about money? I think I probably am...

[Heartbroken2007]

I'm single, late 20s and renting in London, on a good wage.

After paying rent and bills, paying off a good chunk of my credit card and a loan each month (my own fault I know), gym membership, phone bill etc and for (some very much needed therapy) I have about £550 a month left for everything else (so all food/toiletries, any going out or new clothes/make up etc) I don't drink or smoke.

I know on paper I'm am stupidly lucky, it's my fault I need to put £££s a month towards paying down my debt, I'm just feeling a bit blue tonight about friends with much much higher disposable income who can afford big holidays abroad (America, Japan etc) and have savings etc and like I've failed for my age.

Please give me a gentle virtual slap and remind me I'm lucky.

You won’t be getting a virtual gentle slap on here

YABU

All my friends go on exotic breaks abroad. It can be demoralising. I’ve always had to house share and even then I’ve not managed to go anywhere more exotic than France. I have 0 savings.

It's a bummer isn't it? Living is just do expensive. I was sitting beside someone in their 20s on the tube the other day and she had expensive clothes and bag. Pulled out expensive lippy and had top phone. I was just wondering where she got all her cash from.

How much do you generally have left at the end of the month? £550 sounds like a decent amount, so if you’re able to put some of that aside, you could either use it for paying off your debt a bit quicker, or starting to build up some savings for things like travel.

YABU, but you know that really. It does suck a little being in that situation, but it won’t be forever! When you’ve paid off the debt put the equivalent in savings every month and plan a good holiday.

Don’t feel bad - there is always going to be someone better off - particularly in London!! It’s taken me a while to realise this...

But the debt sounds like a nuisance. How much are you paying off each month?

You wont get much sympathy on AIBU mumsnet, OP. On paper, your in a much better position than many others are. You are only in your 20s so plenty of time for fun trips. If you have £500 a month for food and extras then surly you can save enough in a couple months to go on a big holiday?

ourkidmolly

Probably all on credit cards tbh haha

Hopefully when you have paid off your debt you will have lea
rned to live within your means and build up savings.
There is no need to buy new clothes and makeup every month.
Ditch the retail therapy habit and find free stuff to do.

£500 a month for one whole person? How do you cope?

You are ok. And that’s better than many.

You could do better though. In my 20’s I would have prioritised savings over gym. Can you reduce your phone deal? Again I’d have gone cheap on handset etc. I’d have kept new clothes and toiletries to a min, and worked on the debt and savings first and foremost. There’s lots of good things coming when you get that debt shifted. And honestly a holiday every 2 yrs would be more important to me than clothes and makeup throughout the year. There’s soooo many ways to cut spending, you should take s look on Mumsnet at some of the threads on it.

£550 per month is a lot. Wait until you have children and every penny is spent on nursery fees and you're working for free.

I’m sorry but £550 a month AFTER paying debts and other things like therapy is actually quite a lot of money.

I paid off £15k of credit card debt whilst earning £6.50 an hour and highly recommend you look at snowballing your debt and side hustles if you want to make a big impact

How much do you owe and what's the interest rate?

It is going to get better Heartbroken2007. Can you pay an extra towards your credit card debt from the £500? Look for something called the snowball calculator on Money Saving Expert - it shows you how much sooner you can become debt free by paying extra each month. Martin Lewis also has a thing called The Demotivator in which you put in the cost of things like coffees and lunches and it calculates how much you can save. Once you are debt free you too will be able to have savings and ‘big’ holidays.

I’d be cutting right down on everything that’s not essential and allowing myself a very tight budget for food and living costs (basically no fun in the short term or at the very least one sensible night out!) until the debts are paid off completely.
Once that’s done, you’ll be in a better position to save for holidays and whatever else it is that you want.
Your friends are doing their own thing, worry about yourself.
Comparison is the thief of joy (or whatever that saying is!).

How much is your gym and phone? Surely there are savings to be made there?

(Oh, and here's your slap and reminder that you are in a far better position than 99% of single people in their mid 20s)

Don't forget, some of those richer people in their 20's may be being bank rolled by mumsnet parents who still give their adult working children money (for some bizarre reason)

I'd prioritise paying off the debt.

If you are desperate for a holiday could you look at booking a long weekend away with a cheap airline. Lots of European city flights can be around £50 return if you book them far enough in advance (and you'll be able to fit everything in just hand luggage for a weekend). Then the next month use some of your spare cash to book a hotel room, the next month save up some cash for travel to/from airport and spending money. Holidays don't need to be super expensive and it will give you something to look forward to.

@Heartbroken2007 £550pm after bills is loads of money! You could easily save for a summer holiday this year somewhere exotic with that.

£300 for food & toiletries, travel expenses then save £250 a month for a holiday?

You're in a very fortunate decision to have that much after all bills paid.

Do you need to pay travel from this as that can really mount up in London.

My take on this depends on what you have been able to do so far in your life. Have you travelled? Have you been able to do things you are envying others for before? Indeed it sounds like you could save for a trip. Make a budget and see where the money is going if you can't seem to be able to save anything?

I also think £500 is a lot of money after expenses, bills and debts.

Ie. £35 per week for food and toiletries = £140
£50 per month for haircuts, clothes etc
£50 per month savings (for holidays etc)
£60 per week for going out

Can you get a free balance transfer offer to reduce the debt costs? Quit the gym or find a cheaper one? Find a cheaper phone contract?

There’ll always be people better off than you, and also,worse off.,