To think most people could save a small amount regularly if they prioritised it?

[BoldRubyShaker]

Obviously there are people in genuinely difficult situations who simply don’t have anything left to save and that’s not who I’m talking about. But for many workers, I do wonder whether saving even a small amount regularly is more achievable than it’s sometimes made out to be. Even something like £50 a month builds up over time - around £3,000 over 5 years (plus interest) and much more over the long term.

AIBU? I think that for a lot of people it’s more about prioritising than possibility.

I do agree, but I can also see how cutting back to the bone for 5 years could be soul destroying, and sometimes we need a little treat to make life pleasurable. I have just done a huge review of my finances and am doing exactly as you said, saving a little regularly and taking thay out of the pot on payday like a bill. But I am also aware I'm in the first flush of 'productivity' and I might feel very different in 6 months time if I've had to go without a lot to get there.

Depends what they're saving it for. So you've saved £600 over a year, then you need a new washing machine, oven, plumber, whatever. It's gone again.

I think a lot of people save or try to save but life happens and those savings are abolished quickly. We try to save but for example in the last 6 months our car needed €1000 worth of work, our shower and washing machine broke. We had some savings but then had to use a credit card or finance for some also so now we have even less disposable income to try to build up that savings pot again.

So yes we save what we can and don't particularly have extravagant lives but keeping the head above the water is definitely harder later.

I guess it's good if someone's actually managed to save an amount to go towards those costs, rather than having to borrow money with interest.

I agree but I think £50 is a lot to start with. I encouraged my friends to save is squirrel 🐿️ accounts. A savings account from a totally different bank that you use regularly. £10 a month soon builds up.

Also encouraged then to save for xmas instead of going into debt or using hamper schemes. This also worked well .

We have lots of different little pots of savings. So Xmas, Birthdays, Bet Bills, School etc but then we try to just have a generic savings pot but it always gets blasted with a large expense unfortunately.

Yes, but you have a washing machine as opposed to a Debt

I agree, I save £20 a month for my DC and I know it’s not much but by the time they are adults it’ll pay for driving lessons or similar. It seemed silly at first just seeing a little bit in the account but now it feels worth it

Fairly obviously, yes.

I could stop eating out, stop going to the theatre, stop spending so much on holidays, got a smaller car, etc.

But then again, why would I?

Our household income is enough to cover most unexpected events like the boiler going, we do save a small amount, and we both have good pensions.

For some people they can’t even afford to pay into their pensions which is a big
mistake IMO. I really like apps such as Plum, where the pence left after a transaction in your account is taken, you can add extra money if you want to. Ive
done this and over about 18 months I’ve got £1.3k tucked away. I’m lucky as I have been pretty well paid in my career but have friends who literally live off of such little money it’s awful 😞

Stick with it .I think Martin says aim
for one to two thousand as that will cover a boiler or major car repair. Bank that and start again with the squirrel accounts.

I know it’s hard but sometimes I’ve done joint with my sister for an occasion and found I am less likely to take money from that account when stuck again maybe £10:20 .
We started one when our mum was 50 and paid for her to go to Peru for her 60th

Well I don't think you are the type of person the OP is talking about then.... if you can afford unexpected expenses and also holidays etc you are very privileged. I understand you work hard for your earnings, but many people work hard and struggle with unexpected costs.

Of course it is.

A friend suggested to me a few years ago to save every £2 coin and put it somewhere I wouldn't dip into.

It added up very quickly without me feeling like any cash was 'missing'.

Very few people literally have no money to save but as a PP said, they prioritise spending it on other things that they feel makes life enjoyable.

Which is fine.

But I think, and most TV programmes exploring the issue demonstrate the fact that most people who say they have no money to save, really do. They just spend it because it's part of their lifestyle they either don't see as an unnecessary expense, or are unwilling to give it up.

Save for what though?
Any time we have money that hasn’t gone on bills etc, it gets spent on the long list of things we need (new gutters/ new appliances/ fixing leaks/ replacing things in the house).
We’re hardly going to put fifty quid away and then continue to sit around with a broken vacuum cleaner or hole in the extension roof or whatever.
Part of our income goes towards pension/ health insurance/ life assurance. It takes a chunk out of it but surely it is better than just putting a small bit by and letting it build up.
We really don’t spend very much on non essential stuff. Cut our own hair, one holiday in the last eight years, and me and dh wear the cheapest clothes we can get. We don’t drive. We could probably cobble together a hundred quid or so a month to put by by skipping things like the occasional meal out or trip to the cinema or by buying cheaper (poorer quality) food or walking instead of occasionally hopping on the bus etc, but what’s the point? So we have a few hundred extra to do what with? If something needs to fixed urgently we just do it and then cut back on other non essentials anyway. If it’s something big, a few hundred won’t cover it so we’d need a loan or something anyway. Those kids of savings won’t build up to enough to fix a roof or fund a holiday or anything like that.
It’s hard when you have dc. You can hardly put off buying new clothes when they’ve taken a growth spurt or paying for a school trip because you need to prioritise saving fifty quid.
Everything is so expensive these days. In the last five years we have cut everything right back to quite a basic lifestyle. Things will only continue to get more expensive so soon enough we will be forced to pare it back even more.
It is technically possible for me to save but it would be totally pointless.

