To ask about debt/savings?

[IanHBuckells]

I know these always end up a bit gosst but just wondering how many people really have 3 months net wages readily available in a rainy day fund and if they do, at what point in life that becomes the reality. This isn't about figures as it's relative to income/outgoings so not looking for people to share that they have £xxxxx!

We have about 2.5 months wages in a savings account but that's about to be wiped out by a new kitchen, then we will start again. However, we also have a bigger loan outstanding on our car so in my mind we don't actually have any savings!

Most of my friends are in similar positions - a few hundred quid in savings but nowhere near 3 months wages unless they are saving for something specific.

We're mid 30's and sometimes I wonder if we will ever be proper grown ups

The kitchen refurbishment may cost well above what is quoted once you start removing things especially if you are changing the layout of the room or if some damage is identified when you remove the current setting.

I didn’t want to de capitalise myself by getting a new kitchen but the previous one was falling to pieces so, I shopped around, found one that met my taste and budget and calculated how much I need to put as a down payment to get a non interest free credit that allowed me to pay 3% of my after taxes monthly income towards it.

It has worked well because my first payment was not crippling abd my monthly payments so minimal they have not had an impact on other things.

We have 2 months worth at the moment. We have a separate pot for any big things that need doing, will be doing our drive way and bath room in the next 12months.

It is hard to save. I'm a spender. DH is the breadwinner and is on significantly more than me. So he can afford to save.

It's all relative, we have 3 months worth of savings which could possibly be a years worth to others but we are older.

We do need a new kitchen but this past year has taught us we just don't know what's round the corner so we've prioritised keeping the savings and make do and mend with the kitchen who needs cupboard doors that stay attached to the cupboard

We're both in our 20's (under 25)

We did have enough saved for 6/7 months of both of our salaries but we recently moved out so had to furnish our entire flat, so they've taken a bit of a hit so we're down to 4/5 months.

Now that the big stuff is out of the way and paid for we're going to build our savings back up again...

We had 20k saved and we're below that now but we'll hopefully be back above that before Christmas..we're saving for a house though so living quite frugally.

@GrandmasCat

I have more that saved but it is ring fenced for DS university. It has taken literally years.

What has worked very well is having an “unexpected expenses” fund. I try to keep it at £1000 to ensure I don’t need to rely in credit cards or be thrown out into a financial mess if something expensive comes along, like repairs to the house, vet fees or fixing the car.

Don’t ring fence it for ds uni. It would make more sense for him to get a loan, he might not even earn anough to pay it back when he leave uni. Save the money to help him for a deposit for a house

Late twenties early thirties we had more than that in savings and bought a house, in the last 5/6 years we've managed to save and pay for our wedding and honeymoon , New bathroom, new to us car (7k ford not fancy) , relatively substantial house renovations , usually 3/4 holidays a year nothing super fancy but abroad and not benidorm etc. We do now have 3 months salary emergency fund that's untouchable unless it's an emergency, plus other savings, although new bathroom has just wiped that down to about 5k, we save £700-£1000 a month. Joint income is around 80-85k plus the odd bit of overtime and we have one DS now so travel less but pay nursery bills. A lot of people we know live a lot on credit, have new cars every 3 years x2, holidays they can't afford, kids in designer clothes , Disney princesses turning up on the door to announce euro Disney trips for birthdays for 5 years old , tan, hair, nails, tattooed eyebrows (we live in Essex) etc. We have a decent income but live in the South East so mortgage and council tax are high, we prioritise savings and put that aside at the start of the month. I think a lot of friends just spend what's in their account and if they can't afford a big expense it goes on credit. Don't get me wrong in not making a chicken last twenty meals and telling everyone to wear extra jumpers instead of putting the heating on. We live a comfortable life and usually have the money to do things we want. We go out most weekends, but it's not always expensive, could just be PYO or a walk to the local beach. We choose to live in an area with lots of amenities which means our house want cheap, but not everything has to be a big excursion we've got lots to do within walking distance or a very short car ride.

I have about 1 month’s salary saved up at the moment (blew another months on a car earlier this year and half of that is about to go towards the mortgage to move me to a lower LTV so that my monthly payments are lower). I have a loan which was for house renovations but it created more equity in my house than it cost, so that doesn’t concern me. Ultimately I would say most of my savings are in my home, which is fine for now but which will hopefully change at some point in the future.

You should have 3 - 6 months EXPENSES in an emergency fund, not net income.

You don’t use that money to do up your kitchen, you use that to replace a broken fridge, boiler, etc. Then you top it up as part of your mothly experiences.

If you want a new kitchen you save for that once you have a fully funded emergency fund.

I’ve got about 1.5 months saved but that’s to pay for house purchase fees.

Normally I put away around £200 a month which is used at Christmas.

Me and DH are both 30 with 3DC. We have 4 months net saved and no debts and no mortgage but we’ve offered on a new house so will be having an 80k mortgage. We save a lot each month but still have a nice lifestyle.

