In thinking most people don't have any savings?

[Hammy02]

I was having a conversation with DP last night and he reckons most people in this country have some savings. I said I thought a small percentage might but not the majority. It's hardly a big issue but I just wondered what you thought? I always assumed most people pretty much live on their income and have little, if anything left over at the end of the month?

We have a small amount in savings
DH has a pension
Endowment

It is quite scary when you look at the projections and see what % of salary you need to save to afford a reasonable life once retired.

I don't think the words 'retire' and 'easy' can be applied in these times - the days of golden handshakes and 2nd homes just won't feature for a lot of people.

We have quite a lot of savings from the pre dc days when dh and I earned a decent amount but we don't add to them any more (other than dh's pension) We have about a year's salary saved.

we don´t have much, maybe about 2K at the moment but it goes up and down (mainly down) because we live fairly close to the bone re. money in/money out. and any unexpected costs (car, house etc) do need to come out of this.

I do have a savings mentality but dh changed to part time hours when ds1 was born and he may give up work when my maternity leave finishes at the end of next summer to look after ds2. I only work part time in the winter aswell. For us, for now, not having savings is because we are choosing a much higher quality of family life while the children are small. When they are both at school we will be more free to push ahead work wise and hopefully get more money behind us.

That´s the plan anyway.

We have savings but we both work full-time - not on huge salaries at all but we don't really allow ourselves many luxuries and are quite mean compared to other people I know .

I would never take out a loan for anything other than a house, including credit cards, they just scare me too much.

pagwatch, yes I agree, I have always tried to squirrel away money here and there even when it doesn´t amount to much. The fact is dh, left to his own devices, is one of those who would constantly have more credit card debt than I have savings. As it is we may not have a huge amount saved but the fact is we have no money left over at the end of the month so when we´ve needed new tires for the car or a new washing machine or had a hefty tax bill to pay we´ve always had a reserve to pay it from. And while it pains me to see that reserve go down, I always thank god we had it and didn´t have to borrow or go without.

So ultimately yes I hope we can reach a point where we save a decent amount on a regular basis but as it is, we do what we can.

We had savings, then we spent them on a house! We have a little bit left and we add a small amount each month. Adding to the savings is non-negotiable, we do without other things before we stop adding to that. Saving was always drummed into me growing up. We don't have much and it will be a long, long time if ever before we can have enough to survive if dh loses his job but if the oven/washing machine/fridge blow up then we can replace them without having to borrow.

We dont have any savings and I feel quite :( reading this thread and a bit worried too.

We were told it was foolish to save (for want of a better word) while we still have a mortgage to pay as whatever interest you get on the savings will not be as much as you would need to pay back in interest on the mortgage.

Is this good/bad advice?

I would appreciate your thoughts.

We had savings- earn decent amounts and don't have an expensive lifestyle. So we spent them all on school fees. The end is in sight though thankfully, and we can start to build them up again soon, cos we are down to a couple of thousand in Premium Bonds and that is it. Even emptied the ISAs now.

Well DP has about 2 grand in the bank after everything is paid for, not really enough to save and never really goes up because if it starts going up you can be bet your arse somethings going to turn up that needs paying ASAP.

I got over 1en grand in a current account, I'm going thru it tho as I'm not working so I wouldn't call that savings, I did want to put some in a savings account but as I don't have a valid passport right now I have no proof of ID and don't see the point getting a new one when it's not I'll be leaving the country anytime soon.

I don't really know anyone with savings other then a bit put aside for a rainy day when the bills come, judging by the amount of payday loans etc out there I'd say most working class are on the breadline, DP works in a pawn brokers, it's a very lucrative business, people mainly use that in the same way as loan companies, trading in the wedding ring and coming back on pay day and getting it back and paying the interest, actually selling the things to new customers makes up a very tint percentage of the business.

We have savings, I view it as essential for the security/stability of our family.

Fair enough if you are living literally hand to mouth, but I wouldn't buy anything other than real essentials (ie no clothes, treats, going out, including birthdays/xmas etc) if I didn't have enough to keep us going for 6 months in the bank.

Credit card debt is so so expensive, anyone who uses that for non essentials like xmas spending is a bit stupid/mad.

I think it depends on interest rates NotEnoughTime.

We still have a good chunk of mortgage to pay off and I know that over time we will pay lots of interest on it. However that is the only debt that we have as we don't buy on credit. By putting money away every month we don't have to take out credit when we need a new car/fridge/washing machine etc, and the amount that that saves on interest is quite high. Also once the savings in the instant access account get to a certain amount we move some into longer term investments, which are building up a good fund for the future.

