No savings, No pension & an overdraft

[sherbetpips]

We moved house 6 months ago and have basically burned our way through £25k of savings trying to fix it's many problems. The last thousand in my account is about to go towards stopping the roof leaking. Am really mad at myself for being in this situation. I have always been sensible when it comes to money but now we live in a house that stretches our family budget to the max and that even after all we have spent on it is still frankly knackered.

I am 37 and can't believe I no longer have any fall back money or a bloody pension! Anyone else as stupid as me???

We are in the same position, bough a do-er-upper of a house 18 months ago and it needed far more doing up then we had anticipated so we threw a significant proportion of our savings into it.

Dh then lost his (good and well paying) job 9 months later. We used the rest of the savings to pay the bills. Savings gone. We were stuffed.

He now has a new but lower paid job. We have no savings. He has a tiny pension. I have a miniscule not even worth having pension. We do however have a nice enough house in a good enough area and should be able to stay here (provided we can pay the mortgage) and ride out any property storms for the next 10 years and then sell without too much of a loss. (mortgage is only 50% of property value, thank god)

For now we are trying to be very frugal. We have no spare money to start building up savings. I have taken on extra hours at work to bring in a bit of extra money.

Feel a wally but think we are not the only ones to be financially precarious. Sign of the times I think...

I was in that situation about 15 years ago when my marriage failed. Savings got decimated, I could just about afford the mortgage but couldn't do anything else including the work on the place it badly needed. Spent the next five years living like a hermit and working like stink whilst I painstakingly built up savings, gathered a few pay rises and even rented out a spare room for extra income. After that I remortgaged the place periodically, each time releasing a little capital to complete another job. Changing job solved the pension problem. It's been a long old business but I wanted to encourage you that, no matter how bleak things seem now, it's not the end of the world

Can't your leaking roof be paid by the insurance? With the storms this week I would have thought you were covered for damage.

Hopefully not stupid once the house is repaired! I don't have much of a pension, my house is my comfort tbh, will be paid off when I'm 50.

no it is an evil flat roof so wear and tear. Any damage resulting from it would be covered but not the repair itself. have paid the bill and am now trying to think of a creative way to have some sort of holiday this year!

I was - but my ex lost his job, my business hit the recession and I sold up. Now in a smaller place and sleeping better!!
That said - I took in a lodger to help financially, sold on ebay with a vengence - every little helped to build up some bunce when I was there. I'm still recovering financially and trying to build my savings back up - but its not stupidity - we all want that lovely family home.
Good luck - hope it gets easier!