I'm 31. I have £10k on my easily accessed savings account. Then I invest small amounts every month. Currently I'm saving for a house deposit that goes to an account I can't access.

If I need money from the savings account, then I take it and save it again by reducing the savings to the other accounts. If I need something specific then I add money to the savings account so it goes over the £10k.

I'm an average salaried NHS employee and the £10k savings have been going up and down since I've gone to uni as a mature student and been out of work etc. But I feel safer knowing I have that on my account and it has been a work in progress for 10 years. Currently I'm very worried about my pension and having kids so I'm trying to save to the investment funds for the future. I like the slow and steady approach.

I turn 50 this year and we have never had 3 months expenses in savings.

We did however pay off the mortgage at 32 and have no debt other than the car.

We run our own business and have only ever taken out what we need to live, the rest stays in the business.

If I had savings and needed a new kitchen then I wouldn't hesitate.

It’s so variable OP and this thread will attract lots of posters who have a lot of savings or live very frugally.

I spent 20’s and most of my 30s living pretty much month by month. Despite having a very well paid job. I had DC in private school and would put holidays on the credit card and hope for the bonus.

A lot of people I know lived like that.

We have 7.5x our net wages available right now. Both just turned 31 with 1 child and a second on the way. We'll be at about 5.3x our net wages at the end of my next maternity leave.

I think for us it's been mostly a factor of how long me and my partner have been together. We met before Uni and have always pushed hard to climb through the ranks at work (or switch jobs to jump up a level). A combination of two incomes with one shared set of outgoings over 15 years feels like it's bound to have a big impact. So I guess that's a long-winded way of saying it took us 15 years to get to where we are? So whilst we're quite young to be in this sort of position, we've been working towards it for a long time.

I have 4 months of expenses (not salary), and I'm now saving to have 6. After that, I'll save for a new bathroom.
I also have another saving pot for everything flat related, emergencies and furnitures.
Bought my first flat last year so most of my previous savings went in the deposit.

I have no debt beside the mortgage, and I always try to save before buying. I could probably take a loan for the bathroom but I'd rather save really. Not sure its the smartest move but at least it grants me peace of mind.

We do. Mid 40's now but had it since late 20's and being made redundant for the first time.

I would never use that money. Especially not to wipe it out for a kitchen. Save again and then get the kitchen.

I actually do have decent(ish) savings now. However, it cane after learning the very hard way! I treated credit like free money as a young adult and ended up of very hard times for a good few years because of it. I then vowed this would never happen again so I transfer a set amount out of my wages. I do dip into it now and again when needed, but that's instead of using credit. Never ever again!

We are early 40s and working towards our savings. We only have 2k in there at the moment, but we're working on it.

We're moving house too so once we're in our new home and get used to paying more than we currently do now, we will reevaluate what we can save. No debt apart from mortgage and I am aware we spend money on shite. For example I will nip to B&M for toiletries and come out with £50 worth of candles and reed diffusers 🤣. So I need to knock that on the head.

We have 1 dd and are building up a nice little pot for her that can be for a deposit on a house if that's what she wants to use it for.

I have a years annual wage in savings.
It’s taken a while though but we went through something years ago which made me realise i needed a deal
Back is I was doing be out of work for a year unexpectedly.

We have about 8 months net wages in savings. DD1 is about to start at Uni, so some of that will be going on her accommodation.

I think most would find it hard to save if there's still children at home or are paying a mortgage. These two things were what made the difference for us once they both happened.
We used to save for holidays and the like and it wasn't easy, now, we save without even thinking about it.
Saying that, we've never had a lavish lifestyle and still live carefully but comfortably, if you see what I mean.

We currently have more than a couple of years worth saved, because we are saving for a bigger house. We are just either side of 40. If you’d told me 10 years ago we’d have six figures in savings accounts I would have laughed in your face.

I inherited about the amount we have in savings now which we put into a house. Our mortgage is less than our rent was so that helped us to save. Plus wage increases, no more childcare costs, and a chunk made on crypto currency (although we’ve totally cashed out now).

We are extremely frugal. Two young kids. Haven’t had a holiday for many years. Occasional takeaways and very little socialising because of our kids needs. Very rare for us to buy expensive stuff.

We could wipe out our savings paying off our mortgage but because of our kids needs, we need a bigger house. Would like to not increase our mortgage when we move but due to the cost of housing here it will probably take every penny we have.

I have 3 years worth of net pay in savings. It's easy when you're old, got a few grand in pension lump sums at 60, have no kids and no mortgage.

And my p/t salary is very low, so even 3 years worth isn't a huge amount!

Grew up dirt poor, so have always prioritised saving. Even as a student, worked & saved, got adhd it turns out, so don't stay in jobs & need the safety of "I quit" money. I am very frugal. I can probably do the MN chicken thing. 😁🍗🐔

I used to advise on debt & the thing I noticed is people always assume they'll be well enough to work. It is utterly heartbreaking to advise someone with terminal cancer how to fend off bailiffs.

Look at every expense, be ruthless. Just so hard tho when everything is expensive & there's so much available to buy, so easily.