Is this a wise way to save money?

Im hoping that if I get accepted for pip my first payment can buy me the things I need to stay regulated and organises(for now) so you think a good idea afterwards to help ward off overthinking etc would be to put it aside in a savings fund so when I do go full time self employed I can have savings for pausing my self when I have bad weeks or sickness or holidays snd mabie also another fund to cover my expenses and investment?

I know my pip is likely to be lower rate daily and no mobility so it won’t be much but it beats stressing over using tok much of my income on travel strings,union fees(which helps me stay insured and get ants money owed etc) and subscriptions to services I need for inspiration and backing track oh and nkt forgetting I’ll need an accountant once a year 

all going well I hope to put 10% aside a week too but this is when I’m earning a lot more than i will be to start 

also I need to save incase my uc decreases which on medium to high musican wages I’ll likely nkt get uc at all apart from possibly rent on mid

  • Roughly if I get ideal income theres a 97% profit before tax and after expenses if I split them weekly equally 

  • I can't say. Only you know your incomings and outgoings, what fixed expenses you have, what sort of lifestyle you want and compromises you want to make, where you want to live, how you want to travel, what you want to save, etc.

    You need to be flexible and sensible. Each month may not be the same.

    If you make £500 in a day you'll save more than if you make £20.

  • Oh I’ll be scaling up when I earn more that doesn’t mean I’ll be spending more it means I’ll invest in my future more but I need to be careful in thr first year 

  • Im thinking to start a 25% 10% 10% thats 25 for tax and ni(I know tax is 20 but it helps cover if I go over the threshold and what I don’t use will go towards tupe 2 or 4 nu 10 for savings and 10 for the buisness and hopefully wirh the remaining 50% i should have a 20% to 40% profit per week for wages (will vary depending on each weeks outgoings) 

    soujd like a decent plan? 

  • Having money set aside so you don't have to panic if something unexpected happens can have a big influence on reducing pressure and consequently stress. Which makes it less likely you may actually need it.

    You still need to have a life, so don't try to save every penny. But do put something aside if you don't need it rather than frittering it away.

  • Im going to be paying class 2 ni for the first 12570 snd class 4 therefore after this is I too of my works pension scheme

    Not to try to scare you but have you seen what the pension payout is currently? it is just over £9k per year. That is not very much money, especially if you have family to consider and don't own your own home outright.

    The age you can collect this is about to jump to 67 years old and the government are looking at pushing this to 70 as the cost to the state is so high and people are not earning enough to pay for the growing number of long lived pensioners.

    My concern is that the burdon of the pension on the state will result in a government making the unpopular move of either reducing the pension or pushing the age beyond 70 again.

    If you can build your own retirement fund then you can retire when you are ready., or at least earlier than you otherwise could.

  • Learning about how the state pension and s private pension both work and are maneged are both big topics to take onboard and apply to your personal circumstances and appropriate pension planning.

    However, it is essential life skills learning and it is difficult to plan your way ahead if you don't yet have the information about where your National Insurance and Pension(s) situation are currently and the options available to you in the future.

    Bitesize topic chunks of learning is sensible, as there is a lot to consider about effectively how you go about investing in yourself to plan ahead for your retirement needs.

    Pension need-to-knows articles:

    https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/discount-pensions/

    The important discussion about how much to save towards your pension:

    https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/discount-pensions/#save

    Also worth reading the section about "Get FREE impartial help and guidance". 

    7 key pension-related general life skills to share (I cannot offer financial advice but hopefully it is enough of a signpost for checking out the topics yourself in appropriate detail):

    1) putting enough each year into your state pension can serm a bit of a mystery at first - but you csn track a government forecast based upon how much money / how many National Insurance years you have paid into (contributed) your state pension to date and what options you have to further influence your state pension. 

    There are 3 essential government services of which to be aware:

    a) to use the government online personal records access and calculation tools you need to use an identity verified login account.  Some people may have previously used a"Gateway" or a "Verify" account ...but the government keeps changing the identity verification logon requirements per service you try to access - so you will need to read the account registration  / login account guidance per government website or app.

    b) how much NI you have contributed so far and how many more years of contributions you would need to achieve a full state pension:

    www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record

    c) your state pension forecast calculation tool (based upon what is currently known about state retirement dates).

    https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

    www.gov.uk/plan-for-retirement

    2) if you have taken up free pension planning advice and it were to suggest you ought to consider setting up a private pension of some type; the challenge involves doing so as early in life as possible and to contribute to as much as is affordable - as soon as possible - because these are designed to be long-term investments and you are trying to kickstart and manage something of enabling an accumulation effect.

