to be stressing about money before house purchase

[asnugglysnerd]

Even though I know there are worse things than being worried about finances...

Buying a new house. Big mortgage. Have been doing all of the household expenses... I have accounted for everything I can think of... mortgage, bills, council tax, tv licence, phone bills, national trust, spotify, cars, gym, pet insurance, pet food, loan payment, savings, slimming world, food etc... the list goes on...

Life insurance and critical illness are a pain... I think I will be paying a lot as I am a couple of stone heavier than I should be (trying to lose weight) but also have PCOS and have in the past, been diagnosed for anxiety and given anti anxiety meds... no idea what I should budget for this...

After everything, it looks like we will be left with approx £400 a month.... This is really stressing me out and I am well aware there are people who have less than this, but I haven't ever needed to budget and be really aware of my spending before...

I am not really sure what my AIBU is... but is it normal to worry and have a bit of a freak out?!?! Do you think £400 is okay to be left with after everything has been paid for?!

its normal to worry and freak out, we have a little less than this left over (just doing building works and now have to pay it off!) but we're fine. We are 2 adults 1 teen and a toddler.

Do you have children? If not do you want them in the future? If yes I think you will struggle to factor in maternity leave and then childcare costs.

Our life assurance and critical illness for two pretty healthy 30-odd year olds is about £50 a month if that helps. That's for a fixed sum in death.

YANBU but you will probably be fine. £400 seems a lot but then if the boiler breaks or the car fails an MOT and a big bill can come your way. Just make sure you put away some of that extra for a cushion.

I think that if you have already accounted for everything you can think of (e.g. food and clothes) and still have £400 left every month you are very well off! You can always cut back on gym membership etc. if something unexpected comes up and your income changes. I second hammering though, make sure you put back something every month to give yourself a buffer.

hammeringinmyhead I think I will have to pay a premium weighting because of my BMI... I am waiting to hear back from an insurance broker, bit nervous in case they don't cover me! Within my budget, I have accounted for £300 to go in to our savings each month (after the house deposit, legal fees and stamp duty, we will have £5000 in our savings account) but yes, one big bill can make a huge difference!

flamingofridays ah great, that is good to know. We are planning building works as soon as we move in... that is why we have a loan (borrowed from my parents) and I have budgeted repayments of that as at least £300 a month...

jackshouse maternity pay will mean that the amount we put in to savings each month takes a hit, and then the cost of childcare would be 4 days a week... I have tried to think about it, but for the first few years it may be that we don't save much but when they are 3 we should recoup some of the money.... Hmmm, so much to think about!

possumgoddess I agree, super important to put something back each month. In my budget of everything I could think of, I have accounted for paying £300 in to our savings account each month. I would prefer it to be more, but at least at £300, it will soon begin to add up... I hope!

Gym can be got rid of it needed (it is a joint membership £60) and so can our massive sky membership and BT sport which equals £120 a month

It’s completely normal to worry and freak out. I was checking and rechecking my figures right up until the day we completed
It’s sensible to think about these things but I do think it sound like you have everything under control. Good luck!

If you're literally only a couple of stone above normal BMI, they probably won't charge any extra.

Have a look at the Moneysavingexpert money makeover for help with fine tuning your budget and cutting expenditure.

Also have a look at the rest of the site, especially how to get pay TV for less - you never need to pay full price, not ever. Ring them up, tell them you can't afford it and they will offer you a deal. If they don't, leave and sign up on a new customer deal with the opposition. When the deal runs out, ring them up and tell them you can't afford it and they will offer you a deal. If they don't leave and go back to the company you left 18 months ago. Rinse and repeat for the rest of your life.

Does the £400 a month come after food shopping and petrol? If so then you should be ok if you're saving alongside that, it's around £100 spare per week. If the £400 will be needed for food shopping and petrol then I'd make sure you do a proper list and shop somewhere a bit cheaper to make the most of your money!

£400 after entertainment, travel, food and even £300 savings is really quite a lot of money! How long is left on the loan? Once that's paid off you'll have more again. This time next year your savings will have built back up to £9000 which is a decent-sized cushion, although there are always unexpected costs when moving - carpets, curtains, even if you don't redecorate you might want new furniture to fit the space etc.

YANBU to have done the sums (well done for doing such a thorough list!) but you really do sound pretty comfortable financially.

If you've accounted for everything including food and savings then why on earth are you worried about only having £400 left? What else do you need it for? You pay for gym, National Trust (?!), and other things easily cut back on.

