Personal question about money
Discussion
buggalugs said:
Bugger all at the moment though I do have the odd good month at work. My partner stopped working two years ago when our daughter was born and we have a big stupid house. I pay for a few days of nursery a week so my partner can work on a business she's starting. Things should be looking better in a year or so.
Pre kid we had my partners salary plus two lodgers and less outgoings - f
k knows what we did with all the money!
They say your lifestyle grows to match your income. That can be little things like going out to eat more often, or even just moving from a tastecard deal at prezzo to having 3 course at a nicer restaurant. Or it can be big stuff like taking more holidays, flying in a higher class, 5* long haul instead of a 3* short haul. Everything adds up and eats money very quickly and it's very easy not to notice your spending reaching multiples of what it was when you earned less and had to be more careful for what feels like only small gains in standard of living.Pre kid we had my partners salary plus two lodgers and less outgoings - f
k knows what we did with all the money!Separated so paying rent, half old mortgage, child maintenance, lease car rather than a banger.
Also decided not to have any savings until divorce sorted so I've got a horse partly to ps off ex hehehe.
That takes most of my spare income and most of my spare time.
Rather than money, it's finding a passion in life.
As long as bills get paid then i value my time more than money in the bank.
How much you spend on accommodation/commuting must vary massively depending on where you live, and that isn't necessarily reflected in salary.
Also decided not to have any savings until divorce sorted so I've got a horse partly to p
s off ex hehehe.That takes most of my spare income and most of my spare time.
Rather than money, it's finding a passion in life.
As long as bills get paid then i value my time more than money in the bank.
How much you spend on accommodation/commuting must vary massively depending on where you live, and that isn't necessarily reflected in salary.
Mr Micawber's famous, and oft-quoted, recipe for happiness:
"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen [pounds] nineteen [shillings] and six [pence], result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."
Charles Dickens, David Copperfield
It's reported that in excess of 40% of adults have no savings.
"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen [pounds] nineteen [shillings] and six [pence], result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."
Charles Dickens, David Copperfield
It's reported that in excess of 40% of adults have no savings.
PurpleMoonlight said:
It's reported that in excess of 40% of adults have no savings.
Hardly surprising with interest rates so low and the easy credit times we live in. Also, some people have chosen to have no savings for a reason. I'm one of the 40% as I prefer to overpay the mortgage, rather than save and I have £21k of available credit card debt should I need it for emergencies
Public sector job helps too 
djc206 said:
Very easy not to notice your spending reaching multiples of what it was when you earned less and had to be more careful for what feels like only small gains in standard of living.
This is very true. I have noticed myself doing this on occasion - either you lose the 'saving discipline' or you develop expensive tastes. I use a spreadsheet to track my finances, its a slightly unusual situation as my current account is the joint one to which my missus has access but she has her own separate accounts.
I earn three times what she does, so I pay for all the food, fuel, bills and whatever. I end up with a grand un allocated, we are paying half each approx for the kids Uni expenses.
However that grand always gets eaten into, new shower last month, as of now I know I have circa £500 left that isnt spoken for, then she "accidentally" orders stuff from my account, or one of the kids needs something, I always seem to get lumbered ! amazing how she has two cars and accidentally orders stuff on mine but never accidentally buys the shopping or petrol on hers ?
I would like to separate the accounts so I have money she doesnt have access to, as it is quite annoying thinking you have a couple of hundred quit to
buy something and it gets whipped from under you !
The eldest is earning, so thought I would get some keep coming in, only £150 a month but apparently I have to save that for his house deposit.
I earn three times what she does, so I pay for all the food, fuel, bills and whatever. I end up with a grand un allocated, we are paying half each approx for the kids Uni expenses.
However that grand always gets eaten into, new shower last month, as of now I know I have circa £500 left that isnt spoken for, then she "accidentally" orders stuff from my account, or one of the kids needs something, I always seem to get lumbered ! amazing how she has two cars and accidentally orders stuff on mine but never accidentally buys the shopping or petrol on hers ?
