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.

Confused as to where the new income is coming from? Will you be living just off your income moving forward? (Which presumably is around the 50-60k mark if youre just living off that minus bills, depending on your expenses).

Can he work part time to supplement the income?

It doesn't matter how much you earn. The OP has an amount left after mortgages and bills are paid which puts them comfortably at the halfway point for household income in the UK before paying such bills. If you have to ask whether such an amount is "enough to live on", it shows you are completely out of touch with the position of the majority of people in the UK, and a bit of fairly gentle piss-taking is not going to hurt you. It might wake them up a bit to the reality of life for the mass of the population.

I am sorry life has been stressful for your DH OP, but I am genuinely curious as to how it is possible for people who can’t add up food + gym memberships + haircut + 3 meals out (for example) to be in a position to earn such high former salaries.

We get child benefit and about 1000 a month in universal credit (because I'm on lwrca). That still covers all of our bills (rent, financed car, utilities, full council tax, food, phone bills, Internet, usual expenses for four kids) and while we can't afford to save anything at the minute, it covers all of our bills and still.leaves a little for 'fun', so I'm sure after the bills are paid and for two adults, what the op has left will cover normal lifestyle expenses.

I LOVE YNAB!

I have used it since 2014 and it changed my life. I know some people hate paying for budgeting tools but I think it is worth it.

And yes - better than a spreadsheet (at least for me.)

The thing about discretionary spending, is that it’s discretionary. You can control how much you spend on things that aren’t needs. So the question “is x enough” isn’t really the right question. You need to start tracking and categorising your spending.

Just like everyone else says - you need to work it out.
Download your bank account transactions.
Categorise them.

Then you can work out how much you spend on
Leisure (gym/theatre/cinema)
Leisure eating out
Takeaways
Coffees
Work lunches
Clothes
Health/hair/beauty

And then it will reveal stuff you spend on but forget about it. Stuff like magazine subscriptions, but also as PP have said, things that should be in your "bills" amount but are irregular, so have been overlooked. Having the lawnmower serviced, window cleaner, car tax, bike services etc etc.

Get the full picture and then work out how you are going to keep an eye on it. You can just have everything coming out of one account - but, particularly if you are new to budgeting, I think that would be unmanageable. We have roughly the same amount as you after the main bills.

I have

1. DD Account for direct debits/regular payments. Pretty much exactly the same comes out each month (the odd quarterly DD). No surprises. No changes.
2. A "Bills" account. £1000 a month goes into this account for monthly "stuff". The handyman bills. The window cleaner. Car tax. Filling the car with petrol. Replacing the hoover. Car insurance. Hair cuts. These "one-offs" scarily add up. Having it in a separate account means it is visible. I can see the monthly spending. And it helps maybe think...hmmm...need a new hoover but need to wait til next month as it has been an expensive month. This money sits in an interest bearing Monzo Account. I earn c£10 a month interest.
3. Weekly spending Account. £175 a week is allocated for this fed in automatically via standing order) and this is for groceries. We rarely spend the whole amount - so if there is anything left over we can think about a takeaway or I put it in a savings pot for another week/another takeaway. So we start again from scratch with £175 on Monday. This has been key in helping cut costs. I can see easily how much money we have "left" for the week. And, actually, now, like a PP, it has become quite a challenge to see how much leftovers I can get by the end of the week. The whole month's worth of money also sits in a Monzo savings pot and I have a transfer every Monday of £175 into a current account. The leftover money each week I transfer into a different savings pot, currently plan for the £250 in there to go towards a nice anniversary meal out.

It is doable. But you will need things in place (knowing what you spend and knowing exactly what is in your bank account).

You may need to think about a new account or two - something like Monzo. Seeing the amount is so, so important. Knowledge. You cannot do it without.

That is around what I take a month before bills to support dh, me and son in uni (the rest goes into pension AVCs)

My mortgage is paid off so we don't have that but have all the other normal bills.

Everyone's priorities and spending habits are very different. You need to work out where your money goes to see if it is enough for you.

It also depends on what you dh's spending habits are, and what he will be doing with his time while he's not working.

No point in you scrimping and saving on groceries if he's buying expensive home gym equipment or designer gear. Will he be happy with a sandwich at home for lunch, or will he this as an opportunity to eat lunch at the gym?

