Are my savings really such a shit show?

[Lollapy]

Shouldn’t have mentioned it, I get it, but I reached my goal of 10k savings last weekend. I mentioned that I had reached my goal (didn’t say how much) to friends and that it was a relief as in a single parent. It was massively poo-pooed! Not in a nasty way but I was basically told 50k is a safety net and I had a long way to go. I know it depends on outgoings etc but I really thought 10k was a decent sum! It will take me forever to save 50! For context I’m 38.

Like so many things it’s relative. Some people have no savings at all, live payday to payday and would love to be able to have a £10k safety net stashed away. For others ‘only’ £10k in savings would be nowhere near enough to make them feel comfortable, for some £10k is a drop in the ocean and they’d think little of spending that amount on just one of many holidays in a year.
Unless you’re a very high earner or receive a lot of financial support, you should feel proud that you’ve managed to save £10k as a single parent.

Your friends are wankers. Sorry. And well done!

Well done 👍

That’s amazing - we live month to month and have no savings whatsoever! So well done you 👏👏👏

I am the same age as you and there is currently 77p in my savings account. My rent has just been increased to £1300 a month so I don’t see it changing anytime soon either. £10k saved is a great achievement. Ignore others.

First poster has it, everyone’s targets are different. I have a small pension pot, when I told people how much, they were pretty shocked. I wish I’d known about savings and pensions in my 20s. Oh well.

My boss has millions in the bank. Having a conversation with them about normal day to day stuff like a broken mobile feels wrong somehow, as though they’re in a different world.

Um yes, as your post makes no sense , otherwise , does it,?

I’ve got £80 in savings atm. 10k is an incredible achievement especially in this climate. You’re an inspiration. Be proud!

Can I ask out of curiosity do you have a mortgage and these savings are seperate?

Ignore your friends - that's an amazing amount to save! Well done.

Well done that’s fabulous. For some that sum would be life changing.

This has actually really wound me up. Surely you are aware that there are huge numbers of people who rely on food banks, or are on minimum wage, or are on benefits, or earn reasonable money but for whatever reason are still struggling and who would be delighted to have just a couple of hundred £ set aside for an emergency. I can’t for one minute believe that you think literally everyone either has or will at some point have £50K set aside. Some people will, many people won’t. I find your thread title a bit offensive to be honest, given the amount you say you have saved.

I think you should be questioning how positive these people are for you. Friends don't say such tacky dismissive things to each other.

Putting five figure sums into ISAs isn't for everyone. Maybe come and join us on the Premium Bonds thread if you want to stick your 10K in a PBs account.

My savings are taking a hit this month. Dentist, mot, car tax. But I'm so glad that I have that buffer. I'll build it up again slowly but something else will happen I'm sure.

Well done @Lollapy

Sorry to burst that bubble of a calculation. The chances of you getting 5% interest for next 30 years is small. Whilst historic averages would say it’s easily achievable going back as far as to 1695, economics and banking has changed since 2000, and interest rates are likely to be lower averages going forwards.

besides, at that 5% you’ll get to a point that you’ll need to be paying tax on that earnt interest.

best to put in an easy access ISA to protect from tax when it reaches that level, but loose on lower interest rates.

plus if inflation continues to outstrip interest then it may be worth £44k but it will buy considerably less than her £10k will buy now in 30 years time.

If she were to be aiming to locking money away for that long, shes better to put into some form investment, or better still save it through salary sacrifice into your pension where it will be boosted by 20% at minimum by government tax relief. But that ain’t what she’s saving for, I assume form this post,

im assuming, like most folks here, this is a bail out, rainy day cushion. That’s fantastic and a great starting point to accumulating wealth. But it’s money that’ll be used before 30 years inevitably and hopefully over time will be start of building more security

remember, op, it is much much easier to make money when you have some already. The more you have the easier it is to grow. Millionaire claiming they’re clever in being able to make money is really arrogant:if you have £1m invested you’ll have to be particularly stupid or really thick not to be making a minimum of £130, currently, each and every night, just overnight, while you’re sleeping and doing precisely nothing clever. When you have an income of £30,000 and 4 mouths to feed, there’s no way you can save £130 each night, no matter how clever you are. In fact you need to be very smart and financially savvy to not get into debt

You have done the first hardest bit to save something from nowt. Build on that now, and make it work hard for you. chase down interest rates, move it to where it makes most and uses tax allowances. try to keep on adding saving where and when you can. Don’t forget to invest a little extra in pensions too, even an extra £20 a month . Most tax efficient way of saving still. Yep, you will likely need to spend it at some point, don’t get disheartened. You’ve done it once, you know how, build it up again. Money is there to be used and spent; wisely.

