AIBU to ask what you have left monthly after bills?

[Manth0914]

Hi all, I know this is a VERY broad question but AIBU to ask what you have left each month after all bills. Money you use for food, fuel, clothes and so on? I ask as a single income mum of 2 with a part time job. Just wondering with the way things are how people are getting on?

After bills and putting money aside for food we have about £1500 each but I try to save most of this. I can pick up extra hours in overtime and make an additional £1000 a month.

We are based in Ireland where it is not means tested. But I think it’s actually after 60k in uk.

but you have no costs other than food and phone bill. We’re on a joint income of £120k but we have no fee living option and no back up for childcare or anything else. We have high mortgage payments to pay which I’m grateful for as rent would be even higher, high nursery fees and wraparound childcare fees for school age DC. I’m not going to claim we feel poor because we’re not, and we have a good amount left over to save and spend, but not the amounts that some people would think, so I can understand why someone on £100k could feel poorer if they have higher outgoings then us. We shop at Lidl too.

You start paying it back over £60k in England.

Yes, you can actually get a portion of it until about £80k, we were still getting it with a joint income of around £120k but my individual income is £85k now and even with pension contributions (public sector, low contributory rate and part of my salary isn’t pensionable) we are fully over now. But have managed to keep £1000 of it for 25-26.

I will still claim it though and pay back through self assessment, it comes in handy in the year!

An overdraft.

After our main monthly bills, such as mortgage, gas/elec, water, council tax, house insurance, TV licence, petrol, car insurance (2 cars) , prescriptions, and food we have around 650 to 700 left.

We save around 450 of that each month in seperate pots in the bank towards holidays, clothes, house repairs, car maintenance, opticians, dentist, birthdays. We have set amounts saved for each category and only spend what is available in that pot.

That leaves us around 200 to 250, we overpay the mortgage, put some in long term savings and spend around 50 on days out

Wow.... amazing....enjoy!
I didn't realize pilots earned this much....!

I'm only posting because I think in terms of wealth, not income.

If someone has 50p, earns 5p per month and spends 4p, then at the end of the month they have 51p left. If they spend 6p, they have 49p left. Either way, they have plenty left.

Income and expenditure are not wealth, they just affect the rate of change of wealth.

Wait ..

...you're supposed to have money left over?! 😬

Currently living pay check to pay check. Covers the essentials. Mainly survive on savings....which being on the verge of trying to get a mortgage isn't great 🤣 that said once my partner and I can move-in together and share finances we will be a lot more stable. It's just shit at the min cos I'm still renting 😭

This is our budget:
Combined income - £4,000 (before tax as we're SE)
Expenses:
Life insurance - £30
Energy - approx £100
4 x phone packages - total £24
Netflix - £13
Pension x2 - total £133
Broadband - £24
Water - £45
Food - £500
Petrol - £200
Kids pocket money - £40
Council tax - ? not sure, just realised we haven't had the bill yet?
Total - £1,109

Income tax and NI we save at the end of each month; no housing costs as we've paid off the mortgage (which was £314 per month when we finished); house/car insurance paid annually; car owned outright.
We put 10% of our current account balance into an ISA at the end of each month.
Everything else can go on non-essentials.

just under £3k for us but no kids - when we move to a new rental it’ll probably be slightly less! x