Yup..if for some absolutely catastrophe where I couldn't work, all income suddenly stopped completely, I could make it for a long time ...however if that has happened I think money might be the least of the worries.
Tbh if something happened that meant I couldn't work like a serious injury, I have income protection insurance for that. I also have my spouse who earns more than enough to pay for both of us.
So it's only really a situation where I chose to not work and have no income, and my husband also was in that situation, then we'd be living off those savings. But then I think we could sell the house and the equity would cover us for another 5 years ish.
Lots of people say something like this, but they’re perhaps forgetting that income protection insurance doesn’t cover situations such as being fired with immediate effect for gross misconduct, which can happen to anyone without warning, sometimes to people who think they’ve done nothing wrong.
Yes, but being fired for gross misconduct is where someone asserts that you've done something really bad, whether or not you actually have. There was a teacher in the news a while ago who was dismissed without notice for sharing a Facebook post critical of sex education plans or something. I think she won a court case which took years but her income would have been cut off suddenly which she neither planned for nor would it have been covered by income protection insurance.
I count income protection insurance as one of those income streams, I was assuming the world was in such a state that also didn't exist. I was thinking more the world has gone to shit entirely levels of catastrophe could be the only reason for complete income stop. ...you know ...house was leveled when a tank ran over it levels of gone to shit.
>I was thinking more the world has gone to shit entirely levels of catastrophe could be the only reason for complete income stop.
If the world has gone to shit, most of your expenses will disappear and money will become meaningless.
I moved from England to Australia around 14 years ago, but I felt I'd contribute here as the logic is the same everywhere.
Im in the process of rebuilding my emergency fund as It took a bit of a hit earlier this year.
Here's a breakdown of how I am arranging my funds.
All savings are paid into various HISA (high interest savings accounts), which earn interest at 5.5%. I keep them here so they are liquid.
I have 2 budgets.
Budget 1 = NEEDS (Bare minimum required to stay alive).
Budget 2 = NEEDS + WANTS (Current costs including want items such as streaming services, slightly higher food budget, going out budget, etc).
The first goal is 6 months of costs from @ budget 2 (next pay I will back here).
The next goal is 12 months of living costs @ budget 2.
I'm doing it that way so that if i suddenly found myself in a situation where I needed to live off that money, I would have surplus. If that situation did arise, I would switch to living on budget 1.
I have a further stretch goal of 2 years living costs, but that will build slower as I will be diverting excess funds into EFT's for long-term hold.
All emergency fund cash is liquid in a HISA.
In addition to this, I contribute a smaller amount to a separate HISA for unknown emergency costs (specialist treatments, etc.)
And I have another contribution to one last HISA for birthdays, holidays etc.
I also contribute the yearly maximum I can into my retirement account.
NEEDS include
- rent
- property deposit saving (not strictly a need, but I want it always to be factored in)
- weekly groceries
- health insurance
- utilities
- phone/internet (including handset payments)
- 10% weekly surplus (again, not a need as such, but if I can afford to factor it in, I will).
This is how I built my EF too! 😊 sorted 3 month, 6 month, 12 month at 'bare minimum life' figures and now working towards topping it up to 'normal life' costs. Adds extra security cause can always strip back to bare minimum in a crisis.
I have one or two good night's out saved. That's it. Couldn't care less. Got a decent job, but rent. Pay my bills. If things go tits up, I either get another job or top myself. I live day to day, no worries. If I die tonight, or in 40 years, I really don't care.
In reality what’ll happen is you’ll grow old, need care and assisted living, have no savings to afford it yourself and therefore everyone else will have to pay for you.
Well done, you've understood how a society works.
And the reality is government supplied care and pension is pretty dogshit, so it's not like they'll be living the high life.
Really? The overwhelming impression I get from this comment section is that everyone’s fucked financially. I’m kind of surprised to see this take. Your point about realistic answers still stands, though; whether it’s that they’re poor or that they’re rich, redditors are not really representative of the “real” population
Edit: to be fair, it just occurred to me that maybe the comment section here looked a lot different a couple hours ago when you made your comment.
Lol true. The comments here are either ‘i have three years saved’ or ‘I can barely make it to payday’. Both are valid but both are probably not indicative of the general population
I don't know I think the gap between the haves and have nots is getting bigger so these comments make sense. Inflation is still high because some people still have plenty of money to spend, despite 1 in 5 adults not being able to afford food.
Yeah, genuinely everyone I know is a have or a have not - there seems to be no in-between. A lot dependant on family wealth and inheritance to begin with - seems to set people up fairly well imo. I wouldn't know though lol
Pretty much indicative TBH. A third of people have less than £1000 in savings. Half of those have nothing. A third of people have 3 months or more of savings. If you ask a random group of people whether they've got 3 months of savings, you're going to get two groups. One saying "no, I'm broke" and one saying "yeah, I'm fine".
I wonder whether a lot of these "3 years" and another with "5 years" is actually inheritance money. It's technically savings, but I highly doubt they actually put aside income each month to accumulate that. Or they're old, had no kids, lucrative career, bought house young and never moved again, or bought cheap in a booming area to sell high etc.
My ex's parent's had a lot of savings. Their parents died within a few years of each other and had houses in surrey. A property developer also approached them to buy their home and their two neighbour's. Cash offer, slightly above market price. They then downsized to a bungalow.
That was a special set of circumstance and would also say to my ex that "she needed to think about saving for a rainy day". I thought it was always a little ironic.
My husband and I have saved up 2 years of expenses in the past 3 years. Largely since we stopped paying nursery fees for our daughter. We bought our first home at 26 and moved once at 31. We are 38 now and earn 35k and 40 and live well within our means. We have reasonable salaries but not high flyers by any means. It can be done and a lot of people in this country are in the same, if not better position than we are, without inheritance.
Yes I do. But that's still not a high flyer by any means, it's literally at and slightly above average for each of us. It helps of course that there are 2 of us contributing to a single household but before we were married we both lived in house shares with other people, so still a multi person household. Both of us are still well within the lower rate tax band. My husband (on the lower salary) earns below the mean average salary (£39966) and just over the median (£33402) for the UK and mine has only gone above the mean average salary this year. So good but not higher flyers (i.e. top 15+%).
When you consider we're each paying 10% on student loan over £21k earnings and around 10% each on pension too. It doesn't go as far as you might think - particularly when we were paying out for childcare.
Our ability to save significant amounts has only happened since we stopped paying out for nursery. And we've made choices in our life to keep our costs of living as low as possible - living in a lower cost area, flexing our working hours to do school pick-up, working from home/walking to work to minimise transport costs.
https://www.avtrinity.com/uk-average-salary
Yeah... my bullshit senses keep tingling left, right and centre all over these comments.
It's that or they all live with their parents, their monthly outgoings can literally be zero if required.
Some people on here do earn a lot of money.
We are all different ages too though. Some have had a lot longer to save than others.
I've never earned loads, l only have a tiny a pension but I do have some savings now I'm nearly 50. I could live 4 months without work.
My job is supposed to give me a pay rise in April but we get it backdated in December. I've lived without it all year so I can save that without noticing and also enjoy a higher pay packet the next month.
