To think it’s very bleak to be saving this and getting absolutely nowhere? What’s the point?

£1,500 a month is a huge amount. Look what the average UK savings rate is and you will see.

Are you the same poster who was worried that you couldn't pay off your mortgage before you were in your 40s?

Agree with PPs. You have been dealt a few big expenses, but you've had that cash saved to stop you from having to go into debt, and potentially pay interest. Those big expenses won't happen frequently. You are able to save £18K a year - that is a lot of money, so just carry on doing what you are doing and it will increase.

So what would have happened of you hadnt saved that money?

You're wallowing OP. That's OK, allow yourself to wallow for a few hours about how unlucky you've been, then crack on. We all have runs of bad luck from time to time, it won't last.

Being able to save £1500 a month is great. You’re obviously not a millionaire but you’re very comfortable with that buffer.

I guess if that’s not enough for you, you need to assess whether your future plans are realistic. If being able to potentially save almost £20k a year isn’t enough for you, why? Are you trying to buy a new house, upscale your lifestyle, have an extravagant holiday etc? Is the lifestyle you’re aiming for realistic on your salary/job?

We struggled when the children were younger but one day, the mortgage is paid off, wages have increased, kids are independent and suddenly life is a lot easier.

If you can pay those boring bills and unexpected expenses you are doing well. Treat yourself a little, save some and one day, you too will be mortgage free and won’t be supporting children. Some people will never be in that position if they have rent to pay.

This won't be happening every month of the year though. It's crazy to think that you can get by with only spending on the essentials. There's always bloody something cropping up!

How is she being shafted? She can save 1,500 quid every month and owns her home. Some perspective is needed.

I don't even earn £1500!! And I work 5 days a week!!

Is thread has turned into the usual ‘at least you are still breathing’ with no acknowledgement of what OP is saying.

OP, if you work and are self sufficient, then you have a point. People working, paying their way and trying to secure themselves in this country are being shafted by the corrupt government and freeloaders.

If you consistently save it into an account with a decent interest rate (ideally via an ISA where interest is tax free), the magic of compound interest will kick in. It will take a couple of years to start to see it, but it will happen!

Is the OP being serious? I'm a single dad and have never struggled with money, but some people aren't even earning 1.5K, yet you can save it. Maybe you don't realise how fortunate you are.

Things are hard and are going to get harder. The main reason for that is growing wealth inequality. The gap between the super rich and the rest is growing at an alarming rate and a wealth tax is the only way out, but our governments don't want to go down that road, as it's not popular. However there isn't any other road to go down. Look up Gary Stevenson. He explains these issues really well.

Based on your numbers (12x1500 =18k) you should still have about 10k - it’s a reasonable buffer

it depends what your aim is?

if you have that left you have the choice of saving OR going on holiday

I think you are in a very good position

OP, there are people sitting in their cold houses this winter because they can't afford to put the heating on.

With respect, you need to get a grip.

You are looking at this all wrong. Your house needed repairs and you had the money to pay for it. You needed medical care and you had the money to pay for it.

this is how proper savings and budgeting works. You put money aside every month so you have the money waiting to pay for this one off expenses. These expenses always happen. That is why you save.

your savings for holiday or for the future are only a tiny fraction of your monthly savings. Most of it goes to regular life, just like for everyone else.

But you did have a buffer to pay for the things that come with life that is what people save for

Have you posted before. Several months ago there was an OP that was desperate to be mortgage free in two years who was a single parent with a DD and felt she'd be a failure if she didn't.

It's not all or nothing, saving £60k but living on dry bread and never going anywhere or enjoying exploring the world with your DD isn't the answer either. You need to strike a balance.

If I were in your position I would book that holiday and pay that off £300 a month a couple of grand will get you 2 weeks in the sun somewhere and another £1500 for spends / passports/ new clothes what ever you need there.
£600 in a house repairs pot that is reasonably tricky to access
£600 in a futures pot for rainy day / made redundant

But if you had spent it all instead of saving it, how would you have paid for the boiler and all the other things? Savings are there precisely so you have a buffer against sudden and unexpected large bills. Otherwise you would have to get into debt to pay for them, and loan interest is far higher than the interest you get on savings, so it would cost you more too.

You are doing the right thing by saving hard every month, trust me.

I know what you mean OP. I get it. The money threads on here always bring out the broad range of people and I get that too as I've felt bitter when people are discussing how to spend large sums of money or do house renovations that I will literally never, ever afford. It's tough to save and then have it wiped out on boring things. For me it's usually the car - and that's so annoying because it just seems like it's gone on literally nothing. The car works and then it breaks and then it works again so you're exactly where ou started. Same with dental stuff - also horrendously expensive. Same with tech breaking - like my laptop broke recently and I had to replace it and I could not feel excited about the new one as I was just thinking well I had a laptop and I also used to have more savings. Now I still have a laptop and less money - great. I want savings to feel worthwhile too. I get that it's a very privileged view but it's ok to have a view from wherever you are.

As a way of making it feel worthwhile

Add up all those expenses

Now imagine you didn’t have the savings built up and you’d had to put it all on credit cards or take out an emergency loan. Work out the monthly repayment on that.

You are now saving that amount every month, because you had the savings to spend rather than having to get into debt. Well done!

ill admit, ive got to start savings asap, its possible but will take years rather than a quick fix @Wehah

I agree with the posters saying save money in different pots. On payday I transfer a little money into general savings and then some into a pot for holidays and one for yearly bills. Sometimes I have to dip into the general savings but mostly I can use money from the other pots and it doesn't feel like I'm really using my savings. My months wage overall isn't a lot more than £1500, my savings are a fraction of yours.
Also, your house is an investment. At some stage might you be able to downsize? Also at some stage your child or children will be independent. Maybe you need some professional advice on planning for your retirement.

Why do you think you are getting nowhere? How would you pay for that you listed if you didnt have that much saved?