Millions have saving of less than £100
Discussion
The Spruce goose said:
i don't have savings, i have been out of work in the past and took any job. only ever claimed 1 week dole between redundancy in 14 years working. i had a job that basically paid s
t money so changed. i have debts from being very stupid but will be 95 percent paid off next year.
there are a lot of poor people out there and not much chance to better themselves. in my case i have an autoimmune disease which has stopped me making a million like others on ph, which people will find hard to understand.
Perfectly understandable.t money so changed. i have debts from being very stupid but will be 95 percent paid off next year.there are a lot of poor people out there and not much chance to better themselves. in my case i have an autoimmune disease which has stopped me making a million like others on ph, which people will find hard to understand.
Your work ethic and the fact that you have worked hard to pay off your debts are both admirable qualities of which you should be proud and that many on here, including me, admire.
I couldn't stand the stress of not having savings. I have been there and it wasn't nice.
Even though the interest rates are worthless now having cash savings means that when life throws a nasty surprise at you you can just deal with it instead of it being a disaster.
I understand loads of people choose not to have savings, and many more simply don't have the means to accumulate them. But if you do and you don't I just don't understand you...
Even though the interest rates are worthless now having cash savings means that when life throws a nasty surprise at you you can just deal with it instead of it being a disaster.
I understand loads of people choose not to have savings, and many more simply don't have the means to accumulate them. But if you do and you don't I just don't understand you...
FunkyNige said:
Devil's advocate mode on...
What do you need savings for?
House deposit? No chance of saving enough for lots of people
Car? PCP/lease it
Lose your job? Government will support you, moreso if you have no savings
Retirement? Government will pay for it
Care home fees? Get the same service if you have savings or not
Job seekers allowance is a little over £300 a month. Barely enough to cover most people's council tax and utilities even if they haven't got around to PCPing a car yet.What do you need savings for?
House deposit? No chance of saving enough for lots of people
Car? PCP/lease it
Lose your job? Government will support you, moreso if you have no savings
Retirement? Government will pay for it
Care home fees? Get the same service if you have savings or not
Rick101 said:
What did surprise me was some folk on here thinking it normal to have 6 months salary as savings.
Wow, really? I would genuinely have believed that fairly normal. When I was a younger man and wanted to start my own business I saved up a year's salary before jumping ship. I figured if I didn't start making some money ins six months, I'd have six months to get a job again.Rick101 said:
There really is a huge divide between the poor and well off.
There most certainly is. But there's a whole spectrum of well off from having a few grand in the bank (normal) to being a billionaire. Don said:
Rick101 said:
What did surprise me was some folk on here thinking it normal to have 6 months salary as savings.
Wow, really? I would genuinely have believed that fairly normal. When I was a younger man and wanted to start my own business I saved up a year's salary before jumping ship. I figured if I didn't start making some money ins six months, I'd have six months to get a job again.Rick101 said:
There really is a huge divide between the poor and well off.
There most certainly is. But there's a whole spectrum of well off from having a few grand in the bank (normal) to being a billionaire. eldar said:
I suspect, though, the headline really means, no savings, credit card or other means of easily raising a few hundred quid other than the four figure APR lenders.
I disagree. Everyone with a monthly salary will have been offered a credit card by their bank and probably an overdraft. This gives them access to several thousand pounds of emergency funds if required. Some will abuse this and rack up debts but many won't and will plan their finances around what's offered. The only lower are the statistics in the original post. Any home owner under about 35 will have a large mortgage and hence would be mad to have savings. I think a lot of people on this thread are applying baby boomer financial logic to the current economic reality.
Dr Jekyll said:
FunkyNige said:
Devil's advocate mode on...
What do you need savings for?
House deposit? No chance of saving enough for lots of people
Car? PCP/lease it
Lose your job? Government will support you, moreso if you have no savings
Retirement? Government will pay for it
Care home fees? Get the same service if you have savings or not
Job seekers allowance is a little over £300 a month. Barely enough to cover most people's council tax and utilities even if they haven't got around to PCPing a car yet.What do you need savings for?
House deposit? No chance of saving enough for lots of people
Car? PCP/lease it
Lose your job? Government will support you, moreso if you have no savings
Retirement? Government will pay for it
Care home fees? Get the same service if you have savings or not
This is one problem with trying to get ahead, you may be saving to buy a house and then lose your job, you cant get benefits unless you reduce your savings so you spend that, then manage to get another job and start saving again for a deposit. You've now lost your hard earned savings and found yourself another chunk of money away from buying a home.
