money stress, have I been reckless like they say?

[moneyal]

Last year I was on maternity leave. I decided to take the full year, despite having 8k debt and only 20k savings. I ended up spending 8k on the last three months maternity leave and therefore was left with 4K after debt paid off. The 8k was being very frugal as I paid the mortgage, all bills etc for the 3 month with no pay. My relationship broke down shortly after I returned to work. I now live alone and the boiler has packed up. I’ve asked my (v wealthy) parents to lend me the money as I am nervous not having any savings at all as a single parent and they have transferred 2k but I’ve had a lecture about being reckless with money and how I should never have let my savings get that low. I feel crap about it. There’s no back story, I had no bail outs in the past, always been self sufficient. It’s really bothered me that they’ve said this and I sort of don’t want to use the 2k now but also I feel I have very little buffer if I don’t. Was I reckless to have left myself 4K to my name?

I’m not in possession of a crystal ball, but I have made sure that my savings balance is enough to cope with things going tits up, whatever that may be.

OP took a risk by spending their savings so frivolously and they are now seeing the consequences of their actions.

The OP wasn't being frivolous AT THE TIME. ffs

Surely savings are there to help you get through the tough times? In which case you weren’t reckless as you spent what you needed at the time.

But then I’ve not got a pot to piss in let alone £4k or rich parents to nag me (but then give me the dosh anyway) so what do I know…? 🤷🏻‍♀️

No OP. You had saved to spend time with your child. That’s valuable.

And now - it depends what the plan is…

I don’t understand why you were using savings to cover your maternity leave when you had a partner at the time. He should have been covering half your lost wages throughout the entire maternity leave. Or is his refusal
to meet his financial obligations why you ended the relationship?

as for borrowing money from your parents, if they have high liquidity, it can be the rational choice. Letting your savings get too low is risky and you could end up in a position where you are forced to waste money on high interest rates. However, being in a position to give you a no interest or very low interest loan comes from years of financial responsibility. There are plenty of very high earners even who wouldn’t be able to loan money at the drop of a hat. You shouldn’t really blame them for feeling like they need to remind you to be more conservative.

I do not think I would have taken that length of mat leave given your financial circumstances. It seems a little reckless to me.

This is an old thread.