£400 spare a month

[extremebungee]

Due to a pay cut AIBU to live on £400 per month after bills?

This is to include everything including petrol, clothes, haircut, treats, child stuff, extra food, presents, days out.

A basic food budget would be covered in the household bills but how hard will it be to stick to this?

It is for 2 adults and a secondary aged child.

Daily commute for both adults is 3 miles per day so limited petrol.

I know people have less and it's not a race to the bottom. However i
s this liveable rather than just survivable?
I do realise we are lucky to have any discretionary income.

This post just shows how upper middle class Mumsnet is.

On a teaching salary?

Correction- should have said thread.

Hi OP, hope mine is a more helpful post! We have around this per month, sometimes a little less. We find it doable with 3 dc (2 in school). The only difference is that as part of our main budget we save a small amount each month for car repairs/mots etc and also for events that are coming up such as family weddings or trips.

I would try ans save even a small amount each month for things such as car repairs so your budgets didn't get wiped out or drastically cut e.g. the month your mot is due. Even if it is only £20.

I keep a speadsheet every month and plan in anything extra we have that month such as birthdays or fees due for kids activities, and then I have a more accurate idea of what we really have left to spend.

I get the people saying it is a lot of money but add in things such as kids activities, birthdays, the odd christening/wedding to attend,clothes,dinner money,school trips, presents for kids birthday parties, and it soon disappears. I find I have to really plan and think about this at the start of the month and plan for what is coming up.

If I know we are limited one month because we have a lot on, it helps to plan instead of burying our head in the sand, as it makes me be more frugal than i'd otherwise be. In fact I have become a lot more frugal than I once was and if anything I feel better for it.

We are always looking for ways to generate a bit of extra cash, even if only a tenner, by selling bits on ebay and gumtree. Sometimes generating even a small bit of cash means we are able to buy a few bits of clothes for the dc.

It isn't always the most exciting way to live but I am grateful for the life we have and I know it isn't forever