Can you ‘over-budget’? DH says I’m being extreme

[LeanneQ]

c.3k bonus due in July. I’ve earned marked this for - car insurance in August, hen do in September, possible holiday in November and some exams I might take.

DH says this is extreme and I should put the bulk of this in savings/invest and pay for the majority of the other stuff as and when they become due.

Does anyone else budget this far in advance?

It’s responsible
I spent all my money on wallpaper and now the washing machine has packed in
I wish I had the self control you’ve got

It's definitely possible to overbudget but I wouldn't class what you're doing as it.

This is similar to the YNAB method of giving "every dollar a job". You're far more likely to save properly if you are intentional with money rather than having a generic pot of easy come, easy go.

I would put it in savings untill you need it, seems like it is burning a hole in your pocket before you have even got it. You can earn interest on it between now and when the things need paying for.

Yep me....we've just had a bit of a windfall from a bonus and like you I've allocated it to the big spends I know we have coming up over the next year or two. This includes holidays and uni accommodation. It sits in an easy access saving account and means less stress when the bills comes through. Anything we have left from monthly salaries and spending will then go into savings.

I know this probably sounds stupid, but if I put it into a main savings pot I struggle to bring myself to touch it. So I’ve got multiple instant access savings accounts I hide in my app and rename to what the purpose of them are. That does mean I earn less interest but I’m not guilty when going to access the cash. I realise I’ve probably got an unhealthy outlook to spending money which stems from when I was younger.

It's possible, but this just sounds pretty sensible

Do you mean you have a separate, ‘main’ savings pot? x

…but I bet your wallpaper is gorgeous!!

😉

I would have thought this (your plans) was normal tbh

I love wallpaper! What did you get?

i got wallpaper for all the rooms. It’s all floral, different patterns but the same colours

You definitely can over-budget, but I don't think this is it! You're just spending your bonus...perfectly reasonable.

Yes. I have an account with Starling which has Spaces for spends coming up. Then a quick access savings account (also with Starling) with higher interest for medium term outlays then isas etc for savings/pensions that are locked away. The Starling spaces is really handy to manage stuff as you can just allocate bills or save towards something.

YANBU.
I thought this was going to be a thread where you're extremely frugal, without really needing to be tbh, from your title! 😆

I think to each his own... unless money is really tight, I'd find it a bit obsessive and joyless, like counting the calories of every meal.

I think if you're constantly thinking about money in this over-analytical way (not saying you are, just IF), that's a bit unhealthy like overthinking food or alcohol

I'd say that this is a bit over the top. And I was a very tight budgeter (out of necessity) when we had kids.

Having loads of separate hidden accounts because you're anxious about them, doesn't sound all that healthy to me. There are single accounts that give you 'pots' which, as a pp mentioned, would keep different upcoming spends separate from each other.

Yes, that. And if your DH has to listen to you mulling this stuff over all the time, I can see why he would reach the point of needing to say something.

Yes you can, perhaps not in this case but my friend's ex wife used to suck the job out of everything "oh that's expensive" " I wouldn't pay that much" "no I will have tap water" " shall we look for somewhere cheaper"

They divorced mainly because their house needed a lot of work and new appliances, she refused to have the work done and scoured second hand places for the items. They were both earning well, no kids, but she a miser and refused to spend even when they had no heating over Christmas.

How are you going to do all that with 3k?!

Presume that's after tax, but even then....

I budget to the nth degree. I separate out car repair money, birthday and Christmas, holiday spends, all very carefully budgeted for. All on a spreadsheet! 😊

I have an instant access savings account with Chip that pays a good rate. You can’t do separate pots on there like you can with some accounts but I have a budgeting spreadsheet and I just split it up into different pots in the spreadsheet. So eg the account might have 12k in it of which 4k is ‘general savings’, 3k is ‘summer holiday due in July’, £1k is ‘summer holiday spending money’, £1k is ‘Christmas savings’ and so on. Then it’s all earning a good rate but the different ‘pots’ mean that psychologically I don’t feel guilty about the withdrawal when it’s needed because that money has been earmarked.

Planning in advance, seems sensible. Though I'd question the expense of a hen do, as these should be reduced to a night out and not waste your money.