Found out we are nearly broke -

[Pollss]

I thought we were doing well but DH told me we are almost broke.

We are mid 40s & 2 kids in primary school.

Joint gross income is £68k.

We have £190k outstanding on the mortgage on a house worth £525k

We have about £15k in savings and DH has £10 company shares. The children have about £5k each in their ISAs.

i thought we were in a much better financial position. DH has always been a saver whilst I have been a spender. He handed me 6 months' credit card statements and there were just 100s of pointless transactions: coffee, pret, McDonald's, cinema trips costing £50 a piece.

DH doesn't talk to me about our finances because it usually ends in bickering. I was hoping to move to a larger house as our current one is too small but £525k gets you nothing in London.

what can i do to improve our finance situation

Im not being facetious but I could only dream of being that sort of broke. Unless it was for a birthday for DC that I’d saved for I couldn’t imagine being able to spend £50 on one cinema trip. Idk if that’s the norm I live very rurally and don’t ever go to the cinema. 😳

Stop leaving your financial security to someone else, take control.
Stop spending money on shite.
Invest what savings you do have instead of letting them sit getting dusty.

P.S. you're nowhere near broke.

Am sure lots of posters have already mentioned it but it really is the key question. Do both of you have workplace pensions and if so how much is in them?

(fwiw to counterbalance all the posters saying you’re loaded : I would find it very difficult to live off that income with 2 kids. Obviously I know millions do. But I would find it very hard).

OP, erm…….you are financially rather thick? Happy to flit along from day to day, La La La.

Learn how to budget, learn how to do without some non essential spending, and contribute to a well organised household.

You said - we have 15k in savings but are nearly broke??? Your delusional

Never mind op, you phrased it insensitively, you apologised, now how about you read and respond to the many posts genuinely addressing your situation? If I were your dh I’d be pretty unhappy with your spending, what steps can you take to rein it in?

They probably only have £5 million each in their pension pots.

Poor bastards…

Op don’t panic, at least you’re not where you could be and always have options and possibilities. Say from x day we’ll knuckle down and start putting x into a savings account. Look at all the ways to save money, strip things back (but also don’t forget you’re fortunate and can live a little!)

How much is oweing on your credit card OP? Is that what the issue is? No point in having savings it's you are racking up 100s or 1000s in debt...

Not RTFT

But Fuck Me how insulting to people in genuine poverty.

Meanwhile in Gaza.......... and families using foodbanks .........
Give your head a wobble OP

Prayers and sorrows OP. Prayers and sorrows.

Your DH seems to want to paint this in the worst possible light. Do you mean your debit card statement, rather than credit card? Why would you be using a credit card for normal day to day items? Is there nothing left in your account most days?

Well, setting aside the crass comment about being nearly broke, let's think about what you can you do to improve your financial situation.

1. Stop making assumptions about your finances and start taking responsibility. You're not a child, so why on earth didn't you already know what your financial position was?
2. Stop frittering away money on expenditure that you yourself have identified as "pointless".
3. Increase your earnings.

The real problem here is that you have not been behaving like a responsible adult. That needs to change.

You don't know the meaning of 'nearly broke'.
You have more money than sense.

Absolutely this^^

@Figsonit I use one of two credit cards for day to day items as I get air points on one and cash back payment annually on the other. I’ve been doing it for 20 years and pay it back in full when due and never paid interest. Quite normal - all my friends do it for the air miles.

obviously not a good idea at all if you’re paying interest.

Your not living within your means. Why spend so much on a credit card and not keep an eye on the bill's each month? Best thing you can do is cut that card up and pay off as much as you can. Yes it will eat into your savings. But the debt will only get bigger the longer it's left.

I have minus £6 in my account and debt. I'm broke, you are not!

We don’t actually know that there is any debt. Her DH could be paying it off in full every month, we have no idea due to the scant details given by the OP.

Ffs. Why the title? You’re not even remotely near the word broke.

We cannot pay our mtg next month, categorically cannot pay it. But I still wouldn’t say we’re broke, because from 1st December we’ll be back on track.

You need to give your head a wobble .

Do you realise how offensive your post is? You're not broke at all in the slightest. I'm a single parent getting used to one income. I live month to month and when I'm nearly broke I cant afford this GS lime bread and milk. And you have all those savings!!!! Get real.

Some people use a credit card for day to day expenditure. Don’t you know that?

OP I don’t think all the expenditure is pointless at all. We only live once.

But you have two choices as far as I can see - get your own credit card so DH can’t go through the spending on it and accept you aren’t ever moving house cos you can’t afford it. Or scrimp and save to try and move up the property ladder to pay more money to the bank and higher bills. I’d go with option 1 personally.

Ignore the hate OP, if they were in your position they wouldn't feel rich either

Well I , for one, would feel a sight richer than I am now. Not super rich but certainly comfortable.