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?

No.

I grew up very poor so I worry naturally, our mortgage is due for renewal in June 24 and it's bothering me as there seems to be no end to these constant rises in interest, however there is nothing I can do about it, we overpay now and have put a pause on planned renovations that we had been saving up for. We both have good jobs which are secure so just hoping we can ride it out

Yes. Am currently working two jobs to make ends meet and our mortgage has just come to the end of a fixed term deal. Have secured another at a rate which means it will only increase by £100/month but to do that we have had to extend the term - so it won't be paid off until my state retirement age. Find it very depressing.

We are both in "good" jobs but live in a relatively expensive part of the country and are just hugely squeezed. Stuff which we could cut back on, like maybe internet or electricity, is difficult because I work from home. Food bills have gone up massively. We now no longer buy red meat or fish except for as a treat, whereas before it was a once a week thing.

Am so fed up with it all. We are not big spenders - never have amazing holidays or posh meals out. No flashy car. No label clothes. But it feels like everything is a struggle and I am tired. Never thought I would be working two jobs at my age.

Not worried at all.
We still over pay on our mortgage by £400 and will do until our deal ends at the end of this year.
still going out for too many meals etc.

We don’t have massive or excessive out goings though.

I don’t drink or smoke etc

I am just because I don't know how much worse this could get.

I have a well paid job and savings (no property or dependents).

I do bounce between three jobs though. I got two more when cost of living started coming in so I felt more insulated.

Not worried but frustrated. We are 9 years in to our starter home with a small mortgage. We have been working so hard for years and now my husband is a high earner and we are finally in a position to upside to a big home for our growing family. Except now we can't afford it. So no money worries but also nowhere near where I expected to be at this point in my life. The dream of a nice home and garden for our kids is slipping away and I feel like a lot of the sacrifices we made now like moving away from family for career weren't worth it. We are still in a privileged position and I am grateful for that and am very sorry for everyone who is struggling.

Did you miss the point of the thread? It was asking for people's experiences. Not just from people struggling.

'Everyone's struggling right now' seems to be the narrative. The thread was asking if that was literally true.

I’m not worried though it does mean we are having to go back to our retirement plans. We don’t have a mortgage and that is the reason we are okay really. One of my friends mortgages has gone up by £500 per month and another is getting divorced. They are incredibly stressed obviously.

No I’m not

Yes I do now. We never used to have to worry but our mortgage isn't fixed and has just gone past 5k a month.
It's going on the market now. Telling the kids tomorrow.
It's crap we have to sell ad we are so happy here but not 5k a month happy. We are very lucky to have a lot of equity in a large house that's worth a lot. We should be able to buy something still really nice and be mortgage free or worst case a very small mortgage and pay off all our debts.

Not 'worried' about money, no. But I'm the most 'conscious' of money than I've been in a long while.

Our smaller (£42k) of two mortgages is now off of its fix and we're paying 6.99% interest.
DH just retrained, which cost a lot, and is now in a pretty well-paid line of work, but on a self-employed, unsecured basis. I'm conscious I need to be able to cover us on my own if needed. I comfortably can, but would rather not.
We kept our bills low this winter, but I'm now conscious of energy and heating costs moreso than ever before.
Since the lockdowns and Brexit, and with staffing shortages and inflation, we're eating out/going to the pub/doing day trips/doing 'experiences' less than ever - just because we're increasingly disappointed whenever we do anything.

I've been promoted this year and given a 20% pay rise and the lot has been swallowed by the rising cost of living.

We're ok, largely because we were able to buy our house without needing a mortgage. We also have a decent amount of savings although we aren't able to add to them like we would like to.
I do worry about my pension and definitely need to find a way to boost it.
I agree that everywhere I go seems busy & people seem to have money to spend & we comment on it quite often. We have definitely cut down on eating out/take aways etc. because we can't justify the cost and I wonder if it's the same for others - still doing things but doing them less often.

I’m concerned rather than worried. We’ve been very lucky to have a tracker mortgage at just over base rate for almost 20 years, we’ve over paid a bit during that time (when we could) and are now throwing every £1 we can at it to try and bring it down more quickly. As a result, 4-6% isn’t nearly as bad for us now as it is for those who’ve bought in the last few years as our outstanding balance is relatively low.

however, my work is insecure (DHs thankfully not so), we have two teenage kids who eat like three adults between them and I have poor pension provision (DHs is brilliant which is a safety net of sorts).

So it’s on my mind and I’m cutting down where we can to get mortgage down and pension up, but I’m also mindful we are in a pretty good position compared to many.

