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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask honestly...do you have 3-6 months savings or more?

340 replies

sweepeep · 30/03/2022 21:23

Based on a few threads going around...

Do you have enough savings for 3-6 months or more? Honestly...

OP posts:
Change123today · 31/03/2022 11:43

No - I would like to. But life has a tendency of ruining my attempt! I would like 3 months - we usually have a month squirrelled away - split across some shares I’ve had for years & a little in the bank. I do have access to an overdraft but really don’t want to go into that.

latetothefisting · 31/03/2022 12:17

@Braproblem

Yes, we do have good savings, but I find this thread a bit odd tbh. Why would you start a thread like this if you personally have plenty of savings put by for a rainy day? It seems to me that the only real motivation for asking the question in your situation is so that you can feel smug and superior when many people inevitably come back and say that they don't have much at all.

Some people simply don't earn enough to save. And that's really fucking hard, especially in the current economic climate. They really don't need self satisfied savers making them feel even worse about how little of a buffer they have. Hmm

Really? I think it's really good to talk about this and work out why so few people n the uk have adequate savings.

The uk's average saving from our individual disposable income is 0.37%. This is compared to the EU average of 3.7% with highs of 15% in sweden. I don't think anyone could argue our net wages are more than 30% lower than Swedens (particularly as I think they have much higher tax) or our cost of living is more than 30% higher, so why as a country are we so bad at saving/dont prioritize saving in the way the majority of other EU countries do, most of whom are poorer than us?

This is a general question not an attack on individuals. Obviously there are a number of people who just can't afford to save no matter how much they want to and this isn't attacking them. But we live in one if the top 10 wealthiest countries in the world, and the top, what, 3 in Europe, where in 2019 the average person took 1.8 holidays abroad, in 2021 the average monthly cost of the most popular smartphones was £47.20, 76% of Britons surveyed in 2021 have a takeaway at least once a week, car finance is increasing hugely each year...obviously there are a huge amount of people who COULD afford to save a comparatively large amount fairly easily and quickly by cutting out luxuries but choose not to.

As illustrated by the thread I referred to in my previous post, a huge amount of people think "yolo" and "life's for living" etc. Which, of course, isn't necessarily wrong but i think it's interesting to consider why we think like this about savings when other countries with similar lifestyles and social views dont, and, more importantly, if with the cost of living crisis,aging population, huge NHS backlogs, etc we need to have a general rethink - as who knows if the protections we rely on will be here in 10/20/30 years time?

SummerDays2020 · 31/03/2022 12:30

In terms of raining day savings I could live for about 2 weeks on it. I do have a bit more savings but they are for specific things I am saving up for.

yellowsuninthesky · 31/03/2022 12:34

@stormswiftlysweetafton

Yes, both of us put a high priority on saving and living well within our means, so we have a good safety net. If our income slowed or stopped, there are also small things we would immediately cut back on to make the money stretch further.
Yes same here. Both of us have suffered redundancy, so we're acutely aware that a job can be gone tomorrow. So we both save a lot and are careful with money. However, there are plenty of things we could cut back on if we had to.
Frenziedandfurious · 31/03/2022 12:42

No, but we would have loads of we had a smaller mortgage. I used to have x 3 months but those days are long gone. We've not had great luck financially and zero help from parents. I'd like to build them back up. But God knows how.

Isonthecase · 31/03/2022 12:52

We have quite a lot more than that as have some stuff coming up we think we will need it for. Had all come at once so am quite glad we've saved! Have also done a spreadsheet to check what's the absolute bare minimum we could scrape by on if needed and I still feel worried about it.

LegMeChicken · 31/03/2022 12:53

@latetothefisting (lovely username btw!)
I wonder about that too. Thread after thread of holidays being ‘essential’. Surely relaxing is more about having time off work etc, not a disaster if you send it ag home or day trip?

However I can see why people are a bit YOLO after the past few months. Don’t know about families but young people. Many saved, planned, put their lives on hold only to watch it all go up in smoke.

If you can consistently save, enough to build up a nest egg fair. But if you can only save a bit, only to see it disappear within a few months. Why bother? You know, you might as well enjoy yourself a bit. You’re going to end up with 0 anyway.

I don’t have that mentali But I can understand it. I used to be judgemental of people like that, but after Covid and similar experience I understand it although I don’t quite agree.

LegMeChicken · 31/03/2022 12:55

Also I have quite a bit of savings but it’s froid a deposit. No idea whether we can even buy one in this climate but one can only hope…

fdgdfgdfgdfg · 31/03/2022 12:57

Yes, but only due to my mother dying and leaving a substantial inheritance, if not for that I'd probably be sitting on just about 3 months worth

Shabtipup · 31/03/2022 13:07

Yes

Catshaveiteasy · 31/03/2022 20:36

Yes a lot more. But we're older and have had inheritances. Probably struggle to save a lot on our actual salaries.

WishIwasElsa · 31/03/2022 21:27

About a months worth, hard to save always seems to be something popping up that's extra. What with cost of everything going up its just getting harder.

GrandTheftWalrus · 31/03/2022 21:33

I don't even have enough money to last me till payday never mind any savings.

toconclude · 31/03/2022 21:35

Yes. More.

maddiemookins16mum · 31/03/2022 21:38

If we both lost our jobs tomorrow, we’d be penniless in 6 months.

beigeplatter · 31/03/2022 21:39

No. I can't even see a time when that will be realistic.

catfunk · 31/03/2022 23:10

Yes always between 3 and 6 months wages

Camomila · 31/03/2022 23:14

We have about 4 months wages saved up but they are towards a flat/house deposit.

D0lphine · 01/04/2022 12:40

I thought it was 3-6 months of expenses rather than net income you were supposed to keep on hand and anything above that should be invested?

I'm really luckily in that my expenses are lower than my income...

summersolstice43 · 01/04/2022 12:49

Nope and never will at this rate, single parenting leaves no spare cash ever

FairWindClearSailing · 01/04/2022 13:23

Yes, more than that

Sugarplumfairy65 · 01/04/2022 13:33

After bringing up children , paying a mortgage for over 30 years, living hand to mouth for a lot of that time after going through serious illness, redundancy and disability we finally have enough savings to last us a year.

SuitcaseOfWhine · 01/04/2022 13:46

Not full wages, but probably 4 months worth to get by. Our childcare bill has reduced so hopefully we can save more now. We don't have any debt apart from one on appliance which. W

DrManhattan · 01/04/2022 13:50

Loads saved, mainly because I am very tight

iloveyankeecandle · 01/04/2022 13:52

Got about three months