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?

Maybe it’s priced too high?

Some holiday cottage prices in the UK are just ridiculous.

A hot tub is also one of the main things I look for when booking a holiday cottage so it could be worth fitting one to generate more bookings.

Yes I always worry and think about money. We're not in the situation of needing to worry about the necessities, but I do have quite high expectations so it's difficult to manage them sometimes when you feel like you've been working so hard and for so long for something that isn't materialising to the extent you thought it would when you started out, trying to take a step back and be grateful. My main concern is mortgage rates, ours isn't due up until mid 2025, but our mortgage will increase a lot, manageably so up to 7%, lifestyle will be impacted on rates higher than that. Can't do anything about it right now, but doesn't stop me worrying!

A lot of the holiday lodges we’ve looked at for the summer holidays are £700-£800 Mon-Fri and we just can’t justify it. Better to stay at home and go on day trips every day. A lot of my friends have said the same. Prices of U.K. accommodation rocketed during covid when people couldn’t fly on holiday, and doesn’t seem to have adjusted back again. So price could well be an issue.

At the moment no, I don't have any worries.
My job is pretty secure and if I lose that I have a side line I do that I can increase my hours if I want.
I have saved like mad since the beginning of covid in March 2020 putting every single spare penny away until a couple of months ago and have a great ( for me) bank balance.

I'm very financially secure. But I do worry about the impact of CoL on the charity I'm involved with.

I am always worried about money. Not necessarily because I should be, we are not in the 1% but are just below, and have very modest outgoings for our income, high savings and well off family who would help in a heart beat, but because I grew up with parents who were always watching money very carefully, so it feels like it will never be enough/you always need more savings etc.

@Buyyouflowers Unfortunately not allowed to have any more hot tubs on the park. My dh hates them and would never agree to one anyway. Plus they need v expensive maintenance involving draining down, cleaning, use of chemicals and refilling amounting to £££ after every guest. So not really a winner. As yo the lodge being priced too high… not really. You can have a week in the second part of August for £835.

I also find that some people just cannot budget easily. They arent taught it at school and seem to not be able to work out what to prioritse. I have a good friend who just lets money slip through her fingers. She smokes and will buy cigs more than thinking about putting something extra aside for her higher rent.

She insists on staying in her 3 bed rental even though she cannot afford it anymore and is thinking of just waiting until they evict her. She literally doesnt think before she spends and consequently has NO savings. She works part time because she wants to spend time with her children and does tend to judge someone like me who works full time and always has.

We have luckily been on holiday a few times over the last 12 months and the airports are packed. The Easyjet flight we took last month was stuffed full and the lady in front of me was literally buying the whole of duty free and mugging the food trolley for her and her teen kids.

I of course do remember the 15% mortage rates because I had one on my own but mortgage was only £60k so manageable. 6% on say £400k is scary.

I of course do remember the 15% mortage rates because I had one on my own but mortgage was only £60k so manageable. 6% on say £400k is scary.

A BBC article said last week that 13% rate from the 80s feels like a 6% rate today. People are quick to say 6% is "normal" but it isn't for the level of borrowing we have now.

@DanceMonster yes I think you’re right about some unscrupulous owners charging ridiculous prices during and just after Covid especially in Cornwall (not where I am). But the vast majority don’t. I can see that £700-800 Mon- Fri might feel a lot but what people don’t realise is the costs involved running one. It is nowhere near pure profit as pitch fees ( thousands) need to be paid, gas and electric, cleaning and bed changes, decking and window cleaning, replacements from wear and tear to name just a few.

You say not really….. yet it’s not booked up… if it was the right price you would be fully booked.

I’m paying £1,900 for 2 weeks in Spain in the school holidays for a hotel on the beach.

Staying at your place would be £1,670…

It’s a no brainer. UK holiday cottages are simply priced too high in comparison now the rest of the world is open.

No, we’re comfortable fortunately. Our mortgage is very small though as we bought a modest sized house. We don’t spend a huge amount on meals out or drinking, but we’re still having 3 or 4 holidays a year. I realise we’re lucky & things can always change.

Fortunately, no money worries. Early 50s and mortgage paid off. Semi retired with a good amount of savings. Have decent pensions to look forward to. What has helped was the decision to stay in our house since we bought it in 1996. Was tempted to buy a bigger property but decided against it.

I get that. But it’s still a lot of money for 4 nights in a lodge. Money that for us, and many of our friends, could be better used elsewhere. We’ve ended up joining forces with 2 sets of friends and for £700 per family we’re getting a 7 bedroom house with large garden/bbq/hot tub. Far better value for money.

It's a bit weird but my answer is both yes and no OP. And I've been thinking about money a lot lately.

