Where is all the money going??

[Fragmentedbrain]

I've never been great at budgeting but my tastes are pretty normal, my husband and I both work full time, no kids, no mortgage.

I just accidentally went into my overdraft for the first time in 25 years (when I was a student).

Wtf is happening! I'm not sure I can handle this next phase in General Decay of Everyone's Quality of Life.

I would get a side gig but (a) tax really erodes much of the benefit and (b) AI seems to be taking the bottom out of much of the freelancing world.

I live in Scotland, already pay loads more than I would in England in income tax and terrified they're going to put it up again just before Christmas.

Small pleasures can quickly become limitless...yes Vinted, I'm talking to you 😁

So are you just writing this to declare youre pissed off, rather than looking for advice?

Spreadsheet of ins and outs for 2-3 months reveals a lot. Did this a few years back and our daily spending was over £20 on miscellaneous items like coffee, breakfast pastries and snacks (not lunch), curtailed this, started taking lunch 3 times a week, cancelled sky sports which was barely watched as we went to the pub for matches - not particularly difficult cutbacks

Ah, so this is yet another thread about the MN version of 'feeling the pinch' ie no longer being able to afford whatever you want all the time and max out your ISA allowance, without occasionally running out of money.

To answer your question 'where is all the money going'. You're spending it. Or saving it, which means you still have it to spend later. Unlike a lot of the population.

I stopped working a few months ago. I thought my spending was low, however it really wasn't at all.

Yep we haven't had one today

It's incredibly easy for some conditions (evidence can be a letter from your partner saying yeah I do have to remind her to do all that stuff).

Well it's not one of those threads because I'm thinking about applying myself.

The thread is about how life is weirdly hard financially now (I know we know this but seriously)

Nah, there’s another one in Active. Thinking they’re all clever with their wide-eyed nativity, ‘just asking questions’ schtick, working it on a slow burn until around page 15 the slime starts to ooze out.

You don't have a mortgage and put over a grand in savings every month

That is not hard financially

I feel like op isn't going to come back with any actual information about her budget. I get asking for help around budgeting and feeling the squeeze but let's face it, if she never budgets and is still able to save upto £20,000 annually into an ISA and is mortgage free, I think she knows damn well she isn't struggling. Bringing benefits into the conversation is ridiculous.
I don't think people should kick off at posters that ask for advice when they earn decent money, but then turning it into a thread where they whine about others claiming benefits is just being an arsehole for no reason

If you want help around budgeting, then provide the information for people to give you advice on what you could do to improve your financial situation but stop sprinkling in comments about how it is so easy to get disability benefits blah blah. You are clearly not living hand to mouth if your mortgage is paid off and you are saving thousands into an ISA each year, you might be able to improve your financial situation, but noone can tell you how without further information

I am in Spain and just paid €6.19 for 4 slices of back bacon. Food is definitely not cheaper here than in the Uk (though yes, wine is - it’s cheaper than coke!)

Unless you're a multi millionaire, everyone has to budget. It's a fact of life. We have a household income of £140k and yes we still budget because we're not fucking idiots and we want to a) see where our money is going and b) save for our retirement.

Honestly not sure what the point of OPs post was. Stuff costs more now - no shit Sherlock.

Then do so if you think its so easy.

Oh well those years of maxing your ISA will be a nice deposit to go move down south, off you pop.

I agree OP. I earn 35k after a career change and my husband circa 50k, no kids, 2 cars (one that costs fuck all to run and one normal one) , mortgage, only debt is 130 pm for the car, and there's not loads left for fripperies. We're in NI too so far cheaper housing wise than Britain and I just don't understand how a few years ago we were able to afford for me to go part time to study/retrain and save for our house deposit and now I'm back working full time there's just fuck all left. If I'd known the cost of living was going to increase so much I would have stuck with my previous dull as ditchwater but steady job.

You don't have to get a prescription if the medication is cheaper to buy, like paracetamol and other simple pain meds, and other things. The pharmacist will tell you (if you ask) if it would be cheaper to buy. The GP may not know that you pay for prescriptions.

Nice bit of England bashing there.

I visit Scotland often and find the Scottish spend a significant proportion of their time being obsessed with their dislike of England or stressing over what England has compared to what they have. Coupled with the blatant and unashamed sectarianism.

I attended a wedding there recently and even the fucking father of the bride had a random dig about England in his speech.

I always want to say “Do you realise that literally no one in England cares?”

But to answer the OP’s question with examples of what I do to save money: sell what you can on Vinted, get free food from Olio and walk rather than drive to save fuel.

Times are hard.

You’re a grown up. Work it out.

No, it’s been going on £20k (each?) into an ISA. I’ve never saved £20k in a year in my life.

Life is not "weirdly hard" for you financially if you're maxing out your ISAs. So being ridiculous and draw up a proper budget.

We lost my DSis (56) last year. She had pensions and huge savings all ready for her retirement. She and her DH had lived child free and mortgage free all their married life but were incredibly tight with money. She had so many plans but had put off spending money in favour of retirement.

I recently retired on a decent pension, DH’s pension on top gives us a good standard of living. But we no longer save money. We are enjoying the moment, no one knows what’s in the future but the past has taught me that unless your savings are to purchase a pension sometime in the future then spend them while you can.

DH & I have both had health issues and our “plan” has changed. Travelling is no longer possible. Our social life is limited by DH’s condition and because I now have to do most of the driving we have to plan holidays to allow for one driver.

We are currently supporting DS through uni but once he has finished our joint income will be very comfortable considering our low outgoings. I don’t budget food shopping any longer, we are not spending thousands on holidays so no longer have to worry about every penny. In fact, because I still work part time I have had to start paying into a private pension for tax relief. Once I finish I will use it to top up my pension until I can claim state pension.

Being a cancer survivor means I am cautious about the longterm future but at the same time would like to enjoy what time is left. We may need care going forward and I don’t want DS to feel obliged to look after us. Hopefully we will be able to help DS get onto the property market and I have ring fenced money for this. If we end up needing to finance care then most of our assets will be swallowed up by this.

What I have learned from the last few years is to live for today, tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.

Food inflation is up, transport cost seems much higher too. Essentially everyone is getting poorer except those right at the top. Who are in turn trying really hard to blame immigrants and disabled people for the general population’s declining living standards.

You're just taking the piss now.

No, it's not easy to get, and no that's not all you need. You need proper evidence from you gp or similar. ADP isn't just awarded to you for adhd. They don't just give out awards, you have to provide evidence and say how the money would help you.

People with disabilities are made to jump through hoops to get the award, we have go through assessments that I'm convinced are designed to break you. The whole process is soul destroying and humiliating, yet there's people out there like you who think a letter from a friend will get you some free money to play with