by Magical Penny on November 15, 2010
“I don’t trust pensions” exclaimed a colleague of mine the other day at work.
At that very moment I wanted to spit out my mouthful of water all over my desk.
She continued:
“I’ve been missing out on 3% of my salary for all the time I’ve been here but I just don’t trust pensions”
I carefully swallowed my water before shaking my head in disbelief.
I was shaking at the gravity of this revelation. Well, maybe I wasn’t shaking but I was certainly fired up with evangelical zeal to get this woman to start saving in a retirement vehicle!
She was consciously and deliberately missing out on 3% of a good salary, and the potential growth of that money over the years…the numbers were simply mind-blowing.
We were having what quite possibly could have been a £100 000+ discussion right here!
Continue reading to make sure you don’t miss out on thousands!
by Magical Penny on November 10, 2010
Frostbite is never fun. Even if you are saving a bit of money
My daily commute to and from work over the last couple of days has not been the best. It’s been raining for two days straight and it feels well and truly like mid-winter in the UK. It’s been raining so much my commute now includes navigating and crossing what looks to be a river.
On a bike.
Saving Money on the Big Things
Not having a car is one of the things that has set me apart from most of my peers since university. Whilst it has not always been convenient, it has allowed me to save significantly more than a lot of my friends who cite having a car as one of their biggest expenses.
Whilst being frugal and saving on the little things adds up over time, saving on the big things like your living arrangements or a car is where you can have the biggest impact. The effect on your finances is immediate and meaningful. It has afforded me a few smaller regular indulgences because my larger monthly expenses are much smaller.
This was a conscious decision when I first started making my way in the world as a (semi) independent adult.
Read more to learn how the decision allowed me to double my savings
by Magical Penny on November 2, 2010
Hello and welcome to this week’s Festival of Frugality. I’m Adam, your host for the festival this week.
Introducing: Festival of Frugality –Kraftwerk -Video Edition
by Magical Penny on October 28, 2010
I’m constantly amazed with what the internet is helping people achieve.
We’re more connected than ever and it’s allowing us all to share ideas, communicate with like-minded (and differently-minded) people, and see things from thousands of fresh perspectives, in ways the world has never seen before.
If you’re not constantly and totally inspired every time you come online, quite bluntly, you’re doing it wrong!
Good ideas spread
One of my favourite things about the internet is that, as a revolutionary medium of communication, it can take a little idea and send it around the world almost instantaneously and within moments that idea becomes so much more.
Find out what all the fuss is about!
by Magical Penny on October 25, 2010
When you think of a pension, what do you think of? What is it exactly?
As part of Magical Penny’s pension series, this article will teach you what a pension is and how you can benefit from understanding about how they work.
Like most financial products, a pension isn’t much in itself. In fact a pension is nothing but a tax position, a hollow shell of a product.
Envelopes
One great way to think about financial products is that they are like envelopes. They come in all different shapes and sizes and each have their specific uses. On their own there’s nothing special about them, but fill them with money and things start getting interesting.
Click here to let me explain: your rich future self with thank you
by Magical Penny on October 21, 2010
by Magical Penny on October 18, 2010
I’ve known my friend Andrew from our school days together but since then we’ve led quite different lives. For me, as a single 20 something renter it’s relatively easy to save money but not everyone is in my position.
With a house and growing family I often turn to Andrew for a valuable fresh perspective on all things money. I have a great deal of respect for him and his last post, ‘Why Being Bad can be Good’ was a real hit on Magical Penny so I’m sure you’ll enjoy today’s guest post and find it of value.
And please, don’t let any Star Trek reference below put you off!
Over to you, Andrew.
Me? Oh, I HATE Money!
By Andrew Knight
I struggled for the title of this article, ‘Lessons from Star Trek’, ‘A brief History of money’ and ‘Isn’t it just a lot of zeros?’ all came to mind. I went with the abstract title above because we’ve all said it and we’ve all felt it. Can we live in a world without money, budgets and financial restraint?
Click here now to find out!
by Magical Penny on October 15, 2010
If your life is anything like mine it’s busy.
There’s not enough time in a day to do everything.
We have to prioritise everything we do; we do it thousands of times a day, and ultimately prioritisation defines our lives: having a firm grasp of what should or should not be prioritised is an integral part of success.
Find out how to prioritise your spending and master your money by clicking here
by Magical Penny on October 11, 2010
Whilst I would love for you to spend your time digging through the Magical Penny archives there’s a lot to be said for expanding your reading and getting lots of different perspectives on the subject of growing your pennies.
If you really want to dominate your finances then I highly recommend reading some other sites that are full to bursting with value and insight.
But what are the best things to read and where do you find them?
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by Magical Penny on October 7, 2010
Moments before sitting down to write today’s Magical Penny post I came across an article explaining a current viral facebook message, created to raise awareness of National Breast Cancer Month. Suffice to say, it got me thinking about the role marketing has in charitable giving, just as marketing has an effect on the level of discretionary spending we do in our daily lives. So today’s post is a little different to the norm.
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Is delaying spending and saving money delaying happiness?