I'm worried in as much as our mortgage rate is due to go up by the end of the year. We have also been spending a lot recently in terms of events we can't get out of (and wouldn't want to anyway) We've booked to go away in Sunmer too.

So, there are things we could say no to (or just not do) and we also have a decent savings buffer. As such, we are in a better position than a lot of people.

However, I would like to remain PT at work and I like our salaries to cover stuff so that we don't have to dip into savings. At the minute, we have been dipping into them more regularly than I'd like, but I can see a light at the end of the tunnel after August. But then the mortgage will likely go up, so may need to reassess things.

So I'm not imminently worried, but more mindful to keep an eye on things.

Exactly, this is the distinction. And something to remember next time someone tries to pretend the existence of 15% rates in the past mean this isn't unprecedented.

I love holidays abroad long and short haul and of course Covid messed all that up so we did some 3-4 day breaks in the UK. The pricing wasnt great for what it was but I know that hospitability has had a very tough time.

The next year what put me off bar the weather in the summer which was changeable was the truly shocking prices for places like Travelodges in the UK- £220 anyone?? Never gone back to the UK now that covid isnt the issue it was.

Yes. Everything, all of the basics have increased exponentially, I’m a carer to our youngest child and my husband works in an industry which hasn’t seen a pay rise in over four years. We did manage to get a 5 year fix on our mortgage a few months ago but recently had to spend our savings to replace our car. We’ve accrued about £4000 debt in the last 18 months trying to plug the gaps. Hope something changes soon.

Not really but kind of in terms of the long term and bigger, optional things we wanted to do. We aren't worried about money day to day, we have enough to pay our bills and have an emergency fund which means we're fine if something happens. We aren't having to majorly cut back on our day to day lifestyle, but are wincing and trying to be a bit more careful.

We are having to rethink about more long term or "extra" plans as we're not saving much at the moment and don't have huge wiggle room in the budget. So things like moving up the housing ladder aren't going to happen now. We're making a ten year long term plan to space out big holidays and putting money aside way ahead of time. And when buying a new (to me) car, price is a lot more of a factor than before.

No. I got a very well paying second job (very limited hours but well paid when available) this time last year. I was just starting at looking at spending some of the extra money by moving to a larger house when the price rises started.

Instead, I’ve not changed my lifestyle at all so I’ve got enough to cover the price rises plus some extra to save.

We have just taken a mortgage break which will help us out over summer but really worried what happens beyond that, we can't afford food at the end of month anymore. I work PT and DH works full time in a decent job, we have a lot of debt though

I’ve been saving for some home renovations for five years. I’m almost at my saving target but now I’m finding I’m dipping into it month on month and I darent have the work done and wipe out my savings. My outgoings are more than my income, so yes, I’m worried although I’ve got a bit of grace.

Yes I'm starting to worry now. Husband is self employed and has lost a lot of work recently. I earn a good wage but we're still spending pretty much every penny we have. We haven't been able to put anything in to savings for about a year. We do have some savings to fall back on but this would only cover a few month's expenses so really don't want to touch them unless we have to. I appreciate we are a lot better off than some people as we're not necessarily worrying about paying the bills (yet) but really having to change our standard of living. No holidays, less eating out, dipping in to savings for unforeseen expenses etc.

No more than normal - we've been living on the bones of our arses for years and years. Now that ds has been awarded DLA and we have been moved into universal credits and are entitled to a bit extra for a child with a disability (adhd) and a carer's element for dh, we're much better off than we had been over the past few years. We've also come to the end of several finance agreements that we had no choice but to take out so have less money going out than we had before, meaning that we have more money available to use.

Yes and no.

We're very lucky not to have a mortgage, which is a huge privilege and weight off. We bought before the market sky rocketed here, and only what we could afford from an inheritence. In retrospect I wish we'd not been so cautious at the time as the area isn't great and there are many everyday niggles with this place. I'd love to move but DH is 10 years from retirement (and I am very aware of the downsides if our large age gap on future finances etc).

I've not earned much at all for the last 20 years since graduating, and currently have got my student debt back to the £10k it was when I graduated.

I've now got a job that pays reasonably well and means our household income will almost double. But I have a several year probation period so that doesn't feel secure yet, and I'm only starting to pay into work pension in my 40s, having only had a couple of qualifying years NI so far, so long term needs to be prioritised.

DH and I work in the same company, so there's always that added risk.

No kids (sadly), which saves us a lot of expenses, but I'd change that in a heart beat if I could. Not going to happen when I've no maternity entitlement.

I'm so used to scrimping and saving that I find it quite hard to get my head around spending on things that we can now afford, that would make life a bit better or more comfortable.