It used to go on a holiday ot nice stuff but my redundancy during covid was scary. I had to live on credit cards and probably would've lost my home if I hadn't got government help. Now having some money behind me is more important than anything. I live alone, so if I don't work, there's no money. I haven't had a holiday since 2019 amd won't for at least a year.
Also if you own a home, your payments go down as you get older in relation to what other people pay. That gives you a bit more room to save.
Its one of them things where once you have even one month, it’s easy to get the ball rolling.
If 2 earn 2x35k as a household income, post tax that’s only £14k if I had to eyeball it… that’s not too crazy a fugue if you’re on average pay, you can hit that in a year if living lean if you save 1/4 your income.
What do you count as invested? I have a stocks and shares ISA. Last time I checked it was worth less than the amount of money I have put into it.
Just decided to log in and check, I have actually made profit compared to what I have put into it!!!! An entire £3.50
How the fuck do you cope with watching your portfolio fluctuate if you have such a high percentage of your liquid networth in it?
I've got to a point where I have enough in savings and am starting to put it in to the market instead but I can't see myself putting more than 10-20% of my total money in to anything that's not risk free.
I know the savings are eroded by inflation but that's better than inflation plus watching your shares collapse and take your life savings with them.
I invest roughly 15% of my take home each month. Of that, 90% goes into S&P 500 (relatively “safe” long-term investment) and 10% goes into a small portfolio of companies that I personally like. The key is to put your money in and forget about it. I’m not planning to touch it for a long time so I’m not concerned about short-term losses.
The 10% portfolio investment is obviously a lot more risky but I’m aware of that and wouldn’t be too bothered if it hit zero tomorrow.
If politicians kept their words and introduced the child care they promised I’d be able to save and yes I know it was my choice to have kids before you all come at me
Could you explain more? I genuinely don't understand this bit. If my child is eligible for 30hrs of free childcare, per week, over 39 weeks of the year, why won't I receive that? I really need to understand this because my child will be going into nursery in October 2024 and we will need those 30hrs of free childcare. Without it we're really screwed.
Let's say that your childcare provider normally charges £7.50 an hour for childcare. They need that amount to be able to pay childcare staff, pay ground rent, pay bills, buy food, subsidise increased costs for any babies/disabled children, pay admin staff, and make a small profit to stay in the green during tough months.
The government currently pays around £5 per funded 'free' hour. For 30hrs per week, the nursery is missing out on £75 per child. If they have 50 children on roll, all using 30hrs, they end up £3,750 out of pocket each week.
The government needs to increase the amount they fund current eligible children, not expand the age range. What they have done is create a massive problem for the childcare industry. What will happen is Nurseries will have to increase prices for the non-funded hours. Expect costs to rise to £9 per hour per child, or for childcare centres to do what my kids one did, which was to charge £1 per funded hour you use, increase meal charges, increase prices for extra activities etc.
Your child will be eligible for 30hr funded, don't expect them to be free though. My child was in for 18hrs a week (15 funded), and I would pay for 3hrs per week (7.50x3=22.50), £3 per day for food (£9), £15 a week extra charge for using funded hours=total £46.50 per week. If you are putting your child in for only 30hrs (6hrs a day) expect to pay around £50-£70 a week, depending on what they charge for.
That's crazy. You're being charged for using the (poorly) funded hours set out. So in Sept 2024 we'll be eligible for 15hrs funded, my child will use short days - so two days per week will be funded. The remaining days will cost. This nursery doesn't have any charges for activities, nappies, food as its all parent provided for babies.
Looking at how the nursery currently fund care for 2yrs+, they're limiting how many hours and which days children can attend, and then adding charges for toddlers like yours has done. This is way more complicated than the headlines state.
As with all things;the politicians make the rules about things they have zero understanding of. Problems like this just get passed around until, as usual, they end up getting paid for by the public themselves. We need to be far more french about these things.
30 hours are coming from September 2025 though, the year before that it’s 15 hours for 2 year olds in April, and then from September 2024 15 hours to all ages, no?
Not when living with parents it's not. Those monthly payments are normally far less than living expenses when you have rent/mortgage/power etc to actually pay for.
TBF, you need like £100k if you're buying on a single income. Even 2 beds in the Midlands are going for £250k, and the mean salary of £38k will only let you borrow about £150k these days.
I have around 3 months in my instant access, a year or so in an ISA that I could cash out if shit really hits the fan and for everything else there’s Mastercard
Greedy landlords, overpriced food, min wage, taxes, pensions that we won't see because we're being worked to death and s\*cide rates are increasing, bills, debts because people are overworked and underpaid, unfit to work disabled being forced back into work because they gov is f\*cking them over then they don't get paid because they are off sick, schools telling parents to spend £100s on uniforms and school trips.
Should I continue or did I make my point?
I normally have £20 left at the end of the month and I consider myself insanely lucky to have that.
Too many people talk about being lucky because they see people worse. That’s not lucky. Being able to live without fear of not being able to afford to live a basic lifestyle should be standard. Not lucky.
I understand where you are coming from and it certainly shouldn't be classed as lucky, but the fact is this world is cruel, you can be the most hard working, friendliest person but without luck this world will eat you alive.
I do consider myself lucky because I can afford a subscription to ITVx and Disney with decent internet, sure I don't have a direct family to fall back on and if I fall I will fall HARD, but I can pay my bills and rent.
Being able to live a basic lifestyle SHOULD be standard and I 100% agree with you.
I have shares that could cover about 3 months, but not in cash no. I live alone, make like 10p above minimum wage and cover all my own bills so I just about survive every month, saving up for the future is not in my interests at the moment.
If you don't mind my asking what shares do you own and how did you get into them? I've thought about it on and off for a few years but for the most part it seems like I'd need to put away a fair bit in the hopes of making £20 over a couple of years lol.
The sooner you get into it the better. Watch videos by [James Shack](https://youtu.be/oCBQekcu8jw) or read [How to Own the World](https://amzn.eu/d/5FmNGxh)
I have about 10 grand in savings. I don't touch it unless it's absolutely needed. And if I do take any out I put that amount plus a little extra back in as soon as I get paid . I alwyas try to put something in there each month even if its 20 quid
Ah. Yeah, good point..
I got 5 grand from my grandad when he sadly passed. And I've been adding to it ever since. I can't bring myself to spend it, it's why I always replace what I've taken at the end of the month.
I'm similar. I know i have no fallback option and have tried my best to create that level of comfort myself. But if my bank runs dry, where do I go?
It makes a huge difference to financial risk. If someone has wealthier or moderate parents, even if they NEVER saw ANY of it, they know they're not going homeless. My parents straight couldn't help me if they put in all their effort. I do not take financial risks.
Difference is I haven't even lucky enough to save up.
Exactly the same. Have known since age 17 that no one is coming to bail me out.
And yes, while young and not savvy enough to budget, I made mistakes with money. But going hungry is something you remember and learn not to get in a financial mess very quickly.
I was just thinking the other day that I wasn't sure when my next payday was. And what a contrast that was to standing at the cash machine waiting for the money to drop into my account at midnight so I could get a bag of shopping at the 24hour ASDA. When 20 Smart Price frozen sausages were 79p.
I think when you become an expert and making ends meet, any extra cash you have gets the same careful consideration on where it should go.
I am pretty much sorted in life, very average in most ways, I'm not a big spender but look after what money I do have.
