How much money would you be comfortable having in the bank?

[unlucky67]

Please don't flame me - this is a genuine worry - so much I'm losing sleep about it - and I do know in lots of ways I am very fortunate...
(I've been member of mumsnet for years - under another user name as well as this ...and always feel I have got good advice...just haven't been on much recently - I tend to get addicted)
My partner and I own a modest house - paid the mortgage off years ago. My partner had a business which he sold a few years ago - so for the last few years we have had money in the bank...for years I have been dithering about getting a slightly 'better' house so my 2 dds don't have to share a room and they have a bigger garden to play in (and I have a nasty neighbour too who makes my life a misery)
A close relative died suddenly a couple of months ago - it hit me hard and I realised that life is just too short...I went seriously house hunting and found one -which isn't absolutely perfect but almost is - it needs a lot of work doing on it and money spending on it ...we put in a lowish offer and to our surprise we got it...we will own it outright...
But this will leave us with about £10-15k in the bank. We don't intend to sell our current house but to do it up a bit (couple of grand) and rent it (income should bring in the same amount as the interest on the money - and in the current market with neighbour problem it would be hard to shift)...
I'm a SAHM and know I will find it hard to get a job in my field now - I probably won't be able to get a well paid job...
My DP is not very well paid - including the interest/rent our annual income is/will be about £25k (although we don't have to pay rent/mortgage - so it does go further) but we don't manage to save much each year...I'm really worried if something big came up we wouldn't have the money - I know we could borrow against the houses etc but we would struggle to pay it back...and it would be a really stupid position to get into ....also no money to pay university tution fees etc for our children...
Just worried I have really really messed up...some of me worries that my grief has made me react too fast ....
We will have approx 60% of one years annual income in savings - which probably isn't going to increase much... would you be worried?

erm..no

I'd personally be happy with any money in the bank. I suspect it's quite rare now. At least in my neck of the woods it is.

I suspect if you own a house outright as well as having cash in the bank, you're probably on here for a brag or a wind up. Well, if you start a post about it, anyway.

Oo! I could get deleted for that!

You can pay for uni by selling a house, yes?

To put this in perspective, I have enough money in the bank to do one weeks shopping and to pay my rent which is due in two weeks. I'm happy and not at all concerned.

No. Would not be worried in the slightest.

I tend to panic once I am down to my last £20. That happens most weeks.

Worried about what exactly?

We are saving for a house, so we have rather a large amount in the bank... the bank do occasionally send letters to remind us that we've got the money there- you know, I haven't got so much I'd forgotten where I'd put it...

Are you joking op? Stealth boast much.

So - your dh is on what is National average wage, (but that depends how you work it out, it's a LOT more than a lot of families bring in) but you have no mortgage, no childcare costs, and you own 2 houses outright - one of which will be bringing you in a regular income on top of your dh's wages, and you have 60% of a years wages in the bank, and you are worried....... ?

Really ?

General advice is to have between 3 and 6 months money put by (ie 25-50%) for emergencies, and that's with people who have only one house, which is mortgaged to the hilt.

Oh.

two houses.

My bad.

I don't ever really panic because I'm pretty good at making money last, so if I'm down to my last penny, it's only because I know I'm getting paid/getting tax creds/getting cb into my a/c the next day. I don't have any savings but I own my house outright and while I'm not rich, I earn enough so that if I had any emergencies, I'd be able to touch wood afford them, even if it let me short that month.

I'd be very happy with that. Fairly sure most people couldn't dream of it, so don't worry. :)

I earn less than your OH and am a single parent by the way, so I think you need to chill out! I'm not laissez fare about life's emergencies but you're in a comfortable position so there's no point needlessly worrying yourself about what may or may not happen!

OP I have £90 and DP has -£400. I worry every night about money.

You have two houses and no mortgages.

If I was you I'd try to keep at least 4 to 6 months of your normal living expenses in a fairly easy access account.

OP, 6 - 8 months salary is what is generally recommended as "safety net savings" in cases of redundancy, long term illness etc. You know yourself that you are probably ok, but I completely understand your panic. Things have been very secure for you and you are moving out of your comfort zone. (which is different to other peoples and thats fine!)

