how much money do you have to spend on yourself each month?

[atmybook]

I never seem to have enough to cover my basic upkeep never mind treating myself. I earn a good income but admittedly my rent eats up a lot of it as i live in an expensive part of an expensive city. I have a friend my age who is self employed and she always seems to have loads of money to spend on herself just this month she bought herself a new ipad air, apple pencil and an expensive beauty advent calender. When ever we meet up she will often buy herself books, candles, skincare items when we are out and about. She is very debt adverse so its not all on credit. Her husband is a decent earner but I'd say she could easily speand up to £1000 a month on herself and not bat an eye while I am lucky is I can manage £50!

How much do you have to spend on yourself and what do you buy?

Exercise classes via Zoom are currently about £15 a week for the ones I take in total.
Nails on average £50 a month
Beauty Pie subscription plus purchases is between 40-60 a month

I only get my hair cut and coloured twice a year. Clothes I’m really not fussed about. This winter I’ve spent £22 on a jumper I really liked. And my winter coat of about 5 years standing the zip has bust on it so I treated myself to a new one for£60. Can’t see myself spending anything more than that on me now that it’s Christmas countdown time.

Literally nothing, but hoping to turn things around soon. Had plans just before lockdown for a new career and it sort of got ruined
Now looking at alternatives

Some months I spend nothing on myself about from buying snacks... About once a year I will go crazy and spend £100 all in one day on Lush or clothes

I don't.
I hate spending money on my self unless I'm desperate. disposable income goes on the kids and days out or into savings.

£350

This is what is each taken out of our monthly income for us to spend on whatever we like for ourselves such as seeing friends, hair cut, clothes, shoes etc.

All joint things such as mortgage, bills, days out, food, meals out, take aways, anything for the house, xmas/birthday presents for family come from our joint account.

I wish I was a saver! So jealous of all the people who can make themselves prioritise savings over haircuts etc.

I have bought a new nightie since Lockdown. £48
3 cut and colours £420
1 bottle of perfume £18
3 pots foundation £39
1 blusher £9
3 cotton masks £19.95
Pearls restrung £55
6 pairs opaques £14

So, about £600/7 = £85pcm

No coffees.

Just can't see the point at the moment. Can have what I want.

OH and I give ourselves £900 a month each- he spends his quite easily and I normally have a few hundred left at the end of the month- I don't do much Maintenance of myself so no nails, etc.

No set amount. Some months hundreds, some months £20. I feel very very privileged to almost always be able to treat myself to coffee and cake or a new nail varnish when I feel like it.

Several hundred pounds each, easily.

But we don't have children, we have a small mortgage and we live in a cheap area. No debt either. We spend a fair bit on the animals too.

That's just the lifestyle we chose. I don't want to live in an expensive city and spend hundreds/thousands each month on rent. Our incomes aren't extravagant but neither are our lifestyles.

£400 a month. I tend to stick to it but sometimes over spend.

We put some chocolate/personal snacks in the weekly shop.

DH spends about €25 a month on vaping stuff and has €20 "available" for games.

I have €40 allocated for socialising - coffees and such. Because I've been a SAHM 2 years and I would go nuts if I didn't get out and see people. DC was too young to do loads of park meets and the equivalent of soft play where we live is "coffee shop with play area".

Haircuts have been at a frequency of about once every couple of years I desperately need new glasses too. I should get them, they're not that expensive.

We don't really buy clothing unless something has worn out. It's been sooo long since I've felt able to just walk into a shop and spend money on something I want I think I've forgotten how to do it!

We end up spending on fast food, about €60-80 a month or buying random things for the house like an ikea coffee table or set of rechargable batteries + charger from Aldi, although even then not much, and generally with a sense of the item being needed or substantially useful.

It's a bit shit TBH! We are earning what I would have thought of, a few years ago, as an incredibly good wage. But previous to a couple of years ago we had been leaning on overdrafts a bit too much, so are paying off the legacy of that.

BertieBotts you make a good point about glasses. I have a complex prescription: 7.75 diopters plus long sight plus astigmatism so need varifocals. A new pair comes to about £700 and that's mostly on the lenses. I usually replace every three years but since and often wonder how people on low incomes manage because my prescription is nowhere near nhs support.

Ouch! Luckily my prescription is very simple so shouldn't cost anything near that. I realise I'm lucky in that.

I spend about £80-£150 a month on treats - clothes, make up, skin care, beauty treatments and anything else I want.

I don't drink, smoke, rarely go out, have expensive car or hobby.

I shop during sales, eBay or at TK Maxx. A spend of £50 could have an rrp of £80+.

A lot but DH is a very high earner.

When I was a single teacher saving for a deposit, I budgeted £200 per month to include all going out, hobbies, clothes, personal care etc.