FTB: how much to put aside for a rainy day?

somethingcorporate

2.5 years worth is too much, you could be making your money work much harder for you if it were sensibly invested. Still, each to their own.

lazer

I had no savings after i bought.

I my head i worked out it was better to put every penny into the deposit and get a lower interest rate.

I got married 9 months after I bought the house too - so that ate up the savings I had been building up!

I had no recourse to the bank of mum and dad, but I had a car worth about £4 - 5k which if the worst happened I could sell to pay for the mortgage or whatever the case may be.

calicocat

Paully232000 wrote: »

Yes, having said what money advice service say i was quite surprised that it was that low at 3 months.
We live quite comfortably at the moment on our salaries, and I sometimes wonder if our buffer of 2.5 years of current monthly spend is enough. I have included everything we spend in a month, including childcare, non-essentials etc. I maybe worry too much.

Everyone sees thing differently, now I have got a buffer I am over paying the mortgage each month instead of saving as interest rates are so appalling. If I had more financial nouse or was comfortable with risk then I would be putting it into bonds/shares etc....but i'm dim when it comes to these things so run with what little I know and go with security. So the next phase of my plan is mortgage free as soon as possible.

jimbog

If you had something like 12 months worth (that could be around £20K+) then you have to start thinking how much more comfortable it would be to reduce your mortgage interest payments in the first place by overpaying the outstanding mortgage