To think we aren't saving enough...

[prettyinpinkormaybegreen]

We are a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 DCs one at uni one at home. We bring home £100k per year so approx £6k a month so I know we are much better off than many.
By the time we pay mortgage, cars, bills and food I don't know where it all goes every month. We save about £500 every month but I always feel we should be saving more but just don't know how we could. I'm scared about the cost of living and I know I am far from destitute.
What do you all manage to put away every month??

So £6,000 a year. That seems plenty to me. You could save more but what for?

It doesn't really matter what every one else saves. You're best off going over your statements for the last couple of months and seeing realistic achievable targets.

No one is in exactly the same circumstances as you, so it will be difficult to judge how you are doing compared to others, you might have a huge mortgage, private school fees etc etc.

If it helps, we are on a little more than you, about £120k combined, but we both put £750 per month in to our pensions. I put another £650 in to my ISA and my partner about £500 in to theirs. Our mortgage is about £1300, so we still ave plenty of spare spending money, and try to put about £5k aside for a holiday or two a year. Anything left at the end of the month goes in to the ISA.

We are both 35 and so far we have £50k each in ISA's, £75k and £65kish in our pensions and equity of about £350k in our $550kish house, which we try to pay down when we can.

Incase one of them loses their job?

I think that’s pretty good to be honest

I think it depends on what your core non-negotiable bills are. If they’re £2,000 total then that’s a lot of money being spent on other stuff that isn’t being accounted for, if you don’t know where it all goes. If they’re £4,000 then being able to save £500 is pretty good.

Agree with previous poster, you need to go through your statements and work out what’s being spent, whether you can cut back on non-essentials, and whether you want to.

I'm a lone parent, just been made redundant and have a grand total of £5k in the bank if that makes you feel better!

I think we spend waaay tooo much on food every month, and I don't mean takeaways or eating out. Tesco drains me!! Big shop every week but then always seem to be popping for "milk"..... £30 later!!
All our insurances (house,car,life), road tax etc are direct debit so non negotiable.
Im going to sit this weekend and scrutinise bank statements!

It depends what the saving is for.

If you have 500 left over after pension contribution and the funds are for long-term saving than I think it's enough. If that's all you save and you need to have it accessible for emergencies like car repair, house repairs, replace large appliances, holiday and to go into a pension pot then it may be on the small side.

I would go through the account statements and see where the money goes and if there is room for improvement.

I hope you find another job soon 🤞🏼

I'm a single mum om about half your income and I try to save £750 a month.

I don't have parents or spouse as a safety net so I need to be more careful.

Do you also pay a decent amount into pensions for you both?
Do you have separate money saved outside this amount for essential irregular expenses (new tyres, broken appliances, boiler servicing)?
Do you have separate money saved for irregular ‘nice to haves’ (holidays, Christmas and birthday presents, new furniture)?
Do you have income protection, critical Illness and life insurance?

If the answer to all of the questions above is yes, that’s a good amount to save. If not, you need to reassess your budget.

Thank you 🙂

Good luck @Beezknees Wishing you well.

Yes our outgoings include pension contributions.
One savings account for all other things inc holidays and emergencies (tyres, appliances etc)

I think £500 a month is okay actually. Does that cover Christmas, redundancy emergency plan, boiler and car repair?

I only ask because when I was made redundant we used our savings very quickly 😔 but we had saved to cover the mortgage in case of redundancy so it was okay. Painful to see the savings balance go to £0 though.

Hopefully soon I'll be able to save £500 a month again.

Oh we cross posted 😂 I think £500 is okay!

We're on combined £4.5k per month. We overpay mortgage by £300, put £250 into long-term savings and £300 for annual expenses like car service and Xmas.

But we've deliberately chosen a cheap house and 1 car etc to allow us to underspend. DH has health issues which means he's likely to need to retire early.

I've just used a huge spreadsheet to financially audit myself down to the last penny. I've identified popping into subway for an after school snack, and small top up shops as my main drains and where I can pull back. So I'm popping the excess into a savings account before I can get to it. I've planned to save £6K by next year and it's begun with taking the £40-odd quid I had spare each month into a savings account.

I earn £20K/year in total after benefits and tax.

It's all about personal circumstances and what you are willing to give up.

Do you have a substantial pot of savings that you are adding £500 to every month. 3-6 months worth of outgoings is the amount that is usually quoted as being optimal. Do you have this?

What is your monthly expenditure on the following:-

1. mortgage
2. cars
3. debts
4. school fees

Together they could equal £1k or £4k, so unless we know that it’s hard to comment otherwise.

I guess it depends on what is classed as substantial! £10k in savings but about to go on holiday do it will reduce probably by half.
Holidays are one of the things we save for (alongside essentials)

I think you need to sit down and do a budget. I resisted and resisted but it's life changing. I now decide what I spend rather than wondering what I've spent it on. I know what "disposable" money I have available each month and put money I want to save into the savings account first. As soon as I get paid.

As part of my budget I have savings goals, long term and short term, that I put money away for each month too. I also have a good budget in a separate account so I know what I have spend on that, as I agree it's so easy to overspend on food.

I think most of us feel quite financially vulnerable coming up to summer holidays each year. Going on any sort of holiday costs £k these days (unless you are subsidised). Plus you’ll be exhausted subsidising uni costs come the end of the academic year.

Just remember- these things will pass…

What is your definition of savings?

Is it never to be touched savings or to cover car repair, holidays etc?

I think a certain properly set aside fund is wise when you clearly have large commitments in terms of outgoings and presumably the type of job where the recruitment process is lengthy should you ever be out of work.

You need to sit down and work out the fixed monthly costs, then set a budget for food, fun etc. There are good calculators for this that include annual expenses people often forget.

Whatever is left I would transfer out on pay day so you are less tempted to spend it.