wondering if our monthly expenses/budgets are ok?

[yumyumchocobun]

hi, i know this might be an odd one but just out of curiosity after having a convo about it with someone i'm wondering if our monthly expenses/budgets are decent and if you would consider them tight/normal/comfortable.

we are a small family: husband, me and 1 year old baby.

our mortgage on a 2 bedroom 2 bath flat in london, a 2014 car, internet, phone bills , electricity, water, gas, insurance, service charge etc is all paid for without any budgets.

the (monthly) budgets include:
£450 for groceries including food and cleaning supplies.
£50-£60 gas for the car
£200 for spending (going out as a family, or buying stuff for the house or baby. example: if we need a new jug or pan, or going to the zoo as a family, eat out, or if our baby needs new shoes etc)
£200 for me personally (to spend on clothes, shoes, cosmetics, if i go out with my girlfriends, etc)

We have 1 longer Holiday a year thats not within the budgets and if we decide to go somewhere extra for like a weekend it would either have to be for an event such as birthday or anniversary or we'd have to save for it from the spending budget.

larger items for the house are usually purchased annually with my husbands bonus (for example this year we bought a new ikea tv stand shelving unit for £650 + babys new carseat £200 + outdoor storage unit)

Birhday gifts / family gifts / wedding or graduation gifts for other people are usually also extras not within the budgets unless i'm going alone to my girlfriends party then i'd pay for her gift from my allowance.

we save around £1300 a month on average.

would you consider this life tight, normal or comfortable?

also not sure if this is relevant but i am a stay at home mum so all this is provided by hubby.

also not sure if relevant but im 25 and hubby is 27

Seriously @yumyumchocobun have you not read a single headline, or thread title here, with people worrying about the cost of living? I truly don’t understand how someone could be so ignorant.

You thought the average person can raise a family on one income and save £1300 a month? Come off it! I think this was clearly you trying to boast.

i’m going to tell her to put her feet in cold water, in the bitchiest way possible

what does that even mean? putt her feet in cold water.

As long as your saving then I think your fine but some people will want to save more to feel comfortable & some will be fine with less.

I think a lot of well off people assume they are average earners and above average at money management

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I actually wouldn’t say you’re that comfortable on 4.5k a month in London. I’m assuming you live in a rough area to have a low mortgage. You can’t afford a house so I wouldn’t call that comfortable either.

Hi OP,

Do you mean that your housing and utility costs are paid for by your husband's firm?

You mention 'gas' for the car - are over for work from overseas?

I cant imagine being 25, supposedly rich with nothing better to do than start a weird bragging thread... I'd find a better hobby OP. We know you can afford it!

Exactly thats how we see things. We live in a decent area in north london but still, living in a 2 bedroom flat isnt luxury hence why i thought we are very basic.

Hahahahahhaa you made my day honestly 😂

Your household income is £90k a year and you’re only allowed £50 a week for yourself? How much does your DH have to spend each week? If it’s more than £50 I’d have an issue.

My bills including a mortgage on a two bed house outside of London come to about £1000. I try and save £500 a month, and I have £2000 left to spend on myself after tax and student loans, but I don’t have children. I should try and save more but I like enjoying myself. As long as you can cover your bills and save a bit you’re in a very fortunate position, but I’d want financial equity with my DH while I was on maternity leave.

If I understand correctly, this is based on your husband's wage. It's an excellent wage.
Have you looked into your finances when you go back to work and have to pay for nursery? Do you plan on having a second child, ie another set of nursery fees? Will you need to move then?
By the way I wasn't clear how much your mortgage was?

@yumyumchocobun you're young to be on the london property ladder but may find it harder to move up a step as it's harder to build equity these days particularly in flats

& £50 a week is very restrained for your age, I dread to think what money I burned through back then!

Why do you mention gas? Nobody says gas if they mean petrol not in the UK.

Your household income is £90k a year and you’re only allowed £50 a week for yourself? How much does your DH have to spend each week? If it’s more than £50 I’d have an issue.

As I said. According to her budget he gets zilch to spend.

Its all very strange. Why is there no budget for the house stuff? Surely its all one big budget then what's left is left? What's all this dipping into other budgets?

Oh and the gas? Are you from UK?

We dont have a budget in plan for him because he hardly ever spends on himself anyway. He would go on the occasional meal with his boys, or go cycling with his friends, and if he needs something he would buy it but he generally spends far less than me to be fair

And yes i meant petrol😂 not sure why i said gas

Anyway thanks to everyone that answered but i think its time to wrap up this post, i guess i got my answer which is that some people have alot less and some have alot more and we should all just be grateful for what it is.

You are not on a comfortable income at all!
You get £200 spending money of your husband.
His income is average for London.

His income is average for London.

it's not though

It's all relative. I take home £3.5k and live in a 2 bed London flat, so can't imagine having two others in that space!

but after speaking to my friend today she told me that we are considered in the top percentage for the UK. i didnt believe her which is why i asked on here

A quick google search would have told you all you need to know and wouldn't have been so gauche and unaware.

So work on that aspect of your life.

She'll learn