How much money do you think you should ‘save’?

[Lookatmeimsandradeeee]

Posting for traffic

Just trying to do a revised family budget as a few things have changed in recent months and it got me wondering how much do people perceive they ‘should’ be saving each month? By saving I mean money you specifically allocate to be tucked away in an ISA or something for the future? £100 a month? £1000?

I know there is no right or wrong answer - I have a number in my head but I’m just curious as to what others ‘like’ to try and save monthly?

[SoapOnARoap]

15% into pension & 10% into savings is a good model to work too.

[India1819]

We have a combined income of about £100k. No children yet. Mortgage. Midlands so cheaper living. We save:
£40 / month for Christmas (jan-Oct)
£415 a month long term share save scheme
£430 normal rainy day / holiday savings
£450 from rental income to cover mortgage in between tenants, repairs etc

At the moment £400 a month is also going to a 0% loan we took for a sofa. Will be paid in Dec then we’ll save that too.

I pay 5% pension which my employer tops up by 8%. My husband is SE so has no pension - just the rental.

[Snoopyokay]

I can't save a penny I'm happy if I'm not in my overdraft each month!

[Teapiggy]

Right now I have £10 in my savings that I'm really happy I managed to do. My ex screwed me over and I only earn £1000 before tax each month so about £950 Which with rent and three children is gone the day it goes in.

[anonniemoose]

It absolutely depends on your circumstances- right now I'm overpaying my mortgage, putting every spare penny into an isa because there are likely to be a few years when my income drops. I then potentially stand to inherit a substantial amount, so longer term, money may not be an issue.

You never really know what could happen so when I can, I save. I'm always fascinated with threads where people are looking to spend a windfall. They're thinking designer handbag - I'm thinking isa.

[polkadotpixie]

I earn about £1500/month after tax, bills come to about £500, food & diesel about another £200 and I save about £300/month leaving around £500/month for living

[Nelly1727]

We save 0 each month. Outgoings are far too high. Not a good situation to be in but all we have is debt. We have a good household income but with 3 young kids and a huge mortgage out outgoings are huge.

[Missnearlyvintage]

£200 - £300 per month to cover projected costs for the year ahead. We include one weeks holiday, birthdays, Christmas, vets fees, basic car and house maintenance, large household appliance contingency, clothing and shoes and a couple of other little bits that I can't remember I think!

Sometimes I manage to pay for something from the above categories out of the month's income before transferring the savings over, in which case we will have an extra buffer in case something unexpected comes up later in the year and we can't save the target amount another month.

At the moment we are very much just trying to stay within our means averaging over the whole year, and safeguarding our existing savings so that they do not get too run down while we are focusing on raising a family, and not having the best paid jobs, (DH earned more in the past but saw us less and often brought work home - he changed job and took a pay cut, but our happiness has increased exponentially from having him around more).

My dad always says that you know you are 'making it' if you can save £500 a month without really having the scrimp. We were there, it was great and we had a 'rainy day' pot too, but it's not the be all and end all.

[springmachine]

I'm saving for my wedding and trying to put away £500 a month as I've got 7 months to go.

It's not really possible though.

Before that I was saving for maternity leave and was putting around £800 a month away in the 7 months I knew I was pregnant for.

I seem to be driving a lot more now though so my savings budget gets used up by extra fuel and car related issues (unexpected) at the moment.

If I wasn't saving for baby or wedding I'd be quite happy to put £100 a mo th away into a rainy day fund.

We're staying put in our house for now and own our cars.
We have a small home improvement loan we used for renovations which we are paying off slowly but other than that we don't have any major plans ahead , maybe saving for another baby down the line if we are lucky enough.

[RaindropsAndSparkles]

My other taught me two things. Work hard, play hard, rest hard; spend some, save some, live on some.

Like Mrs Envelope above I squirrel money into pots. Christmas pot, car pot, holiday pot, unexpected pot ...... it all goes back I'm sure to a savings tin with sections for: sweets, toys, fair rides, donkey rides, presents, pens and pencils. I loved that little tin box. Set me up for life

[MumOfTwoMasterOfNone]

Around £200 a month but we have two pre-school DC so that's a struggle. I pay 7.5% into a pension, have student loan deductions and buy childcare vouchers so my take home is pretty poor. DP is self employed and therefore income is variable and he has 2DC which he pays maintenance for too which has to be paid whatever his income.
Savings money is used if something comes up, so it isn't 'long term' savings as such.

