may agree with me that having this cash somewhere instantly and easily accessible is of more importance than chasing the best rates, in which case you may wish to place this cash in a dedicated joint account with your partner, or in a dedicated savings account, or in a cash-ISA,.

Interesting thread to reread . I wouldn't disagree with what sethorly has written one bit. I will ask one question for clarity more than anything else.
When we talk here of emergency cash and having 3 months salary can we be a little clearer as to what form that takes? Do people on here keep all that in a instance access account or all in a carrier bag under the bed or do people suggest perhaps a months worth in physical cash with the rest in the bank. Not critising anyone's methods , just asking to see how others approach this. For what it's worth I keep a few thousand in physical cash and have a few years worth in various accounts.

Well done on that, you're doing better than me although I like to keep a few hundred in the house, it fluctuates. We don't have much in the way of savings although I do have assets that far outweigh our debts and we're taking steps to massively beat down the credit cards. A large wedge of cash sat in the bank would be nice but we're just not at that place in our lives right now. We will at some point and I'll also improve my security to keep money at home, if I've got it in the bank its just as well having it to hand with the interest rates being so low.

diamond lil wrote:I don't keep anything in the bank, I take it out the day it's paid in and keep it in cash. I haven't got anything like a year's outgoings, but I haven't got any cards or any debt either. And I've been so skint in the distant past that we had nothing in the house to eat but real absolute basics - egg & chips for tea with a jam sammich for afters. Which is totally fine if you're hungry I think it's one thing being short of money - but it's another thing entirely being up to the eyeballs in debt and credit cards. I couldn't live with that personally.

No debt. That is our attitude too.I have a much smaller income than 4 years ago.That is through choice though.We have enough to cover us for a couple of months,but that's it at the moment.We are comfortable with the house paid, pantry full of grub and a fire in the hearth.And ENOUGH money coming in.

It would be nice to have a good old stash in the bank,but that's life,and we have been really hard up in the past.We consider ourselves quite well off these days.

Good for you Diamond! It's always worth learning to enjoy a frugal lifestyle. You can make loads of stuff out of flour eggs butter and half a dozen other things from the reduced aisle. I always remember a young woman at my old work who had a horse, two vehicles, expensive clothes and shoes and moaned that she was poor! I've got two arms and two legs, people who love me, my favourite old jeans and a roof over my head. Heck I'm "rich"!

I lived in a strictly cash economy until the early 2000s, never had more than the basic personal account and chequebook. Then I got a credit card, then another, and loan to pay them off and so on. Mrs Shocks likewise. Went through bankruptcy a few years back and harrowing though it was to do, the sense of relief afterwards was immense.

Now we owe nothing to anyone, live strictly within our meagre means and have no intention of getting any credit ever again. As I have said elsewhere, I have some gold and silver, physical metal, stashed away for dire emergencies but thats it really. We are trying to get some savings together and have a bit, so we will continue the way we are, god willing, never a lender or a borrower, once bitten and all that.

shocker wrote:I lived in a strictly cash economy until the early 2000s, never had more than the basic personal account and chequebook. Then I got a credit card, then another, and loan to pay them off and so on. Mrs Shocks likewise. Went through bankruptcy a few years back and harrowing though it was to do, the sense of relief afterwards was immense.

Now we owe nothing to anyone, live strictly within our meagre means and have no intention of getting any credit ever again. As I have said elsewhere, I have some gold and silver, physical metal, stashed away for dire emergencies but thats it really. We are trying to get some savings together and have a bit, so we will continue the way we are, god willing, never a lender or a borrower, once bitten and all that.

Some years ago I also went through a personal bankruptcy. The whole experience was harrowing, yes. Particularly as my work colleagues got read about it in the local rag. The relief afterwards is indescribable though and it gave me a new lease on life.
Other than my half of the mortgage and a old student loan, I'm 'debt free'. I now only spend what I can afford and am working hard on savings. I keep a modest amount of emergency cash to hand, and try to funnel a lot of what's 'spare' into premium bonds.
I do quite well on those and have more then a few grand invested there.
If an emergency arose that meant I needed that cash in a week, then I can get it. If we need it quicker, we would throw in the wife's credit card, and I draw down the prem bonds to pay it off.
Cash in the house equals about 400 quid. Slowly building that to 1000.

Premium Bonds...I wasnt aware they were still going ! I asked around a while ago and people laughed and said that was all years ago, and so on. Is the computer still called Ernie ? Was it ever ? Where does one buy and what is the minimum ? If you would be so kind

Yep Premium Bonds are still going strong and yes ERNIE still generates the numbers. I have some too, I generally win between £50 and £300 a year, a better investment than any savings account.

shocker wrote:Premium Bonds...I wasnt aware they were still going ! I asked around a while ago and people laughed and said that was all years ago, and so on. Is the computer still called Ernie ? Was it ever ? Where does one buy and what is the minimum ? If you would be so kind

NS&I website for info. I think you can start off with an initial invest of £100, but after that can buy them in £50 lots.