Saving fatigue zzzz. Will it ever add up?

[28feelinglate]

Hello!!

28 yr old female here in a professional role. Currently renting and trying to save as much money as possible over the next year. I've been at it for a couple of months now. I've been saving 40% of my pay each month (a lot.. I know) and have made lots of sacrifices in order to do so. I've been putting X amount into monzo pots each month for my monthly budget, trying not to go over these and trying my best to take on extra work outside of my full-time role.

I am in a very lucky position to be bale to save this amount my pay, no doubt, and I am not here to moan about that, I'm here to.. I guess... share the bloody mundanity and boredom of it all and the fact it feels like it is taking so long to accumulate. Urghhhhhhh.

Any thoughts or ideas how to reframe it so it feels less boring / restrictive? TIA

You’re overdoing the saving I think. I have 3 pots - 1 is for current account spending, all bills and necessities. Then pot 2 is saving for pleasure - holidays and clothes. Pot 3 is rainy day/ not fun spending.

It’s very hard coming in to winter - it’s cold and miserable and you can’t do free stuff outdoors as easily. Could you give yourself a little wiggle room through December and January?

To also add - I don't earn a HUGE amount. Just under 50K which is about 2.7K after my pension, student loan etc. If that makes a difference? Am I depriving myself too much?

What’s the end goal?

50k is a brilliant salary for your age. Dont be so dismissive about your earnings.

You say this is a 1 year project. What are you hoping to do with the cash at the end? If it's really only for another 9 months, and you have a solid reason for the 12k you'll have at the end, I'd say stick with it.
If it's just something you thought you'd try, I'd drop the savings a little and live a bit more.

You're doing so well! 40% savings is a lot - you might want to lower it for a month or two to splurge and treat yourself so that it doesn't feel like such a grind. Will pay off in the long-term but don't sacrifice too much. Looking back, you'll never regret investing in travel and friendships.

You have done amazingly well op.

But saving is like dieting. It has to be realistic to be sustainable.

I would lower your percentage by 10 %.

Thanks both. I need a PhD (which I achieved 15 months ago) for my role. In order to do the PhD I lived off 14K per year for 3 years which was so hard (it wasn't your typical PhD with a stipend - it was a partial funded Doctorate). Hence I am saving so much in order to 'make up' what I wasn't able to do up until now (save). Family very low income and no chance of any financial support for a house deposit in the future (a definite no) so feel I am trying to 'catch up' with my peers, perhaps?

My problem now is I find it hard to buy anything now I have been so strict on myself over the last few months. I always take food to work from home, and I forgot this morning for the first time in 4 months, and had to buy some overpriced crap (£7.50) which basically ruined my day and then I feel as though I have failed?! Probably best to reign it in slightly?

You're doing really well!

It will pay off. You sound very focused and determined. However, if you're this fed up after a couple of months, you do risk quitting altogether.

How about a new pot called 'wiggle'. Put maybe 1/3 of your current savings into that one, permit yourself to use it if needed / wanted but if it doesn't get used, transfer it to savings at the end of each month?

There is no escaping the fact that saving is a slog to start with. This is because all the saving comes from the money you put in, and almost none is coming from interest (or capital growth if you are investing). This is how it seems to go for a long time, it can feel like pushing a boulder up a hill with no reward to show for it.

The important thing is not to give up, which is why saving has to become a habit, and it has to be sustainable. Keep a record of it growing (so you can remind yourself that there really is progress), and make sure you enjoy life too!

If you do keep going then at some point, almost without realising it, the boulder feels lighter. You might be putting in the same effort, but the growth each month seems more noticeable. That is the miracle of compounding - where you start to feel the benefit of all that time earning interest on your interest!

A time will come when the money you put in yourself is matched by the interest you receive. At that point it is as if there are two of you, both contributing, and then things really start to pick up speed!

Stick with it, get through the slow start and one day that boulder will feel like it’s rolling downhill on its own!

You sound utterly fed up that you had to live on nothing for so long and now you’re earning really well and… still living on a really tight budget. Not surprising.

You’ve done amazingly. Your achievements are fantastic, Doctor 💐 and what you’re saving every month will dwarf the odd lunch.

Have you got your savings so far in the best possible rate account? You’re presumably using your LISA allowance, with the rest in an ISA?

Do you have an amount in mind that will be the right amount for you to start looking around to buy?

Does anyone in your life give you Christmas presents? Can you ask for treats - either vouchers or really luxurious things that you wouldn’t otherwise afford?

I think you are overdoing it a bit. Do yourself a budget - create a fun money budget, so you can buy something nice for yourself with feeling bad about it.

I am a fairly hefty saver but I have chilled out somewhat over the years.

E.g. I didn't buy new carpets for my house for like 7 years after I moved in because in my head I couldn't justify the expense.

I had a mega busy job but didn't get a cleaner in to help me because I didn't feel I could justify the expense.

(etc, etc).

I have realised that I rarely regret spending money on big ticket purchases, as long as they are good quality. Same for regular spending.

But I also know I want to try to avoid lifestyle inflation particularly where it's not actually improving my quality of life - so avoiding buying lunch every day seems like a reasonable approach. However, back on the other side again, I used to beat myself up for cock ups like not going and negotiating on my insurance one year or forgetting lunch or whatever. Now I class it as a "cost of doing business" in my head. I wouldn't do it for every expense and I try to mainly spend sensibly, but I basically tell myself that occasionally cocking that sort of thing up is one of the unavoidable costs of having a job that takes up a lot of time and brain space.

Then the other thing I have trouble with is there are some things that I want but somehow won't permit myself to spend money on, even though I would really enjoy them and can afford them. What I now do is I have a bit of cash in premium bonds, and anything I win goes into a "treat yourself" fund along with birthday or Christmas money. This is only for stuff I am not otherwise prepared to spend money on though, because otherwise I think it could go the other way where I ended up using it to limit my spending more, instead of having a nice lifestyle.

OP, you’re doing really well. You sound such a determined person.

Are you making your savings work hard enough for you? A PP mentioned a LISA. If you’re partly saving for a house deposit, do look into putting money into a LISA as you will get a 25% government top up into it.

Are you saving other bits into an ISA? Have you considered any longer term investing? It might help you to see more progress quicker if you know you’re maximising returns on your savings.

On another note, like you I don’t like wasteful spending when there are cheaper options like bringing food from home, but you’re not a failure if you do end up buying from work. Also, even though I only buy secondhand clothes from Vinted / low spend food, I do splurge on what I value which is experiences. So I will buy the gig tickets for the band I love, will say yes if a friend asks me to go do X activity with them, will earmark a certain amount each year to go on holiday. It helps balance out the saving the rest of the time and gives life some joy.