How much savings as a minimum

[Ponkless]

Would you be happy with if your fixed outgoings were 1200 a month?

15k minimum

Completely depends on income.

The general rule of thumb for emergency savings is 3-6 months’ living expenses, so £3600 at a minimum.

If you expect your bills to rise over the next few months too, then probably closer to £4-5k.

£7k ish though double that would make me feel more secure. If you lost your income, how long would it take to regain it? Would you regain it all or just some?

Following being made redundant I have found it can take longer than you expect to regain the income, and you may not regain all of it.

How big a cushion you are happy with will depend on your specific situation and your feelings. You may have a minimum amount and a desired amount. Once you reach minimum then you may move on to your next financial task, such as investing, but also continue to add to the emergency fund so it gradually builds to your desired amount.

With your outgoing I’d say £5-7.5k would be comfortable.

There's no fixed minimum. Save as much as you can on regular basis.

How long is a piece of string?

Age? Job/income security? Income? Ambitions re retirement? Lifestyle preferences? Single person household or family with dependent children?

Is this for just income replacement or is it intended to cover all non-routine expenditure like home improvements, car replacement, holidays etc?

Impossible to say without considering all the above.

Depends on circumstances but I would of said at least 7k to cover 6 months of job lost.

A year’s salary

Absolute minimum, 6 months all costs (including clothes, birthdays/christmas, holiday costs average spend) after all debts like credit cards cleared if you have them + 25% of that amount in emergency fund.

Ideally 2 years + 25%.

Depends on circumstances- but I go for saving to match 6 months salary. But less is needed if you have another income source (say pension or rental income) that would still be there if you were made redundant.

£4.6k 3 months.

Depends what I needed the money for and how confident I feel in my ability to earn.

Wow, is that idea for 2 years gross or net salary in savings!? I'm quite a high earner now (though not by London standards!) and have never come close to that, even when saving almost £1k a month at times. And renting. But I'm the higher earner in my household so maybe that's why...

OP, given the level of inflation and heating etc. that is being predicted, if I were you I would try to save up 6 ish months of all expenses, if your budget allows and depending on your household job security. Plus a buffer of £1-3k if you can. Pay yourself first (transfer to savings on payday and try not to touch it) and anything left the following month can be rolled to savings too (even small amounts help over time).

Good luck!

Do you have an ISA? These can be liquidated very quickly and easily,. A minimum of a years salary in the ISA and 3 months outgoings in cash would cover most eventualities.

Getting on the property ladder years ago made us scarily skint. So we started saving as soon as we could. Once we got up to £10k we never dropped below it. Then kept adding more than we took out That was years ago but I would still say £10k on your income it can cover a lot of emergencies.

We always make sure we have at least £10k accessible money, so I’d say that amount. Less if you’re renting as you don’t need to cover emergency house bills such as new boiler.

6 months monthly household income should you lose your job(s)
£1-2k emergency fund for things like the boiler breaking
£? For long term plans like new car, holiday of a lifetime, house renovations/upgrades

We use premium bonds rather than an ISA, that’s another idea to consider.

Wow love the idea of a "years salary" as a minimum.

Surely only v high earners, even by mn standards have that! Why do people post that on these type of threads. Do people just like to brag that they have savings!?

I imagine v few have "a years savings" as a minimum. I imagine it might be a goal for many but realistically it would be used for holidays/work for the house/kids stuff before people reach a years savings on a normal income.