Yes. Very worried. We've had £8,000 of unplanned expenditure since September. Our savings have taken a hit. Our holiday plans changed completely. We've got more on credit and I've been working extra hours to help pay for this all.

The main expenditures have been fixing washing machine (in dribs and drabs) then it breaking anyway £1,000 on repairs and buying a machine

Window hinge breaking £150

Door step breaking £190

Fence blew down and needed fixed £1,200

Lawyers bill £4,500 (the estate will pay for that eventually but there's a life rent needing to be taken into consideration so hopefully that's years and years away)

The lawyers bill should have been paid in 2019 but a) DH didn't believe me that work needed done on the case because he hadn't heard from the lawyers but b) the lawyers had gone bust and weren't in touch with their clients! I'm sure it would have been cheaper in 2019 and not as complicated (which added to the cost)

A flipping fortune on the fucking car! We can't afford a new one. We'll have to hope this lasts us for at least 8 months (then it's worth it paying for the repairs) anything after that is a bonus but if it needs a lot to get through its next MOT we've decided not to bother and at that point won't be able to afford a new car.

Our mortgage fixed rate ends October 24 and I'm anticipating an extra £350 per month.

Oh and eldest due to start Uni in October 24 so am anticipating £500 per month for that as worst case scenario.

No, we have no money worries. My DP is just about to qualify in his career and I do hope he will be able to find a job quickly but it’s mainly for his mental well-being as I earn enough to support us in a secure job and we have savings and insurance for if I were unable to work. We’re low users of energy and fixed our mortgage at circa 3.2% for 5 years last year so aren’t particularly impacted by many of the rising costs. And we don’t currently have kids or pets so no worries about supporting them. I mean it’s not like the cupboards are overflowing with diamonds and caviar but we’re very comfortable.

I wouldn’t say I’m worried right now, no. We fixed our mortgage for five years just before Truss did her “magic” so we’re pretty insulated from it all for the time being.

we are mindful though.

Our savings rates are currently higher than our mortgage rate, so we are putting as much as we can into savings now so that we can pay of a chunk of mortgage at the end of the term before or if we fix again. I also think we will be in a better position with mortgage rates by the time we need to fix again, so somewhere between then and now (maybe 4% or so).

We’re definitely eating out and going away LESS but not going without. As all that saving is going on we still have access to money now if needed as well.

No but only because I bought out of my mortgage rate just before Truss and because I went and got a better paying job. I would feel
sick if I hadn’t been so fortunate- I fully support teachers and nurses etc who can’t go get a better paying job. What the government is doing to them is criminal!

No money worries here, thankfully.

To paraphrase Jay-Z, I have 99 problems but money isn't one of them.

I'm not sure why @Mojitosaremyfavourite has singled out the comment from @hattie43 as there are plenty of us who don't worry about money. I'm sure we all appreciate how lucky we are too.

Not now, but a lot of the previous posters describe a place I've been in the past - working all the hours, overstretched, digging into savings and living in dread of the next bill. I know how unpleasant that feels. We downsized and pared back our lifestyle in response to that situation (I realise that many people don't have scope to do that), and now that the children have all launched we've got very low expenses.

We are both "real terms" high earners (46+60k), as opposed to "MN high earners" (aka, claim that 100k isn't really very much).

We live in a great area for affordability in the Midlands, and we're doing well. We're saving a lot for maternity leave, but even though I qualify for nothing but MA, we're fine. We had an emergency vet visit yesterday, and the insurance will cover most of it. We don't bat an eyelid at the couple of hundred excluded.

We're lucky, but we've also taken quite calculated steps in the past couple of years to maximise our earnings potential - we both decided that we didn't give a stuff about work or careers outside of flexibility and high earnings, after grinding hard through 20s. We're not big spenders - one old car, £5/month sim only contracts etc.

So it's a combination of being quite sensible and boring, and making good choices, and pure luck.

Can I ask what you do with your money? Do you save, invest etc? Do you plan on retiring early and living a similar low spend lifestyle?

Not hugely. I'm lucky to have a housing association property so my rent is low. I don't have a huge amount in savings as I get UC to top my wages up, but I have enough for a few months rent. If I lost my job I could claim UC, I wouldn't have much left for extras but I could pay bills and buy food.

I've always been a low earner, always lived in a council flat so I've never had many luxuries or spent beyond my means, never had a loan or credit card. I'm used to going without!

No and I don't know anyone that is.

No.
Mortgage is paid off.
DS1 graduated so no more college fees.
DS2 is going into 2nd year in college but we can manage the fees.
DH is getting an inheritance once a house is sold, that will go into his pension and savings.
We own our cars, appreciate how lucky we are.
We were both made redundant a few years ago and know how easily circumstances can change