I saved a lot when I was younger and nothing since I had kids in my late 30s, and dp is dreadful with money. So I'm really impressed that you've managed to put aside £10K as a single parent, and think it's horrible of your friends to scoff. Well done!

Someone suggested how much it could increase by locking it away and leaving it earning 5%. Sadly, I don't think that's possible now - interest rates have been really really low and then have gone up, but they're about to fall again, apparently. I've been looking at options for my savings. It probably is a good idea to look at whether you can move your savings to get a better return - but most of the best deals mean you will need to note when the deal ends and move your money again, and check that the terms and conditions work for you and your circumstances. For example, Nationwide is offering 4-4.5% fixed for its cash ISAs for 1 or 2 years - there may well be better rates but if I have to do this again next year I'd quite like to stick with somewhere that still has branches I can get to easily.

As others have said, the interest doesn't keep up with inflation. However, it's about knowing that you have some safety net for what life may chuck at you.

I would agree with others that 10k in savings is amazing at 38. If we're talking about actual cash in the bank that is way more than I had at that age, and is more than I have now 10 years later.

The one caution I would add, which is not detracting from your savings success, but you should also make sure you are putting money into a pension and into your home.

Savings are essential to cope with things when life goes wrong - short term unemployment, unexpected expenses on the house etc. But they are rarely enough to live off later. If you get to 65 or 70 with your mortgage paid off and a decent pension then anything you have in savings can be spent on holidays and luxuries. If you are still paying rent and/or don't have much of a pension, then you may find those savings disappearing rapidly.

So saving 10k is awesome but don't forget about the other elements you need for a secure future.

Who told you that?! They can GTF!

The may have been sounding nice, but that's not nice, it's undermining.

I have 0 savings, I'd be proud to have a £10k safety net.

£10K is a brilliant safety net especially if you are a one income family.

You'll always have others with more but also a hell of a lot of people with less so take no notice and just feel proud of your achievement.

I've always been a saver and was so desperate to pay my mortgage off ASAP many people just thought I was mean and tight - looking at you judgemental colleague Anne with an E who suggested her favourite hair salon was too expensive for me..... Moving on, my mortgage is paid off 15 years early and holidays abroad are on. (The credit cards finally caught up with Anne with an E and her posh hair salon is now to expensive for her but not me lol).

I think it is a great amount. I also think that the race is long. You might have a married friend who sniffs at £10k now but who might see £10k as an unattainable target in 10 years time once they are divorced and have had to sell the house, split the assets and pay the lawyers.

Finances and fortunes can change any time. You are looking forward, planning and being financially savvy. You saved £10k. You set a goal and achieved it. You did it by yourself. You're amazing!

@SauronsArsehole solo mum here also. On a decent wage but biggish mortgage and full time childcare costs. Need to increase monthly savings, I would love to hear any top tips you have for being frugal

Oh come on. It's not hard to imagine her friends might respond like that, as it's not exactly surprising that wealth is distributed unevenly and that groups of friends are in their own bubble.

It's also not hard to understand that if she then would have googled "how much are you supposed to have saved", these websites would have also talked about huge amounts of money.

Not everything is a race to the bottom and while saving 10k£ is very well done, clutching your pearls that anyone would mention such a huge amount is also weird, as to many regular people that is still a modest amount.

Ok one of my tips for getting some cash behind you. You have 10£ to last the next few days, in your head you must prioritise that you have 9£ only & bank that 1£ , over time you will start to see a better bottom line, it’s easy if you think like that, it takes diligence, but seeing 10£ & spending it has consequences. Even seeing 10£ & banking 50p is a start

"“IN SHORT” – MR WILKINS MICAWBER – Charles Dickens" https://dickensroundtheclock.wordpress.com/2015/03/11/in-short-mr-wilkins-micawber/

You're a talented Mr Micawber descendant @Lollapy

Mine is to just not go to the shops. And buy nice things so you don't need to. It's better not to eat chocolate but having an emergency stash is cheaper than popping out for a 'treat.

Maybe, but it sure works