No savings but a happy life….. is it just me?

[CanICelebrate]

I read a lot of threads about savings and I wonder whether we are alone in having pretty much no savings despite earning a fairly good wage (although not rich by mn standards!)

For context, we have paid off quite a lot of our mortgage, have life insurance and have good pensions (also I will inherit a lot although hopefully not for a long time), so we definitely have money in the future, just no savings account right now.

We spend most of what we earn on having a better life with our dc.
I have had a number of tragedies in life and my own childhood was tough at times, so life seems fragile. I want my years with dc at home to be as good as they can and so we spend what we have on holidays, school fees (with huge discount as I work there), clubs/ activities and days out in school holidays. We don’t spend as much on ‘stuff’ but more on experiences. I’m pretty sure when dc have left home we will save more.

Am I being irresponsible? I don’t feel it day by day as I have no debt apart from my mortgage and a small car loan and my disposable income is high enough to cover minor emergencies, but reading threads on here I wonder whether I’m in a minority.

We're very similar to you OP. Nearly finished paying off the mortgage (we're in our 40's) and we've got pensions but only £2k in emergency savings (DC has £10k). Once th mortgage is finished we plan on saving more.

We cant afford to - but if I was managing more work we would save for -

New carpets
New kitchen.
Holiday...

Having no savings as a home owner is daft. What if the roof needs fixing?

pianolessons1 you can use the equity in your property.

Hi OP I dont think you're being smug but it might be a good idea to save up, as pp have said, you never know what life might throw at you.

Like you, we have been having a lot of 'experiences' with our family. For many years we didn't have the time, or money, to do these but a change in my circumstances has meant we have more family time and have been taking full advantage of that. However, I still have a pot of savings to fall back on which I'm grateful for as our roof leaked over the winter and cost a lot to fix.

There's probably a balance to be struck somewhere I would say.

@CanICelebrate If you have plenty of disposable income each month then why not start putting even as little as £50/£100 per month in a savings account and by the end of the year you will have a safety cushion. Problem solved.

If you or DH lost your job, could you meet all your outgoings?

I would look into income protection insurance if you don't have it.
Illness and job loss are unpredictable and it's difficult to manage a change in financial circumstances when your coping with them.
The roof thing can be fixed with a loan so I wouldn't/don't worry too much about that.
I agree with your Carpe Diem approach to life by the way.

What if the boiler packs in or roof needs work?
It's sensible to keep at least a small 'emergency fund' before overpaying the mortgage. Keep some cash liquid in case of emergencies.

I save regularly because I want to retire at 60.
I'm not totally scrimping now for it, it's a balance of enjoying now and planning for the future.

@Bluntness100
I don’t sit around and think that at all. My family life has been so hard and I cherish my parent so much. I certainly don’t sit and think about him dying and me getting his wealth. He mentions it to me and I feel sick when he does as it would mean losing him.
I only mentioned it for a full context and then said I regretted mentioning it.

@Siracha
I’ve just chatted with dh about it (I didn’t mention I’d posted on mn!) and we’ve decided to start next month

@L1ttleSeahorse

I save for specific purposes. I save for Christmas each year and for things for the house although for holidays I tend to book and pay it off monthly.

I did have to get a loan for a car but lots of people do that and I don’t have any other debt apart from the mortgage.

We have a decent income but not enough to pay for a holiday or Christmas out of a month’s wage.

You are happy and stress free because you are financially secure (two jobs, secure contracts, mortgage paid down, healthy pensions, family money). You don't need to have money specifically labelled "savings" because you can access money any time you need it.

You are in a very fortunate position, but most of us don't expect to inherit much, or are renting, or don't have permanent contracts, or don't have much in pensions, or couldn't call on money from family in an emergency. We need to have accessible savings or we could be sunk.

In response to some of the previous posts.

We could afford a few hundred for a car repair in one month but not enough for a boiler.

It’s only been recently that I’ve been booking and doing things and thinking maybe I should be saving. Up to now I’ve not regretted my choices as we’ve had a great time with the money we’ve spent.

We both work long full time and have done well in our careers but neither of us have massive earning potential. I’m the higher earner.

The school fees are a bit of a red herring as we get a significant discount. The dc’s music lessons and clubs however are a huge cost that I obviously won’t have forever.

@Bluntness100

I simply can’t comprehend anyone who sits and thinks I’m going to inherit a lot. I don’t know anyone who thinks like this. It’s just really grubby,

Oh you do know them @Bluntness100, they just don't want to admit it to you!

We know we'll inherit in 10-15 years because late MiL left her house in trust to DH with a clause that stepFiL can live there as long as he needs to.

You do have savings.

Spend how you wish, but you do have savings.

@CanICelebrate Sounds like a very positive plan. All the best.

Dont rely on kids being cheaper as they get older. We earn really small wages but because I did a lot of overtime last year (very little this year), we are having to give ds what we consider a pretty high sum for university this year. Additionally, we've had no choice but to pay for private counselling for dd as she is very mentally unwell and the nhs is not able to help us for a year or so.
We have savings of around £20k which is an amazing buffer - from when my mum died, and a small pension I took out three years ago but I still panic like mad. Without that I would really worry

I don't think you are normal, generally people who are financially savvy (pensions, overpaying the mortgage etc) also have an emergency cash fund.
These days most people will be practically retired before they receive any inheritance from the generation above.
In any case potential inheritances are never a good substitute for actual savings.

Money doesn't buy happiness but it buys opportunities. If everything is going right then it's fine but if anything goes wrong that lack of ability to make choices can be devastating. Lots of people have no savings though and are very happy.

When Covid hit last year I was the only one in my circle of friends who I know who all earn roughly 60k plus who was actually fine and had plenty of savings so I wasn’t worried
I would say the majority of them had no savings at all and a few needed to claim UC due to losing their jobs
Or they were on furlough so not enough money to pay for all of their bills
Most of them still aren’t back on their feet now due to having to use Credit cards to pay for stuff

I mean having no savings in your situation is very different from someone who hasn't nearly paid off a mortgage, has a shite pension, and won't have any inheritance isn't it.

How very fantastic for you to be so well off!

@Darthwader

Helpful!