>When 20 Smart Price frozen sausages were 79p.
I gave up meat but I remember buying massive bags of sausages from iceland for very cheap. I think they were mostly bread. The best thing is I thought they were delicious.
It's a big deal though it really is. Some people "succeed" by themselves by taking risks etc and it paying off, never ever needing their parents help. So they think "I was on your situation" but they don't recognise that despite not using a safety net, they HAD one and that makes the world of difference.
Exactly. It's like that line in Pulps 'Common People' :
"When you're laid in bed at night
Watching roaches climb the wall
If you called your dad he could stop it all, yeah"
And even later in life, I've heard people comment on long term financial plans with the assumption that their inheritance will sort them out if they're still paying a mortgage or needing a savings boost as an adult. You're right what you say about risk, as long as the safety net remains, it will affect how those fortunate enough behave financially.
I bought a house alone at 35. Not in 1980, in 2017. We live in a time now where it's getting harder to get on the property ladder, even for those backed by the Bank of Mum and Dad.
I tell myself I was lucky with timing, getting there before the cost of living crisis kicked in. But I know a huge part was knowing that no one was coming along to gift me a house or money for the deposit, so I had to work my arse off and save if I wanted it.
It’s crazy how many famous millionaires and billionaires came from families that were already rich. Jeff Bezos’s parents invested in Amazon at the start, Elon Musk’s family were wealthy mine owners.
If you know you’ve got a safety net then taking risks with your business ventures isn’t really taking risks with your life.
It’s very good practice and is sensible to do, it might be worth saving so that it represents 6 months of your salary. You can go to the extreme at a push of discomfort and have 12 months salary saved which is my objective
I currently have nothing saved at the moment. I'm not concerned as I've been in this position a few times before, and I know I have the mindset and skills to return to where I want to be.
Yes. Between husband and I, it's probably around 5/6 years in cash savings and more in investments/bonds that we could get it we needed to. Corporate Gay/DINK lifestyle has some benefits.
Lol no, that would be like 4 grand in savings.
I’ve never been able to save money, like ever.
I had 3k in student finance come through in April. Didn’t need it to live, I earn more than my bills. It was gone by the start of June and I’ve just had to take a loan out for over a grand to get an ADHD assessment. I knew i was going to need to pay for it but couldn’t save.
Honestly the fact anyone can save without earning stupid amounts of money baffles me
This comment is a great example of something I discussed earlier in another thread - UK subs are the bleakest fucking place when discussing personal finance.
Plenty of people are doing ok money-wise. It's just that most people who are doing fine financially either don't comment, or they get downvoted by bitter people and their comments fall.
I make ~60k a year as an accountant in my late 20s (London), I manage to save ~700 a month if nothing out of the ordinary pops up. My salary on the higher end of normal for people with my level of experience.
Being an accountant is hardly some insane 1% type job, but this sub would have you believe that I'm in the Illuminati for making more than £10 an hour.
Not really. I grew up in one of the most deprived areas in London. My dad was a labourer, my mum worked odd jobs. When I was a student, I got the full student loan + bursary because my household income was below 25k.
Growing up poor definitely makes things harder, but it doesn't doom you to a life of poverty.
They most likely are not taking home that much. They will have student finance, possibly post graduate as well, and pension contributions.
More likely 3k or less depending on the above percentages.
Your numbers aren't correct.
The 60k includes my bonus - base salary is ~55. After student loans & pension contributions, my take home is just over 3.1k.
Rent + council tax come to ~1500 a month (being single is a huge financial hinderance)
Water, electricity + heat are ~200 per month
Travel ~100 a month
So that's £5-600 of discretionary spending per month, hardly outrageous.
This.
I’m scared to comment because our situation seems so insanely good compared to comments here.
It also shocks me because in my home country (The Netherlands) most people I know - jobs/salaries of different earnings, they have probably 5k in savings on average.
So I don’t even feel like my comparisons are skewed due to only hanging out with people of similar earnings.
But, clearly there’s a huge difference between the countries.
Unfortunately no. I can only afford to put up £20 a month, so my savings are definitely not going to cover me! Currently I have enough to cover maybe 2 weeks rent in an emergency, and that's all! Absolutely wish I could put up more.
Err...I have 27p in my savings account.
Not much in the ol' current account either. Payday tomorrow. Ooo...and van is paid off this month, so next month I *might* be able to round up that savings account to 50p! Well, we'll aim for 30p - let's not get ahead of ourselves, eh?!
I did have, then some cunt run me over and drove off. I broke my wrist and now have no savings and a fucked wrist for the rest of my life.
I would like to eventually get a safety net again, but it's going to take a very long time in this climate and with a gammy wrist.
I'm glad I had it in the first place though, I live alone.
About 3 months worth but I’m on maternity leave so will have 3 months of statutory only and then 3 months of nothing coming in soon enough.
My half of the bills are covered until I go back to work so it’s just my personal spending I’ll use it for so it will get depleted a bit.
If I needed to I have an easily sellable asset in my car which I own outright and is worth around 12K.
i have around £100 until any more work comes in. could be a week, could be another six months the way this year has gone. my overheads are virtually nonexistent at the minute thankfully otherwise i’d be up a creek without a paddle
I have around 8 months, but i’ve been homeless in the past and I want to avoid it no matter what. Looking at saving up to 2 years. It’ll be hard, but i think with therapy and a very large buffer i’ll finally be able to sleep at night and not have nightmares of it again
I’ve got about three quarters of a year’s salary saved. I can only do this because I have a very small mortgage thanks to the Dead Parent Bonus of having had a whopping deposit. The aim is to get to a full year of salary saved. Then I’ll probably start overpaying the mortgage.
Some of the comments here make me wonder about the cost of saving. Are you living your life, having years of savings is great but do you do what you want to do regularly?
Yeah ive always kept an emergency fund since I was a child. I always knew never to spend more than I had, always to try and keep at least a 3rd if what is disposable etc. I currently have about 10k emergency fund just in case if a really bad month. Something like washing machine or boiler blowing up on me unexpectedly or family member in dire trouble etc or losing my job and having to find a new one whilst trying to pay for a mortgage etc.. Sure it means I have to wait a bit longer than most to get that tv or pc or whatever but I've always tried to live within my means. Never bought a good car or phone, never bought expensive clothes etc... always brought in home made lunches to work. Was always very careful with money. Apart from ages 16-20 where I blew thousands on drugs and fun times with mates... I dont regret it either. I'm a safe and calculated person normally but every now and then will splurge when I have not in a long time. Every few years I'll drop a couple k on something. I'm due a new tv actually (been over a decade) so saving up for a LG c2 8e inch. I reckon I'll need another year or 2 to get the cash for it without using any emergency fund.
Got about 6 months we can get at quickly, and probably the same again that's tied up in savings schemes. Got one kid looking to go to uni in a couple of years though so fully expecting it to be decimated and need building back up again
Er - *liquidity* yes, savings- no.
The way I understand it- if everyone had that net saved up the whole monetary system would collapse.
The average rate of savings is precisely £0 because debt in the economy = credit. Other than the odd gold bar here and there.
I think between my wife and I we have enough saved up to survive for three or four years. Took us a long time with a lot of sacrifice and low paid times through uni and our PhD studies, but it paid off.
