To think we aren't saving enough...

I’m not going into exact figures but I save all of dh’s wage and half of mine. However as people have said everyone’s life experience are different. I’m good at managing money, we have very low bills and after years of having no money and seriously worried about our future and what would happen to the children I am very cautious about money. Within the next two months I will hit my target of £100,000. I know for wealthy people that isn’t a big deal. For me it is incredible and unbelievable.

Assuming your pensions are covered separately I think that's fine. We have a similar income and don't currently save that much, our kids are still younger and I've always sought to prioritise their childhoods due to having children young. There is little point in us saving up tens of thousands in the bank whilst we have a family now. We have a mortgage, we have excellent pensions and insurance, stable jobs and we have a plan for university, we also have flexible enough outgoings should those unforeseen issues arise. Long term saving just isn't high up in our priorities right now.

Wow! £6k a month. Is a very good income and saving £500 a month seems sufficient enough if this is after you have put the money in your pension pots.

My husband retired at 50 and I no longer work so we live off investments and our BTL property so it’s roughly £2500 a month. But we have no mortgage but we manage. My husband plays golf and we have motorhome but it’s sufficient to live off if we aren’t wasting money on unnecessary items. We are savvy and don’t waste. We have solar panels and only use the tumble dryer when the panels are generating. We turned the boiler stat down and reduced shower time.

i would definitely look at what you are spending and why.

If you think you are spending too much on food or other variable expenses you could transfer say, £750 into savings and see if you can manage. If you can, great, you have saved an extra £250. If you can’t then you can move the £250 back.

We always do this and pay ourselves first. The direct debit into savings goes out straight after pay day. If we have to use some of it we transfer it back. However I hate doing this as I like to see my savings mount up. This motivates me to use up food in the freezer etc and try to last until pay day without taking the extra amount out. If the money was left in my current account I would be more likely to do another food shop or order a takeaway. If I have to move the money back out of savings it makes me less likely to fritter it away. Every few months we transfer money from this easy access savings account into ISA’s or longer term savings accounts.

What is your definition of savings?

Is it never to be touched savings or to cover car repair, holidays etc?

I think a certain properly set aside fund is wise when you clearly have large commitments in terms of outgoings and presumably the type of job where the recruitment process is lengthy should you ever be out of work.

You need to sit down and work out the fixed monthly costs, then set a budget for food, fun etc. There are good calculators for this that include annual expenses people often forget.

Whatever is left I would transfer out on pay day so you are less tempted to spend it.

I think most of us feel quite financially vulnerable coming up to summer holidays each year. Going on any sort of holiday costs £k these days (unless you are subsidised). Plus you’ll be exhausted subsidising uni costs come the end of the academic year.

Just remember- these things will pass…

I think you need to sit down and do a budget. I resisted and resisted but it's life changing. I now decide what I spend rather than wondering what I've spent it on. I know what "disposable" money I have available each month and put money I want to save into the savings account first. As soon as I get paid.

As part of my budget I have savings goals, long term and short term, that I put money away for each month too. I also have a good budget in a separate account so I know what I have spend on that, as I agree it's so easy to overspend on food.

What is your monthly expenditure on the following:-

1. mortgage
2. cars
3. debts
4. school fees

Do you have a substantial pot of savings that you are adding £500 to every month. 3-6 months worth of outgoings is the amount that is usually quoted as being optimal. Do you have this?

I've just used a huge spreadsheet to financially audit myself down to the last penny. I've identified popping into subway for an after school snack, and small top up shops as my main drains and where I can pull back. So I'm popping the excess into a savings account before I can get to it. I've planned to save £6K by next year and it's begun with taking the £40-odd quid I had spare each month into a savings account.

I earn £20K/year in total after benefits and tax.

It's all about personal circumstances and what you are willing to give up.

We're on combined £4.5k per month. We overpay mortgage by £300, put £250 into long-term savings and £300 for annual expenses like car service and Xmas.

But we've deliberately chosen a cheap house and 1 car etc to allow us to underspend. DH has health issues which means he's likely to need to retire early.

Oh we cross posted 😂 I think £500 is okay!

I think £500 a month is okay actually. Does that cover Christmas, redundancy emergency plan, boiler and car repair?

I only ask because when I was made redundant we used our savings very quickly 😔 but we had saved to cover the mortgage in case of redundancy so it was okay. Painful to see the savings balance go to £0 though.

Hopefully soon I'll be able to save £500 a month again.

Good luck @Beezknees Wishing you well.

Thank you 🙂

Do you also pay a decent amount into pensions for you both?
Do you have separate money saved outside this amount for essential irregular expenses (new tyres, broken appliances, boiler servicing)?
Do you have separate money saved for irregular ‘nice to haves’ (holidays, Christmas and birthday presents, new furniture)?
Do you have income protection, critical Illness and life insurance?

If the answer to all of the questions above is yes, that’s a good amount to save. If not, you need to reassess your budget.

I'm a single mum om about half your income and I try to save £750 a month.

I don't have parents or spouse as a safety net so I need to be more careful.

It depends what the saving is for.

If you have 500 left over after pension contribution and the funds are for long-term saving than I think it's enough. If that's all you save and you need to have it accessible for emergencies like car repair, house repairs, replace large appliances, holiday and to go into a pension pot then it may be on the small side.

I would go through the account statements and see where the money goes and if there is room for improvement.

I'm a lone parent, just been made redundant and have a grand total of £5k in the bank if that makes you feel better!

I think it depends on what your core non-negotiable bills are. If they’re £2,000 total then that’s a lot of money being spent on other stuff that isn’t being accounted for, if you don’t know where it all goes. If they’re £4,000 then being able to save £500 is pretty good.

Agree with previous poster, you need to go through your statements and work out what’s being spent, whether you can cut back on non-essentials, and whether you want to.

I think that’s pretty good to be honest