To wonder what's going wrong with our finances!?

[pondering12345]

In the process of moving to a joint account with DH, so using this opportunity to review our monthly finances:

Income
DH take home pay £2600
My take home pay (part time) £1075
Child benefit £145
Total income £3820

Expenses
DH car loan £270
My car loan £160
Mortgage £645
Water £60
Gas and electric £250
Home insurance £15
Broadband £25
Council tax £190
DH credit card £110 (we each use our own credit card for any purchases for ourselves and pay off the following month)
My credit card £100
My phone £35
DH phone £35
DH car tax £20
TV license £15
Zoo membership £20
Apple Music subscription £15
DH contact lenses £40
DH haircut £15
My haircut £20 (£60 every 3 months)
My nails £30
Window cleaner £15
DH petrol £100
My petrol £100
Food £450
Takeaways (one per week) £150
Kids hobbies & swimming £100
Date night £50
Disposable income £500
Total expenses £3535

This leaves less than £300 per month to put towards tonnes of other expenses - annual car insurance, gifts, Christmas, holidays, kids clothes, home and car maintenance etc.

Where are we going wrong here!? I don't feel like we live a particularly lavish lifestyle.

flabby spending holes.

This is my new favourite phrase.

Mine is £16, at the salon down the road from my house. That's just what they charge for a dry cut on long hair. Would be more if I wanted it styled, which I do now and then, and some people get theirs coloured which is obviously dearer.

DH car loan £270 assume contract so fixed cost
My car loan £160. the same as above
Mortgage £645. the same as above
Water £60 if on a metre can you cut back? Shower timers or other water saving devices
Gas and electric £250 again any room to cut back. Led lights, things left on that could be stitched off, using a air fryer instead of oven, turn down the boiler
Home insurance £15 reasonable
Broadband £25 reasonable
Council tax £190 fixed cost
DH credit card £110 (we each use our own credit card for any purchases for ourselves and pay off the following month)
My credit card £100. Cut down with what you are putting on the cards
My phone £35 wait until contract ends then go sim only
DH phone £35 same as above
DH car tax £20 fixed cost
TV license £15 fixed cost
Zoo membership £20 do you still use it a lot if not cancel
Apple Music subscription £15 cancel
DH contact lenses £40 shop around see if you can get cheaper
DH haircut £15 can he stretch out to every 6 weeks rather than monthly
My haircut £20 (£60 every 3 months) can you stretch out to every 4 months
My nails £30 do your own
Window cleaner £15 go to every 2 months
DH petrol £100
My petrol £100
Food £450 any savings by down branding or using a cheaper supermarket
Takeaways (one per week) £150 go to every 2 or 3 weeks rather than weekly
Kids hobbies & swimming £100 do they still enjoy the hobbies if not cancel and find something free instead
Date night £50 do £50 date night one month and a cheaper or free on the next. A date is to spend time together and doesn’t have to be anything expensive.

Of course it depends sometimes on the hair but I couldn't tell you in my office except perhaps for the lady with hair below her ears above the shoulder whk has hair done professionally!

I couldn't tell you.

My dh cut my hair in a straight ish line!

I do pony tail on dd. .

Solutions in Great Shelford, near Cambridge.

OP I agree with the above.

cars.

credit cards ~ spending money you don’t have imo

contact lenses ~ can change to monthly’s at no more than £15 a month via spec savers. Or look at “feel good contacts”

I budget well. I save. I use my credit card but pay off in full each month (purely use it for the rewards and credit rating).

my biggest costs are car (fuel, insurance as it’s old) and my dog ( a luxury I wouldn’t compromise on).

my biggest treats are~ eating out, I gave up nails after the pandemic no need, hair, wine out (a fortune these days!!). I still save and I still holiday. I earn your husbands salary and am single.

My car costs more than my mortgage which is absolutely ridiculous. I need to change onto a fixed rate asap .. but yeah I have a nice lease car and it’s never let me down . If only I could have predicted the future 3 years ago, how much money I wouldn’t have wasted on nonsense, and I mean NONSENSE. It makes me feel sick what I used to spend on