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

Give your head a wobble!!!

You are not broke now, but your DH is right that being broke will be inevitable if you don’t stop spending on silly shit.

Nearly broke 😂Have a word with yourself, you're nowhere near 'nearly broke'.

What do you mean "broke"? Like, Martha Stewart "broke"? Or MC Hammer "broke"?

My comment is flippant only because you're not actually broke at all. But if you want to move, do stop pissing money away.

If you think this is funny, shame on you 😡

Stop being a ‘spender’

Find a job that pays more or work more hours

Is this a boast?!! "Nearly broke" 🤣🤣🤣🤣

18 pages and only one reply from @Pollss … so either they’re so mortified they’re not coming back or the bridge is providing a comfy hideout. Anyhoo, I’m not quite where I’d like to be financially but we are very comfortable. I work with people whose financial situation is on a knife edge if there are ANY unexpected costs each month. You, @Pollss , are very much not in that situation. Lucky you.

Get a grip. You're frittering money away on purchases which by your own admission are pointless.

Start making an interest in your finances.
Set a budget and savings goals.
Include your "treats" in the budget.
Work together and agree a joint budget.

Tbh I'm surprised it has to be said. But then I'm actually nearly broke and would be up shit creek without both an annual and a monthly budget.

You aren't nearly broke. Nearly broke is having no money in the bank, no credit card you can use, little food in the house and it's still a week till pay day. The mortgage lender isn't repossessing your home, you can pay your bills, you have food to eat. What you do have is a stupid habit of buying things that aren't necessary on your credit card. Stop being such a fool.
FWIW I had customers at work who had nothing. I had to arrange food parcels, vouchers so they could get necessary clothing, pet food, in one case a hamster cage as the family had fled a violent relationship and took the hamster in a box as he had threatened to kill the hamster too. Train tickets to a place of safety.
All of those people were broke. You aren't anywhere near that.

Why does your DH need to tell / show you anything? Why aren't you looking at your account(s) regularly yourself, and tracking incomings / outgoings?

Make a budget (use an Excel sheet and list EVERYTHING you spend money on), figure out how much of your income is actually disposable, and then keep your spending within it.

Don't panic, though - you're not nearly broke.

£68k joint income in London? No wonder you're struggling OP - that's positively homeless territory, that is.

Hand your keys back to the bank now and get in line for a cardboard box like the rest of us paupers. £525k house? In London? Where are you living? Thamesmead?

Nearly broke 🤣🤣🤣 righty oh

Stop spending money on shit. On £68k joint income with two children you can’t afford Pret lunches. Take a packed lunch to work instead. You could easily be saving £5-£10 per day on lunch.

Cant believe people fall for these goady threads!

Take out cash for the week. I'd advise cash on a Friday. Set amount. When it's gone it's gone.

You can't overspend if it's not on your purse.

To be honest I’m amazed that you’re able to have savings and have paid off so much of your mortgage with two kids in London on really quite a low household income. Obviously you can’t afford a luxurious life but there is balance to be had - you still need to do some of the things you enjoy or what’s the point?
All these people who are apparently so much worse off and have 2p in the bank are pretty nervy to tell the OP to stop doing stupid things and get her act together - surely the same could be said to them if they are adults who haven’t managed to save a penny!

She didn’t say the mortgage was £525k, she said that’s what the house is worth now.

I know, but only £150k left on it I thought? Apologies if I’ve misread, it sounded like they had a good chunk of equity.

They didn’t pay £525k. They might only have paid £200k and the rest is inflation.

Yours not nearly broke! Get a grip! Is this a wind up?

@Lwrenn housing is stupidly expensive in London but take that away and you can live pretty cheaply. You don't need to run a car in most places, public transport is extensive and reasonable, there are lots of free events and places to go, lots of cheap restaurants and markets.

Of course there are also lots of expensive places and loads of opportunities to spend your money if you are so inclined!