To ask what your luxuries and disposable income is ?

[Spice22]

Ok I admit it ,
I'm feeling bored/nosey and have entered a dream state (you know, where u start daydreaming of something you don't have). Thought it would be more fun to read other's treats aswell, and others may enjoy the thread too.

So, just wondering what everyone loves buying themselves that they think is a luxury, and if you don't mind saying, what is your disposable income ?

I'll start
Disposable income - £400 (part time job for a student with debt, so is any of it really disposable ? )
Luxury treat - High end makeup and Moroccan Argan oil. Haha not the best extravagance but dream of treating myself to some bags

Liinoo I think you are right. We have alot less than some and alot more than others (on this thread alone) but I feel very lucky and privileged to not lie awake also. So that is why I am not really feeling envious of the mega incomes on this thread, more interested curiosity. :)

i DO feel so lucky for that!

Has to be said though- I am doing Sober October and just worked out what I am saving each month. We used to share a bottle every night, but now I am not DH has more or less stopped too. I am honestly not missing the daily bottle, and the savings are pretty substantial so I am now thinking of little cuts I can make here and there which will be added to my separate savings account.

Well if I did have any disposable income I would donate a lot of it to Womens Aid as they're a struggling charity wbo have helped me and who knows when other women will need the help I recieved.

I've given up reading this half way down the first page, before I stick my head in the oven. We have a disposable income of diddly squat.

We use YNAB and based on that DH and I have £150 each a month to spend on ourselves but that tends to be meals/coffee/socialisih game for me and computer games/tat and occasional weekend doing something like mountain biking for DH. I'm currently not trying to spend mine for a few months as I'm going to visit a friend abroad soon and want to have some spending money

But we budget more into savings (short and long term), clothes, children's activities, family activities, travel, meals out, joint socializing, monthly date night and babysitting, and charitable donations (we try to give away at least 10% of take home wage) so once you add all that up to make our disposable income anything after mortgage/bills/food/fuel then about £4-5K. But we live somewhere where We both command a much higher wage and lower cost of living than our previous lives in London.

My luxury is travel, anything from short weekends away to planning a big trip every few years. And paying for the children to have piano lessons, a cleaner once a fortnight and the freedom to have an almond milk latte a few times a week. And books.

We have a few k spare a month but save loads. We have 2 properties and are trying hard to pay both mortgages off in the next 5 years.

Main luxury is holidays and travel along with quality (but not designer necessarily) clothes. We really try not to waste money where we don't need to. I've managed to conquer a minor shopping addiction and that's made a huge difference.

We have a very nice disposable income.

When we holiday we always fly first class which feels like a bit of a luxury because you don't actually get there any faster or anything like that , it's just a nicer experience.

Truly interesting thread, but there is a wide disparity in how disposable income is calculated. For me, it is what is left after what we must spend is paid for: mortgage/food/commute/household bills. Then it is about choices. For me, that means first saving about 2k monthly towards retirement, then the rest is disposable - average another 3k. Eat out rarely except when on vacation, but happy to push the boat out when we do. Oh, and also try very hard not to fly coach if at all possible, so will skimp otherwise to pay for that. It amazes me how people that I KNOW have so much less, think nothing of buying really expensive clothing/shoes - it makes me remember it is all about choices, and what makes you feel happy.

In my old job, I had about £1800 in disposable income, after a redundancy and taking a fucking massive pay cut, I have around £300.

Having said that, I'm currently not saving any money or overpaying the mortgage... Both of which I am planning to do in the new year.

My luxuries used to be: Multiple daily Starbucks, buying whatever I wanted when I wanted to, designer accessories, gigs, travel, regular visits to beauty salon (semi permanent eyelashes, hair, nails etc.), being able to save a sizeable sum.

My luxuries now are: Clinique skincare, mixed brands of make up, takeaways, treats for cats, mobile hairdresser once every 6 weeks, expensive bedding, hotel chocolat.

I am very frugal and a self-confessed bargain hunter. I rarely pay full price for anything.

Dh is not frugal. His disposable income goes on computer games, junk food and coffee.

I'm not sure what "disposable income" actually is.

According to this financial web site-
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What is 'Disposable Income'
Disposable income, also known as disposable personal income (DPI), is the amount of money that households have available for spending and saving after income taxes have been accounted for.

And I actually thinks that makes more sense. All of us vary wildly in what we consider essential. So looking at "spare" money is meaningless.
We may have no mortgage, we may have a huge mortgage or rent, we may be servicing debt, or saving for retirement,some of us may live in the city with no need for a car, some of us run two cars. Even running cars, some may think that we need to pay £15K for a car and paying that up on a loan, others are happy with a £600 runaround.

It seems this is about how people choose to spend their money as much as how much "spare " money they have flapping about.

About 1,000 left out of my salary after all bills, essential food and work travel is paid for, but I have been supporting DH for the last 18 months while he's been out of work so that's been to cover both of us.