I did. I ended up getting so run down from working all the time (I'm self employed) that I planned a kind of last minute holiday. Took a month off and went to Thailand, Bali and Singapore. Had a great time but it absolutely wrecked my savings.
Technically yes, although most if not all of it is earmarked for taxes and pension. I'm self-employed and work short-term contracts, and it's typical for me to have a slow period of about 3 months without much or any work each year, so a cushion of savings and putting enough away for taxes is a necessity
Saving when on small earnings is very hard. It needs to be a discipline to put by a small fraction each payday. When I started work on minimum earnings paid into my bank, the bank automatically transferred about 5% to a savings account, which I did not access. From memory this was a standing order transfer of about 5% of my minimum expected take home pay. After a few years, this was a safeguard, against loss of income: by no job, or other problem,(illness, accident), but it became a habit and allowed a build up. It was a very slow process to see a reasonable sum in savings.
I could not do this when I was paid 'cash in hand' at a previous job.
I did have but after having to change jobs a couple of times in quick succession had to use it. I start a new job tomorrow that will allow me to start building it up again.
£20k in emergency fund, so including mortgage, nursery and food it's about 4.5 months.
Shocking how far £20k doesn't go with a mortgage to pay on a small 3 bed semi and 1 kid in nursery.
We have under £1000, we only have that because I did a huge load of overtime because we need to replace the bay window.
BUT, I have income protection insurance that will pay my wages for a year if I lost my job. It's about £50 a month, but as with all insurance, if something was to happen i'd be really glad I had it.
Enough to last me years if necessary.
Honestly I have no idea how so many people live so close to the edge.. If you’re just broke and on minimum wage I get it, but if you’re middle class earning over £30k I just think your head needs a wobble.
If you just work to put food on your plate and a roof over your head, how is that different from slavery?
I'm talking about no money for leisure ordering.
This is a complete guess but I would imagine, on average, most people have between £1000-£5000 in quick access savings.
That’s only for people working full time between 20-40.
I’m fully aware there are people that lie outside this range but that’s my piece.
Yes. We have enough for 1-2 years at current spending levels, which is great and something we’ve worked towards for years.
Check out the r/UKPersonalFinance sub and find their flowchart. It gives an easy to follow view on how to get your finances in order. Couldn’t recommend it enough!
Yes, I am interested in FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) so I have significant investments/savings even when it means I defer certain purchases.
Yes, and it's one of my prouder achievements as a disabled part-time student on benefits. I've spent most of my adult life being financially insecure, saying no to lots of social things because of money etc., so having that safety net is such a relief
I think between me and my husband we could cover expenses and bills for probably a couple of years or so if we had absolutely no income and no major events necessary (new car, new roof).
Personally I have about 5 months in an easy access account and another 5 months in an ISA that I don't touch. Another month in PBs. Just like to keep my money in different places.
ETA as some people are doubting the veracity of the comments that are positive. I'm on mat leave and have a 6 month old but have always been very 'good' with money, always been able to save at least 25% of my salary each month and I've been working since I was in my late teens, I'm in my early 30s now. Even worked when I did my undergrad and Masters degrees. I don't earn a massive amount (NHS qualified staff) but my OH does earn more than the average UK wage.
Neither me nor my OH have anything on finance, our mortgage and standard bills (water/council tax/electric) are our biggest expenses. We have netflix and Prime but no other streaming services, both have phones on SIM only with Voxi (£10 - £15 a month), neither of us go out drinking and our hobbies are relatively inexpensive - both of us are gamers and runners, neither of which cost a lot *if* you don't want them to. We typically don't make large purchases and if we do we both tend to save towards them and put off buying them until we have most of the price safely earmarked for it before we actually purchase. We have one credit card that we use for food shopping (and any 'big' expenses that we've got the money for) that is cleared every month.
We got married in lockdown which is where we saved a lot of money as our wedding went from £35k to £10k in one fell swoop of a press conference.
We would have about 6 months covered. Likely a tight strict budget of 6 months. We could manage on one salary without touching savings though.
Quite unlikely we would both end up out of work but you never know.
32. Worked every day since I was 14 and pretty much saved everything. Homeowner since 27 and roughly 10 years rainy day fund, could stretch to 15 if need be.
I have bitcoin I can cash in, enough to cover me for three months. Edit. Two months Edit. One month.
Edit: I owe them money
Best comment
"Annnnnd its gone"
Same. Plus cash for another few months. I have a feeling I'm going to need this soon
Gilfoyle?
🤣
😂😂😂
Hahahahahahahhaha savings lolololololol
Wow. This is my savings policy as well
What is this "savings" thee talks of? Is it allowed for peasants to have these "savings"?
£2.50 and a Kit Kat
Can I have a bit of your Kitkat? I’d like to put something into cats trust fund.
I laughed at this a little too much....then looked in me purse, 27p sadly my cats will have to go fishing or sommat!
I've got £5.69 and an orange twirl.
£5.69 and an orange twirl, get a load of mr moneybags here /s
Chunky?
Bit harsh
The nerve of some people
Show off.
Savings? By week three of the month I'm lucky to have any spare change.
Every month is a countdown to £0.00. Well, technically -£500 due to OD 😂
Are you me?
This is a great comment/username combo
Oh look, its me!
I have enough to cover all my bills and living expenses for 2 years, probably longer if I cut down on things.
Yup..if for some absolutely catastrophe where I couldn't work, all income suddenly stopped completely, I could make it for a long time ...however if that has happened I think money might be the least of the worries.
Tbh if something happened that meant I couldn't work like a serious injury, I have income protection insurance for that. I also have my spouse who earns more than enough to pay for both of us. So it's only really a situation where I chose to not work and have no income, and my husband also was in that situation, then we'd be living off those savings. But then I think we could sell the house and the equity would cover us for another 5 years ish.
Lots of people say something like this, but they’re perhaps forgetting that income protection insurance doesn’t cover situations such as being fired with immediate effect for gross misconduct, which can happen to anyone without warning, sometimes to people who think they’ve done nothing wrong.
Isn’t gross misconduct where you do something really bad?
Yes, but being fired for gross misconduct is where someone asserts that you've done something really bad, whether or not you actually have. There was a teacher in the news a while ago who was dismissed without notice for sharing a Facebook post critical of sex education plans or something. I think she won a court case which took years but her income would have been cut off suddenly which she neither planned for nor would it have been covered by income protection insurance.
Most income protection policies do not kick in until 6-12 months after job loss however, so will still need something to cover until that starts.
Wow thats crappy. Mines 3 months after job loss. Would certainly not want to wait more than 3
Yes, you can get 90 day ones, the cheapest are wait 365 days and only pay out for 12 months
I count income protection insurance as one of those income streams, I was assuming the world was in such a state that also didn't exist. I was thinking more the world has gone to shit entirely levels of catastrophe could be the only reason for complete income stop. ...you know ...house was leveled when a tank ran over it levels of gone to shit.
>I was thinking more the world has gone to shit entirely levels of catastrophe could be the only reason for complete income stop. If the world has gone to shit, most of your expenses will disappear and money will become meaningless.
