Budgeting

P

phillips10

Midfield
Me and the mrs have just bought our first house, we've just sat and worked out how much money we have spare per month after bills, food, car etc... We are looking at having around £600 a month between us to use as disposable income, possibly a little bit more as we have rounded the bills up slightly higher than what we think they could be.

I'm panicking slightly as I don't think £300 a month each is a lot to have left over, especially when you have to factor in having to buy bloody Xmas presents etc... at this time of year.

How much disposable income to you tend to have left over per month?
 


I would put away as much as feasible, but obviously have a good time and enjoy yourselves.
And don't go spending what you don't have.
Don't forget that if you decide to start a family, then your own wages will have to cover the lot, especially if she packs in her work.
 
phillips10 said:
Me and the mrs have just bought our first house, we've just sat and worked out how much money we have spare per month after bills, food, car etc... We are looking at having around £600 a month between us to use as disposable income, possibly a little bit more as we have rounded the bills up slightly higher than what we think they could be.

I'm panicking slightly as I don't think £300 a month each is a lot to have left over, especially when you have to factor in having to buy bloody Xmas presents etc... at this time of year.

How much disposable income to you tend to have left over per month?
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You won’t even have what you’ve planned for pal, trust me. You’ve got repairs, things going wrong, unbudgeted bits and pieces. Just my experience.
 
Butcher's Coat said:
I would put away as much as feasible, but obviously have a good time and enjoy yourselves.
And don't go spending what you don't have.
Don't forget that if you decide to start a family, then your own wages will have to cover the lot, especially if she packs in her work.
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And this. Plus cost of living increases, price of petrol, train fare, food etc going up.
 
Feel like this is less of a budgeting question than a 'do I have enough for Christmas' question.

If you've got November and December pay to come before Christmas then you've got around £1200 disposable between you. That's a month's salary for a lot of people. Sure you'll survive

Edit - get the excel app on your phone and you can keep track of exactly how much you have left and how much is still to come out for bills.

Go a step further like I did and open a separate account for bills. That way every penny in your main account is your disposable
 
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SPUFF said:
for what frigg?

iircyou never go anywhere. This lad wants to live!
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I’m sure he does, but I’m always being told on here that people need to make hard choices and sacrifices to ensure financial security, so by that logic isn’t it worth saving hard for the next year to create a nice pot of money for when things do eventually go wrong?

The usual shtick on here is get rid of the car/phone/nights out if you want to be financially secure.
 
phillips10 said:
Me and the mrs have just bought our first house, we've just sat and worked out how much money we have spare per month after bills, food, car etc... We are looking at having around £600 a month between us to use as disposable income, possibly a little bit more as we have rounded the bills up slightly higher than what we think they could be.

I'm panicking slightly as I don't think £300 a month each is a lot to have left over, especially when you have to factor in having to buy bloody Xmas presents etc... at this time of year.

How much disposable income to you tend to have left over per month?
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That's loads of spare cash left over after buying your first house. Imagine if interest rates were 15.4% as they were when I bought my first gaff.
 
Frijj said:
I never said they would tbf. If they want to save up they’ll have to cut back won’t they?

I’m only saying what is said by other people on EVERY thread about buying a house.
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£100 each gets 1 night out a month or 2 if you're not big drinkers. Seems more than reasonable if you're saving at the same time
 
SPUFF said:
£75 each a week?
4-5 beers midweek?
Day out alone/together on a sat, match, food etc etc.
Takeaway treat.

probably cock on if you dont go mad. Just scrap xmas. Hate how it fecks up many folk on a tight budget.
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This ^^ Me and Mrs Mystic stopped buying each other presents years ago, just buy a card that's it. We still buy for any kids in the family, but once they are over 18 that stops. Saves a lot of money, time and bullshit. The times I've spent half pissed on Christmas eve scratching me ass outside shops in metro centre, wondering what the fuck to buy, are gladly long gone
 

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