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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask how much money you have left...

175 replies

PaperdollCartoon · 09/01/2016 18:28

After paying for essentials each month? So after paying your rent/mortgage, food and bills, travel and if applicable childcare, what's left 'spare' for socialising, buying clothes, going out etc etc. And are you able to save much?

DP thinks we don't have much money left after bills, I think we have more than enough and I likely more than the average person. If it's not too completely rude to ask, would you mind sharing what you have spare? Thanks so much Smile

OP posts:
PurplePotatoes · 09/01/2016 20:00

After absolutely everything including , on bad month about 300 on a good month about 800. I only work 2.5 days a week so it all depends on DHs overtime. If it's a good month then we always save a few hundred.

PurplePotatoes · 09/01/2016 20:01

*including food

MintyBojingles · 09/01/2016 20:02

About £100. Doesn't go very far, but we survive.

Solina · 09/01/2016 20:03

Ours has just changed from not much to £700 ish in savings + £200 - £250 each to spent on what we want thanks to my promotion.
I think its a huge amount of money left over but it has lifted a weight of our shoulders when thinking about future. We are young too so things will change in the future again.

freedom2011 · 09/01/2016 20:11

70 GBP a week just for me to spend on all clothes, any make up outside basics you can get in the supermarket, any meals out with DH that I want to invite him for, me meeting friends, any gifts that I don't feel right about taking out of the joint account - like if I want to get something for DH. Or if I want to give my mum something. It feels like a lot if I am super careful. I've started getting it out in cash to be more aware of my budget.

Runningupthathill82 · 09/01/2016 20:15

Around £100. Which goes pretty quickly!

LadyofDispleasure · 09/01/2016 20:21

Currently about £1400 after all regular expenses are accounted for (mortgage, car + insurance, bills incl Internet and phones, childcare, food, petrol, non-essential yet regular direct debits, etc).

We're about to have number 2 soon though so my wage will go down when I'm on mat leave and we'll then have approx 4 years paying larger childcare costs...I expect we'll have about £400 (if that) left over then for the foreseeable future.

CalleighDoodle · 09/01/2016 20:36

Around £1600. no idea why im always skint Confused surely i cant spend that amount on crisps and sweets?!

hefzi · 09/01/2016 20:37

Wow- clearly I should have thought harder before going into academia! I save £180 where I can't get at it, and have about £30 after that for everything else...

CherryBlossom321 · 09/01/2016 20:37

£700-£800. This gets split into categories in our budget like clothing, entertainment, personal spending, takeaways, also have a miscellaneous category for random stuff that crops up, which always seems to happen. We don't save nearly enough but I intend to change that this year. We definitely overspend. On that note, would anyone be willing to share what their essential bills + food come to? Ours is £1860, which I think is high. Though we do regularly renegotiate with utilities providers and review everything twice a year.

anastaisia · 09/01/2016 20:39

Around £50. But another £150ish a month goes on the children's regular activities, so maybe that should be included too as might not be considered strictly 'essential'. And £200 a month is on paying off an interest free credit card - so when that's done in a few months I should have a bit more cash not already spoken for.

I save up cash-back, loyalty points from a couple of shops etc all year for Christmas shopping to not take me too far over budget in Nov/Dec.

trinitybleu · 09/01/2016 20:45

£500 between us but we save nothing

PennyPants · 09/01/2016 20:53

After all bills/essentials roughly 3k.
Split fairly equally between:
Overpaying the mortgage a lot.
Saving for early retirement.
Going out loads.
Short term savings e.g. birthdays, Christmas, holidays, clothes.

rageagainsttheBIL · 09/01/2016 20:59

CherryBlossom ours is about £2650 - mortgage around £1000, food about £400, childcare £500 and the rest house bills, petrol/travel and car costs.

Childcare costs will - temporarily at least - go down this month as DS gets his free hours now but am going on mat leave soon which means we'll be worse off probably for the next 5 years... Yay!

Katinkka · 09/01/2016 21:01

3k maybe.

Original poster
PaperdollCartoon · 09/01/2016 21:03

CherryBlossom321 our 'essentials', which includes rent, utilities, VirginMedia, food, petrol/trains to work, food comes to about £2500, I can't remember exactly right now but there is a spreadsheet!

OP posts:
to0thypeg · 09/01/2016 21:07

About £300-400.

Really surprised by the huge range on here!

wtfisgoingonhere · 09/01/2016 21:08

Wow, feel bit Sad reading this, we have around 200 pcm between us after everything, and i always thought we had quite a lot 'pocket money' (though we always run out by the end of the month ) but 'everything' to us means we don't have cant afford any pay for tv, don't have a car, don't have broadband, and don't really eat out or drink or smoke. I'm considering cancelling my gym membership as feel it's a bit if a luxury

Like the OP dh says we're skint but I always thought we did alright for ££

Am envious of those of you with much more but I guess everyone's different - we do ok

breezydoesit · 09/01/2016 21:09

I have about £1150 after bills. My husband has roughly the same left. I put away about £600 into savings and shares etc and live on the rest

Needaninsight · 09/01/2016 21:09

I shouldn't read these threads, make me want to cry!

We have zero left. Nada. Essential outgoings for bills etc take all of our wages. I haven't had a haircut for over a year. No new clothes for 3 years. Only own one pair of shoes (which have a hole in which is a bit crap in this weather). Kids all in hand me down clothes etc.

I wouldn't mind. I would actually have some money if I packed in work totally and didn't have to pay for childcare! Oh the irony.

Those who say they could save £2k a month etc, I really would urge you to. I used to be a high earner and spent everything. Loved the high life. What I wouldn't give now to have saved that £100k+ in a 'rainy day' account (because I could have done) Please don't just live for the moment.

kslatts · 09/01/2016 21:16

we save around £500 a month and have an approx an additional £1k to spend.

tigerbear · 09/01/2016 21:20

I'm a single mum, and have about £2.5k spare each month after bills and outgoings, but it's never in my account at the end of the month. I eat out all the time, spend lots on nice food, buy stuff for DD and I.
Should really begin saving!

CherryBlossom321 · 09/01/2016 21:21

Thanks rage and paperdoll, ours looks quite modest in comparison then. I thought it was loads! I imagine location will have a significant impact, I'm in the north west. And no longer pay for any childcare.

Salene · 09/01/2016 21:22

About £4000 but my husband squirrels is away.

PurpleTreeFrog · 09/01/2016 21:24

I'd genuinely love to know what some of you do for jobs, with that kind of disposable income! Mine is somewhere in the middle but I thought we were well off until I saw this thread!