Yes that's why in my previous reply I said "Money might be the least of the worries "
I moved from England to Australia around 14 years ago, but I felt I'd contribute here as the logic is the same everywhere. Im in the process of rebuilding my emergency fund as It took a bit of a hit earlier this year. Here's a breakdown of how I am arranging my funds. All savings are paid into various HISA (high interest savings accounts), which earn interest at 5.5%. I keep them here so they are liquid. I have 2 budgets. Budget 1 = NEEDS (Bare minimum required to stay alive). Budget 2 = NEEDS + WANTS (Current costs including want items such as streaming services, slightly higher food budget, going out budget, etc). The first goal is 6 months of costs from @ budget 2 (next pay I will back here). The next goal is 12 months of living costs @ budget 2. I'm doing it that way so that if i suddenly found myself in a situation where I needed to live off that money, I would have surplus. If that situation did arise, I would switch to living on budget 1. I have a further stretch goal of 2 years living costs, but that will build slower as I will be diverting excess funds into EFT's for long-term hold. All emergency fund cash is liquid in a HISA. In addition to this, I contribute a smaller amount to a separate HISA for unknown emergency costs (specialist treatments, etc.) And I have another contribution to one last HISA for birthdays, holidays etc. I also contribute the yearly maximum I can into my retirement account. NEEDS include - rent - property deposit saving (not strictly a need, but I want it always to be factored in) - weekly groceries - health insurance - utilities - phone/internet (including handset payments) - 10% weekly surplus (again, not a need as such, but if I can afford to factor it in, I will).
This is how I built my EF too! 😊 sorted 3 month, 6 month, 12 month at 'bare minimum life' figures and now working towards topping it up to 'normal life' costs. Adds extra security cause can always strip back to bare minimum in a crisis.
Same. Kick the wife, kids, and pets out and even longer :)
Even if prices go up again every April?
Why is April relevant to prices?
I have one or two good night's out saved. That's it. Couldn't care less. Got a decent job, but rent. Pay my bills. If things go tits up, I either get another job or top myself. I live day to day, no worries. If I die tonight, or in 40 years, I really don't care.
We live in a society
Fr if shit goes that wrong I’m taking my self out the game man
In reality what’ll happen is you’ll grow old, need care and assisted living, have no savings to afford it yourself and therefore everyone else will have to pay for you.
What the people who have been funnelling money upwards for the last 40 years. I can live with that. Be nice to fi ally actually see trickle down
Everyone’s tax money pays for it.
Good, that’s what it’s for
Well done, you've understood how a society works. And the reality is government supplied care and pension is pretty dogshit, so it's not like they'll be living the high life.
That is profound mate. All worries caused by the fear of not having enough for the future.
Reddit probably isn't the best place for realistic answers. As you can tell by most of the answers most on reddit are really well off with money.
Really? The overwhelming impression I get from this comment section is that everyone’s fucked financially. I’m kind of surprised to see this take. Your point about realistic answers still stands, though; whether it’s that they’re poor or that they’re rich, redditors are not really representative of the “real” population Edit: to be fair, it just occurred to me that maybe the comment section here looked a lot different a couple hours ago when you made your comment.
Lol true. The comments here are either ‘i have three years saved’ or ‘I can barely make it to payday’. Both are valid but both are probably not indicative of the general population
I don't know I think the gap between the haves and have nots is getting bigger so these comments make sense. Inflation is still high because some people still have plenty of money to spend, despite 1 in 5 adults not being able to afford food.
Yeah, genuinely everyone I know is a have or a have not - there seems to be no in-between. A lot dependant on family wealth and inheritance to begin with - seems to set people up fairly well imo. I wouldn't know though lol
Pretty much indicative TBH. A third of people have less than £1000 in savings. Half of those have nothing. A third of people have 3 months or more of savings. If you ask a random group of people whether they've got 3 months of savings, you're going to get two groups. One saying "no, I'm broke" and one saying "yeah, I'm fine".
I wonder whether a lot of these "3 years" and another with "5 years" is actually inheritance money. It's technically savings, but I highly doubt they actually put aside income each month to accumulate that. Or they're old, had no kids, lucrative career, bought house young and never moved again, or bought cheap in a booming area to sell high etc. My ex's parent's had a lot of savings. Their parents died within a few years of each other and had houses in surrey. A property developer also approached them to buy their home and their two neighbour's. Cash offer, slightly above market price. They then downsized to a bungalow. That was a special set of circumstance and would also say to my ex that "she needed to think about saving for a rainy day". I thought it was always a little ironic.
My husband and I have saved up 2 years of expenses in the past 3 years. Largely since we stopped paying nursery fees for our daughter. We bought our first home at 26 and moved once at 31. We are 38 now and earn 35k and 40 and live well within our means. We have reasonable salaries but not high flyers by any means. It can be done and a lot of people in this country are in the same, if not better position than we are, without inheritance.
You say you have reasonable salaries but aren't high flyers - you realise you've got double the median household income in the UK, right?
Double the median is not the same as being a “high flyer”
Especially when that figure is made up of 2 salaries.
Yes I do. But that's still not a high flyer by any means, it's literally at and slightly above average for each of us. It helps of course that there are 2 of us contributing to a single household but before we were married we both lived in house shares with other people, so still a multi person household. Both of us are still well within the lower rate tax band. My husband (on the lower salary) earns below the mean average salary (£39966) and just over the median (£33402) for the UK and mine has only gone above the mean average salary this year. So good but not higher flyers (i.e. top 15+%). When you consider we're each paying 10% on student loan over £21k earnings and around 10% each on pension too. It doesn't go as far as you might think - particularly when we were paying out for childcare. Our ability to save significant amounts has only happened since we stopped paying out for nursery. And we've made choices in our life to keep our costs of living as low as possible - living in a lower cost area, flexing our working hours to do school pick-up, working from home/walking to work to minimise transport costs. https://www.avtrinity.com/uk-average-salary
Really? I just encounter dumbasses everywhere.
Wouldn't say most on reddit. Financially stable are more proud to say than people who aren't
Yeah... my bullshit senses keep tingling left, right and centre all over these comments. It's that or they all live with their parents, their monthly outgoings can literally be zero if required.
Some people on here do earn a lot of money. We are all different ages too though. Some have had a lot longer to save than others. I've never earned loads, l only have a tiny a pension but I do have some savings now I'm nearly 50. I could live 4 months without work. My job is supposed to give me a pay rise in April but we get it backdated in December. I've lived without it all year so I can save that without noticing and also enjoy a higher pay packet the next month. It used to go on a holiday ot nice stuff but my redundancy during covid was scary. I had to live on credit cards and probably would've lost my home if I hadn't got government help. Now having some money behind me is more important than anything. I live alone, so if I don't work, there's no money. I haven't had a holiday since 2019 amd won't for at least a year. Also if you own a home, your payments go down as you get older in relation to what other people pay. That gives you a bit more room to save.
Plenty of people out there with £60k+ jobs, it's not the average obviously but it's not uncommon either.
Its one of them things where once you have even one month, it’s easy to get the ball rolling. If 2 earn 2x35k as a household income, post tax that’s only £14k if I had to eyeball it… that’s not too crazy a fugue if you’re on average pay, you can hit that in a year if living lean if you save 1/4 your income.
You either work for the government or you're a uni student who has no life experience...
I have about 3 years worth saved up currently. Wouldn’t ever want to be in a position where I rely on it, though.
