If you could save this amount each month, would you think that was in a decent wealth bracket?

[Thatsmio]

My dsis breezily said in conversation yesterday that they’ve had to reduce savings from 1.7k a month to 1k over the last few months as birthdays and bills have all come at once.

she’s not someone who boasts or is unkind and it was said in passing, like she was quite worried about it. AIBU to think being able to save even 1k is absolutely loads?! Let alone 1.7k? Or are my ideas about savings utterly shit….? I save around 250 a month and that’s only when I feel I can!

Depends really.

primarily it depends if you have any assets and you’re just saving for savings sake, that could be a position of wealth.

Someone having to save a grand a month to get a house deposit, not especially wealthy.

a teenager on nmw who lives at home with their parents could quite conceivably save a grand a month, I wouldn’t describe them as wealthy at that point.

It depends on your lifestyle and salary in general it is often suggested that people use the 50:30:20 rule when budgeting.

50% on needs
30% on wants
20% on savings/ debt repayment

why not complete a budget plan and see where you are.

I can save a grand a month but this is due to low outgoings not high earnings. I am not wealthy by any stretch but I am currently financially comfortable. I am about to buy a flat, though, so this will put spanner into works and, instead of saving, I will be redirecting everything into my mortgage overpayment. So, hopefully, I will be financially comfortable again in 7 years or so.

If you need 50k deposit for a 500k house saving 1000 a month means it is going to take over 4 years, and if you need car repairs or worse a new car in that time it will take longer so then a 1000 per month is necessary. If however you already have the 500k house with a 200k mortgage and your kids don't need childcare and you already have a years living costs as an emergency fund and up-to-date pensions then saving another 1000 plus a month is the way to wealth as it can be invested it is not being saved in order to spend later

Sounds like a lot and is a lot but 12k a year assuming you don’t touch it really doesn’t get you much in the grand scheme of life changing or even house upgrades or renovations.

We put 1600 away a month in savings. We then keep a set amount there in case of a job loss, and the rest gets dipped onto from time to time as we build it to make large purchases or do work in the house etc.

It depends. Plenty of people who wouldn’t consider themselves wealthy spend that sort of money just on childcare. If she doesn’t have things like that to pay for, she can save a decent amount whilst still earning a reasonably average salary. It’s not a competition. If you can’t save more than £250 because you don’t have any more left in your budget then it is what it is.

We save a lot but as we always say - much of it is just what many other people are spending simply on the basics for their children, which we don’t have.

I don't think the amount you save reflects your wealth bracket.

I'm a naturally frugal person so tend to save a lot. I have friends who earn more than I do and have a more affluent lifestyle.

I would say wealth is more related to material assets and regular income.

Depends what other assets she has. If has no pension for example. If saving for a house deposit.

I agree with the others, totally depends where they are in life. At the moment that much would be amazing for me but I already have a mortgage and have two children in childcare so I'm broke month to month despite us both having fairly decent jobs, not six figure but above average. Once the youngest starts school I'll be able to save that much without making any adjustments to my lifestyle so will feel wealthier.

It's a good position to be in. But exactly how good it is depends on what the "savings" have to cover. We put similar into savings, but it has to cover all unexpected bills: home maintenance and improvements, car repairs, replacement of cars at end of life* etc. etc.

*We own out cars outright and buy used, whereas others might have leases or loan repayments and only count savings after those costs.

Yes, and other factors may be whether a family saves upfront to buy big ticket items like cars and holidays rather than using PCPs and credit cards.

Anyone that can save that amount is well off.

It depends what she classes as savings. We save around £1.5k per month but most of that is towards annual bills, tax as I'm self employed, uni costs for my daughter next year and holidays. Our rainy day savings are only about £10k and we will still have a borrow to buy a car.

The majority in this country can't save that much. It isn't because you are frugal does it mean you can save a grand but you obviously have more wealth than others. Someone on MW isn't going to go without one Costa coffee a week and be able to save a grand.

Before we had kids we easily put away over £1000 a month saving for a house.

Now we earn more, have a house and kids and not a chance of putting that much away.

It’s all relative.

Depends. DH & I are retired, both have occupational pensions and I get Stare Pension also.
We can easily save over 1k pm - but mortgage paid off, no children.

I can't put away any amount, so to me yes it's a lot! But I realise everyone has different outgoings.
As long as those people don't think of themselves as poor or struggling.

Hahahahaha!!! My income isn't £1k a month!

"Breezily". What does that even mean? You said you were having a conversation. So did your dsis just mention their savings, rather than "breezily" say?

It seems a huge amount to me. I save a bit for Christmas and holidays but that's about all we can afford.

saving for us usually around £20-100 per month

It’s a decent amount far more than the average person in the street. DH and I have always saved our entire ISA allowance each year since they were available as a product. I know we are well off.

It won’t entirely reflect wealth bracket as some are more frugal than others. We enjoy life but for example I have never spent more than £200 on a handbag whereas an ex work colleague would happily drop 2k on one.

However it’s a cut isn’t it and she has had to reduce savings by almost 59% so it's a big change. Her big mistake is informing anyone. You may be her sister but I have never discussed my finances with anyone including my sisters.

I don't really save anything each month...

I knew several families in the past though who did.

And they were far too tight to do things like buy a better car they really needed, get a private scan for an ongoing back issue, put the heating on, or buy the odd bit of new clothing, or decent glasses. Mean as anything if you ask me.

It's all relative.

It's certainly more comfortable than the average person but that's because the average British person isn't wealthy at all.

Whatever she's saving for, she now is saving 40% slower so it's going to take almost twice as long to reach that goal. If it's something big like a house deposit, or private savings that will cover maternity leave or let her retire early before her state pension kicks in, that could be years of delaying big life changes.

Psychologically, £1700 to £1000 is also interesting because it takes you from "I max out my ISA every year" to only putting in around half, so it might have reduced some comfort she previously felt about "doing all the right things".

I agree that saving £12k a year vs £3k (£250 a month) is more likely to be wealth building i.e. accumulating year on year to a significant enough amount to allow you to live independently of a salary, although it's more at "mat leave" or "retire at 60 instead of 67" levels.