Am I missing something or is this a huge sum of money?

[Twinkletozies]

So I’m out Christmas shopping with my sister. She announced that she ‘has to be careful’ as she’s ‘ only’ got about £1800 of spare spending money this month. Wtf. I had to ask her yo repeat it! She’s got a very good job but I’m shocked that she thinks that she ‘only’ has this amount left! It’s literally money that she can spend on anything. I have about £600 on a good month and I manage ok!!! Is she totally out of touch??

Yes it's a lot

She shouldn’t have said anything and probably wouldn’t have if she knew you’d be jumping on social media and telling everyone.

All relative, someone else might have £18000 to spare or 18 million or 18p. Cest la vie.

Of course that’s a lot of money for most people.

Of course it's a lot of money objectively.

She’s got a very good job

Well, knowing that-I’d presume she probably did have a lot of spending money. It’s rather tone deaf to say it to other people who don’t have very good jobs though!

I have to admit I don't understand the concept of 'spare' money. We always had different pots - for home improvements, holidays, presents, investments, savings... - plus a small sum for personal spending money.

If we hadn't allocated funds for different purposes there might have been a risk of money being spent on this and that, without purpose, frittered away, just somehow disappearing without anything to show for it.

And, this is why it's best not to talk about money.

Well that's not a lot of money for some people- If I had half my usual spending money I'd be sad too!

Do you want her to pretend she's poor or give a disclaimer first?

It’s plenty, but if she’s used to having more then she’ll obviously have to watch her spending compared to normal.

Most people spend and adjust their mentality towards finances according to their means. If she’s used to having more than £1,800 left over and is used to thinking about what she can do this month based on that number, it’s obviously going to feel as though she has to pay a bit more attention to what she spends this month. “Out of touch” would be if she’d made the assumption that everyone usually has more than £1,800 to spend, or made a dramatic statement about being in poverty.

Sounds like you're both loaded to me. I probably have about 1/10 of what you have these days with COL and everything. But some people have even less and would think I'm loaded. It's all relative.

Well if she’s in a very well paid job this for her may not be that much, although to you & I that would be a lot of spare cash. We all earn & spend differently, I wouldn’t let it bother me personally. Yes it’s a lot of money to you but clearly not to her.

Well it's all relative isn't it. You would probably seem out of touch with your spare £600 to others who live hand to mouth.

That’s a month wage for us so yes it’s a lot of money

As she's your sister I would expect her to be more sensitive to you. In that she should know you dont have as much as her. If she normally has a lot more I can understand why to her it feels she would need to be 'careful'. I would question her motives though. My best friend earns a lot less than me and is quite sensitive. I am very careful not to say anything about what I earn or am spending etc and I am even careful with gifts as she cant spend the same. Either your sister is insensitive or she is deliberately rubbing your face in it. Only you can guess which!

Yeah, that’s loads.

Same.

I couldn't breathe for worry if I didn't do this.

She is not-even-so-stealthily boasting.

If she has no savings and is paycheck-to-paycheck, that's not a huge cushion (though bigger than many people have). If she's saving etc, and this is just her pissing-down-the-drain money, then yes, she's very privileged and is being silly.

It depends for how many people?

For a single person that's a healthy amount, for a family of 5 less so.

Sounds like a humblebrag to me...

Is your personal spending money and 'spare money' not the same thing? I would assume so?

It is a lot of money on paper but if she has big expenses like an MOT or debt repayments then that £1800 could be a lot less.

That's more than I have to live on monthly!
It's all relative though and why I never discuss my finances with anyone