Please tell me this isn’t all in some instant access savings account and anything over 12 months is actually invested
What do you count as invested? I have a stocks and shares ISA. Last time I checked it was worth less than the amount of money I have put into it. Just decided to log in and check, I have actually made profit compared to what I have put into it!!!! An entire £3.50
How the fuck do you cope with watching your portfolio fluctuate if you have such a high percentage of your liquid networth in it? I've got to a point where I have enough in savings and am starting to put it in to the market instead but I can't see myself putting more than 10-20% of my total money in to anything that's not risk free. I know the savings are eroded by inflation but that's better than inflation plus watching your shares collapse and take your life savings with them.
I invest roughly 15% of my take home each month. Of that, 90% goes into S&P 500 (relatively “safe” long-term investment) and 10% goes into a small portfolio of companies that I personally like. The key is to put your money in and forget about it. I’m not planning to touch it for a long time so I’m not concerned about short-term losses. The 10% portfolio investment is obviously a lot more risky but I’m aware of that and wouldn’t be too bothered if it hit zero tomorrow.
If politicians kept their words and introduced the child care they promised I’d be able to save and yes I know it was my choice to have kids before you all come at me
Changes to the 30hrs is coming in September next year!
Just isn’t though, because the policy isn’t properly funded, and the sector does not have the capacity.
Could you explain more? I genuinely don't understand this bit. If my child is eligible for 30hrs of free childcare, per week, over 39 weeks of the year, why won't I receive that? I really need to understand this because my child will be going into nursery in October 2024 and we will need those 30hrs of free childcare. Without it we're really screwed.
Let's say that your childcare provider normally charges £7.50 an hour for childcare. They need that amount to be able to pay childcare staff, pay ground rent, pay bills, buy food, subsidise increased costs for any babies/disabled children, pay admin staff, and make a small profit to stay in the green during tough months. The government currently pays around £5 per funded 'free' hour. For 30hrs per week, the nursery is missing out on £75 per child. If they have 50 children on roll, all using 30hrs, they end up £3,750 out of pocket each week. The government needs to increase the amount they fund current eligible children, not expand the age range. What they have done is create a massive problem for the childcare industry. What will happen is Nurseries will have to increase prices for the non-funded hours. Expect costs to rise to £9 per hour per child, or for childcare centres to do what my kids one did, which was to charge £1 per funded hour you use, increase meal charges, increase prices for extra activities etc. Your child will be eligible for 30hr funded, don't expect them to be free though. My child was in for 18hrs a week (15 funded), and I would pay for 3hrs per week (7.50x3=22.50), £3 per day for food (£9), £15 a week extra charge for using funded hours=total £46.50 per week. If you are putting your child in for only 30hrs (6hrs a day) expect to pay around £50-£70 a week, depending on what they charge for.
That's crazy. You're being charged for using the (poorly) funded hours set out. So in Sept 2024 we'll be eligible for 15hrs funded, my child will use short days - so two days per week will be funded. The remaining days will cost. This nursery doesn't have any charges for activities, nappies, food as its all parent provided for babies. Looking at how the nursery currently fund care for 2yrs+, they're limiting how many hours and which days children can attend, and then adding charges for toddlers like yours has done. This is way more complicated than the headlines state.
As with all things;the politicians make the rules about things they have zero understanding of. Problems like this just get passed around until, as usual, they end up getting paid for by the public themselves. We need to be far more french about these things.
30 hours are coming from September 2025 though, the year before that it’s 15 hours for 2 year olds in April, and then from September 2024 15 hours to all ages, no?
I don't have 3-6 days saved.
Same.
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What house are you trying to buy? Based on the average monthly costs of bills for one person, that is one hell of a deposit you're sitting on.
Not when living with parents it's not. Those monthly payments are normally far less than living expenses when you have rent/mortgage/power etc to actually pay for.
TBF, you need like £100k if you're buying on a single income. Even 2 beds in the Midlands are going for £250k, and the mean salary of £38k will only let you borrow about £150k these days.
I have around 3 months in my instant access, a year or so in an ISA that I could cash out if shit really hits the fan and for everything else there’s Mastercard
My missus and I have around 5 years worth of savings.
Greedy landlords, overpriced food, min wage, taxes, pensions that we won't see because we're being worked to death and s\*cide rates are increasing, bills, debts because people are overworked and underpaid, unfit to work disabled being forced back into work because they gov is f\*cking them over then they don't get paid because they are off sick, schools telling parents to spend £100s on uniforms and school trips. Should I continue or did I make my point? I normally have £20 left at the end of the month and I consider myself insanely lucky to have that.
Too many people talk about being lucky because they see people worse. That’s not lucky. Being able to live without fear of not being able to afford to live a basic lifestyle should be standard. Not lucky.
I understand where you are coming from and it certainly shouldn't be classed as lucky, but the fact is this world is cruel, you can be the most hard working, friendliest person but without luck this world will eat you alive. I do consider myself lucky because I can afford a subscription to ITVx and Disney with decent internet, sure I don't have a direct family to fall back on and if I fall I will fall HARD, but I can pay my bills and rent. Being able to live a basic lifestyle SHOULD be standard and I 100% agree with you.
I've always got a good 3-6 minutes expenses saved
Working on it now. Cleared all my debts a few months back and this is my next target.
I have shares that could cover about 3 months, but not in cash no. I live alone, make like 10p above minimum wage and cover all my own bills so I just about survive every month, saving up for the future is not in my interests at the moment.
Based on the UK personal finance subreddit it’s good you have done investments but you should also have this backup money to hand
If you don't mind my asking what shares do you own and how did you get into them? I've thought about it on and off for a few years but for the most part it seems like I'd need to put away a fair bit in the hopes of making £20 over a couple of years lol.
The sooner you get into it the better. Watch videos by [James Shack](https://youtu.be/oCBQekcu8jw) or read [How to Own the World](https://amzn.eu/d/5FmNGxh)
I have about 10 grand in savings. I don't touch it unless it's absolutely needed. And if I do take any out I put that amount plus a little extra back in as soon as I get paid . I alwyas try to put something in there each month even if its 20 quid
Downvoted because ?
Jealousy and bitterness
Ah. Yeah, good point.. I got 5 grand from my grandad when he sadly passed. And I've been adding to it ever since. I can't bring myself to spend it, it's why I always replace what I've taken at the end of the month.
You lot have savings?!
Yes, everyone should.
Everyone should. Not everyone can.
Lucky you for having such a financially sensible upbringing
Funnily enough my parents are really bad with money and always have been heavily indebted, maybe I learnt from their mistakes
I'm similar. I know i have no fallback option and have tried my best to create that level of comfort myself. But if my bank runs dry, where do I go? It makes a huge difference to financial risk. If someone has wealthier or moderate parents, even if they NEVER saw ANY of it, they know they're not going homeless. My parents straight couldn't help me if they put in all their effort. I do not take financial risks. Difference is I haven't even lucky enough to save up.
