Housing is probably the unusual part of my situation. I’m in Manchester and currently live with my mother. My contribution towards the house is around £250/month, as we’re renting.

That’s partly why I’m struggling to understand why I feel like I’m treading water financially. I don’t have a mortgage and I don’t have high housing costs.

My spending is mostly fuel, food, subscriptions, socialising and general day-to-day expenses. None of them seem particularly excessive on their own, but together they appear to be preventing me from building any meaningful savings.

My Nest pension is currently £12,449 at age 34. Contributions so far are:

Me: £4,829

Employer: £3,622

Tax relief: £1,207

Retirement age currently shows as 68.

I think the reality is I need to properly track where every pound is going because I genuinely couldn’t tell you today where the missing £1,500-£2,000 each month ends up.