Feel guilty if I have to take money out of my savings account.

MikeL93

Thanks for all your input guys. I forgot to mention that I also have a credit card and anything that I use it for is paid off immediately. I hope no one thinks I am gloating but this is my current financial situation:

I am 25, still living at home but saving for my first house.
In my Help to Buy ISA I currently have £10,000
In my online savings account I have £9,700 (this is the account I will have to dip into for my car and stuff like that.
I get paid £1600 a month, my direct debits are £350 on my car finance, £200 goes straight into my Help to Buy ISA, I give £200 rent to my parents, £26 on my gym membership and £10 on my Netflix account. They are usually my only direct debits although I am currently paying an extra £200 a month to my dentist but this will stop in December.

Any money that is left after that is spent on things I need throughout the month. The £200 I pay to my dentist would normally have been saved but obviously this is currently not possible. After reading this as long as I am still saving at least £200 a month in my Help to Buy ISA I don't think I'm actually doing too bad.

JennyJukes

MikeL93 wrote: »

Thanks for all your input guys. I forgot to mention that I also have a credit card and anything that I use it for is paid off immediately. I hope no one thinks I am gloating but this is my current financial situation:

I am 25, still living at home but saving for my first house.
In my Help to Buy ISA I currently have £10,000
In my online savings account I have £9,700 (this is the account I will have to dip into for my car and stuff like that.
I get paid £1600 a month, my direct debits are £350 on my car finance, £200 goes straight into my Help to Buy ISA, I give £200 rent to my parents, £26 on my gym membership and £10 on my Netflix account. They are usually my only direct debits although I am currently paying an extra £200 a month to my dentist but this will stop in December.

Any money that is left after that is spent on things I need throughout the month. The £200 I pay to my dentist would normally have been saved but obviously this is currently not possible. After reading this as long as I am still saving at least £200 a month in my Help to Buy ISA I don't think I'm actually doing too bad.

You're doing great. Some people put down deposits less than the savings you already have, though I know that's area specific. My friend recently bought a flat with 6k. What's your deposit goal and before what age do you want to buy a property?

MikeL93

My deposit goal is something close to what I have got saved up currently over my two bank accounts. There are some new houses being built near me and the type that I liked was £170,000. I went to have a look at them and even though I know I'd be able to afford the deposit and the mortgage repayments no one will actually give me a mortgage due to my current annual salary.

adonis10

Taking money out of savings is an horrendous feeling, personally, but it is necessary.


If you have a £x bill for something and your monthly wages are accounted for, there is little other option unless you have an interest free credit card in which case that is a better option.


I know from experience as am getting married in 3 weeks and so have been dipping into my savings on a bi weekly basis all year. Horrible feeling to see it go down but it will start to rise again soon enough.


Essential bills happen, it's life, so don't sweat it too much.

binaryuniverse

It's much better to be in that position, than to be in one where you owe large amounts on credit cards and most of your money goes on meeting the minimum payments. Been there. Done that. I'm now in your position where I have a large amount in savings and can afford to treat myself as and when.

Money is there to be spent. If you have a net gain, most months, then you're heading in the right direction. Even if you're not, if you have plenty in reserve then it's still no issue.

Relax.

MikeL93

Thanks for your advice. I guess the way I have to look at it is that I am still saving at least £200 a month which I imagine is a better position than some people.

20SmthngSver

I know what you mean. I just closed all of my savings account, some I can't open again, to buy a house with, and I feel guilty about that! Haha.

MikeL93

Well today must be my lucky day. I was called into a meeting at the end of work today only to be told that I’m getting a pay rise! After tax and my student loan it’ll equate to an extra £200 a month maybe a bit more. I feel lot better now knowing that from the end of this month I’ll be able to save a bit more money.

BoxerfanUK

Well done MikeL93 good for you.

Alexland

MikeL93 wrote: »

Well today must be my lucky day. I was called into a meeting at the end of work today only to be told that I’m getting a pay rise!

There is no mention of how much of this nice pay rise will go into your workplace pension. Are you contributing enough to get the maximum employer contribution?

Alex