'Luxuries' I guess are a few drinks and a cheapish dinner out most Fridays, the odd new item of make up or clothes or something for the house (nothing too expensive), the rest tends to go on paying off whatever holiday / weekend away we next have booked - that's my favourite thing to do with any spare money, I love going away. I'd have way more in savings or to spend on clothes etc (and thinking about it I'd have a much nicer kitchen and bathroom!) if I wasn't constantly saying to DH 'do you fancy going to xxx in November for a few days?'. So I guess that's my main luxury.

After all our essential outgoings (bills, car, groceries, fuel etc) we have £300 left over at max.
We try to save a bit every month, but sometimes with unexpected expenses - for example, our car died a few months back, so half of our "disposable income" was used every month for 4 months to pay for the work to be done on the car....and what a fucking miserable 4 months that was
Usually we have the odd takeaway, or take DD out to a petting farm or something. Other than that, neither of us have any real "luxuries". I can't remember the last time I bought myself clothes or make up or had my hair done! I used money that I was gifted for my birthday to buy my DD a stack of new clothes

No disposable income
No luxuries

For a lot of my life as a parent income and expenses have been pretty much the same as is the case for most people given full time childcare costs, massive repayment mortgage (when I had it) etc.

I had a few years of having some spare income partly because interest rates went down (I was paying 12 - 15% at times and then 6% and then it was right down to what it is now) so I used every spare penny to pay off all debt including mortgage and to start to help the children buy a property and to ensure the older 3 graduated without student loans. I suppose that's disposable spare income and it went/ goes on the children. I will do the same with the younger ones.

People have different ideas of luxuries. I will spend £150k over 3 years for the youngest children's university fees, rent and other costs. I could get quite a lot of first class flights and cavier and hair cuts for that but I don't want those.

Luxuries? I am going away on my own for a week in January somewhere warm. I am taking most of the family skiing after Christmas. I have the heating on as much and as often as I feel like it.

On the other hand it's Saturdayh morning and I've been working since 6am at my desk so I suppose that's why I have the money for this stuff.

User147 OP here - I already explained what I mean by disposable income . Spare money ,after all essentials, to play with. This is just a fun thread

ha! I don't want any of that stuff. I hate spending money.

Our family disposable income is around £2000 a month. We both get £500 each and the rest is family days out, meals out etc.

My luxuries are nice make up, crèche at the gym and getting a pedicure twice a month.

I suppose I have about £150ish maybe. It varies, as if the joint account is looking low I'll put in extra. I'm trying to save at least £100/mth as I'm worried about my job situation.

If I have money to spend on me I mainly buy books. I also do a bit of jewellery making as a hobby, but not got to the point yet where I think I'm good enough to sell anything - a hobby that paid for itself would be great!

About £500. I have the odd beauty treat but am naturally frugal, thank God, as I suspect our income will go down in the next few years.

Ours is about 2k per month. It all goes into a house renovation fund and is spent on such 'luxuries' as antique fireplaces and plantation shutter blinds

It is interesting to see what people pay for - we spend a size able amount each year on travel (vast majority of that is annual trip back to the UK as we live abroad, I class this as essential for my mental health, DH views it as a luxury), we always fly coach but the trip all in after every cost usually costs us upwards of £8,000 so we spend very little on clothes and other things like that which others might class as essential

I feel like crying myself to sleep tonight
reading this. I have never in my life had this mysterious thing called disposable income! I doubt i ever will. Grew up poor and never had anything to just spend on things i want rather than need! Urrrghh

I have around £100 a month. £50 goes on gym membership. The rest tends to go on social obligations (presents, cards, buying a round if I go out for drinks), chocolate, books, clothes and make-up. As a household, we have more than that, but it all goes into savings.

My disposable income is around £300 a month. (Lone parent) but I think I only have this much because I live in a very cheap area of the UK and my total utility bills don't come to much more than £60 per month.

I spend about £50 per month on makeup/beauty products/books. £70 on my hair, £25 on eyebrows and £20 on nails every month. The odd takeaway coffee here and there. The rest goes in savings which I use to take DS and I on holiday abroad once a year. I very rarely go out for meals or drinks.

I suspect though when DS gets older and starts wanting the latest gadgets/clothes, etc I won't be spending so much on myself.

OK reading through this I think it's fair to say there are a few trolls/boasters.

TBH I think that if you have a 'disposable income' of more than a grand, and you have children, you'd be mad NOT to have a buy to let, at the very least.

We do buy to let, as a pension/for our children, and so the idea of having several grand a month to fritter on designer bags is utter folly to me! Even when I went back to work full time last year, post children, and our income went up significantly, the first thing we did was think about how to use that money sensibly, rather than buy bloody Mulberry bags!

I suppose after our mortgage, childcare and bills we have just over £2k, usually the majority of it's gone every month. It's usually spent on savings for kids, kids clubs and hobbies, Sky, Spotify premium, Netflix, nails, hair, clothes, take always, coffees, gym, going places and other shite we end up buying or whatever breaks and needs replaced. I have worked very hard to get where I am, I didn't have much growing up. Me and dp have done alright career wise, we are in our mid-late twenties and have two DC.