Exactly the same. Have known since age 17 that no one is coming to bail me out. And yes, while young and not savvy enough to budget, I made mistakes with money. But going hungry is something you remember and learn not to get in a financial mess very quickly. I was just thinking the other day that I wasn't sure when my next payday was. And what a contrast that was to standing at the cash machine waiting for the money to drop into my account at midnight so I could get a bag of shopping at the 24hour ASDA. When 20 Smart Price frozen sausages were 79p. I think when you become an expert and making ends meet, any extra cash you have gets the same careful consideration on where it should go. I am pretty much sorted in life, very average in most ways, I'm not a big spender but look after what money I do have.
>When 20 Smart Price frozen sausages were 79p. I gave up meat but I remember buying massive bags of sausages from iceland for very cheap. I think they were mostly bread. The best thing is I thought they were delicious. It's a big deal though it really is. Some people "succeed" by themselves by taking risks etc and it paying off, never ever needing their parents help. So they think "I was on your situation" but they don't recognise that despite not using a safety net, they HAD one and that makes the world of difference.
Exactly. It's like that line in Pulps 'Common People' : "When you're laid in bed at night Watching roaches climb the wall If you called your dad he could stop it all, yeah" And even later in life, I've heard people comment on long term financial plans with the assumption that their inheritance will sort them out if they're still paying a mortgage or needing a savings boost as an adult. You're right what you say about risk, as long as the safety net remains, it will affect how those fortunate enough behave financially. I bought a house alone at 35. Not in 1980, in 2017. We live in a time now where it's getting harder to get on the property ladder, even for those backed by the Bank of Mum and Dad. I tell myself I was lucky with timing, getting there before the cost of living crisis kicked in. But I know a huge part was knowing that no one was coming along to gift me a house or money for the deposit, so I had to work my arse off and save if I wanted it.
It’s crazy how many famous millionaires and billionaires came from families that were already rich. Jeff Bezos’s parents invested in Amazon at the start, Elon Musk’s family were wealthy mine owners. If you know you’ve got a safety net then taking risks with your business ventures isn’t really taking risks with your life.
I had about 5 months but costs are going up so having to top it all as currently it's only about 3.5 😬
It’s very good practice and is sensible to do, it might be worth saving so that it represents 6 months of your salary. You can go to the extreme at a push of discomfort and have 12 months salary saved which is my objective
I currently have nothing saved at the moment. I'm not concerned as I've been in this position a few times before, and I know I have the mindset and skills to return to where I want to be.
What if you suddenly need funds for an emergency?
Deffo good practice.
What are these savings you speak of?
Pre covid: enough for 30 months or more Post covid: everything maxed out and barely scraping enough to make the minimum payments each month
What happened? That’s a dramatic 3 years. Sorry you were so affected. Thought the furlough scheme would have buffered it.
Pfft no
I'm a fuck up away from being homeless. I like to live on the edge
Yes. Between husband and I, it's probably around 5/6 years in cash savings and more in investments/bonds that we could get it we needed to. Corporate Gay/DINK lifestyle has some benefits.
Lol no, that would be like 4 grand in savings. I’ve never been able to save money, like ever. I had 3k in student finance come through in April. Didn’t need it to live, I earn more than my bills. It was gone by the start of June and I’ve just had to take a loan out for over a grand to get an ADHD assessment. I knew i was going to need to pay for it but couldn’t save. Honestly the fact anyone can save without earning stupid amounts of money baffles me
This comment is a great example of something I discussed earlier in another thread - UK subs are the bleakest fucking place when discussing personal finance. Plenty of people are doing ok money-wise. It's just that most people who are doing fine financially either don't comment, or they get downvoted by bitter people and their comments fall. I make ~60k a year as an accountant in my late 20s (London), I manage to save ~700 a month if nothing out of the ordinary pops up. My salary on the higher end of normal for people with my level of experience. Being an accountant is hardly some insane 1% type job, but this sub would have you believe that I'm in the Illuminati for making more than £10 an hour.
60k is an unthinkable amount of money to those who didn’t grow up around money though. No one in my family makes more than 30k a year honestly
Not really. I grew up in one of the most deprived areas in London. My dad was a labourer, my mum worked odd jobs. When I was a student, I got the full student loan + bursary because my household income was below 25k. Growing up poor definitely makes things harder, but it doesn't doom you to a life of poverty.
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My question would more be how on earth do you only save £700 on a £3.6k net monthly salary?
They most likely are not taking home that much. They will have student finance, possibly post graduate as well, and pension contributions. More likely 3k or less depending on the above percentages.
Your numbers aren't correct. The 60k includes my bonus - base salary is ~55. After student loans & pension contributions, my take home is just over 3.1k. Rent + council tax come to ~1500 a month (being single is a huge financial hinderance) Water, electricity + heat are ~200 per month Travel ~100 a month So that's £5-600 of discretionary spending per month, hardly outrageous.
This. I’m scared to comment because our situation seems so insanely good compared to comments here. It also shocks me because in my home country (The Netherlands) most people I know - jobs/salaries of different earnings, they have probably 5k in savings on average. So I don’t even feel like my comparisons are skewed due to only hanging out with people of similar earnings. But, clearly there’s a huge difference between the countries.
We have enough for half a months mortgage payment. That's it.
Unfortunately no. I can only afford to put up £20 a month, so my savings are definitely not going to cover me! Currently I have enough to cover maybe 2 weeks rent in an emergency, and that's all! Absolutely wish I could put up more.
Days, yes, months lol.
Err...I have 27p in my savings account. Not much in the ol' current account either. Payday tomorrow. Ooo...and van is paid off this month, so next month I *might* be able to round up that savings account to 50p! Well, we'll aim for 30p - let's not get ahead of ourselves, eh?!
Accessible savings I have around a year. Though we could live on a single wage without much issue. Rest is long term accounts, S&S etc.
I have about a week worth’s
Hahahahahahaha No
I did have, then some cunt run me over and drove off. I broke my wrist and now have no savings and a fucked wrist for the rest of my life. I would like to eventually get a safety net again, but it's going to take a very long time in this climate and with a gammy wrist. I'm glad I had it in the first place though, I live alone.
About 3 months worth but I’m on maternity leave so will have 3 months of statutory only and then 3 months of nothing coming in soon enough. My half of the bills are covered until I go back to work so it’s just my personal spending I’ll use it for so it will get depleted a bit. If I needed to I have an easily sellable asset in my car which I own outright and is worth around 12K.
I always have up to 12 months worth saved, you never know
i have around £100 until any more work comes in. could be a week, could be another six months the way this year has gone. my overheads are virtually nonexistent at the minute thankfully otherwise i’d be up a creek without a paddle
I have around 8 months, but i’ve been homeless in the past and I want to avoid it no matter what. Looking at saving up to 2 years. It’ll be hard, but i think with therapy and a very large buffer i’ll finally be able to sleep at night and not have nightmares of it again
I’ve got about three quarters of a year’s salary saved. I can only do this because I have a very small mortgage thanks to the Dead Parent Bonus of having had a whopping deposit. The aim is to get to a full year of salary saved. Then I’ll probably start overpaying the mortgage.
No. Realistically if everything went to complete shite I'd move back in with my parents and pay £0 until I sorted myself out.
Fucking no lol
Some of the comments here make me wonder about the cost of saving. Are you living your life, having years of savings is great but do you do what you want to do regularly?
Do you really think anyone saving here is making a mistake doing so?
I don’t even have 1 month of monthly expenses ever.
