To think I will always have financial stress now others have pointed this out?

You need help for your anxiety. Go and see your GP or a mental health nurse. You are making a mountain out of a molehill. As for missing meals quite frankly you mismanage your money.

Why are you worried about Uni when it is 12 years away from now? Both my children had student loans to get through Uni and they also worked to top up their money. A lot could happen between now and then. A lot of people do not own a house, have equity in a house or have any savings at all.

350K equity in your house

20Ksavings

54K salary

Employer contributing to a pension

Likely to inherit from parents

All of this puts you in a far better financial position than many

If you are truly going without meals for 2 - 3 days (which I doubt), then that's quite worrying as it seems completely unnecessary

Is your house large enough to take in a lodger / foreign language students?

@Baept15

calm down. She's 6, you're 40.

don't downsize now!! build up your equity further over the years.

Stop saving so much you can't afford to eat! That's stupid!!

you're on a good salary, you have good equity.

stop spoiling her younger years, stressing about money.

you need to talk to someone sensible!!

OP, moving is expensive. Is the £20,000 in savings the savings for your child’s university fees? Or is that separate? Is your savings interest rate higher than your mortgage interest rate? If not, if I were you I’d make at least a £15k payment to the mortgage which will reduce your monthly repayments.

if you haven’t already, go through your monthly expenditure and cut everything that’s not vital - if only for a few months. It will help you feel less panicky (from experience).

Is this really about finances or do you have anxiety about other things in your life? You seem to have fixated on your DD’s future at the literal expense of everything else.

Frankly you are being ridiculous about saving for your DD’s uni. Who knows what the situation will be in 12 years time. At present students can get loans, work part time and so on.

Your priority should be using your income for essentials like food FFS. Then considering your pension and paying down your mortgage.

LOLz, I own nothing. I´m 49. No house, no inheritance, no pension.
I think you have more then you think.
I will likely be a bag lady hobo in my old age, so when you see me please hand me a sandwich.

Stop putting money away for your DD and start eating. Ours does have her own pot but thats entirely gifts from family, we don’t add to it. Many kids have jobs during uni or in holidays, thats totally normal. Pay off the mortgage and downsize when she needs help buying property.

Blimey - you’re doing incredibly well. If you are genuinely anxious then you need to find a way to get some perspective.

Ir is pointless leaving yourself to go without and putting money aside which she may never need. You could overpay your mortgage by whatever you can save annually.

if you’re looking to use the equity to fund university in 12 years time then you don’t need to downsize just yet - just feel reassured that you will be able to if you want to later. So no need for uprooting and disturbance for a long time yet!

House prices are highly likely to carry on going up, so your money is working hard while it’s sitting as equity in the house and will be worth more when you do sell (and you’ll owe less on it by then too).

We don't even have a mortgage...

Please get a grip.

Just realised she is 6. OP I would not be prioritise something potentially thst will happen in 12 years. Priority security- home , day to dsy living, a few luxuries, pension snd savings

Is this a stealth boast? You come across as ridiculously blinkered when there are so many people struggling to make ends meet. Honestly, this post is so tone deaf it's borderline offensive.

Downsize could be a future plan to release equity, you don’t have to do it right now.
Your DD is in line to inherit family wealth from your parents and you’ll very likely eventually have a property to leave her. She’s in a privileged position there.
You need to sort out how you budget for and prep food…maybe a few small tweaks will get you to the end of the month on your existing spend or else you need to allocate another £20 and save less.

It depends when you'd do it obviously but kids do move all the time. I moved hundreds of miles post divorce out of financial necessity. Not remotely unreasonable.

I don’t think what you’ve described sounds bad at all!!

you’ve got to remember then when you pay that mortgage off you’re house will have also increased in value and you could be sitting on an asset worth £750k plus pension plus savings plus inheritance!!

personally I don’t get why people panic so much over uni. I got a student loan like every other normal person, Martin Lewis recos prioritise house deposit over uni fees. Child can get a PT job etc plus the £200 month your giving as spends

then continue putting that £200 away a month yourself in an isa

honestly people are much worse off

Does the 8% include your employers contribution.

You will pay the mortgage off eventually and like many people can downsize or move to a cheaper area.

Your child might not go to university. Despite people being sure everyone goes to university it is slighlty less than 40% of 18 year olds that head off to uni.

As it stands, they will get a loan to cover the fees, they can get work to help support themselves by saving up during 6 form and at weekends. You will then find your savings go a very long way.

You should not be missing meals
Inheritance is not a right , it's a luxury. If she doesn't get a deposit it's fine, loads of people don't. As for uni she will have to.get a job. I would pay over on mortgage, give myself enough for food and an allowance for luxuries. How old is ur daughter? If u earn 54 k I imagine ur job does not come stress- free? Live a little

Move to a cheaper house so you won't have such a massive mortgage.

As others have said - you don't 'need' to save for a 6 year old's university fund.

You have £20,000 in savings, and you're not yet 40 - I would say you're doing just fine.

Do you live with a partner? Are they as anxious about money as you?

Your perspective is skewed if you're putting money away for your child but starving for three days a month! Stop seeing the savings as a uni fund and put them in an account you don't use all the time, but can access when needed.

I did not save for my kids who might/might not go to uni. The one that did go got the loans they were entitled to and worked PT, plus we paid his accommodation.
They need to learn to keep themselves.

I’m the same as @Vettrianofan
3 DC. We do as much for them as we can. But I never had anything paid for me. I got a job at 15, paid for my own driving lessons. Car, house deposit etc.