If you are really nervous, just have a look at your finances and give them a spring clean. Since you are moving anyway, check out better deals on insurance, phone lines, etc. and any savings you make, siphon off immediately into another savings account.

Try to save for any non-urgent work on either house and that will help you focus on saving more each month too :)

To be fair to the OP, just because she's in a better position than the majority of people in the UK, doesn't mean she shouldn't be worried- she should just be less worried than the majority of people, who should be shitting themselves (albeit there's always the argument that there's no point in worrying about things that you can't do anything about).

A lot of people have a black hole where thoughts of pension provision are concerned. Everyone says "Oh I'll have to work till I'm 80 then and eke out my state pension" Well yeah, if you can get a job past 65. If there's still a state pension (big ??? over this one if you're under 40 at the present time).

I'd love to be in your position, today I arranged to try & pay off one of my credit cards it should only take me 12 years

Ok OP has no housing cost but she doesn't swim in cash to be fair. The 25k is good but is not rich and it could go any time. No need to tell her to fuck off fgs.

Also, some people are more stressed and insecure about savings because of past bad experiences, i'm like that too OP.

It seems like your savings cover 6 months if you lose your income so it should be ok. Make sure you get the highest interest for it, also cover for boiler, white goods etc especially for the house you are renting out. And check the tax and everything for the rental income.

Sounds like you're asset-rich but cash-poor, which is a pretty common situation for the older generation but unusual for people younger than e.g. 45 as most people that age-group work and have mortgages.

Depending on what age you are, I don't think you have to worry too much. Your DH's income is on the low side of average and probably doesn't let you save much but if you keep your 10-15k that should be enough for any emergencies. You have enough money to pay for your DDs to go to university (selling your rented house).

Your big worry, if you want one (as you seem to) should be your own lack of a pension or pot of money, since you're a SAHM and say you haven't worked in a while. Depending on what age you are, you should try to start a pension/savings pot for yourself or you'll end up quite poor in your old age, especially if you sell the rental to pay for DDs' education. It could be that the 10-15k is entirely yours and so is the house but you'll need a lot more than that to retire unless your DH has some gold-plated public sector pension.

Sorry got distracted .... thanks for the figures 6-8 months figure makes me feel a bit happier...

You are right I don't have a pension and we aren't married...so I will be stuck - even thinking about giving up my principles and getting married just for pension reasons....

New house needs a lot of work £20-25k ...which is stuff like windows, electrics, floor coverings - not flash furniture or designer bathrooms...if there is anything serious not picked up on survey we won't have the funds to cover it ....
Also things like DP drives a 15 yr old fiesta but will need to replace it soon - he will get secondhand probably around £2k...but that will be a big slice of our savings ...
And bear in mind the bank told me they would no longer give me a credit card in my name - because I don't have an income...even though I have money with them and own 60% of this house ....Also getting a loan is difficult if you have no credit history - like my DP...

This money didn't fall from the sky - both DP & I are in our 40s, have been stony broke and probably because of that we don't live a flashy lifestyle (no flat screen tvs, Ipads etc, we have second hand furniture etc),scruffy clothes ... our new house isn't flash... just slightly better than we have now...DP got the money to start his business by working every hour god sent and living in a bedsit with cockroaches
We were lucky we bought our house 10 yrs ago before prices went crazy, we bought what we could afford in my name only (so really cheap) - in case business went bust- with a mortgage and paid off extra when ever we could to save paying the interest ...and we both worked 100 hrs per week for 7 years..(don't spend much when you work like that...).to end up in debt now would be crazy.....

I'm not bragging - if anything I feel a bit embarrassed and uncomfortable and I know I couldn't speak to friends about how I feel ....hence me asking here ... if asked I have always said I didn't need to worry about money... but feel it was better when no one realised the level of funds we did have...

I kind of know I'm being stupid... but I am seriously frightened... I am giving up my security blanket ....and what's left if I was in my 20s it would seem like a fortune but I know it isn't really .... and my head is a mess.... and I will have to arrange to get all the work done.... and I know I am still grieving....and so just don't have much faith in my own judgement ....
But at least no-one has said what on earth are you playing at? You must be mad to do that....