To be shocked when adults have absolutely no savings at all?

[ThisJollyReader]

I’m going to be honest, I find it quite hard to understand when adults have no savings at all. Not even £100 put away. I’m not talking about people going through a temporary rough patch but just having nothing set aside whatsoever. Personally, I try to keep around £10k as a buffer (I know everyone’s situation is different), but even putting that aside, I would still feel uncomfortable having nothing at all.

AIBU to feel like having at least something put away is important or am I being too harsh?

I'm 76 and have about £500 in savings and a few premium bonds. I'm OK, manage quite well.

Let me guess, people should eat porridge more so they can save a bit.

I always think these threads end up being an exercise in people explaining how they save rather than actually trying to understand why others aren't able to.

You find it hard to understand when adults have no savings? Some people are literally living hand to mouth. Is that so hard to understand too??

OP, shall I not pay council tax so I can save £200 a month??

It's not great for the adults concerned and you should try and save a buffer if you can.

But given the situation of wages vs. rent, mortgage, energy costs, household maintenance and goods, childcare etc. it's not really surprising some people struggle to put anything by is it?

So, yabu to be 'shocked'.

Can you not fathom why some people don't have savings? I have loads of savings now but didn't until I was much older. I came from a very working class background and came out of uni in debt with no family money to put towards rental deposits, first car etc. Despite going straight from Uni into teaching and flat sharing with now dh neither of us had savings throughout much of our 20's, a combination of paying back Uni debts and getting on the property ladder. We had endless expenses, buying furniture, shelling out for boilers, replacing knackered out old banged cars etc. By our late 20's dh who worked in the private sector had managed to save enough for us to get married but then back to square one. We had our first child and had to sell things to afford a pram. We had many lean years where I worked pt but saved masses on childcare, where we did camping or £9.99 Sun Holiday caravans and we managed to scrape by and eventually build up some savings again. As the kids got older and I went back full time, and after a profitable house move with a now significantly higher joint income we are comfortable. For many people on lower incomes normal life is so expensive now that I doubt anyone on a low income can afford savings....it's not even a case of living to your means anymore. I think many people literally can't live within their means.

I agree with you. Its absolutely shocking that in a society where some people have millions tucked away, there are others who can't even lay their hands on a £100. What should we be doing to tackle this scandalous wealth inequality do you think OP?

I think there’s a difference between people who are genuinely poor who don’t have savings, and people who make bad financial decisions and spend frivolously on stuff they don’t need then don’t have a safety net. I also don’t know any of the former in my circles, but see lots of the latter.

It’s just as easy to be stuck living hand to mouth, caught out by a punctured tyre (or similar) every time you think you’re about to get your head above water, as it is to judge adults for not having emergency savings. If you don’t understand, lucky you.

Presumably you’ve never been in the position where your salary didn’t stretch far enough every month for a long period of time , had a huge unexpected bill, you suffered a long period of illness, your partner was made redundant or worse they passed away??

I was able to buy my exh out of our house about 30 years ago but that meant for 12 months or so I could cover my mortgage, utilities and council tax but travel, food and any other expenses went on my credit card with me only being able to pay the minimum payment every month. I can’t tell you how many years it took me to clear that card and meant I couldn’t save a penny. It’s probably only the last 10 years or so we’ve been able to always have some savings put away. Don’t take it for granted you’ll always be able to have a nice nest egg tucked away, you’d be surprised how quickly that could disappear if your circumstances changed unexpectedly

Some people cant afford that... I work full time and take on extra work all the time, but there is only my wage for the three of us. I am a low earner and we are topped up by UC. We cant afford everything monthly and have only managed the past year as my MIL sadly passed away and we had her savings to keep us going. However now we are back on the breadline and might have to ask school for food bank referrals. We certainly cant put anything anyway on a monthly basis. I am working to improve us, but its going to take time.

How lucky are you ! People are struggling to get by and of course everyone would love to have 10k in the bank! Talk about kicking peeps when they are down ! What a ridiculous post!! In the last year or so I’ve been able to put something by and can say that I have always wanted to but we all lead different lives and previously I didn’t have anything to spare after bills and food !

I'm early 60's, its only been in the last few years that I have had a buffer, if you exclude a private pension pot. Many of my friends have nothing, some not even a private pension or investment/saving and some rent too!

Is this what the young people call a humblebrag ?

What is it you’re struggling to understand?

I’m financially very comfortable right now but there was a time I was so poor I would go days without eating. I remember finding £1 in the bottom of an old handbag and running to Heron Foods down the road to stock up on instant noodles because they had an offer on KoKo noodles 10 for £1. The relief of that £1 meant I didn’t need to worry about food for a few days.

Truly awful time in my life but it humbled me forever. There was no circumstances that wiped out my savings as I didn’t have any to begin with. I was working multiple jobs but one of them had shifts that ran until 4am and this meant I had to pay for a taxi home as I couldn’t afford a car and it was unsafe for me to walk the 45 minutes. I hated being put on those shifts as it cut my money down even more, but so did everyone else and it was hard to swap.

If I told people how poor I was back then I don’t think they’d have believed me. I didn’t look it. I didn’t act it. I hide it very well. I wish I asked my Mum for help but I was too proud. I’d go to her house when I could as I knew she’d feed me but it cost £6.90 to get there on the train and it was a luxury I couldn’t afford. I had 7 credit cards that were maxed out and nothing to show for it- I’d just used them to pay for food and bills.

The answer is a lot of people don’t have savings because they don’t have the option to. Some people are literally choosing between heating their homes and putting food in their mouths.

This post just shows how out of touch to the modern world you are ! How absolutely ignorant of you.

I'm always amazed that so many on Mumsnet have such intimate knowledge of the finances of people around them.

Well lucky you with your 10k 🙄

I’m a social worker OP. I work with a mum who hadn’t eaten in four days so she could feed her children instead. Give your head a massive wobble

I always have a bag of oats, pasta and some candles with matches in - does that count 🤔

Best get something heavy tied to your ankles ..so you don't disappear up your own arse
Good try.

When I left home - before I was ready, due to abuse, and following a lifetime in various degrees of poverty already - I used to eat rolls and 10p crisps because I rarely had much money for food. I guess I should have just had the dry roll and saved like 10p a day or something 😅

One of the many reasons I'm opposed to the age staggering of the minimum wage 🙃

Exactly, it’s shocking. If someone’s job doesn’t pay enough to put by a good chunk of savings every month, why don’t they just leave and get a job which pays double?

It’s great to have savings. A good position to be in.
But surely you appreciate it isn’t possible for everyone.
Also, people on here are telling you from their own experiences how it isn’t possible. So take a moment maybe and think how privileged you are to have £10k tucked away.
There are people in this country right now - on MN right now - who would be over the moon to have £10 left the day before payday.