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

MikeL93

Yes I am contributing enough

danm

I think you need to compartmentalise your goals.

In you head (or even better if you can physically move it) take an amount, say £2000 and have that as an emergency fund. You should be able to dip into this as needed when the situation arises.

Then your savings are just that and should be going towards your long terms goals.

Just as an aside, do you need a 350p/m car. It is likely that house prices are going to be rising faster that your general wage expectations so funnelling any spare cash into your savings may be a better use at the moment

Good luck on your journey

iglad

MikeL93 wrote: »

I’ve got two savings accounts. One is a Help to Buy ISA and I put the maximum £200 a month in that every month and don’t take any money out of it. I’ve also got a regular savings account that I just use as a way of saving up to help top up my Help to Buy ISA for when it comes to me buying my first house.

This year I went away for the first time in 3 years and I paid it all off but for some reason I feel guilty for taking money out of my savings to pay for it. My only other outgoings I usually have per month are on my car, Netflix, rent to my parents and my gym. But I am also getting my teeth straightened which is costing me £200 a month but this will be paid off in December. So because I have more outgoings this year my savings account is either just staying at the same level or slightly decreasing. If I do take money out of my savings account I will try to put it back but I know I will have to use quite a bit of it this month as my road tax, car service and car insurance are all due. I don’t know why I feel this way about taking money out of my savings but how can I stop feeling guilty?

You need a holiday/MeMeME account which you can use to save for treats for yourself and not feel guilty after all you've earned it. How much you want to save in that account is up to you but it will stop the guilty pangs.

MikeL93

Thanks for that, my online savings account is sort of the MeMeMe account you mention. I have it as a way of saving money somewhere else except in my current account. As I say I try not to dip into it but it has just been recently I have been doing to pay for holidays and such. But hopefully my payrise means I should be getting around an extra £200 a month so I can put that away in there.

Vet

Don't feel guilty, enjoy your life.
Try to save where you can, but remember that life can change in an instant. Money is no use to you when you're no longer here. So enjoy it whilst you can.

MikeL93

Thanks Vet, I save £200 a month into my Help to Buy ISA so at least I am putting something away every month for savings. Saving a little in one bank account every month is better than not saving anything in two bank accounts I guess.

Speedbird676

Just remember that if you're sweeping everything left at the end of the month into your savings, that some months you will need to spend more (ie: when the car insurance is due) than others.

I find having a budget planner which averages out all my costs, so I can see the monthly impact, allows me to set my savings goals.

Some months I need to spend more, some I need to spend less, but as long as I have exceeded the target over a year then I have met my goal.

As others have suggested, having a "float" in a separate account may help you to compartmentalise that from your true savings.

Wildsound

If you're able to save up to £4,000 per year (£333 per month) and you don't intend to buy a house in the next 12 months, then you should consider a Lifetime ISA as an alternative to your help to buy ISA. If you can save £6,400 per month (£533 per month)(although sounds unlikely) then you can do both.

C_Mababejive

Think of it this way,,if YOU dont take it and spend it then inflation will steal it away and give you nothing in return. If you save enough of it, well the HMRC will steal it away so which is best? treats for you or treats for Mr Inflato and his chum Mr HMRC?

steampowered

Personally I think it is best to plan savings over a year rather than month-month.

If you save more in one month but draw on savings in other months, that's fine so long as over the course of the year you are saving enough to meet your financial goals.

There's nothing wrong with spending that is planned and within your budget.

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Think of it this way,,if YOU dont take it and spend it then inflation will steal it away and give you nothing in return. If you save enough of it, well the HMRC will steal it away so which is best? treats for you or treats for Mr Inflato and his chum Mr HMRC?

Unless you invest through a stocks & shares ISA, of course, in which case your returns will beat inflation and will be tax free !