Are you worried about money right now?

[NevillesLeftNadger]

Obviously there's a lot of financial worry about, with rising rents and mortgage costs and the price of food and fuel and other commodities shooting up. Personally I'm scared that our savings are depleting to nothing and that the kids will just need more food/more expensive stuff etc as they get bigger. We don't take holidays, or get take aways or have day trips and I'm already scared about next winter's fuel costs and whether we'll be able to replace our old car when it does.

On the other hand we have a home we won't lose and it's insulated and (currently!) in good repair so that's a lot less to worry about.

But equally there must be lots of people insulated from all of the financial stress judging by how busy cafes and restaurants and theme parks and holiday cottages etc still presumably are.

So I'm just being nosy and wondering whether most mumsnetters are in a financial fret or feeling like they'll sail through it all. Are you worried about money currently?

I'm not worried, but I am mindful about the future. Our biggest outgoing is our mortgage - we do have 4 years left on our fix, but I want us to be in as good a shape as possible when we come to renew so we are looking at our outgoings very carefully.

We are about to get our kitchen done and previously I would have been relatively relaxed about getting everything we wanted done, but I think we may make some compromises to keep costs down.

Yes

DH and I are both pretty high earners so as long as we're both working, we can cushion the blows by making adjustments here and there. 2 year fixed energy deal ends in October so I'm predicting a big rise there but thankfully I secured a 5 year fix on the remortgage a month ago which is now looking like I got in there at the right time.

I do worry for the people who don't have a clue about finances. I'm lucky in that I work in finance and am very clued up in it all so find I can plan and juggle accordingly. There will be people out there who are about to roll on to 6% mortgage deals who could have fixed at a much lower rate in advance months ago for example. Even in my fairly well educated circle, I'm outstanding by the friends who leave things like this up to chance and luck.

Yes, I lose sleep over it. DH can't work due to health reasons so can only claim sickness benefits. I'm self employed but run a childminding business from home. My spaces are full but income fluctuates.Covid lost me a lot of business.Our mortgage seems to go up every other month- £400 in the last year or so. We also have a secured loan. Add to that the cost of living......we are literally hanging on by the skin of our teeth. Our mortgage is interest only, so although we could sell the house and have a fairly good profit, its not enough to stay local. I would have to close my business as my families all come to me as I'm so near to them. Our only option is to look at equity release when my husband turns 55 next year.
Never thought I'd get to 55 years old and have less money than I've ever had.

That sounded empathetic to me - I read that as the poster acknowledging the role of luck and timing in their good fortune.

I find it lacking in empathy when older people attribute all of their financial comfort to their own hard work, not accounting for things like the change in the housing market since their own youth.

I wasn't, until I became a single parent six weeks ago. Pretty damn terrified now.

You may have done this already, but get someone now to estimate your likely new mortgage costs from Nov 2024 based on your likely LTV and mortgage rates. Then begin to plan and budget for it now so that you are ready.

Used to worry insanely about money for many years and it's draining.
Things are better now, but I can remember that feeling of not having enough and it's hard
Especially with mortgage rates and interest rates going up and up
I feel some worry more than others or have a much more cavalier attitude even if they haven't got much.

Woah. That is a leap.

Do you mind if i ask what your remaining balance is? £400k?

£537,000 remaining balance I think

Yes. I worry about when all these price increases are going to stop.

I am pretty good at budgeting, but we are not too far off being unable to afford a replacement car and another holiday in the foreseeable.

We have just had to turn our attention to using our savings to pay down our mortgage, cooking more at home, buying less and being generally frugal. No social life for us.

I keep telling myself economies are cynclical and we just need to get through this without losing our home.

For reference. We took out our first morgage 2.3 years ago at 1.8% interest rate had to renew at 5.25%. Mortgage costs up £650 pm. Have childcare costs of £800pm so we are the demographic that has been biten hard compared to people with an empty next and hitting retirement etc.

Thankfully no. We’ve just remortgaged and the monthly payments didn’t increase as much as we had anticipated.
We’re also lucky that my husband received a healthy pay rise and bonus so our lifestyle hasn’t been impacted by the increased cost of living.
I do appreciate that we are very fortunate.

This is me. No hope of affording to buy, ever. Lovely council flat (not my dream home but a great place in a great location). No worries with day-to-day expenses.

My private pension failed in the financial crisis and I’m wondering what lies ahead.

Yes, I am naturally a worrier but the way it's always talked about in the news reinforces the worry. Our mortgage needs renewing next year so that's a concern but fortunately I have recently gone back to work part time after years as a sahm so fortunately we will be earning more too.

I feel like I'm in an odd position I made choices that turned out to be poor but also helpful.

