Is £2250, month, enough to live in post all livings costs are paid for

[Isitenough2250]

I am very aware that I may get slammed, and I am
prepared. DP has had a terrible time at work the past few years, as we have both seen terrible side affects of what stress can do heart attack/ stroke/
severe mental health issues - we thought it best for him to leave the job. Having worked out our budget, post mortgage/ bills/ insurances etc being paid we have £2250 left a month. That is for two adults and a cat. Out of which is food and then life costs, as in choices - gym/ hair cut/ going to the cinema.

Having never had to budget ever, is this enough? Sufficent savings/ investments for emergencies…..it is 2250 that we have come up with for food and miscellaneous spending.

Am prepared to be roasted, also any budgeting tips appreciated.

We think it will be about a year.

Wow!

For context, post-bills etc, we have around £1200 "spare", which first and foremost has to cover food for 4 adults and 2 cats. So double your household, on a little over half of your budget. We have very little actually "spare" after that but can still stretch to a treat each week (eg. takeaway, breakfast out or a night at the cinema etc). We are hardly rich, but we are better off than lots of people and know we are lucky to have anything at all left over.

I won't roast you but, in short, YES it is doable on your budget.

It probably didn't occur to her to run a Google search how to budget, which would have brought up bank accounts, charities, apps, MSE forum etc. No point asking her rich friends, they won't have a clue either! Unless perhaps they work helping poorer people in some capacity. Panicking in the middle of the night, she did the only thing she knows and delegated it to someone else to sort out - us. Plenty of people post twatish things online because they don't know how to go about, or simply CBA to, work it out for themselves. She doesn't deserve to be taken outside and shot at dawn by firing squad for it. Her asking for a bit of reassurance whilst panicking hasn't harmed anyone.

Just in case anyone hasn't already said:

Your bank and card statements will show everything you have spent for the past year, but some of the descriptions are abbreviations so potentially you won't remember what the description and cost is for.
So it is a good idea to keep your own records if you want to be really thorough. You could set up a spreadsheet that is basically a copy of the bank statements but with clearer descriptions, or you could print off the statements and write notes on them - do this weekly while things are fresh in your mind.

Beware of cash. Again, if you want to be really thorough, track what you spend the cash withdrawals on. Do you pay hairdresser and restaurant tips in cash? Give cash to children? Pay for services like cleaning in cash?

I had never even heard of a wealth manager until now, but I hazard a guess that anyone who has enough wealth to warrant managing probably doesn't need to worry about day to day living expenses.

Thanks for this! Honestly my friends would have no clue! And I had no idea there was all these tools - which I will be using!

Seriously.

Budget your food and petrol money i to an account and have have another for spending. Then you can see what you have as spending money

Am going to open a couple of Monzo accounts!

what you need to consider is whether your partner will go back to work at the same
level of pay and if you should make considerable cutbacks now to save money in case he finds he can’t return to work.

you have £2000 to pay for food (which is probably more of an essential bill to factor in) and the nice stuff.

in a year will you be looking back thinking how much money we wasted if your partner can’t work.

while he is out of work, you need to consider pension as he won’t be putting money away and national insurance contributions as you need 35 years NI to get a state pension

£250 per week for 2 adults and 2 cats? What do you feed your cats with?! They must get fresh fish and meat every day! Poor spoilt kitties lol 😆 😂

Our family of 5 are paying £145 per week on food...😆🤔😳

Really? Very little? I would say having that amount left after all the bills are paid is not exactly on the breadline and the poor cat can still be insured. I’m wondering if I’m on another planet as I don’t even earn that!!!!

The problem is we all live to our means. If OP family has been living on 5000 a month, a cut in that will mean major life changes for them.

OP yes, that is fine and if you have never had to budget before start by writing down what you spend at the shops/how often you go to eat/clothes/holidays etc then you can work out what needs to change - good luck!

A 'wealth manager' is a posh way of saying 'financial advisor'.
We have one.
Very useful.

Have you never, ever, since leaving school had to budget?

