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.

This is exactly the same situation as us. I would like to feel more stable and have a few months saved up to be prudent but I always find something to buy. I struggle to reduce outgoings enough to prepare for a rainy day.

I think my initial question has been answered and thanks for the helpful comments.

I know that I have a type of savings (house/ pension etc) and acknowledge that’s a privilege but this is different to the kind of saving talked about on mn a lot. I am grateful for what I have and not smug.

I’m going to start saving each month but am not going to stop doing the things we enjoy - there will just have to be some compromise.

The amount I earn and am spending is not thousands of pounds and I’m not boasting that I’m wealthy as I’m not. We are comfortable but we are not rich compared to the people on here who earn 80-100k plus! Our mortgage payments are small which helps significantly.

Spending doesn’t buy happiness and my life isn’t stress free, but it helps me enjoy the moment and give my children experiences and memories. I’ve suffered so much bereavement and anxiety that I know the future can be uncertain and this affects my use of money.

I will just say one more time that I don’t sit around thinking about inheritance and would rather like my dad to live for many many more years. He’s relatively well off but dh and I work hard and don’t rely on him financially (although he has been generous in the past when we earned a lot less and he knows how incredibly grateful I am).

I'm the same OP, don't own a house (and am very unlikely to be able to) and can't imagine there will be any inheritance but I don't save just so I have savings. I pay into a pension, have life insurance, save for known things like DC going to uni, etc and have a small buffer and access to low interest debt but there is no way I am not enjoying life now so I can look at a huge balance in a savings account. We are only here once!

@Willowtree999

Thank you for your comment I am so aware that the future isn’t promised and that my children will grow up quickly so I’ve tried to enjoy now as much as I can.
I am not going to stop doing that but am going to start saving and cut back on spending where I can. I always feel stressed at how much takeaway costs for 5 or 6 of us and so cutting back there is a good start! I also probably buy myself too many clothes which is another easy spending cut that doesn’t affect holidays/ days out etc.

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,

Grubby? Do you think Will & Estates lawyers are also grubby, seeing as they make money off people who have inheritances to leave or receive?

It’s grubby to loaf around scrounging off others, in the expectation that some old person will die and make you rich. It’s not grubby to plan ahead so that you can make the most of your elders’ hard work and not waste a penny of it, to respect their hard work and their wish to leave a legacy for their children and grandchildren.

@Bigpjbottoms282

pianolessons1 you can use the equity in your property.

By remortgaging? That takes weeks if not longer to sort out. Great if you have a hole in the roof, or no hot water or something else similar.

pianolessons1 no it's not remortgaging, it takes one phone call. We did it last year, released £10k and it was in our bank account within a couple of days. We have a very small mortgage left though so our t&c may be different but it's worked well for us.

@Rugsofhonour

You have a happy life because you know you will have a comfortable retirement with good pensions and a large inheritance. I don’t know why you’re comparing yourself with people who choose to save money. Most people save because they don’t have the luxury of a good pension and large inheritance. I’m really not sure what point you’re trying to make OP.

Totally agree

No savings here. I had some but then we had a run of bad luck (redundancy, illness and then more illness). My earning potential is now severely limited…and so is my salary!

In your case I do think that you should save a little each month in case your children need braces or glasses or whatever. If you can keep it up it would be nice to have a couple of montgs saved so if you loose your job your children don't have to move instantly since you have more time to find a solution.

It might be a bit much but it could be nice to save for your childrens future house deposit, since getting on the property ladder is so hard. Up to you how much you want to sacrifice now for later on that one. We're saving the child benefits (not UK so might not be comparable) and anything I make by selling her old clothes and stuff. She's just a baby so hoping it will add up over the next 20 something years.

Honestly some posters are arseholes just waiting to jump on you. Your initial post was pensive as you were mulling about savings. You also clearly stated you aren't waiting for family members to drop dead so you can inherit and have no money worries.

I think you are ahead of the game in that you can cover some unexpected costs were they to arise and that is a great position to be in. I could do the same. I have savings but not a huge amount and they cover things like milestone birthdays, doing bits around my house, holidays for example but not at the same time. If there was an issue with my roof (so many of you are clearly obsessed) I would look to my insurance and would cobble the money together with dh up to a point. How many people in all likelihood can save 6 months worth of wages as savings and still pay their normal bills and have a good quality of life, I reckon not many.

You sound like you live a comfortable life, not extravagant by any means. I think whilst it is important that you have a good quality of life and are happy, plus are able to cover unexpected costs within reason you are in a good place. I would still try to build up a small buffer of savings, so £10-50 a month if you can mange it as a just in case pot. It won't be enough to repair your roof but could come in handy in other ways.

Hope you have found some of the advice on your post helpful.

In your case I do think that you should save a little each month in case your children need braces

Good old NHS will cover that

@ssd

See, its fine being smug about a happy life and no savings when you have an inheritance to come

This.

@CanICelebrate

I’m not being smug at all. Life is far from perfect!

Sorry, but you are.

Having had no money left at the end of the month before payday for many years I am now very happy to be in the position of having savings.

I have short term, medium term and long term savings. This means I still get to enjoy life now but also mindful that shit happens and you need to plan for the long term.

@moynomore

I’m really not at all. You don’t know anything about my life apart from the financial information I’ve given in my OP. I’m not a smug person in fact I’m a generous person who is immensely grateful for the good things in my life whilst also dealing with a lot of shit too.
Given all my subsequent posts I can only assume you wrote that comment to be deliberately unkind which says a lot more about you than me.

FFS people are being vile. I deliberately didn’t post on aibu but clearly the unpleasantness is wide spread this evening.

I wonder if you’d say I was smug if you know which were my other posts under a different username about some of the less happy bits of my life!!

I absolutely could not sleep at night if I didn’t have substantial, easily accessible cash savings held in my own name. That’s my ‘fuck it’ security fund, and I know it’s always there should I ever need it. No amount of spending money on consumerist tat could compete that feeling of security.

I have been made redundant twice in the last nine years, and I spent lockdown on furlough expecting to be made redundant again. I slept soundly because I knew my savings would be there if I needed them.

You can never guarantee inheritance.

@Sceptre86
It was pensive! I was sort of thinking out loud!
In some ways I’m glad I’ve posted as it’s made me a) make a decision to save for a rainy day and b) feel like it’s ok to enjoy my disposable income within reason.
Thanks for the nice comments and the challenging comments too.
The unkind comments I’m less thankful for!

@Unfashionable

I’ve not had that uneasy feeling until recently which is why I posted. I think your outlook on savings is wise.

Hmm I think Mumsnet is very into the idea of savings and pensions etc etc. Not everyone lives like that in real life. And that’s okay. We are all different. However, you’re in a different situation to many people - if you say you can afford to cover emergencies what does that actually mean? It’s very different having £200 ish extra in your monthly wage to pay for a plumbing emergency to having to find £2.5k or £5k to replace a boiler / roof etc? If you have that much disposable income then in a way you do have savings …?

An inheritance can't be relied on. Money could go to care costs.