2008 petrified me. I saw no prospect of paying off my mortgage and also feared a massive recession. So I downsized to the smallest cheapest house possible and left myself with a tiny mortgage (50K).

I never foresaw interest rates being pushed down to their lowest in 1000 years and my job remaining safe. If I'd stayed in my old house I would have made out like a bandit with the following house price increases. However, I now had disposable income to stack my private pension and subsequently chose to quit the rat race (and my duties as a tax-payer!) at the age of 50.

I've been very lucky but made my own luck to some extent. Even though I got it wrong on house prices in 2008, I would heartily recommend downsizing/moving to eliminate as much mortgage debt as possible. The amount of stress it relieves is incredible.

Yea everyday. I'm over my overdraft limit constantly and have no savings and just cannot make ends meet

No personal money worries at present. We have a decent amount of equity in our home and our mortgage fixed in at 1.9 until feb 2025. We have well paid secure jobs and lucky enough to have room to tinker with our budget BUT I'm also concerned about what our mortgage payments will jump to when our fix ends so I'm going to be using the spare cash we used to spend on fripperies (holidays, eating out, clubs for the kids etc) to save up a cushion for when things get harder, because I've no doubt they will. It's depressing because DH and I both work so hard, long hours, it's these little things that make life bearable but we've been poor and gone without before so I know we can do it again if we have to, I suppose as long as we have a roof over our heads and food in the cupboard we'll be ok.
As a (rusty) economist though I am worried about the economy as a whole though and my heart goes out to the many, many people who are struggling. We live in a beauty spot that's unfortunately become a popular place for people to come and end their lives. 8/10 it's because of money worries and it absolutely breaks my heart (especially when I read glib posters on here, rubbing their hands in glee at a potential property crash, without thinking through the implications, both personal and economic, this will entail)

Yes. We're lucky in some ways, DHs promotion will cover the mortgage increase next year. We only bought last year and the house needs a lot of work, which we can't put off forever. But I don't know how we will manage if everything else keeps going up as well. We've got 3 years until all kids are in school, we were looking forward to some spare cash but looks unlikely now.

Yes and no my husband has a good very secure job but works lots of hours
I work 2 part time jobs totalling 32 hours a week but it enables me to be around during the morning rush and home just in time for the kids coming home . We are currently managing to pay our bills and save the same amount but there's less in the pot for fun things . We never really went out or got take aways anyway but with summer coming up the kids will no doubt want spends for town coffees food and ice cream and our food shop has gone from £80 to £120 a week . Currently I'd rather have no fun money than not save or dip into savings but that might not be an option if things continue to rise .

No. All kids through uni now so that's a big saving. Small mortgage fixed for 5 years months ago.
Still working full time at 57 mind you.

Yes
Have had to move to a more stressful job for a pay rise
Got evicted last year and had to find £6k for moving costs so paying that back plus other debt. Have no savings and 2 teens who are clothes and food pits. Energy fix ends in autumn. Worrying.

On the plus side - I'm grateful to be in social housing, I have a few health issues so can't currently do paid work - I'm hoping things may change and trying to remain optimistic. I'm late fifties so I feel this is the right choice for me given where i am in life as going forward I don't have to worry about maintenance of the bungalow.

We have the kind of rent level where if my income increases to a certain level then our rent goes up, understandably. I have moments when I feel sorry for those with mortgages.

On the plus side we have solar panels - and now a washing line. Fixed rate lower tariff coming up.

On the minus side, I've had to dip into my savings and lot and don't have a vast amount left. I'm waiting to hear about a minior inheritance but it is taking forever to settle. This would help our situation.

DD leaves for uni this autumn. I try not to worry about this, as I've done everything that I could possibly do, she will apply for a scholarship I hope. Not a lot of money, but enough.

I check bank account, bills, post every day. Cost of living crisis is scary, but I find acting from a place of fear is not helpful for me so try to stress the positive and be grateful for what we have.

We live week to week (paid weekly) and will be moving to monthly pay shortly, so there's a lot of anxiety around saving enough money to get to the next payday. Stocking the freezer and cupboards as much as possible. We'll manage but on rocky ground atm.

Not massively worried, careful and dont go into cafes/restaurants, I
home cook mostly from scratch.
I have no mortgage but have dipped into savings a few times, for that reason i am looking to sell and buy something smaller.

Yes, every day. Six months ago I became a single parent and my outgoings now exceed my income, mainly due to rent and childcare costs. I have no savings left, I'm over my overdraft limit and my landlord has informed me that the rent will be going up in November when my tenancy is up for renewal. It's already a grand a month but with no savings I can't afford a deposit or other moving costs so I have to suck it up.