I would like to separate the accounts so I have money she doesnt have access to, as it is quite annoying thinking you have a couple of hundred quit to
buy something and it gets whipped from under you !
The eldest is earning, so thought I would get some keep coming in, only £150 a month but apparently I have to save that for his house deposit.
Doofus said:
Surely the question should be 'what do you spend' rather than 'how much do you have left'?
I think its this, its not really relevant to know what people have left before they save because everyone will have a different attitude to that, and plan accordingly.350-400 a week seems to be fine for me as cash to live on and I save all the rest.
Recently got a monzo card to try and uncover where it was going previously, and much like the chap above said, it just gets frittered away on crap. I'd spent £1k on PAYG London trains so far this year, for example, I knew I was getting trains here and there, but extrapolate that out and its almost worth e having a travel card despite it feeling like I cycle to work most of the time!
Edited by okgo on Tuesday 5th September 17:22
Probably spend 45% on rent / mortgage inc overpayments and debt / 15% cars / 20% save / 20% living.
Currently over paying the mortgage and living like hermits paying things off as we are living in Germany, hate it and just want to come home.
Get about €140-150k between us, most of that goes on tax, mid / lates 20's and no kids.
Currently over paying the mortgage and living like hermits paying things off as we are living in Germany, hate it and just want to come home.
Get about €140-150k between us, most of that goes on tax, mid / lates 20's and no kids.
Trexthedinosaur said:
Currently over paying the mortgage and living like hermits paying things off as we are living in Germany, hate it and just want to come home.
That's interesting. If I'd have met a German girl during my 5 years there I would quite happily have stayed. This was pre-Merkel madness, though.
Obviously hard to generalise and my own savings ratio changed a lot with age for obvious reasons. (I don't work now). But if I had a rule of thumb it was roughly:
- Pay into company pension to the extent that it maximises the match.
- Save 25% of take home pay; spend the rest however we want.
- Don't touch the bonus at all; straight to savings.
- No borrowings of any sort. (I grew up though high interest rates though).
- Pay into company pension to the extent that it maximises the match.
- Save 25% of take home pay; spend the rest however we want.
- Don't touch the bonus at all; straight to savings.
- No borrowings of any sort. (I grew up though high interest rates though).
At the moment, I dont have anything left at the end of the month - my expenditure exceeds my income by a considerable amount but that is (a) by design and (b) because my income is largely related to my former employment and therefore both lumpy and uncertain.
I think it has been alluded to in various of the threads but for me the real question isnt whether one has a surplus at the end of the month but what one intends to use that surplus for. I had many years of being in the fortunate position of having surpluses and that gives me the freedom now to run a deficit (and therefore work part time, ride my bike, etc). If the benefits are good - pension, phi, life insurance etc there's a lot to be said for the stability of a perm job over the tax benefits of self employment.
I think it has been alluded to in various of the threads but for me the real question isnt whether one has a surplus at the end of the month but what one intends to use that surplus for. I had many years of being in the fortunate position of having surpluses and that gives me the freedom now to run a deficit (and therefore work part time, ride my bike, etc). If the benefits are good - pension, phi, life insurance etc there's a lot to be said for the stability of a perm job over the tax benefits of self employment.
Badda said:
kiethton said:
About £250 a week spending money after bills, although only spend about 1/3 of it - rest goes on debt repayments/
It could be argued you have no spare cash really if you're servicing non-mortgage debt. I have a man maths spreadsheet with all the incoming money and all my outgoings - then I know what I have left over to spend/save as I choose.
A long time ago it was called “budgeting” but I believe for most people that concept has gone out of the window in favour of pcp/leasing everything, have interest only mortgages, maxed out credit cards and never saving a penny
A long time ago it was called “budgeting” but I believe for most people that concept has gone out of the window in favour of pcp/leasing everything, have interest only mortgages, maxed out credit cards and never saving a penny
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