Is 2k a month a lot to live on?

[eggplant16]

Mortgage is paid, 2 of us, run a car ( which i would be loathed to be without).

A very long story but a promised inheritance didn't come my way. No I'm not entitled, I was lead to believe this. Its starting to scare me tbh. Huge dental bills for one thing.

Thanks

It's definitely doable so don't panic, but I'd look for some extra income in order to be more comfortable and not stressed about your private health care.

You need to do a full statement of accounts OP- list ALL your outgoings and income and then see if you have enough.

£2k is plenty without a mortgage. We pay around £700 in bills so £1300 for food, entertainment, petrol putting aside £100 a month for car insurance, tax and mot

No, not after bills, food and emergency fund. I know lots of people live on less, but as you age, you’ll want to be warm, eat healthily and go out socially.

We get less than that and have to pay bills and mortgage out of it.

As others have suggested you need to work out monthly and any yearly (MOT etc) spends. In your banking you can see outgoings - do a list of utilities and regular outgoings by direct debit (I'd round up as they never go down!). Much as I did in my post.

Then I'd average out spends in supermarkets (again round up) and petrol and other hobbies/pet bits/subscriptions which is where you can find things to trim. I know my Spotify account is next on the list to go, followed by Netflix if needed! It all adds up over the year and if it can be put into a pot to save for emergencies in the end it will give you peace of mind.

I think personally that having £100 a week to spend as extra is fine but it is still what I think most would consider a budget and quickly eaten up if a friend wants to meet up for a meal or you have a birthday to go to for e.g.

I would say it is doable providing you are careful. I am not sure what size house you live in but our essential bills for a detached 4 bed (council tax, water, utilities, tv licence, insurance) comes to about 700 monthly. Food is £250 and we run two cars but our income is higher than yours. If we trimmed our spending we could live off £2k a month. When does your second state pension kick in?

Write down all your outgoings, every single one so include annual expenses such as Christmas, the wheelie bin, whatever. Split it into essentials and luxuries. Then you will find out what you need to live on and how far into the 'luxuries' list you can go. If you need more, this exercise will help you work out how much more you need and you can think about how to earn it.

FWIW we are a mortgage free couple with no debts and own our cars outright and our outgoings are about £2k pm before holidays and eating out. We could get the £2k pm down a little if necessary.

This is really shite advice

It's absolutely doable for 2 people if your mortgage is paid.

Ah yes, that pension! However I am on the old version….

After rent is paid I've got less than 1k left for a family of 3. So you've got more than double what I've got and less people.
It sounds like loads. But it depends what you're used to.

How much is your council tax?

I am by no means trying to say I'm having a tough time. I am aware of what families and people in general are up against.

The house needs maintnenance, I need private medical care sometimes. I'm 66, I've slogged all my life.

Interesting, Thanks

We worked out our expenses last year and spent 26k, no mortgage and running one car with a weeks UK holiday. We do have adult DS to feed as well.

Interesting maybe but totally irrelevant to you

It seems like you aren't getting the point that everyone is making, no one knows because you haven't given any information at all on what your outgoings are

You dont have to list them here but don't waste useful time looking at what strangers spend when the only relevant data is what you spend

£2k seems pretty good for two retirees with no housing costs.

A £30k salary is £2k after tax.

For context id imagine your £2k is quite a lot more than many mumsnetters with 2x full time incomes but less rent / mortgage and childcare!

Why Thank you! I did provide the relevant information. Have a fine an dandy smug evening.

Totally get that. Thanks

Nobody is being smug. It is completely impossible for anyone who doesn't have full access to your bank accounts, some knowledge about your lifestyle and the inclination to go through them with a fine tooth comb and a calculator for hours to tell you what figure you need every month to live on.

But you can find that out, by doing so. Otherwise you are guessing, like everyone else on here. You either want to know or you do not. There is only one way to find out.

So after bills you have £960 and one state pension so that's around £1.8k Plus another full state pension on the way? When? Once you factor that in you'd then have around £2.7k a month. That seems enough for 2 to cover basics and a few luxuries?

Or you can look up retirement calculations/ estimations - it's aimed at estimating how much people need based on their general lifestyle and saves the nit picking over wether you have Sky or shop in Aldi

2k would I think be classed as basic

Around 2.7 to 3 k would be what most retiree couples have ( excluding any housing cost, taxes etc)

Why Thank you! I did provide the relevant information. Have a fine an dandy smug evening.

Youve provided no relevant information at all. My council tax is £400 a month. How much is yours? I spent £300 a month on petrol. How much do you spend? I spend £300 a month on energy. You? I spent £50 a month on my mobile. You?

See - your outgoings could be £2k a month or £200 a month. You know - we don't. So tell us if you want advice.

Everyone's circumstances are different

But if 40 people said 2k was fine for them and 400 said it wasn't it would be a big clue that you'd be unusual for 2k to be ok

If it was 50-50 then it would need thought

If everyone was managing on the 1500 it would be a doddle

So you don't actually need to know breakdowns to get a feel for how people on average manage