How much should a 20-30 year old have in savings

inkie · 21 January 2018 at 7:36PM

Depends completely on your income and on your situation. If you have a good salary and very little outgoings then you 'should' (read: have the potential to have) more savings.
3 months worth of contingency to live on is a good starting point.
Are you wanting to get on the property ladder at all? if so, then make the aim saving enough for a deposit and house costs....

Fatbritabroad · 21 January 2018 at 7:53PM

Ladykernow wrote: »

If you haven't got anything saved, I would consider starting now. Start writing what comes in and what goes out. Then think about what you could not spend money on, or could you lower a bill?

Don't pay attention to what other people have. Focus on what you can do.

Great advice you'll drive yourself nuts doing this (I speak from experience) almost like the keeping up with the Jones that means many people have no net worth at all

SamSam17 · 21 January 2018 at 8:04PM

OP I wouldn't worry about others and just focus on yourself. If you have debt, pay it off, save for emergency.

fiisch · 21 January 2018 at 10:53PM

I'm 31 and historically I've never had any savings. I even bought our first flat via a second mortgage against my parent's home which we then repaid. I was always very much a buy it now and pay later kinda guy, but now I'm a father it's changed my perspective somewhat.

There's a happy medium - I would wager most 20 somethings don't have much in savings. My weakness was/is flash cars. I'd suggest if you have anything in savings before 30 you're ahead of the game, although I'm not including savings towards a first property in that....

Ray_Singh-Blue · 21 January 2018 at 11:15PM

Everyone *should* have enough savings to meet the bills that they know they are going to have to pay, and also the bills that they don't.

That's all savings are for.

Beyond that they might want to have investments, assets like property, cars, a pension etc.

geeovana · 22 January 2018 at 8:51AM

I often wonder the same. However, I agree largely with previous posts that it matters more about your own goals. If you want to retire at 55, then (all things being equal) you are going to require more in the bank now, than someone of your age who is happy to retire at 65.

I am 28 myself and my current financial position is around 50K in equities, 2 years in a good DC pension (current pot of around 20K) and I 'own' a house with my partner of which we have around 45 - 50K of equity between us.

Hopefully gives you some perspective of your situation :undecided

I often feel it is both a privilege and a burden to be thinking about the future and retirement in your 20's. You will more than likely be in a great position when it comes retirement, however at what cost? Will we regret the money (and subsequent memories) we did not spend / create with our families due to the lust for saving and investing? And also on ourselves - I would love to get a second car to have a play with (currently have cheap run around) but I often cannot justify it as I may not be able to fill my 2018/19 S&S ISA if I do :think: I guess only time will tell.

Best of luck on achieving your goals.

TBagpuss · 22 January 2018 at 1:07PM

I agree that there are a lot of variables.

i think for anyone, at any age, it is good to have:
- savings which would cover your essential outgoings for at least 3 months, if you were to lose your job or otherwise had no income
- some emergency savings for things like the unexpected car / boiler breakdown
- to be paying into a pension if possible

Then it depends what your goals are. If you want to buy a house, start saving towards a deposit in your 20s.

I also think it is worth looking at your over all financial position and what you spend your money on. If you spending money on travel or hobbies which give you a lot of pleasure then it's fine to make the choice that those things are your priority right now. on the other hand, if you're getting to the end of the month and not really sure where the money went, then it's a little different.

I think probably what you need to be thinking about it what your savings goals are, and how far from achieving them are you?

Teacher2 · 31 January 2018 at 11:03AM

30% of income on living outgoings
30% for you to spend
40% on savings.

If you can't manage this then save 30%
If you can't manage that save 20%.

Start now.

Owen1991 · 31 January 2018 at 12:06PM

I'm 27 earning £21k a year, take home £1440 a month. In the military so don't have many outgoings and I'm a part of a CARE pension scheme thats non contributory.

I split my money:
£200 goes into SIPP
£260 paying off a stupid loan
£50 phone bill, going to go SIM only asap and reduce this
£30 on other small stuff each month (iTunes music/military kit insurance)

I typically try and save a further £500 and live on £400 a month, but this varies every month, I'm young and don't want to waste all my time saving and living extremely cheap.
I'd like to think I'm doing ok, and a lot better than any of my friends, especially the ones in the military.

I currently have £7000 in a LISA, £8500 in other savings and £3000 in my SIPP.

It's not the best but it gives you an idea of what I'm doing at my age/salary.

BananaRepublic · 31 January 2018 at 12:34PM

You should have { £1,000 + (age - 20) x £2,000 } precisely,hence a 30 year old should have £21,000.

Seriously though, as long as you look after your outgoings, and don't spend excessively, you can then save the spare. Some people spend all their time going out for meals and socialising, and they will consume all of their spare income, unwisely in my view although you do of course need to meet people socially. And some people spend all of their spare cash on clothes, cars, mobile phones etc. That's not wise either. I have no problem saving due to genetics: my parents are from Yorkshire. In fact I suffer decidedly unpleasant physical symptoms when I spend money.

How much should a 20-30 year old have in savings

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free