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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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:
SuitcaseOfWhine · 01/04/2022 13:56

God this phone is shite. Continuing from earlier post, we do hope to save more but the cost of living is ruining our chances. We are finally earning what should be a good household income and are coming to the end of an expensive period with childcare (still 00's to pay, just not eye wateringly high), but our wonderful government are happy for inflation to run rampant and not impose windfall taxes on their friends, so we can't save and have any security. We do feel lucky in our current position compared to some people though as we don't really have any debt, but aside from a few thousand saved that is all we have. We don't even have a mortgage and any equity.

I do despair at the state of things. I'm angry for a lot of people out there who are going to work and still struggling.

gwenneh · 01/04/2022 13:57

Yes, but it's a reasonably recent thing. We had to empty the savings three years ago for a major home repair, which took not only that but two loans to cover. We couldn't start saving again until the loans were paid. Then I was on maternity, DH was furloughed, everything went to hell.

We now have about a year's expenses banked. We still save regularly, but it's at a much slower rate as things have returned to normal and we've started paying nursery fees, extracurriculars, etc.

LardyDee · 01/04/2022 14:00

@DrManhattan

Loads saved, mainly because I am very tight
This is essentially the ethos behind saving! (Well it's ours anyway.)
Tigofigo · 01/04/2022 14:00

Yes, but we have some work needing done round the house that will probably swallow half of it up...

BiddyPop · 05/04/2022 08:58

I started, in my 1st week working a "proper" job after Uni, with a salary sacrifice into the credit union in that job. I was paid under £9k/yr at the time, but I saved £10 per week (weekly paid). And when I left after 9 months, I had almost £400 saved.

It's hard to get started. But I have always tried to add a bit more to my salary sacrifice savings (so it goes to my work credit union before I get my paycheque) everytime I got a wage increase. As I was managing on what I had before. So I give myself 1 or 2 paycheques of the increase to treat myself, then increase my savings a bit more.

So now, I am putting away €500/fortnight into the credit union. And I have another savings account on a monthly standing order as well.

It is much much easier to save if it happens automatically and you don't need to do anything - I have often intended to put presents or any extra money I had in my current account into my savings account, but the hassle of taking it out and going to the post office or other bank was too much and I just frittered it away instead....

I use my credit union savings for annual things - Christmas, summer holidays, birthdays, big annual bills like insurances etc. And the other savings are for longer term safety nets and bigger projects - like my 6 month emergency fund and various building projects we've done, car replacement etc.

But it meant that when our boiler stopped working (completely dead) on 20th December a couple of years ago, we had the funds available and could ring around to get it replaced before Christmas. We pay cash for our cars so don't have to pay extra interest on loans and have a better negotiating position with the dealerships. That sort of thing.

flower277 · 05/04/2022 09:08

No.

DoWhatYouLike · 05/04/2022 09:10

Savings - what are they?! No savings at all, as we're managing on my husband's wage only as I'm recovering from being very ill last year

toomanydogsandcats · 05/04/2022 14:24

What does it mean? Like 3 months salary worth?

LardyDee · 05/04/2022 17:29

@toomanydogsandcats

What does it mean? Like 3 months salary worth?
For me it would mean working out how much you spend each month (income minus savings) and having three times that amount in cash at the bank, so that if you lost your job for example you could carry on going for three months.
Nothappyatwork · 05/04/2022 17:33

4 months atm but just booked a big holiday so will need to replenish when we get back.

HorribleHerstory · 05/04/2022 17:36

Yes, as a self employed single parent it was 100% necessary to have this in the bank, or something like a broken ankle or moderately serious illness could have seen us on our knees in a matter of days/weeks. No longer a single parent but have maintained and added to the buffer, when covid happened it was very much needed as my industry shut down.

LadyMacduff · 05/04/2022 19:33

No, it's being channelled towards some much needed home improvements but I can't wait to start saving properly again. My plan for this year is to get a better paying job that also has a shorter commute and therefore increase the coffers.

Hesma · 05/04/2022 19:39

Yes

aintnospringchicken · 05/04/2022 19:54

Yes

Invasionofthegutsnatchers · 05/04/2022 19:55

Yes. 50k

ProfYaffle · 05/04/2022 20:03

At the moment we have a year's salary saved but that's only really because of not going anywhere in lockdown. Plus dd1 starts Uni in September so we'll be using a chunk of it over the next few years.

waitingpatientlyforspring · 05/04/2022 20:05

We currently have about two months of income but if we needed to cut our cloth if both of us happened to loose our jobs at the same time, depending on what benefits we would get, we could make it last at least 4 months, if not more.

Its not all earmarked for that though and some will get spent.

Xtraincome · 05/04/2022 20:21

In theory yes but it's the only savings we have. We are downsizing soon and will be able to have a years worth of bills away if needed.

BiddyPop · 12/04/2022 12:57

I just did the maths on this today. My credit union account, which is my everyday savings that I can easily access in emergencies, has 5.25 months of my current net pay in there right now (as in my actual pay into my hand and the savings diverted into the credit union before I get them).

If it were a real emergency, and that was what I needed to survive on, I could make it last for longer than that relatively easily as already 25% of my salary goes there rather than into the family budget, and we wouldn't be going on holidays or buying expensive presents for occasions (the main uses of that account), so I have 6.5 months worth of what I actually get into my hand in that account.

EmoIsntDead · 12/04/2022 12:59

Yes, but only because we inherited from a relative a few years ago.

Lovelydovey · 12/04/2022 13:05

Due to various inheritances we have about 2 years joint income plus no mortgage, plus we save approx 25% of our income each month. But we’re very aware that we are in a very fortunate position financially.

SirSamVimesCityWatch · 12/04/2022 13:12

Ah ha ha ha ha no.

However, DH is in a job which, if he lost, he could shift into contracting at very short notice and make more per day than he does at the moment (but obviously without the additional holiday and pension benefits he has as an employee). My job might be harder to replace but I am the lower earner and as I used to be a teacher, I could go back to that as a supply teacher and pick up a decent daily rate and find work fairly easily. So it doesn't feel too scary not having it.

JustWonderingIfYou · 12/04/2022 13:33

Yes, probably a 10months salary in savings but if needed could stretch it a lot further.

Teateaandmoretea · 12/04/2022 14:30

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?

No one's going to keep 6 months in cash unless they are really daft.

RoseLimeade · 12/04/2022 14:42

Hmm. Our outgoings are around 2500 per month, and we have about 5k saved. So nope!

But we're saving all the time, put away £400 per month. We'll get there.