So even though we pay interest on our mortgage I still feel that saving is a good thing to do.

I have savings - I put money in an ISA every month, and still have an endowment policy from when I changed my mortgage to a repayment type.
However, I do live very much in the pocket during the month.
My shop is making no money at the moment (can just about pay the bills, as long as I use the credit card every month - makes me a month behind what I have, really), but I make sure that I take enough out to pay my essential personal bills each month.
I used my savigns to start my business, which is why I have so little.

I don't understand anyone who has no savings at all - even if you only have 30p left at the end of the month, you should put it in a separate savings account. You might need to use it, but chances are, you won't, so you can leave it in there.

when I first started working, and got paid monthly, every pay day, i took out the difference of what I was paid and what I had left in my acocunt and put it in my savings account. It was a simple way to save, so every month I was effectively only living on what I was paid that month.

we dont have savings at all, cant afford to save. Used to pay into a pension but that had to stop as needed the monthly payment. I am trying not to worry about it reading this as it wouldn't help any to sit worrying about it.

We each have a year's worth of our net income saved up, as well as pensions. We sorted this out before the kids came along because it would be impossible to do it now. We need this much put away because I am a SAHM now, and my husband's skills are very specialised, so if he lost his job, he would need time and money to retrain.

i've put money away since I first had a job.

makes me feel more secure! especially as dh might be made redundant soon

would also like to move house at some point and we'll need money for that. In the meantime it's there for emergencies.

Ryoko , you don't need a passport as proof of ID.

Most banks will accept birth certificate (coupled with marriage certificate if you've changed your name) and current utility bills and bank statements. If you open your savings account with the same bank, you only need your current bank details.

I think most people do and they should. I think it's sad when people drive round in big cars, have large tvs, gadgetry galore etc and have no fall back. Then moan when banks/cc companies charge them for using their money. I understand that a lot of people live within their means, but up to the penny, but I wonder what they consider essential and could actually live without? Mobile phone, new shoes, dvds, that extra bottle of wine. I despise Lord Young and his stinking Tory view, but I wonder if some people really do take for granted what they do have and don't understand what they really NEED.

It makes no financial sense to have a substantial amount of savings of you also have debts (including mortgage debt). In the current climate it is highly unlikely that the interest rate on your savings will be higher than your mortgage/credit interest rate. You are in effect paying to save.

I dont save because I have access to v low interest credit, if I need it in an emergency.

We have good long term savings, i.e.

• well stashed pensions with generous contributions each month
• share investments via company schemes that will mature in 5 years
• CTF for DD which is max funded

But v little by way of immediately accessible savings for emergencies. Probably only enough to survive for a couple of months if we suddenly had no income.

But if DH was made redundant, he'd get at least 6 months full pay plus commission. If he was too sick to work we have comprehensive insurance. If he died we have death in service cover through his work. I don't have any of this, and I run my own business so no cover there if I can't get clients. But DH is the major earner at the moment, so we're comfortable with this.

I'd like to have more in the way of accessible savings as it's always a bit painful when we have to pay for new car tyres/vet bills/house maintenance etc, but it's not really practical at the moment. The money just isn't really there after our monthly expenditure is taken care of.

Also about £100k equity in the house if we sold it today, but that's never guaranteed... anything could happen to the market still.

that's true, darlene - My theory is that you should get rid of your debts first, then save.

To avoid problems, I would always assume 6 months salary in savings and everything else you should use for living and paying off debts.

You don't need more than that - if you lost your job, it would take care of immediate needs, and after that, one would hope you have a new job, or if you don't, then you would rely on the benefits system.

I have always had savings, would feel wierd having nothing to fall back on. When I was a child I would save up all my birthday money, then my parents would need to "borrow" it to pay a bill fro somwething and I would never see it again.
Now I will not lend money to anyone, but I still save, so when I want something, from a new tv to a new car, I can just pay for it. I would hate to have less than 6 months income saved, especially in this fragile job market.
We also overpay the mortgage, and have got it down(in 3 years) from 20 years to 11, so now it coincides with eldest child turning 18. We're looking forward to that .
We are neither rich nor old, but we live slightly below our means and budget carefully. It can't be that hard, surely...

nickeldonkeyonadustyroad

I don't want an account at Natwest, I'd want one elsewhere at a different banking group entirely (that isn't in shit).

Effectively, no. We've got no savings, because our overdraft debt wipes it out. But overdraft is interest free, so we pay that off seperately to money we put aside for emergencies.

Not sure what we will do when we have to start paying back student loans.

I do think most people put away money when times are good, it's just that right now times aren't good for most people.

Our overdraft is interest free, obviously most people's isn't. (except other student/gradute account holders)