money - where does it all go?

[denimdouble]

Hi,

So before I start, I know that we are fortunate and that so many people have it harder. I am just fed up of everything being so expensive and that so much of our money is tied up with bills and essential spends.

We both work hard in decent jobs and our joint take home pay is £7400. Today I have calculated that after every last thing that we have to pay we are left with about £1800 each month. This is essentially the money that we can use for holidays, days out, fun stuff etc.

We do have some debt that we are paying off, however this will end in about 18 months so this will make things easier. Our mortgage ends in 47 months which will make a huge difference to our lives.

I don't want to sound ungrateful or tone deaf as I am not, however it's awful to see that so much of our income is needed just to stay afloat.

Anyone else feel that same?

I struggle to have any sympathy for someone who has more fun money in a month than most people earn!

Exactly this iv never had a car on finance all my cars have been 10+ years old and my passport ran out years ago. It's fine to have a nice car and expensive holidays every year but then don't moan about not having any money and start acting dumb when you don't know where all your money goes. Some people's spending is ridiculous like £80 a month phone contracts just why.

£1800 is a lot left over each month for fun stuff. We've never had anywhere near that much. In fact that's very similar to what my total monthly income has been for a long time, even when I was a single parent with 2 DS and a small mortgage. I think you are living in a different world from many people.

MN doesn't like high earners, so you were bound to get slated.

We have a similar issue, we have about £6000 coming in a month yet only about 1k to play with after bills and debt which seems mad to me. I do know others are living on 1k for everything so I feel exceedingly fortunate.

But yet, unfortunately MNers won't let you have the discussion you're hoping for here I'm afraid.

But @PearlsPearl the OP is overpaying her mortgage presumably at a considerable rate. That is where the money is going.

Couple moan about only having a monthly income of £7400
You need to wake the fuck up and realise how extremely lucky you are to be in this financial position or is it just a goady, braggy post designed to get people’s backs up?

I actually get what you are saying, we work really hard running two businesses returning a good income which enables a lovely life however we used to be able to save regularly and make large purchases and life has got so expensive recently that’s no longer an option.
I think it’s a case of managing expectations.

Look at your statements including credit card bills for the last three/four months. That will tell you where it’s going.

Do you feel better after saying that?
You survive on less - congratulations for being a much better person than the OP 🙄

Yes - we feel the same. It’s hard for people on very low incomes to understand, but many in high earning jobs are deeply dissatisfied and looking for alternative solutions/lifestyles. High COL, high interest rates and VAT on school fees means many previously comfortably earning households are now living from month to month, whilst they plan an escape route.

I don't really care about how much people earn and how they spend it, but it really annoys me when I hear
' I know we're fortunate, but wework REALLY hard'.
My old mum worked really hard, in a factory all day, and a cleaning job in the evenings to make ends meet.
She may had had £2 fun money a month. If only she'd worked harder 🙄
I was earning £50k when I retired and wasn't working anywhere near as hard as when I was on minimum wage.

But people paying huge amounts of tax should listen to UC scam threads and read epic lists of reasons why people can’t/or won’t work to afford their families costs? Just as tone deaf, especially as the UK is virtually bankrupt.

We have had years of wage stagnation, add on higher taxes, high cost of living particularly housing and inflation which has reduced disposable income. It won't get any easier because the country is broke & it is frustrating to have less in your pocket.

Regardless of income having 1.8k surplus a month & being mortgage free in your early 50s in the above environment is incredibly privileged & definitely not the norm. I know lots earning the OPs salary and more but they will be paying a mortgage well into their 60s.

I know exactly where all my money goes @denimdouble… he’s 16hands and eats a lot of hay. Also have huge mortgage that won’t be paid off until I’m 68. I make life choices, like you do. Own them. Don’t moan about it ( especially not here )

Of course high earners are feeling the pinch, like everyone is. Everyone is. We have gone through a period of really high inflation. Even if you’re a millionaire, you are getting less for your money than you used to, and as a PP said wages haven’t gone up as much as costs have.
But, complaining you only have £1800 left a month for fun is tone deaf.
MN (because everyone on here thinks exactly the same) doesn’t hate high earners, “it” likes to point out that some people in society would love to have £1.8k left over every month.

I never said I survive on less did I?
I guess you’re one of these rich woe is me types too 🙄🙄 Idiot

No, it’s not hard to understand at all and I feel that comment was hugely condescending.

Our income is about £4500 a month. If you'd have told me 10 years ago we'd be bringing home a grand a week I'd have been flabbergasted. But lifestyle creep, 4 kids and being a FOMO twat who HATES saying no to social events or holidays means we don't have lots to show for it. I think it's easy to forget that most things like cars, holidays, coffees, mini-breaks and gym memberships are luxuries in the simplest form of the word. You just have to find the things you're happy to cut back on (if you even need to cut back- you have loads disposable already) to get yourself in the best financial position. For me, I'm happy to drive an old but safe car, go on UK / cheaper European holidays, shop at Lidl and wear charity shop clothes. I'm not happy to reduce holidays or take them in term-time, limit extracurriculars, go down to one car or live in a smaller house.

Your money does not disappear, you are spending it on keeping you and your family warm, clothed, housed and fed. A fairly good reason to work hard no?

i bet you’ve got unnecessary subscriptions/direct debits and a couple of extravagant cars.

I’m not sure what the issue is. You have a reasonable income and a decent amount to spend on non-essentials. If you want to build savings, pay off debt more quickly etc you can do so by cutting back on other things.

I think your expectations are a bit off tbh. Paying off your mortgage by 50 is decent going in the south east. Having £1800 for non-essentials is great. You have decent salaries but you’re not super-high earners so what else would you expect?

We have around the same income as you and feel very fortunate, and don’t feel as if we don’t have enough to be able to enjoy ourselves. We have 25 years left on our mortgage though.

You sound extraordinarily well off, and clueless about how most people live.

Why are you not using your ‘fun’ money to pay off the debt?