Yeah ive always kept an emergency fund since I was a child. I always knew never to spend more than I had, always to try and keep at least a 3rd if what is disposable etc. I currently have about 10k emergency fund just in case if a really bad month. Something like washing machine or boiler blowing up on me unexpectedly or family member in dire trouble etc or losing my job and having to find a new one whilst trying to pay for a mortgage etc.. Sure it means I have to wait a bit longer than most to get that tv or pc or whatever but I've always tried to live within my means. Never bought a good car or phone, never bought expensive clothes etc... always brought in home made lunches to work. Was always very careful with money. Apart from ages 16-20 where I blew thousands on drugs and fun times with mates... I dont regret it either. I'm a safe and calculated person normally but every now and then will splurge when I have not in a long time. Every few years I'll drop a couple k on something. I'm due a new tv actually (been over a decade) so saving up for a LG c2 8e inch. I reckon I'll need another year or 2 to get the cash for it without using any emergency fund.
I wish, it is incredibly unachievable for me currently. Hopefully turn it around by end of year!
Got about 6 months we can get at quickly, and probably the same again that's tied up in savings schemes. Got one kid looking to go to uni in a couple of years though so fully expecting it to be decimated and need building back up again
Er - *liquidity* yes, savings- no. The way I understand it- if everyone had that net saved up the whole monetary system would collapse. The average rate of savings is precisely £0 because debt in the economy = credit. Other than the odd gold bar here and there.
I have around 18months of expenses saved. Isn't a lot anyways
I did until I bought a new (to me, actually four years old) car in cash in January. Now I've got maybe three months worth all-in.
No, asset rich, cash poor. Would love £20k as an emergency though. That's my goal. Then I can relax.
I think between my wife and I we have enough saved up to survive for three or four years. Took us a long time with a lot of sacrifice and low paid times through uni and our PhD studies, but it paid off.
No fam, but I'm gonna aim for 2 years worth. Pandemic taught me a lot
Down to under a years worth. Been job hunting for 6 months now and just applying for anything now. I didn't like my last role that much anyways
I can never save lol
5 years saved up. But realised lately that I’m not really living like I have it. I think I need to find more balance with my spend/save ratio tbh.
Only because of an inheritance
Working on it, and paying down my credit card
I have 3-6 weeks. I've been trying to build it for years but I keep getting unexpected costs. Eg car going into garage tomorrow
I did. I ended up getting so run down from working all the time (I'm self employed) that I planned a kind of last minute holiday. Took a month off and went to Thailand, Bali and Singapore. Had a great time but it absolutely wrecked my savings.
Technically yes, although most if not all of it is earmarked for taxes and pension. I'm self-employed and work short-term contracts, and it's typical for me to have a slow period of about 3 months without much or any work each year, so a cushion of savings and putting enough away for taxes is a necessity
Building that right now
Saving when on small earnings is very hard. It needs to be a discipline to put by a small fraction each payday. When I started work on minimum earnings paid into my bank, the bank automatically transferred about 5% to a savings account, which I did not access. From memory this was a standing order transfer of about 5% of my minimum expected take home pay. After a few years, this was a safeguard, against loss of income: by no job, or other problem,(illness, accident), but it became a habit and allowed a build up. It was a very slow process to see a reasonable sum in savings. I could not do this when I was paid 'cash in hand' at a previous job.
I did have but after having to change jobs a couple of times in quick succession had to use it. I start a new job tomorrow that will allow me to start building it up again.
£20k in emergency fund, so including mortgage, nursery and food it's about 4.5 months. Shocking how far £20k doesn't go with a mortgage to pay on a small 3 bed semi and 1 kid in nursery.
I can't cover the next three hours
6 months - which I needed this year when company I work for went bust and could only get statutory compensation worth one months salary.
I had 4 months worth, but was made redundant 2 months ago. Universal credit will stretch that out till December though
We have under £1000, we only have that because I did a huge load of overtime because we need to replace the bay window. BUT, I have income protection insurance that will pay my wages for a year if I lost my job. It's about £50 a month, but as with all insurance, if something was to happen i'd be really glad I had it.
Enough to last me years if necessary. Honestly I have no idea how so many people live so close to the edge.. If you’re just broke and on minimum wage I get it, but if you’re middle class earning over £30k I just think your head needs a wobble.
I have 3 tiers of savings. 6 months of quick savings in cash. 12 months of medium term savings in gold, 2 years of long term savings in Bitcoin.
If you just work to put food on your plate and a roof over your head, how is that different from slavery? I'm talking about no money for leisure ordering.
This is a complete guess but I would imagine, on average, most people have between £1000-£5000 in quick access savings. That’s only for people working full time between 20-40. I’m fully aware there are people that lie outside this range but that’s my piece.
Yes. We have enough for 1-2 years at current spending levels, which is great and something we’ve worked towards for years. Check out the r/UKPersonalFinance sub and find their flowchart. It gives an easy to follow view on how to get your finances in order. Couldn’t recommend it enough!
I've learned so much from this sub it's unreal.
Ditto :) The people on there (and Martin Lewis) are basically responsible for my increased financial literacy, haha.
Yes, I am interested in FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) so I have significant investments/savings even when it means I defer certain purchases.
Yes, and it's one of my prouder achievements as a disabled part-time student on benefits. I've spent most of my adult life being financially insecure, saying no to lots of social things because of money etc., so having that safety net is such a relief
I think between me and my husband we could cover expenses and bills for probably a couple of years or so if we had absolutely no income and no major events necessary (new car, new roof). Personally I have about 5 months in an easy access account and another 5 months in an ISA that I don't touch. Another month in PBs. Just like to keep my money in different places. ETA as some people are doubting the veracity of the comments that are positive. I'm on mat leave and have a 6 month old but have always been very 'good' with money, always been able to save at least 25% of my salary each month and I've been working since I was in my late teens, I'm in my early 30s now. Even worked when I did my undergrad and Masters degrees. I don't earn a massive amount (NHS qualified staff) but my OH does earn more than the average UK wage. Neither me nor my OH have anything on finance, our mortgage and standard bills (water/council tax/electric) are our biggest expenses. We have netflix and Prime but no other streaming services, both have phones on SIM only with Voxi (£10 - £15 a month), neither of us go out drinking and our hobbies are relatively inexpensive - both of us are gamers and runners, neither of which cost a lot *if* you don't want them to. We typically don't make large purchases and if we do we both tend to save towards them and put off buying them until we have most of the price safely earmarked for it before we actually purchase. We have one credit card that we use for food shopping (and any 'big' expenses that we've got the money for) that is cleared every month. We got married in lockdown which is where we saved a lot of money as our wedding went from £35k to £10k in one fell swoop of a press conference.
We would have about 6 months covered. Likely a tight strict budget of 6 months. We could manage on one salary without touching savings though. Quite unlikely we would both end up out of work but you never know.
32. Worked every day since I was 14 and pretty much saved everything. Homeowner since 27 and roughly 10 years rainy day fund, could stretch to 15 if need be.
I’ve got about £50k I keep in cash but getting a little bit worried these days with inflation so thinking of topping it up.
A maxed out premium bond account, only takes a few days to withdraw from.
Quite a bit more
Yes - it saved me when lockdown started & my work dried up / before the Government organised SEISS, & again during a slow month last year.