There really is little incentive to save in this country, quite often you are punished for it should you find yourself needing to claim benefits short term. Should you fall ill and need long term help, the first thing that happens is you lose your life savings so end up as someone more likely to be in the net of high APR lenders.
alock said:
Kermit power said:
How does anyone who works manage to have no savings these days? 
If you're young and have mortgaged yourself to the hilt to buy a house, why would you put money in a savings account instead of into the mortgage when the interest rate on the mortgage is probably higher than on the savings account?I only wrote two sentences! Would it really have been that difficult to read the second one before replying to the first one???
p1stonhead said:
Most people I know my age (30ish) don't have a few grand in the bank.
+1When I worked in a large office full of reasonably well paid people, most of them, especially those aged under 40, would joke about being 'skint until pay day'. But it wasn't a joke. They would essentially run out of money a few days before they got paid again. No savings to fall back on.
If they lost their jobs they would be bankrupt within 1-2 months.
But as already mentioned in the thread, none of this is a surprise.
Some months I have to go into my overdraft, I have a little in savings, boosted by my nans recent passing but if I was out of work I'd last 2-3 months before I was in trouble. It would take me around 2 years to save 6 months salary- it isn't feasible.
Edited by sparks_E39 on Thursday 29th September 20:23
jsf said:
There really is little incentive to save in this country, quite often you are punished for it should you find yourself needing to claim benefits short term. Should you fall ill and need long term help, the first thing that happens is you lose your life savings so end up as someone more likely to be in the net of high APR lenders.
Hmm... That suddenly got me wondering...If you put every penny you could save into your pension, then used every penny of that to buy an annuity, would that put you in a position where, got a means testing perspective, you'd be considered as having no savings, and wouldn't have to cough up for everything?
Borghetto said:
I have a friend (not me honest Guv) who earns around £60k, has no savings and this week sponsored a child in Sri Lanka at £25 per month.
The more you earn the bigger the house the more expensive the car, the fancier the holidays. Big earners just have the ability to borrow/spend more. Agree it Doesn't mean they have more in the bank.Borghetto said:
I have a friend (not me honest Guv) who earns around £60k, has no savings and this week sponsored a child in Sri Lanka at £25 per month.
He doesn't have +£100 balance in his current account? Doesn't have to be in a special savings account to be classed as savings. I'm guessing this headline includes student types there must be millions of those pushing the numbers up.
NinjaPower said:
+1
When I worked in a large office full of reasonably well paid people, most of them, especially those aged under 40, would joke about being 'skint until pay day'. But it wasn't a joke. They would essentially run out of money a few days before they got paid again. No savings to fall back on.
If they lost their jobs they would be bankrupt within 1-2 months.
But as already mentioned in the thread, none of this is a surprise.
My girlfriend is in such an office. One of her colleagues has a combined income of 6 figures with his other half and they live pay cheque to pay check. When I worked in a large office full of reasonably well paid people, most of them, especially those aged under 40, would joke about being 'skint until pay day'. But it wasn't a joke. They would essentially run out of money a few days before they got paid again. No savings to fall back on.
If they lost their jobs they would be bankrupt within 1-2 months.
But as already mentioned in the thread, none of this is a surprise.
They were talking about homelessness (mainly among men...) on 5Live earlier in the week. A man texted in who said he was on £97,000/yr 12 months ago, lost his job, had to sell everything and had £20 to his name. There but for the grace of god and all that lot.
It's one thing not having any saving due to not earning much, but I can never understand people that spend everything when they are earning enough to save, but it's people like them, that allow people like me who do save, to have businesses to invest in via various means.
I'll level with PH -
Up until about 6 months ago I was firmly in this bracket. Even now, I end most months in my overdraft in my current account.
Situation - Private renting, no chance of a mortgage (no capital, obvs), 2 kids, Mrs works all the hours feasible / practical. My salary is high-30ks.
But most of PH will expect I live a life of luxury and have expensive toys / gadgets. Not so! No gym memberships or subscriptions in this house either folks. Not had a foreign holiday in 5 years, no fancy cars, kids not spoilt.
Awaits collective response "but that's just poor money management" Pfffft!
Life is bloody expensive. I can't make more cutbacks, since there's nothing to cut back on.
Up until about 6 months ago I was firmly in this bracket. Even now, I end most months in my overdraft in my current account.
Situation - Private renting, no chance of a mortgage (no capital, obvs), 2 kids, Mrs works all the hours feasible / practical. My salary is high-30ks.