[Bumbumtaloo]

We have only recently been in a position to save. Several years ago I became ill and had to give up work, DH is my carer and we now live on benefits. All of our money down to the last penny has always been allocated. We got heavily into debt - from me working, then being on SSP then having to apply for benefits.

Recently one of our debts finished and rather than add that money into ‘everyday’ money we decided that we would try and save the money and so far it’s been working!

We are saving with specific goals in sight. It’s not a lot of money we save but it certainly makes us feel better knowing we have a pot in case of emergencies - we now have no credit at all and awful credit ratings which at times with no buffer has been bloody awful.

[8FencingWire]

OP, I have 4 regular saver accounts.

One is for 6 months salary’s worth, should I lose my job/be off sick etc. I put £250/month in it.

One is for long term savings, I put £300/month in it.

One is a stock and shares ISA, I put £30/month in, it is what I can afford to lose should the whole thing go bust.
One is for holidays, I put £150/month in.
Hope that helps.

[DameSylvieKrin]

I feel that we should be saving everything that we don't have a good reason to spend. (I would see e.g. socialising with friends as a good reason to spend.) I aim to be frugal only up to the extent that it only impacts on me. People who know me would be shocked at how little we spend, they would have no idea.
I transfer 70% of our income directly to savings and at the end of the month I transfer what is left, which is always another 10% and often 15%.

[trilbydoll]

We have two small children and nursery fees to pay so nothing being saved here in theory when they're both at school I guess we could save the nursery fees... I'd rather spend it on holidays!

[YoloSwaggins]

(The flat is £350 each, not all-in!)

[YoloSwaggins]

So, 1/2 my salary.

But I'm reeeeeallly frugal! I buy everything from eBay, don't tip, don't do "rounds" of drinks, get my haircuts from Groupon etc.

I want to save as much as I can now so I can go on a year sabbatical/go PT later/buy a house.

[YoloSwaggins]

Depends on your situation really.

I earn 31k, rent a 1 bed flat with my partner for £350. I don't really "do" much hobby-wise, so don't really have any expenses apart from food/bills/occasional drink or charity shop purchase or train journey. I save £1000ish a month usually, unless buying plane tickets.

[Solina]

About a 3rd of our salary at the moment which is £1000 a month. We probably could save more if we really planned but we want to enjoy life whilst we save.

We are saving for a house and are quite lucky to be in a position to save up so much and earn a decent amount.

[AnnabelleLecter]

We save enough to have fun/what we want now and in the future. Thinking about retirement when you are young is boring but hopefully well worth it. I don't want to be poverty stricken at any age but sometimes it's a tricky balance.

[dontcallmethatyoucunt]

Cross post!

[dontcallmethatyoucunt]

Well I suppose we're all nosey

Maybe because I look at people's finances for a living I don't get that itch.

If you really want to know I'll PM you mine, I don't care on an individual level, but I think these threads generally make people feel crap.

[Lookatmeimsandradeeee]

I’ll also just add here, as I sense at least one poster above will cry foul and accuse me of having an article for the Fail to write, that I’m going to shortly post another thread asking what your best money saving tips are as a single income family. I’m a SAHM and we’ve had a change of circumstances which means I need to re-evaluate finances, hence new budget, so hopefully I’m not going to make anyone feel as shit as some seem to suggest this thread has made others feel I apologise if that is the case.

[Lookatmeimsandradeeee]

dontcallmethatyoucunt it adds no value and has nothing to do with my life - as I said, I was curious. Much the same way I am curious about many many other things in the world. Nothing more and nothing less. Should you not wish to proffer comment to my curiosity, simply scroll past. I don’t see the problem in simply not commenting.

[Lookatmeimsandradeeee]

weirdcatlady if it wasn’t clear from the original post, I’m not asking for advice. We know what our savings plan is and we know explicitly how much we wish to save. No where have I asked for advice or suggestions on what amount ‘we’ should be saving.

As I stated in my original post, this simply got me thinking (I believe her term I used was ‘curious’) about what others perceive to be an appropriate amount to save as I only have our personal circumstances as a gauge. I was, and continue to be, genuinely intrigued about how much others ‘aim’ to save.