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.

It sounds like this is the emergency situation you were saving for?

My main concern is that you have no idea whether it’s enough or not. It sort of implies you can’t budget and have no idea what you actually spend.

Get a credit card put all your expenses on it and pay it off each month, it’s the easiest way to figure out what you’re spending in a typical month.

Yeah this has to be rage bait hahaha

Wow that’s just under 4 weeks money for me before bills 🫣🤣
I think you will be absolutely fine! Unless your throwing money around like crazy you could definitely set aside some to top up your savings accounts as well 😊

it’s understandable that you are overthinking it though as it’s a situation that is new to you!
I hope your husband is ok!!!

• take your own advice and don’t stress over silly things 😉

We've finished paying off the mortgage, but have two kids (14 & 11) and I've worked out we have to bring home around £1200 between us to cover all bills inc food and kids pocket money etc. Maybe go through your direct debits and regular spending on essentials and see what you need to live on. I include things like our phone costs and the kids hobbies, but not things like streaming services which I could cancel if I couldn't afford it.

I'm very skint /cash poor currently, and it's scared me to work out how much we need to spend each day to eat the way we have been.
However it us a useful thing to know so we can work on cutting down as much as possible.

Try to work out your daily costs for anything outside your regular bills and see if that adds up.

To add our monthly income is around the figure you mention for 2adults, one child and nursery fees. So I think you'll be fine.

I think most people have a minus sign after mortgage, bills and insurance... And once they've bought food.

If I had your income I'd be overpaying the mortgage tbh!

Our income is less than half that before bills etc.

I would suggest saving some of that money each month for the below

Emergencies (fund of 3x your monthly spend)

Things that break & need replacing eg washing machine, oven, car

Holidays & birthdays

You can save up to a maximum of £20,000 per year, per person into a tax free ISA

You can save up to a maximum of £50, 000 per person into Premium Bonds & all prizes are tax free. Minimum bond is £25.

Pay off your credit card every month, otherwise you will need to pay interest. You can set up the monthly payment automatically

Do you pay into a private pension ?
If not suggest that you investigate this.
Because the State Pension is approx £12,000 per year for each person

Reduce the Harrods trips you will be fine.

Take a hike

I was on that amount before bills over the past year on maternity leave and had a baby and a dog to feed and look after too. I managed it so that should be more than enough if that’s after your bills and mortgage

You’ll be fine. It’s more than many people will have. It’s about what we have for a family of 4 with one dd in uni and one learning to drive (expensive times).

I guess if you’ve never had to consider budgeting before it may not seem like much. But for us there was a time as a family of 4 with small kids when that would have been more than our entire household income. It’s plenty.

Do the maths … it’s not rocket science. If you’ve worked out what you have left after bills I.e. £2250 then you can work out how much you’re going to spend. This all seems like a complete revelation to you .. looking at bank statements, thinking about what you might spend etc. Or are you seeking some kind of satisfaction from other people’s amazement about your residual cash? I can’t believe anyone can be so naive.

We have less that £1000pm after in a 3 person household and we have a pretty nice life, but we make all our food from scratch and utilise free outings so not lavish

Contrary to what some posters have posted, I have always out earned partner, high salary and bonus.

So why did you parents continue to give you money? You said that you'd never ever had to budget. When I asked why, you said that you had 'family money' from parents.

You're not saying how- whether they bought you a house, big deposit, drip fed an allowance.

It's not adding up. I'm actually wondering is this is all is seems.

You will get a variety of answers, some more helpful than others. Honestly we would struggle on that amount after bills (no mortgage) but you will soon realise that some things have to go or cheaper alternatives found. If you currently eat out a lot, go on long haul holidays, buy expensive shoes, clothes homeware etc these things may need to change accordingly and adapt your lifestyle.
It is enough to be comfortable but not enough to not have to think about how, when and where you are spending your money.

That's twice as much as I receive a month. I have £80 a month to live on after bills.

that was helpful

Within reason, comparisons are odious. I've earnt a lot at times and also had to live on nothing at others. You adjust your lifestyle, by and large, to match your income. People taking the opportunity to criticise this poster are just being vindictive

This is nonsense … just trying to waste people’s time. Who cares? The OP is just provoking… complete and utter time waster which is why nothing “adds up”.

No they're not. They are just wondering how the hell she can't work it out for herself !

It’s crazy that some people don’t understand there’s plenty of wealthy people that haven’t a clue with money. At least OP wants to learn.

So nasty and bitter towards her, she hasn’t been nasty to anyone and called any of you bitter and broke has she, because she definitely could.

Not referring to the posters that earn much less but have still offered good advice nonetheless.

I’m not bitter and I’m not broke … but if you’re so concerned about your finances, seek professional advice from a bank, which is free, or speak in confidence to a friend. If it’s all true … don’t post on social media. This is attention seeking in the first degree!

Agreed.

So many 'half answers' to questions but hiding a lot or more than that.