If the £400 is after food & petrol then you'll be fine, you also have loads of non-essentials on your list that you could cut:

• National Trust
• Spotify
• Gym
• Slimming World

All nice to have, but not essential so you've got flexibility there if you need it too.

If you have £400 + £300 to go in savings, then you should be ok? I mean, if you've covered food, clothing, petrol etc then you only need to pay for personal non-essentials, like meals out, the odd coffee or lunch when you can't be bothered to take something? If you had a repair bill or to replace an appliance then you could use that months saving money.
If you were on mat leave or had a reduced income for a period (job change or suchlike) then you could cancel non-essentials like the gym if needed, and have a short-term savings break.
DH took 4 months off work to complete a (career-related) qualification and we didn't save during that period, cut back non-essentials and didn't have his travel costs, so our outgoings were less.

user and SweetheartNeckline the £400 is after everything I can think of... hang on, I will list it below...

The £400 is after:
Mortgage
Council tax
Gas/electric
Water
TV licence
Sky TV & broadband
BT Sport
National Trust
Postcode Lottery
Gym
Phones
Spotify
Slimming World
Food shop
Life insurance
Home insurance
Car finance (partners)
My car (petrol)
Pet insurance
Dog food
Carpet finance
Sofa finance
Loan from parents (Factored in £300 a month to pay back)
Savings

We will have £5000 in our savings account once we have paid deposit, legal fees and stamp duty, so will be adding to that with our savings... Ideally!

The loan from my parents will be substantial, and will be used for internal garage conversion, removal of a stud wall, new kitchen & utility room, carpets & flooring for the house.

AwkwardPaws27 Yes, absolutley - savings break, and cancelling things like gym, BT sport, sky that are not vital would be 100% what we would do.

Sorry I don't see how you can be worried about money when you have £700 a month left AFTER bills and food! Enough to save £300 of that to.

Do you have to do the building works immediately? Why not live with it for a while and see if you change your mind about what you want/need straight away?

MN really is a twilight place sometimes. You will have 400 after ALL of your outgoings and also saving £300 a month. YABVU to be worried about this.

YANBU to have thought it all out properly. If in the future you want kids etc... there are loads of outgoings on your list that are not necessary and could be cut right back.

LagunaBubbles I have never had to budget before (I am aware that sounds awful) but I have been able to go abroad 5 or so times a year, no rent or mortgage and had minimal other outgoings aside from socialising etc. I am just making sure that I have everything covered... Like I said, I know there are people who don't have that much, and I know there are of course people who have more... I just don't want to expect that it will give me enough wiggle room when it comes to childcare etc!

It does look like a healthy situation, but there is nothing on the list for car insurance, repairs, MOT, breakdown cover, vaccinations, flea and worm treatment or insurance excess for the dog, clothes, any sort of entertainment outside the home except National Trust, personal spending money, toiletries, haircuts, beauty treatment, dentist or prescriptions.

Now the OP might not spend on some of these things, might have included eating out and lunches in her grocery spend but it shows that there are always other things to add to the budget.

I think you will be fine - you’ve identified things that can go if your budget gets tight.

Don’t forget about annual costs like birthdays, car insurance, Christmas.

Have you thought about
Holidays
Birthday presents
Christmas
Clothes
Haircuts
Google 'statement of affairs for MSE' that will give you a good idea of what you need to budget for each year.

Yes, Christmas, Birthdays, work collections, drinks out with friends, colleagues etc.

BarbaraofSeville Thank you for this - really great to see other things I could factor in.

Car insurance is paid for annually - we both renew next week and we have the money set aside for this. MOT is included in my partners car budget, and I have accounted for MOT within mine too. Breakdown cover is provided by our bank.

Personal spending - good point! I have not factored in toiletries but I shall include that when I finalize my budget. I assumed that other entertainment outside of the house would be included in the £400 I was left with each month - cinema, eating out etc. Lunch is included within our shopping budget.

Clothes - another thing I have not included, but as above, I felt that this were unneccessary things and would be within our £400 a month left over.

Not sure if I am totally wrong :/

Disforddarkchocolate Thank you for this!

Holidays - we have kind of agreed that for a year or 2, we are going to forgo holidays, firstly because we will have a puppy, secondly because we have been away several times over the past few years to some fantastic places and want to really spend money on house, IVF etc... We have booked and paid for a few weekends away during the summer.

Christmas, yes good point! I think we are thinking of secret santa again as it was a lot of fun this year!