I'm unpleasantly surprised that apparently many households live from hand to mouth. Does it make sense to have a "nest egg" that can be used to bridge the time until short-time allowance starts, or if a laptop, freezer and washing machine fail at the same time to replace them?
Of course there are situations where this is difficult, on the other hand you save less by ingesting than by not spending.
How many monthly budgets should you have in reserve and do you have them?
You should definitely have some money in reserve. I would absolutely not get along if I had no reserves. It's just incredibly unsafe, you never know what will happen and whether you can still pay your rent. I think you should have at least double your net income as a reserve.
I'm 14 and my parents definitely have something on the high edge. I don't know exactly how much, but it's over 5000 euro, I think. I will definitely make sure that I always have money left over for unforeseen events, even with a poorly paid job.
I'm unpleasantly surprised that apparently many households live from hand to mouth.
Yes, now it slowly shows who has bathed naked.
Does it make sense to have a "nest egg" that can be used to bridge the time until short-time allowance starts, or if a laptop, freezer and washing machine fail at the same time to replace them?
Of course it is. Something can always happen, and if you have to replace something but can't pay for the whole thing, then you have a problem.
Of course there are situations where this is difficult, on the other hand you save less by ingesting than by not spending.
Difficult or not, it's about replacing things like a washing machine or something. You bought them at some point and somehow saved the money. The washing machine has an expected lifespan. You can simply convert them to the month and then put away so much. You did that beforehand, otherwise it would not be a question of replacing, but a new purchase.
How many monthly budgets should you have in reserve and do you have them?
That is exactly the right question. Many of us here will say "I always have 3-6 monthly salaries on my side." This tip comes here regularly. But he completely ignores the spending situation. Yes, someone who earns EUR 2000 net and also spends EUR 2000 a month should have 3-6 monthly salaries on their side, but not because there are so many monthly salaries, but because they are so many monthly expenses. In that case, only both are the same. Someone who earns EUR 10,000 net and also only spends EUR 2,000 a month does not need 3-6 net salaries on the side, of course, but also only 3-6 monthly expenses.
So much just to anticipate the people who come back here with their flat-rate net salary multipliers or the reserves. Therefore, one question is the right one. It's about monthly expenses, or what you call "monthly budgets," and 3-6 are a good choice.
I myself am one step further in my private liquidity planning and have my reserves as lines of credit with different banks. So I can invest the money instead of leaving it behind and am still liquid if the worst comes to the worst. My calculations based on my experience so far have shown that I can get away cheaper because it has rarely, in the last few years, come to the point where I have had to attack these lines of credit.
It makes sense to have an "nest egg". It depends on the salary how much someone can travel. I save around 1000 euro a year, more is not possible with my salary. Now in short-time work, I first use supplies before I go shopping and buy seasonal vegetables and products. I bought the new washing machine in installments, so I didn't have to attack the savings. Since the rates were interest-free, it was also cheaper for me.
How much you should have as a reserve can't be said in general. For example, if you have a home with a ramshackle roof, you'd better have 30k € + as a reserve regardless of income.
As an absolute minimum, I consider a buffer that allows you to live on it for half a year. Anyone who buys a new washing machine or similar Checking the balance at all definitely has too little reserve.
The fact that not everyone can afford it is often (not always) due to poor money management.
Well, it always depends on the individual financial situation. I was once in a situation where I had an income far below the social welfare rate, and I was no longer able to do anything. Now I have a lot of money - after deducting the fixed costs about 400 euro, but somehow I still do not put enough back. Yes, I sometimes go on a trip because I'm afraid that I will soon no longer be able to do this in terms of health, of course I'm still not wasteful, but there's still a need to catch up for the difficult years, to the extent that I do myself what a treat, especially my glasses (ok they are not quite suitable (in terms of strength) but almost: vario lenses, varifocals, fully anti-reflective) - that is simply quality of life! To be able to see well, but it always takes more than a whole monthly budget.
And now with Corona I'm going to slip into the minus, it's not over yet! The costs keep going
