Savings how much

[Greatballsofedam]

So there are a few threads going around about money and how people can't cope on what they earn
My question

1. what do you earn
   
2. what are your outgoings
   
3. how much is left at from your salary's at the end of the week/month/year
   
4. how much in savings do you have
   
   I am just interested to see some answers

[user1486499646]

Me and dp both earn 600pm we own our own home and never struggle...

[LakieLady]

I earn £21.5k (p/time) and DP earns £26k. I also have a small pension (£186 pcm after tax).

We each pay £750 a month into the joint a/c which covers mortgage, bills, food and other essentials and a couple of modest holidays, plus the cost of running out motorhome.

Out of what's left, we each run a car of our own and OH runs 2 motorbikes. The costs of running my car are partly offset by the 40p per mile I get for work mileage, which gets me around £120-£150 a month.

I save around £300-£500 a month, and have £35k in savings (£28k of this is my pension lump sum, which I got 18 months ago).

We have £20k in joint savings, which is what's left of the complex web of refinancing we had to do when my ex was awarded a £97.5k divorce settlement 4 years ago.

DP builds up savings, but often has long gaps between contracts when they dwindle again. However, he's a tightwad, so spends very little when he's working and often manages to save £1k or more a month. Atm, he's down to his last grand, so has just started another contract.

If he'd go and get a permanent job and stick to it for a couple of years, we could afford to have the house tarted up, an extension built, sell it for top price, then bog off somewhere rural, buy a place with a holiday let and semi-retire.

I point this out to him from time to time. {sigh}

[AndnoneforGretchenWeinersBye]

I would never want to think that anyone is being less than sincere, particularly on threads such as these, but.....

Really??!!??

[Crumbs1]

We have high joint income but are a bit older. We weren't always so well off so saving and ability to spend on luxuries came when first children were entering teens. We invested in property so most of savings are tied up there. We have enough cash savings for around two years living at reasonable level plus trust funds for the children which are savings for specific purposes. We know we are fortunate but also know what it's like to end the month eating 'value' beans on toast. It's tougher for young families now. I do wonder how young people will get on housing ladder - our eldest has just had an offer accepted on a fairly ordinary Victorian terrace (it's nice - but still a Victorian terrace). It was 495k for first time buyers - just silly money. I can't see her saving much for a while!

[Solo]

But in relative terms Crumbs1 in 1984 I (and exh) bought our first house, miles outside London with a commute by road into work (London) each day. The house was £23,500.00 (3 bed semi 1935 built needing loads* of work and cash spending on it) and we struggled big time to get a mortgage on our £9k joint earnings with a £3,500 deposit. We went without a lot and I think it was an exciting time! But then again, everyone wants instant everything^ nowadays.
I do wish your Dd luck though; it will be so worth it :). I doubt my Ds will ever own his own place ~ until I die, but Dd may inherit one of her father's properties if she's lucky enough to.

[Unihorn]

This thread is insane... I really didnt know so many people earned and saved so much. I don't know anyone in real life with savings higher than a couple of thousand, and even they are few and far between.

[Crumbs1]

Solo, yes you're right but it feels like a lot for a 24 year old to take on. But then the earlier they get on the ladder, the better I guess. They thought it was silly paying loads of rent when they could be paying off a mortgage. They're on reasonable and secure salaries as doctors but I do wonder how other youngsters (the nurses, teachers, paramedics, fire fighters, shop workers and call centre workers) will ever get their own places.
You're right that everyone wants everything at once and is willing to use credit cards to get it.

[RedMetamorphosis]

It's not really relative - you bought a house that was 2.5 x your combined salaries. I really doubt that Crumbs' Dd's combined salary is nearly 200k.

The only reason we will be able to buy a house is because of DP's earning power, the fact that we have no ties to the South East and that we made sacrifices through living away from family/friends for so long. I can imagine that 40%+ of my friends (currently 27-29) will never own property.

[salsaqueen2]

I feel really so upset reading this. I had no idea so many people earned so much. Or rather no idea our less than 20k jointly a year was so little.

[Crumbs1]

No redmetamorphosis their combined salary is around 86k, I think.

[Emeraldie]

Joint income of around £45k, take home about £2700 pm after childcare (vouchers).

Outgoings about £1800 pm on actual bills. The rest gets spent on...stuff. Food comes out of the £900 left as do kids clubs/events/Xmas/hols.

Zero savings which is less than ideal.

[FruitCider]

Joint income £45k
Net monthly income £2900
Outgoings £2400
Savings £10k
Planned debt £7k
Unplanned debt £0

Currently using excess income to make overpayments on debt of £300 a month. It will all be gone in 1 year.

[Ecureuil]

The only reason we will be able to buy a house is because of DP's earning power, the fact that we have no ties to the South East and that we made sacrifices through living away from family/friends for so long

Yes, same. The only way we could buy a house is being flexible with location, we couldn't stay anywhere near our family and friends. Had to start afresh in a completely new area.

[gratedcheese]

Salsa please don't be upset . It is such a tiny proportion of people in the UK earning such huge amounts of money, really, really is not representative of massive swathes of the population.

[Crumbs1]

Gratedcheese we did likewise and moved a number of times for better paid jobs and house purchases. We didn't really settle until the children were at secondary and needing stability and good schools for their exams. We could not have afforded to remain in Surrey where we lived after we first married and buy a house big enough for growing family.

[Mysterycat23]

Christ on a bike that first response has done me in. What the actual.

[PigletWasPoohsFriend]

salsaqueen2 Please don't be upset. This really isn't representative of the wider population.

[gratedcheese]

Mystery I think that's the problem, it's often how the first couple of responses go as to the way the whole thread pans out. If you get a lot of wealthy people coming on first it scares off the others who may have been in a very different situation. I hate to think of anyone being upset by this (or any) discussion, honestly if you counted the amount of high earners who responded it's possibly 100 if that? I don't know but out of the millions of MNetters who are reading this it really is only a fraction.

If you went to say Ibiza and stood down by the docking for the yachts in the old town you would see perhaps 50 stunningly expensive yachts, most of us just look and admire but we don't feel depressed (or shouldn't) as we know that they only belong to a handful of people and that most of us aren't ever going to own a yacht but despite this can lead perfectly fulfilled and happy lives !

[user1485166754]

DH earns £60k
I earn £40k

Outgoings about 2.2k per month.

Then we usually take about 800 - 1k each for personal spending and then save the rest.

About 25k savings

[concernedforher]

Joint earnings of around £35k. I work part time and DH is retired. We each put £300 a month towards bills. Mortgage was paid off about 8 years ago, overpaid it to pay off early. I try to save about £200 a month. I have savings of about £25,000, DH has savings of about £50,000. I inherited about £400k from my parents 5 years ago, which is mostly invested. DH inherited about £200k last year, also invested. We've never lived extravagantly, always planned for the probability that DH would need to retire early on health grounds, which he did, and as a result never went for the huge house/flash cars thing. We save for things we want and have no debt. I wasn't always as sensible with money and had debts about 25 years ago. I cleared them and changed my attitude to money and spending, and that's when I started to save.

[BadLad]

I feel really so upset reading this. I had no idea so many people earned so much. Or rather no idea our less than 20k jointly a year was so little.

If it makes you feel better, one of the posters on this thread claiming a high income was caught out bullshitting on the master bedroom thread.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2843786--to-see-what-your-master-bedroom-looks-like

[PortiaCastis]

Yes you have to see through the bullshit