How long could you live on 30% of your income?

[houselikeashed]

Just that really. If your industry was shut down overnight with no warning. If your job was never going to end without a years notice period to save up in. How long would your immediate savings last you?
(You are not allowed to assume you would be eligible for any gov help schemes or UC.)

30% of our household income we’d last about a month.
Using our savings and the 30% probably 6 months.
Using our available credit and the 30% income to make minimum payments we’d be good for about 2.5 years assuming we can use credit cards to pay for everything.

I’m so sorry you’ve both been hit by it so badly, and really hope things improve ASAP for you.

OP Im sorry for your situation, you must be very stressed. In answer to your question, probably about a year here realistically - using savings to top up and our mortgage overpayment pot to pause mortgage payments. Thankfully mortgage small as we aimed to always be able to live on one income if needed. Maybe more like 18 months if we were very careful. Im self employed and normally keep a good stockpile in which I circulate of household stuff / groceries so could use that up, have a stock in garage of solid fuel for the fireplace etc, next size up school shoes / kids clothes bought in sale in etc. I'm also quite handy so could knit using stash, sew / mend / alter clothes etc. We would be ok but it wouldnt be fun. I'm dreading brexit on top of covid - times are going to be very tough ahead for so many families and many dont even realise it.

Well we've already lost nearly 50% as DH has just been made redundant. We can manage that.

30% of what we have now would be about £400 a month. We'd burn through our savings quickly.

No savings here, so in theory, on 30% of my income I'd be having to default on my mortgage payments and feed my DC through the food bank whilst using what little income I had to pay bills. In reality I'd take any paid work I could get so that my income didn't go down.

I know we're lucky to have had good work up to now, but it just makes me cross (and jealous) that families with an income of £120k reduced to £75k are receiving £7.5k+, but families reduced to £20k receive nothing.

I know it's sour grapes, and a lot of people get by on less, but it still makes me really cross.

Three to four years.

I could pay my rent and council tax. With about £100 left over for all other expenses, so wouldn't last long!

I'm an NHS nurse so unlikely to be jobless but who knows after Brexit.
So I would be better off taking early retirement (nowhere near enough on its own)and any job.Our local supermarket is always advertising so I should be ok.
We already have everything pinned down as I am saving for DD if she goes to uni.

If our joint income dropped to 30% of what it is now, we would be £350 short of being able to pay essential bills and eat - that’s if we stripped back unnecessary bills such as cancelled gym, childcare (as presumably we wouldn’t need it), dog walker etc

We would be able to manage for a long time but only because we inherited some money that we can’t decide what to do with. (One of the reasons I’m reluctant to pay it off the mortgage is because seeing it in the bank is comforting - I think this is after seeing my parents struggle so much when we were children - and even now my Mum will he in a precarious position when she retires)

Pre-inheritance, we were fortunate to still have some savings which would been meant we would be ok.

I’m sorry about your DH’s job op and that you aren’t eligible for help. You must be feeling so stressed

As mortgage just paid off this spring, have savings and decent wage, could do ok for a long time. Cut luxuries, change shopping habits back to frugal mode, entertain ourselves at home. Could cover basic food bills, electricity, gas, phone,broadband, bins, probably drop either netflix or prime, and running costs of car. Annual bills would need so,me thinking about, but probably doable. No new clothes etc though, and definitely no holidays.