To be shocked when adults have absolutely no savings at all?

Can you not fathom why some people don't have savings? I have loads of savings now but didn't until I was much older. I came from a very working class background and came out of uni in debt with no family money to put towards rental deposits, first car etc. Despite going straight from Uni into teaching and flat sharing with now dh neither of us had savings throughout much of our 20's, a combination of paying back Uni debts and getting on the property ladder. We had endless expenses, buying furniture, shelling out for boilers, replacing knackered out old banged cars etc. By our late 20's dh who worked in the private sector had managed to save enough for us to get married but then back to square one. We had our first child and had to sell things to afford a pram. We had many lean years where I worked pt but saved masses on childcare, where we did camping or £9.99 Sun Holiday caravans and we managed to scrape by and eventually build up some savings again. As the kids got older and I went back full time, and after a profitable house move with a now significantly higher joint income we are comfortable. For many people on lower incomes normal life is so expensive now that I doubt anyone on a low income can afford savings....it's not even a case of living to your means anymore. I think many people literally can't live within their means.

It's not great for the adults concerned and you should try and save a buffer if you can.

But given the situation of wages vs. rent, mortgage, energy costs, household maintenance and goods, childcare etc. it's not really surprising some people struggle to put anything by is it?

So, yabu to be 'shocked'.

OP, shall I not pay council tax so I can save £200 a month??

You find it hard to understand when adults have no savings? Some people are literally living hand to mouth. Is that so hard to understand too??

I always think these threads end up being an exercise in people explaining how they save rather than actually trying to understand why others aren't able to.

Let me guess, people should eat porridge more so they can save a bit.

I'm 76 and have about £500 in savings and a few premium bonds. I'm OK, manage quite well.

I'm not sure I'd want to wave your lack of understanding around so much.

That's true, but I'm writing from personal experience from a time when I was working full time but still had hardly anything after rent etc. I saved in the months I could save and when I needed my crisis fund for essential goods and repairs I was grateful I had it. I've got a better income but would still feel anxious if I hadn't got a small back up fund, though I get everyone is different.

It's because their outgoings are consistently equal to, or in excess of, their income. If you aren't capable of understanding this, then perhaps you are a bit dense.

I presume it's not because they are spending their salary on cocaine and champagne but they are poorly paid with high cost of living expenses.

Interesting first post, OP.

Depends on what you mean by "savings". I always keep a small bowl of coins on the kitchen dresser, for emergency pasta or teabags etc.

We had savings until we had our daughter and the cost of nursery absolutely floored us.

This..its easter sunday?! What's going on..

Hard to say really, someone may have not much cash savings, but assets worth hundreds of thousands, someone else may have 50k saved, but be paying rent and relatively speaking not that well off. I would judge it by total assets not cash at the bank.

This, I think it depends on what stage of life you're at. We never had savings when our children were little. Had credit card debt and an overdraft. Now we're older we have no mortgage and have inherited money so now have savings.

Well if I got paid more I’d stand a better chance of having savings, but as I’m a low band NHS worker it’s not going to happen.

I've always thought trying to save a bit every month if possible is something to strive to do. Even earning £8 a day for jobs while studying I would try to a few pounds into a savings account every month and it's amazing how quickly it adds up. Of course, when you need to you spend it then start again. Once the money's gone from your account and in another pot it's like it's not there anymore to be tempted to waste.

This is only if you can afford it, when you have to rely on overdrafts and credit cards it's impossible 😑

OP, are you a fucking prick irl, or just anonymously on the internet?

From your post, I can only assume you have savings because nobody likes you enough to ask you attend any events where you need to spend money.

Yeh I always thought that too, but that was what the man in NatWest said to me. I did have a credit card as well, but not with them.

I'm on benefits. My DP works. We still don't have enough to live without UC.

Do you really think the government gives us enough money that we have excess to be able to save?

This is the financial equivalent of "can't you just eat less and move more" coming from someone with a full time nanny, a gym in the garage and the money to buy organic veggies.

(I've got some savings and no debt for the first time in my life, mid-40s. Absolutely terrified of the car conking and wiping out all my hard work)

Some people live paycheck to paycheck and consider themselves fortunate, that they don’t have to actually get into more debt to get to the end of the month like plenty of other people do. Save what?

I'm not surprised people on low income or going through a crisis have no savings, I am often surprised when you see threads on here where people have a very good household income, have done for some time, have regular holidays, cars on finance etc and have no savings.