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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:
Usernameisgone · 31/03/2022 02:01

Nope, struggling to stay afloat with what we have

mrsbyers · 31/03/2022 02:04

I’ve got enough to cover two years of monthly outgoings , saved a lot since Covid started and since going from self employed to employed as previously work could be more impacted by health issues

timestheyarechanging · 31/03/2022 02:26

No. 2k in the bank, that's it. But I have a job and own my home outright, as does my partner. We are 51 and 55. We are moving away from London and buying two places - one flat and one house, cash. I'll get income (£700pm) from the flat and we will both work, so lack of savings doesn't bother me.

ImplementingTheDennisSystem · 31/03/2022 02:37

Yes. In a total crisis, for my half of the mortgage and bills I need £9k a year to survive. I have £60k in savings. So I could be out of work for 6 years and keep my head above water.

YanTanTetheraPetheraPimp · 31/03/2022 05:50

Yes and more, but only because of a recent inheritance.
Until a couple of years ago I had a few thousands but certainly not 6 months salary worth.

PissedOffNeighbour22 · 31/03/2022 06:00

I do but my DP doesn't, despite him working 3 jobs.
We don't earn a lot but we don't buy a lot either. I sell things before I buy more.
Once the kids are in childcare there'll be no more savings.

mogsrus · 31/03/2022 06:17

Yes. I can now live comfortably for 4 yrs without going to work if needed

[AUTO]jj6l6l0wdihf0 · 31/03/2022 06:33

Yes we do. However most people in the country do not. DH works within savings for one of the major banks and has the actual figures somewhere, but something along the lines of over 80% of families have less than 3 months savings to fall back on.

MeanderingGently · 31/03/2022 06:35

No, I have one month's money, that's all and nothing else. Trying to put little bits aside to change this.....

Goatinthegarden · 31/03/2022 06:36

Yes, but we have two full time incomes, a very small mortgage remaining, a 6 year old car paid off in full that we hardly use (I cycle most days and DH WFH) and no kids.

We spend pretty freely on the things we want to buy/do, but we don’t really have any expensive desires.

Bunnycat101 · 31/03/2022 06:47

So much will depend on lifestage even for people with similar earnings. People saving for a deposit will have high savings. I’d expect people approaching retirement to be the same. If a couple have just bought a house, have kids in childcare they probably don’t have as much.

The above assumes reasonable incomes. There are plenty of people living hand to mouth who would have zero chance of accumulating a large savings pot.

mnnewbie111 · 31/03/2022 06:53

Had a years then spent on a house deposit in London. Saved another 6 months then started a business with it so currently zilch but starting to build back up

Waxonwaxoff0 · 31/03/2022 06:59

No I don't. Trying to build some up but I had to get a new boiler recently.

Starshine22 · 31/03/2022 06:59

I have 3 months worth of salary which would more than cover bills for 4 months.

However, I only bought my house 12 months ago and have spent a few thousand on improvements. I'm 18 weeks pregnant and hoping to have at least 6 months saved a year after mat leave

Porcupineintherough · 31/03/2022 07:02

We have a year's worth of savings. Taken us 18 years of saving to get there.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 31/03/2022 07:04

Our savings will cover 12months of essential bills (mortgage, utilities, council tax, car insurance/tax, house insurance, wifi) - that's utilities at current rate which obvs won't be the same after tomorrow.

In terms of salary it's actually about 4 months of our combined salary.

Our monthly essential bills are quite low.

LaBelleSausage · 31/03/2022 07:04

No, but I'm a single mum who has two kids in nursery, works and claims UC to help with the nursery fees (these are around 1k a month, get about 600 from UC)

Right now things are too tight to have built up much of a slush fund, but I am not currently in my overdraft or using my credit card so that's probably as good as it gets for me.

MrsLargeEmbodied · 31/03/2022 07:21

not sure why you want to know

londonrach · 31/03/2022 07:25

No as we used it as a deposit for a house and buying a boiler as the boiler failed the day we moved in and nothing the seller could do as she had a certificate saying it was working......we tried

Vampirethriller · 31/03/2022 07:27

My savings account has 0.33p in it. Current account not much more than that!

hattie43 · 31/03/2022 07:36

Yes

Friedaseyebrow · 31/03/2022 07:42

Yes but from an inheritance, we would never have been able to afford to save enough without it.

spidersenses · 31/03/2022 07:42

Yes, probably 3 to 4 months. I'm in paid employment, but have my own small business also. It's a service business. I could work in that full time if I needed to and earn around the same as my employed salary (I just choose not to for various reasons).

HomeHomeInTheRange · 31/03/2022 07:42

Yes, but didn’t have at the time we needed it, when we had small children, a mortgage to pay that required 2 incomes, etc.

We do now that the Dc are old teens / young adults, mortgage paid.

It’s almost by definition that the most vulnerable to having no savings are those who fund it hardest to accumulate any.

LubaLuca · 31/03/2022 07:48

More. We didn't when the kids were young and I didn't work though, we used to save up for specific things then.