World’s full of ‘what-ifs’ where finances are concerned

Talia Loderick, The Independent

Financial regrets. I’ve had a few. The biggest? Not buying a house 10 years ago. Why? Well, for a start, I was employed. And getting a mortgage is a lot more straightforward when you’re employed versus self-employed, as I am now. What’s more, property prices were more affordable 10 years ago. The average UK house price in August 2014 was a smidge under £192,000. Average price now, according to the latest published data from the Office of National Statistics? £285,000. That’s a 48 per cent increase in 10 years. Ten years ago, I could have afforded to buy the two-bed terraced home I have happily rented for the past decade. Now? Not a chance!

As I weigh up my current homeowner options, and see that what a two-bed terrace used to go for will barely stretch to a one-bed flat in the same area, it’s hard not to regret not prioritising buying a home 10 years ago. I’m not the only one kicking their past self. I asked people to share their financial regrets with me on Instagram and homeownership came out top.

“Not buying a house when I was younger and actually did have savings” was one, and “renting instead of buying a house earlier in life” was another. One respondent explained how opting out of her employer’s savings-related share scheme cost her thousands of pounds and a potential house deposit.

“When I was at university, I opted in to my employer’s share-save scheme. l left after paying in for four years and 11 months just so I could have the same leaving do as two of my friends. “I cashed out a month before the maturity date and got around £4,000. Waiting a month more would have added another £1,000 but waiting a couple of years more would have turned it into about £12,000. “When I look back, I can’t help but think that a couple of good decisions at 22 could have got me a house deposit by 25.”

There were a range of other financial regrets, some serious, some more light-hearted, including: “not trying to conceive earlier. Two IVF babies = eternally grateful but expensive”; “not ever having had a workplace pension and still not having sorted a private one”; “getting a student loan while in uni. Still haven’t paid it off despite graduating 20 years ago”, and “my mum giving away all our full set of NatWest piggybanks to a charity shop”. More than half (51 per cent) of people have financial regrets, according to a survey earlier this year. These include not saving more, spending money on pointless things, and even not marrying someone with more money.

One of my friends shared how a failed wedding left her £20,000 in debt. “I was in my early twenties and naive. I had a good job, and better credit than he did, so I was happy to put the wedding costs — venue, catering, my dress, his suit — on my credit card. “Six months before the wedding, he broke up with me. I was heartbroken — and £20,000 in debt. I tried to get the money from him, but he never paid a penny or apologised. And as the debt was in my name, I was ultimately responsible for it. It took me six years to pay it back.” Then there are those who regret not spending more, as one friend explained. “I have always played it safe, worked hard — too hard — and saved more than I needed to, not recognising the point at which I was financially secure soon enough.

“I now realise that I would have had just as comfortable a future if I’d stepped back from the hours of overwork five years earlier. I also realise I could have treated myself more — something I still struggle to do.” Hindsight is a wonderful thing, they say. We can always beat ourselves up for the things we didn’t do, the experiences we missed out on. But we can’t live in regret. Instead of rueing past decisions, learning from financial regret to set ourselves up for future success is key to moving forward.

The friend who regrets not spending more on herself? She’s now on a grown-up gap year in her mid-thirties and is travelling the world. The friend £20,000 in debt after a failed wedding? She made sure that in her next relationship, when she bought a house with her partner, they were both legally financially protected in the event of a split. As for me? Well, I can’t change the fact that I didn’t buy a home 10 years ago. But I can make sure that when I do come to buy, I’m in the best financial position possible.