Money worries

[Flowering21]

Hi sorry , but need advice so so worried , I am not sleeping eating , doing anything , just want to curl up, my husbands salary dropped drastically last year , he still is earning , but I fin that I am struggling , we hav 15,000 in a savings account which we have touched but I am so scared to keep going into it in case left with nothing , I need advice please on what I should do , is it okay to touch savings , we put away for a pension , plus we have our work pensions as well , but so so worried about not having enough money to last us till then ,

According to previous threads, late last year you had a household income of £67K and no mortgage, and no dependent children.
Is that your current income?
No matter what it’s dropped to, with him working and you working part time, with no mortgage, you are far from destitute.

Is it a concern to touch savings?

• for a one off cost that is exactly why you have savings - like a broken boiler - not a problem.

• regularly despite having enough money, but you’re wanting to live your old salary lifestyle? That’s a problem. To be solved by resetting your expectations.

• regularity because your new income no longer matches your outgoings? That’s a problem. To be solved by reviewing your outgoings - with the help of a debt charity if necessary.

Honestly, from your previous posts I think this is an anxiety issue, not an income issue.

Firstly make a list of all the debt (if any) and work out a priority list for that. Top priority are things to do with housing... you want to keep a roof over your head.

I would call money in a savings account and Emergency Fund, not money for retirement. Money that is in an investment, such as in a Stocks & Shares ISA is what I would view as being for long term future, so I would avoid touching that, especially as the market is volatile at the moment and that money may be worth quite a bit less now than it was a month ago.

Focus on income and outgoings. How can your household get more income? How can your household cut down on outgoings? Create a budget and aim to stick to it... plan what you will spend money on in the weeks/months ahead.

Priority spends: Food, Housing, Utilities (Electric, Gas, Water, basic internet etc), travel to/from work, travel to/from school, essential clothing.

Being aware that you are starting to spend savings is a good first step in recognising there is a problem. Now is the time to act to reduce your reliance on your savings as ideally you don't want to use that too much. For now use some but get a focus on your income and outgoings... reduce the outgoings as much as you can.

We save for many things and whilst it’s good to save for a pension we also save for a rainy day. And it’s raining now, so don’t be afraid to use it. Hopefully the issue with your husbands salary is temporary and you can build your savings back up.