No student living/loan?

No first job, renting, living independently, paying your own bills?

You're coming over as if you lived a life where someone else provided everything and you've never had to work things out.

I don't think yabu because you asked a simple question. That said, yes, you will be able to live very well if all your living expenses are already paid for. I earn around this a month.
I'm a single parent working 50 hours a week, adult, autistic DD who had her PIP stopped but not working, tween DD, 3 cats. Mortgage to pay, car to run. No work pension as I opted out just to survive each month. We just about get by each month.
You will be more than ok.

What do you think other people do? I’m baffled by this post. Is that how much spare money you think others have? Even close?
can’t you look at spend and do a budget and work it out without posting?

and you’re referring to this as a daunting challenge?

its ok if it means cutting back for you, but to be so clueless as to actually not be sure if you can ‘get by’ has shocked me.

I have such a tiny disposable income that I don't bother with separate accounts, but fully agree they're a godsend to those who need to budget effectively. I maintain an Excel sheet so I can see where I'm at, with pivot tables to categorise my outgoings - pretty much the same effect. Everyone who budgets needs to know what goes where, what to expect and what can/can't be afforded.

My experience: my fortunes reversed in hideous fashion 20 years ago. I went, at a terrifying speed, from not really having to think about what I was spending to having fuck all to spend on anything. Others are giving you appropriate advice: my contribution's a small but vital mindset change.

With any and all purchases, I first ask myself whether I NEED it or WANT it. This was a bit destabilising at first, as I did literally feel like I needed five different Clarins skincare products every month and organic food, for instance. I'm not a complete idiot, though, so I switched to two supermarket skincare products and mass-produced ingredients. In my case, this kind of basic change knocked about a grand off my monthly spending for an extremely marginal lifestyle difference 😳

So it goes something like:
Do I need moisturiser, food, coffee? Yes.
Does it need to be Clarins, organic, single-source? No.
Good: how to replace them? Shop around, get a kick out of bargain-hunting.

With wants like clothing updates, days out, wines and whatever yours may be, I'll consider whether a cheaper alternative could work and, if so, whether I can afford it. My answer's generally no, it won't work. So I shelve the want (they often go away of their own accord) but still keep half an eye open for stunning bargains, in case I can afford to take advantage and still want the thing.

As you're not remotely skint but developing new skills for your new circumstances, I suspect you'll really enjoy it! Best of luck.

Yes, my point is valid - sorry to stress you out with that. Your response just your opinion, which in my opinion is irrelevant! Buzz off! 🐝

I don't think so. They are different things.

According to google AI "wealth managers typically specialise in working with high-net-worth clients, offering a broader range of services and focusing on long-term, holistic financial planning, including investment management, tax planning, and estate planning" so people on modest incomes w/o investments and the need for help with estate and legacy planning probably sound a bit wanky (which may be the aim to be fair).

We have just under £2k a month (including child benefit) for a family of 3 (dd3 is 17). This covers all bills etc- we are mortgage free -and I also manage to save some money. I have my hair cut about every 6 weeks.
I understand you don't want to drastically reduce your living standards but small changes can make a big difference eg dd1 took me out for brunch at an upmarket cafe. She normally has a speciality coffee or smoothie with her meal but we both opted for water. This probably saved about £4 each.

Our FA only works with clients who have wealth worth managing. Everything AI has listed there in the quote is what our FA (aka wealth manager) does for us.
I don't regard us as hugely wealthy, just careful savers who've accrued enough to need their input.

I think you’ll be ok
Its all relative isn’t it?
check bank balance before spending as you adjust to less disposable income

So it would make sense for your FA to call themselves something else (e.g. a WM) so that people who do not have wealth that worth managing, but rather just need regular financial advice won't be drawn to them. Or maybe by doing so, they identify clients who think they need a FA but would benefit from WM.

Mmmmm nope, never had to budget, embarrassing now I think of it.

So before your husband there was family money or something else to pick up any bill without thinking of the cost ?