How much savings should I have at 30?

[sodoffbeforemycupofcoff]

I’m a single mother of 2 and I of course have a pension and my kids have an ok savings account too as they’re only young (5 and 2). I have £4.5k saved up but feel this is a bit… meh. It’s not enough to fall back on, should I need to. But saying this, I have also had the savings pot for around 1 year and not saved it. I am trying to build on my savings but it won’t be much. My 5year old has around 2k and 2 year old has around 700 in theirs. Am I doing ok?
I realise and I am thankful I’m in a better position than some… but am I where I need to be? (According to society)!

No one can give you a real answer to this. It completely depends on individual circumstances and why you are saving.

Do you have any debt?

It’s kind of a how long is a piece of string question. At 30, I had nothing, just starting my career after a lot of study and lived week to week. 20 years later I’m mortgage free, decent pension and savings, but I do like to spend more than I save 🙈

To me you are fine if your income is reasonably secure and you have somewhere secure to live. Kids are also expensive (I hope that stops before they hit 30??)

i am very glad you’re settled and living extremely comfortably in life. Well done☺️
I don’t have debt really no. My worry is if the worst was to come would I be able to afford to carry on. I am now starting to save every penny I can to build up a bit.

I suppose it does… I like to worry about things that are not yet happening 🙄

No one else can really tell you where you need to be. It’s all relative. For some being debt free is the goal for others they’ll want several properties in the portfolio and be on the way to retiring at 50. Stop worrying about other people, decide what you’re saving for and set yourself a realistic target. Then crack on.

thanks. I needed to hear that. That’s excellent advise and you’re so right.

I agree that you should worry less about what others have (especially because there's a mob on Mumsnet who'll be along soon to tell you about their multi-million portfolios!) and focus on setting a target for yourself and saving what you can. When my kids were that age my savings had been wiped out by buying a house and going on maternity leave and then working part time. I've slowly built them back up to a point where I am comfortable. My advice would be to set up standing orders so that money is moved into savings as soon as you are paid. Have some instant access money that you can withdraw in an emergency but once you have a couple of months expenses in that start locking money away in accounts that need more notice but pay higher interest. If you can manage to put away one-third of your income every month (including pension contributions) you are doing well. If you can't don't worry because childcare is expensive and hopefully in future you can build up the amount you save.