How much would you want in savings before you would relax a bit?

They say 6 months expenses - you've got way more than that so relax!

Would it help to split your savings into different pots / jobs ? I used to get stressed if I had to spend any when it all was just general savings

Now I have

1. House maintenance
2. Holidays - both of these get used at least one a year and tend to have £0-£3000 max each in them .
3. Mid term -Garden office fund £8800- been saving 2 years will finish at Christmas
4. Long term £10500 currently and add £150 a month - this is don't touch unless lose job, something major happens to house that savings or insurance doesn't cover . It will be bridging pre- pension if nothing terrible happens in the next 20 years .

Then super long term .

1. Overpay mortgage £250 ish a month
2. Pension £600 ish

You're fine. That's a very good cushion. The most I've ever had in savings is 5k.

As a single parent you are doing really well vs majority. Personally I think at least 1 year of expenses set aside is good. In addition, some cash flow for maintenance, emergency repairs etc.

Im single with no kids and im very relaxed.

£17k is a very good amount!

What are you seeking security from? If you lost your job there would be potentially a redundancy payment, and then benefits.

You have enough for an emergency roof repair or boiler replacement.

Do you have a pension which your work pays into?

£17k is a great amount! I can’t help but think it would be better overpaying on your mortgage though?

How much of the £1500 a month costs is that?

I have £7K which is ten months worth of expenses for me as a single person living quite frugally and with no children. I feel OK with that amount but would love to get to £50K and go to the max in Premium Bonds.

Do you think part of your anxiety is because you’ve only got one income coming in and everything’s on you? £17K saved is fabulous - well done. The average person in the UK has £11K.

OP, I understand the feeling of responsibility and how it sometimes induces financial anxiety. You seem to worry a lot about it despite already having savings in place and being able to add to them. It is possible no amount of money would alleviate your anxiety - it would manifest in a different way.
I have been in a similar situation and what helped me was understanding this level if anxiety is often a symptom of a (to some degree still) unsolved trauma, and addressing that instead.

£1500 expenses per month means you have almost a years worth of expenses saved which is great.
It's up to you what you feel comfortable with, but we started with 6 months expenses then a separate pot for 'emergencies' like boiler/car trouble etc before we started to relax, but we continued to put money into savings so now have over a years worth of expenses, plus emergencies, plus holidays in savings.

£17k is a good amount! Well done! That gives you almost a year if you lost your job.

I have a similar mindset to you. It's tough. But even if you really slow add to it, eventually you'll get to a year. Is it in a high interest savings account? That will help!

This is sort of a how long is a piece of string question?

What kind of eventuality are you planning for? If you lose your job it sounds like you would have quite a reasonable amount of time to find something else and also enough to cover new appliances if they were to break down.

Those who have larger savings, say multiple 100's of thousands aren't generally saving for incase they lose jobs or have to replace the car or boiler. Those are for things like retirement or even early retirement , helping their children financially with buying a home etc.

I'd say that if you have £17k saved then you can obviously continue to save but you shouldn't need to be constantly on edge about things.
If something unfortunate happened, say you became ill or disabled and unable to work then over time you would adapt to a new reality and you would have access to benefits to help you.

I just don't think realistically any amount of savings would make you feel secure. No amount of savings is enough to protect against all eventualities. So however much you have, you'll always feel like you need a bit more.

Single parent with 50/50 custody. I earn 42k, I have 30k in savings…I rent at the moment and life is expensive (waiting for stbx to buy me out of the house)…I panic about my finances at least once a week. I would like to have more saved but that’s impossible right now.

I do think the permitted threshold for benefits purposes should be increased, especially now rents are higher than ever. I don't think it's high on the government's agenda, however

@baoap I think you're doing well, but I totally get where you are coming from. I think I could relax properly at 40k but I realise I'll probably never have that much. I have about 20k and I'm a few years younger than you.. I have no children but I don't own a property either. So I suppose it's all relative. I did start to relax a bit when I hit 20k but I do worry a lot that it's just not much at my age.. however I've really worked hard especially in the last 5 years or so, and considering I've had poor mental health all my life which has meant some periods of unemployment and minimum wage jobs, and no family support I think I'm doing ok 🤔
We can only do what we can. I put my worries down to anxiety.

An insane amount is deliberately vague, but shows that some people are always chasing more than what they have.

In the worst case scenario e.g. you lost your job, how much time would £17k buy you before you would be in trouble… If your necessities are only 1.5k a month, then you’ll have nearly a year to find another job before losing your house, therefore you are totally fine.

What proportion of anyone, single parents or otherwise, is that realistic for? I didn't say it was achievable, but the OP asked for an opinion. The general definition of financially independence is one year, but as I said, with the current economy two is more likely necessary.

I agree that overpaying the mortgage is not a bad option, however it is also very useful to have cash flow.

Most businesses fail as a result of insufficient cash flow, and it doesn't matter how much you have on paper if you can't pay an immediate bill. Thus, I would recommend a balance of overpayment but also savings.

OP if you’re the same poster who is obsessed with needing to have their mortgage paid off you need more help with your anxiety than your finances.

46% of brits have less than £1000 in the bank.

I'd say you're doing quite well!

I have slightly more in savings than my annual salary after tax. I am only just starting to feel a bit more relaxed about spending any money. This doesn't mean "holidays of a lifetime" or other extravagant purchases. More like taking my mum for lunch or taking her on a weekend trip to Europe couple of times a year.
I am on a fixed term contract for 60% of my hours so there is a real possibility that I will need to use some of this money at some point after this financial year.

I would say my goal is to have 10k saved for the maintenance/repair of my old house and another 10k in case of unemployment. So with 20k I would breathe easier!

Right now I have about 8K :).

I don’t think there is a magic number that would stop you worrying; it’s all about mindset. My DH constantly worries about money, despite us having an insane amount. £17k is great, you should be proud of yourself and acknowledge the security you already have.