    3) when considering a private pension scheme - they sre not at all equal when it comes to running costs, fees and charges - so it is essential to shop around and read the information about charges.

    4) Many people don't seem to know that, if you have a private pension, and you are not a tax payer in a given tax year, you can still contribute an amount of your money into your fund per year and it will be topped up (your pension provider claims tax relief on your behalf and adds it to your fund) with the tax you would have paid (see the section "If you do not pay Income Tax"):

    https://www.gov.uk/tax-on-your-private-pension/pension-tax-relief#:~:text=Your%20pension%20provider%20can%20claim,no%20earnings%20in%20that%20year

    5) If you have worked for previous employers over the years and know from you payslip and P60 that you contributed to a pension provider - but have lost track of how to contact the pension administration team involved in managing the pension related to prior employment (and how to login to check your fund) - the Pension Tracing Service is a place to start (so you csn find out how your pension fund for that employer is performing and make decisions about management of your fund now and in the future):

    https://www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details

    6) When you have National Insurance / Income Tax / Pension questions - usually the safest place to start your research is on the government website:

    https://www.gov.uk/

    7) The "new State Pension" (as opposed to the "basic State Pension" or the "Additional:State Pension"):

    "You’ll be able to claim the new State Pension when you reach State Pension age if you’re:

    • a man born on or after 6 April 1951
    • a woman born on or after 6 April 1953

    If you were born before, these rules do not apply. Instead, you’ll get the basic State Pension. You may also get Additional State Pension."

    www.gov.uk/new-state-pension

    For those people within our community who would prefer an Easy Read document about the new State Pension; this is available here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/easy-read-new-state-pension

  • As a Sole Trader (self-employed):

    1) plan and action your detailed record keeping in support of explaining your income sources and tax liabilities (the HMRC website has guidance on what is required)

    2) regularly save towards your HMRC Self Assessment Income Tax Bill.

    Most people do not need fancy software to manage this process - but using the following might be pragmatic suggestions:

    - a simple spreadsheet / cash memo book

    - a separate business savings account

    - the HMRC online Self Assessment tax calculator to estimate your Self Assessment tax bill

    This is the information and route to the HMRC online Self Assessment tax calculator:

    https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-calculator

    Here is HMRC guidance on understanding how to pay your Self Assessment tax bill:

    https://www.gov.uk/pay-self-assessment-tax-bill

    There is HMRC general help with tax:

    https://www.gov.uk/tax-help

    However, many people may not be aware there is also additional help from HMRC available for people with additional needs who might benefit from extra support or communication in a particular way:

    www.gov.uk/get-help-hmrc-extra-support

    Here are some background information articles to help bring this rather dry topic into sharper focus.

    https://www.money.co.uk/business/guides/how-much-to-put-aside-for-tax#:~:text=How%20to%20save%20for%20tax,income%20tax%20and%20NI%20bill.

    https://www.gosimpletax.com/blog/how-much-should-you-save-for-your-tax-bill/

    For those within our community who navigate life managing a mental health condition; this guide and an organisation are worth knowing about - in case financial matters are at risk of overwhelming your life circumstances:

    https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/mental-health-guide/

    https://www.moneyandmentalhealth.org/

  • Im going to be paying class 2 ni for the first 12570 snd class 4 therefore after this is I too of my works pension scheme 

    as for weeks off I require 2 weeks at Xmas and 2 throughout the year but also I need to consider sick days etc 

    being a sole trader these percentages can come from any of my income really I plan to have a minimum of 3 months wages set aside before I go full time and to keep up with that throughout my carrer 

    and if I do end up being a higher earner I won’t be spending too much on Luxeri items too often 

    I won’t do the whole live within yoir means I will live not too diffent to how I already do that includes getting the best value for money and buying things that are good but also a good price 

    I think self employed people need to be better wirh money in some ways 

    i plan on not paying my self a wage for a while unless my uc drops off and when I do pay my self a wage I will do all my outgoings for that week and then take my weekly wage minus any investments or savings to make sure A I have cash flow consistently and B I have a back up plan for non wage weeks 

    my plan is to start local and see where I go from there too 

  • all going well I hope to put 10% aside a week

    To think if this is sensible, it would mean if you worked 50 weeks a year, you could afford 5 weeks of a break using your savings.

    That is a bit less than permanent staff get in companies - they get I think about 24 days plus 12 bank holidays, so just over 7 working weeks.

    Are you saving anything towards your pension? I know it seem a long way away but remember the state pension is looking like it is moving to 70 or over in the next decade or tow under the current government discussions.

    I would be tempted to set aside 15% for contingency funds and another 10% towards your pension.