But most of PH will expect I live a life of luxury and have expensive toys / gadgets. Not so! No gym memberships or subscriptions in this house either folks. Not had a foreign holiday in 5 years, no fancy cars, kids not spoilt.
Awaits collective response "but that's just poor money management" Pfffft!
Life is bloody expensive. I can't make more cutbacks, since there's nothing to cut back on.
I do think it is very hard for many people, and it is not all some kind of collective laziness.
The world is changing very fast, and many previously remunerative jobs have been automated or outsourced, and many more will be automated.
Sometimes people lose their jobs through no fault of their own, or have unexpected problems..illnesses, problems with kids, accidents and so on.
No savings can turn a routine problem into a life changing disaster...a car breaking down, household repairs and so on. It makes life very stressful when there is no safety net.
When you are young its different...there is a long runway ahead and you can recover, especially if single with no kids. As you get older the runway shortens, and other stuff shows up..kids, parents in need, the end of career. When that occurs, there is a looming terror ahead.
I am fine financially, but I grew up with a fair amount of poverty and I recall my mother in tears in the kitchen when my father lost his job, knowing we might lose the house. There were no savings.
I do think people should save of course, but I do not have any smug sense that it is easy, just a matter of making up your mind. Circumstances vary and unexpected things occur.
I have a bit less sympathy for those who borrow up to their credit limits for lifestyle...heavy mortgages,leased flash cars and so on. If you can afford it, I'm all for it, but things can come unstuck very badly when you're in debt, and if it is just for personal aggrandizement then there is no need for compassion.
The world is changing very fast, and many previously remunerative jobs have been automated or outsourced, and many more will be automated.
Sometimes people lose their jobs through no fault of their own, or have unexpected problems..illnesses, problems with kids, accidents and so on.
No savings can turn a routine problem into a life changing disaster...a car breaking down, household repairs and so on. It makes life very stressful when there is no safety net.
When you are young its different...there is a long runway ahead and you can recover, especially if single with no kids. As you get older the runway shortens, and other stuff shows up..kids, parents in need, the end of career. When that occurs, there is a looming terror ahead.
I am fine financially, but I grew up with a fair amount of poverty and I recall my mother in tears in the kitchen when my father lost his job, knowing we might lose the house. There were no savings.
I do think people should save of course, but I do not have any smug sense that it is easy, just a matter of making up your mind. Circumstances vary and unexpected things occur.
I have a bit less sympathy for those who borrow up to their credit limits for lifestyle...heavy mortgages,leased flash cars and so on. If you can afford it, I'm all for it, but things can come unstuck very badly when you're in debt, and if it is just for personal aggrandizement then there is no need for compassion.
Im pretty fortunate im 24 and got 7k in savings which is about 4-5 month total of my income over the year just now changed job so have jumped from 13k too 16k after tax etc. Which is ok for someone my age but I do live with my parents and have got 10k tied up into a kit car that I compete with so if it wasn't for that I be close to 20k by now which could easily get a mortgage on a house with that.
Was my choice though same as people who live week by week but the aim over the next few years now with a better paying job is to start bumping that amount up maybe too 15k which is easily doable.
Was my choice though same as people who live week by week but the aim over the next few years now with a better paying job is to start bumping that amount up maybe too 15k which is easily doable.
Oakey said:
Four Litre said:
Without doubt we need to hear stories of how 'Ive never had finance / cash is king / I can live for 10 years on my savings / I retired at 18 as I saved so much!' delete as appropriate!
If PH ever needed an anthemhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzbAEHdy8oU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUhRKVIjJtw
Not going to lie but I live my life on credit, although all at 0% - all my month to month spending goes on my credit card and is normally paid off at the end of the month.
However my first flat deposit and now the renovation works for my current flat are all on them = my annual base salary on credit cards (40% taxpayer by some margin). Thing is, these cards cost me less than my mortgage interest rate leaving me to invest cash into my flat renovation and travel (not an asset admittedly).
They'll eventually be repaid when the interest free period expires via a remortgage with the cash released invested in high quality equities/secured corporate bonds.
However my first flat deposit and now the renovation works for my current flat are all on them = my annual base salary on credit cards (40% taxpayer by some margin). Thing is, these cards cost me less than my mortgage interest rate leaving me to invest cash into my flat renovation and travel (not an asset admittedly).
They'll eventually be repaid when the interest free period expires via a remortgage with the cash released invested in high quality equities/secured corporate bonds.
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