People don't have to cut out all fun spending, if they just cut down, it would mean they have some savings and some fun.

If you had £50 left at the end of each month and saved it even half the time instead of blowing it on a takeaway or other unnecessary treat, you'd have £300 after a year, which would go a long way towards a new washing machine or other small emergency.

I never get this argument. Once you've spent savings they're gone. Well, yeah that applies to all money!

Whats the alternative- all those things you've listed are things you NEED to pay for. you cant just say "ah well dont want to dig into my savings so guess we cant fix the toilet and will just shit in the garden from now on." Worst case scenario is you pay for these things out of your savings and you're back to zero, which surely is better than paying for them and being £600 in debt, which then becomes £700 because interest is added to your credit card?

I completely agree OP. You will get the illiterate on these threads who get very irate and explain why people on minimum wage supporting 8 children and their parents cant possibly save a penny, but as you've clarified that's not who you are talking about.

Everyone who has a daily Starbucks or pret lunch, brand new iPhone (or any phone better than a standard smartphone), new car, goes on holiday,
buys a new pair of shoes, gets an occasional takeaway etc....has made the choice to spend that money rather than save it.

And that's absolutely fine, whether you are coming at it from a "life is for living" philosophy, or (occasionally) justifying spending upfront because its worth the outlay - e.g. a new outfit for an interview gets you a job. But its annoying when people pretend they dont have that choice.

Some people really are only just barely keeping their heads above water.

I agree OP. I started a thread last week because i am sick of hearing the cost of living crisis being trotted out as an excuse for not saving, not paying into a pension, not being able to save for a house deposit etc when - in some cases, not all - it's just a case of prioritising and doing without the many, many things that are considered standard today that didn't even exist 20-30 years ago

When I was on grand tptal of £4.80 an hour NMW I still saved.
It's little bit by little bit.

Problem is, as shown on this thread as well, people don't think there is point saving if the savings then go on things needed like repairs or replacement appliance. But that's exactly what basic savings are needed for. Savings for treats and holidays and future are bit extra.
Having 300 to buy new eashing machine when old one breaks is considerably better than having broken washing machine and no money.... If you have savings for emergencies it means you end up on nil rather than in red which can be difficult to get out of

Yes and I suppose the reward of just £3000 over 5 years (“plus interest” but what will that be, maybe £400?) doesn’t sound like enough of a reward to be worth it. If that £50 means you can treat yourself to a coffee out a couple of times or a family take away when you are otherwise just scrimping and saving I can see why you might not bother.

Saving IS hard. I have £250 set up to go to various places by DD (mortgage overpayment , private pension, S&S isa). I try to save more but I had to buy a stupid new car so that was frustrating.

Indeed, people are absolutely free to spend their money as they wish. Not up to people to judge...until these people start moaning about how it's unfair they have no money to pay for essentials and blame everyone else but their choices...ie. they can't afford a healthy diet!

I'm sure this isn't your intention at all but this does come across as rather "if people didn't buy lattes they would have a house deposit sorted".

If all someone has available to save or spend is £50, it really won't feel worth constantly depriving oneself of any treats for 5 years to have £3k in the bank.

I agree completely OP. Most people could save money but many don't want to. It's boring and can feel very difficult when you're used to spending all your money and having non essentials peppered throughout your life. You begin to believe you deserve a takeaway each month or a coffee each day because other people have it. It's a slippery slope and ultimately almost always leads to stress and upset when the debt piles up.

There is a a bit of a niche on YouTube at the moment where American vloggers talk to people at Disney World about their debt. Some of the debt levels are horrendous and yet people still chose to spend thousands of dollars on Disney. You hear all kinds of excuses, children are only young once, they're recovering from a bereavement or illness etc.

I just feel lots of us in the developed world feel we have entitlement to nice things. We are being marketed to constantly and can't really believe that some people have to live within their means and that could mean no luxuries. We find that almost cruel and unacceptable.

Some people barely end the month with 20 quid OP... If that.