The only 2 things that I would add is that using a budgeting app might help you as it will guide you through the steps to create a budget and then measure how you are doing against it. Something like YNAB (you need a budget).
I also use HyperJar (bank account) and I have jars (like sub accounts) set up for all of my different spend types - fuel, haircut, coffee, takeaway, holidays, food shop, clothing, days out, savings etc. it really helps me to compartmentalise the money and then when the pot is empty I stop spending in that area.
Good luck op it can feel hard when you have to start thinking about your spending but you will soon get the hang of it.

Honestly, and in a kind way, park your anxiety aside. You are in an incredibly fortunate position.

If it's any help to you, I have a similar disposable income per month. I am fortunate and financially secure, I also live alone so my needs are not the same as a family for sure. This is what I do, since I spent many years having to watch every penny, whereas now I don't so much, but I still keep track and have a budget/savings. My mortgage is cleared now too.

I have two working bank accounts.

1. for bills, and all necessary outgoings like utilities and so on, I transfer enough every month to cover those bills. I have a standing order to put a fixed amount into the gas and electric account all year round to build up a credit for Winter time. All regular monthly bills come from this account by direct debit.
2. A "fun money" account where I put a decent sum every month to cover my lifestyle choices.

I also have an emergency fund for things like boiler breakdown, car repairs and so on. I put a fixed amount into this every month.

And I have a holiday fund account.

I know I am blessed in comparison with many, but the lean times in my past have taught me to be sensible and aware of where my money is going now.

Good luck, you will be fine as long as you work out how much you NEED, and don't splurge solely on what you WANT!

I'm sorry about your husband's ill health.

Look at your bank statements and credit cards for the past 6 months and work out what you are spending per month and which expenses you might cut back on.

All I would ask yourself is how much have you previously been spending. It’s all well and good people living on that including their mortgage however if you have genuinely never had to budget and have been spending £6k a month (pulling numbers out of thin air) that’s a huge drop. Yes it’s doable, but how realistic and how much it’ll change your life is something you need to look backwards to work out.

Things to consider though - are you currently paying extra into savings, pension and investments out of current surplus income? If so, obviously you’d stop that. So for example, say you currently have £5k spare a month but when you look back, you’ve been putting £2k of that away in various forms of savings - well then you’re not far away from the £2250 without doing that.

I’ll be honest, I decided this month I was going to cut down on spending (having previously not considered what I spent). It’s been less than 2 weeks and I have £3900 on my credit card despite genuinely feeling like I was cutting back. Things I wouldn’t normally consider - saw new curtains, bought them. Birthday lunch out. Deposit on school holiday abroad. Phone bill (this is regular and covers all mobiles), monthly personal training charge, and a few bits of summer wardrobe - from Sainsburys so not expensive - and boom, I’m up to nearly £4k. I expect to get roasted for admitting this (pay it off every month in full) but I wanted to put that as it’s something that it really does depend on your previous spending power how much you can cut back without feeling it - and it’s all relative I guess. I believed I could live on about £1500 a month without struggling. I had totally forgotten the phone bill (£200), PT sessions (£500), etc etc that I’m not used to really thinking about. It’s obviously actually doable but you need to be more realistic than I am about exactly what you do spend each month….

I am lost for words!

My brother lives in the North, has lovely tidy mini 50 sq m two up , two down, pays only 300 for the mortgage and earns that kind of salary

This is a very helpful reply.

OP, you are probably feeling scared right now with all you have been through.
But yes, you CAN manage on this much money and it IS worth it to preserve your Dh health. Think of it that way x

I would say it’s both, but the pressure of being the only provider is daunting. Life happens, this has happened and I have had some great tips - it does sound ridiculous, but you don’t know what you don’t know…..I get I have been very lucky. I do still feel privileged - but yes it’s daunting…..and this is a shock, and I am taking the positive from this that it’s possible for DP to step back. His health is more important than any job!

I am very luck to be in a professional
job with a husband that earned a lot of money. I have never worried about paying bills or ever thought twice about what I am spending. I will be taking over everything, due to partner’s health.

I have very much appreciated the comments on the thread and will be getting to work on them this evening!

Thanks for such a kind response, I have been making notes and will get to it this evening!

How, HOW will she be “struggling a bit”?? 🤯

It is enough to live on, but if you are used to not having to budget, you will have to think about it. It’s an amount that will need to be carefully managed and would be blown through within seconds with a bit of clothes shopping and a couple of big nights out.

Thanks, this is brilliant. I am
going to set up the Monzo accounts!

and what is your professional
job ?