How much is in your emergency fund?

[Skelfy]

And in what circumstances do you dip into it?

We have £13k which is 5 months of absolutely bare bones essentials (high mortgage).

I'm in a secure-ish public sector job, part time, my salary could just about cover absolute essentials. DH higher earner but much more precarious job security though has in demand skills & experience.

about £4 in loose change lol

14 bottles of wine and a tin of corned beef.

Depends on the election results how soon it is required.

No savings unfortunately.

I have 2.5k aside for ‘emergencies’. I’d dip into it for health reasons (I have insurance too) or if I, for some reason, didn’t have rent money.

I was initially nervous about having quite a small pot but I work in the public sector and feel quite secure about my job, and I’m prioritising saving for a house deposit at the moment.

Our savings were completely depleted when we bought our current house, I really didn't like how insecure I felt at the time.

DH is a lot more relaxed than me about these things. I struggle to balance between living for now and worrying about the what-ifs.

Comparing emergency funds isn't particularly useful as everyone has different definitions - your £13k is to literally pay your basic living costs for a few months, others will earmark theirs against things like car repairs or white goods replacement.

You're in a relatively good position - it sounds like you're unlikely to be without income in the short to medium term - you probably get good sick pay too?

It also sounds like you've been able to 'save back' £13k in a relatively short period, which is good?

If you have spare money, you might want to save a bit more, but also overpay your mortgage by whatever you're allowed to without penalty. Also consider if you need to have money available for larger purchases like home improvements or car replacement. If you can pay for these without borrowing, it makes you more financially secure as your essential outgoings are lower, and the cost is less because you're not paying interest.

I once heard someone say that they split their spare money and any extra money like pay rises or bonuses into thirds and a third would go on debt (this could include overpaying the mortgage), a third would be saved and a third could be spent on non essentials. That seems to me to be a good way to use money for someone in your position.

As for where you are in life and where you want to be, have a look at the financial flowchart.

https://ukpersonal.finance/flowchart/

Agree with PP - different earnings and outgoings make it hard to compare. One persons £10K is another persons chump change

I have enough for ten months (all bills and the odd luxury).

@Bjorkdidit that's such a handy tool, thanks for sharing.

Er- nothing. Single parent with 2 teens
13k? Your living on another planet....

£1.41

i can’t afford to live at the minute, never mind save.

I know not everyone is in the same boat though so appreciate that you worry over a large mortgage etc which we don’t have.

13k is a large sum of money. 5 months is long enough to get back on track. Try not to worry.

Nothing

£400
it's the first time I have ever had "spare" money to be able to save

I have had to go full time to be able to do this and it means I don't get to see my kids much any more and it should probably go on Paying off the credit card but we have car mots and school uniforms for two soon, I feel more secure having it but wish I was back to part time enjoying my kids while they're young

Ours is significant as we have two years of paying accommodation for two DC at uni - so cost is £7.5k x 2 = £15k pa. We have saved so that if one of us loses our job we are still able to keep paying this, as well as all our other bills, mortgage etc.

We currently have about £1k split across some different pots but this is because I was on maternity leave for a year and we saved enough for me to continue paying what I usually do without my partner needing to pay more which I guess puts us on the fortunate side of the fence. Ideally we would have £5-10k in savings but COL is hitting us hard atm especially as I'm now working part time. Just need to hope the boiler/washer doesn't go for the next few months.

If one of you lost your job, couldn't you ask student finance to reassess your students for a higher loan?

(Yes, I know that the full loan doesn't cover accommodation in many places -- I have two overlapping students too)

@Bjorkdidit (love the name!) that's incredibly useful thank you. Having a large mortgage, whilst fortunate, is quite the trap.

We're on step 5 of that flowchart, and your post has illustrated that an initial emergency fund is for a few months of essentials, but to balance out long term a goal is to have more in the pot to cover unforeseen costs eg car, roof etc. and if unused whilst working, essential for retirement (if & when).

I appreciate everyone is at different stages & circumstances. I was the only mum I knew that worked full time when the kids were very young, my net income barely covered nursery costs (no family help) but it got me to a position where I can now be more flexible, and allowed us to move to a house from a small flat. No regrets.

Now the hard part - diverting 2/3 of our 'spare' money to mortgage overpayments and savings. The kids easily consume a third of our spare - clothes, school trips, activities! But it's a really useful benchmark.

£0.
It feels irresponsible, but that's that.
Paycheque to paycheque.

About £3000 but we're ploughing all our spare cash into the mortgage as our rate is very low. We could skip over paying if we needed the cash.

Absolutely nothing. The last week of the month we're normally down to a couple of £'s each. 2 working parent household, 2 children. The last couple of years have done for us.

£23k. I'm a single mum so my salary is all there is.

When ds was born it was £60k. It's whittled down gradually over the last 16 years. Only 2 years of mortgage and school fees left. If I can just hang on to my job for 18 months, I'll have done it !!

Then ds will go to uni and I will downsize and retire. I'll be 63. 🙂

We used to have a really solid one. But we have had a shit time over the last 5 years since covid. Lack of earnings due to loss of job,no spare change due to cost of living ;multiple birth so can't hand things down as easily, low earning potential from me due to poor mental health compounded by menopause now we are desperately waiting for payday with no fun things in the diary.
It's shit

Significant

Half of that will go on paying off the mortgage & keep the rest in investments. I’ll use the additional savings from not paying the mortgage to save for my mat leave.

Similar to this but we have DC doing a 6 year medical degree (If they decide to intercalate).

We are also retired and in our 50’s so have PS guaranteed pension income however, if one of us died our income would go down by 25%.

I was self employed so I have kept my professional registration current and I may dip into it again if I need to.

We are adapting to living on a lower income and budgeting better.

Age and working in HC has taught me that money comes and money goes. Time is the only resource you can never recoup hence, we have prioritized early retirement and chasing our dreams of a more creative side hustle!

I have about £5k emergency fund in an accessible saving account. I have another £13k in a fixed term bond. Our monthly barebones outgoing is £1500k, mortgage was paid and we only have one (school aged) child. So, a year emergency fund. I plan to stop saving in cash and save only in stock and shares ISA from this point forward. At the moment, my stock and share ISA is about £19k. I don't know how much saving my husband has, most likely less than mine 😅

Like you, I never stop working full time even when my child was little. I also don't spend much on daily basis. My personal regular monthly bills are very low: £15/month phone and £30/month for work transport.

Yes but that doesn’t kick in for a year or so I don’t think