Do you have any money left at the end of the month ?

[Shinyshoes1]

I normally count the days down until Payday with only having at best a couple of pounds left in my purse at the end of the month.

I seem to be in a minority it seems as peole I know are still going out for meals, buying shopping and clothes right on top of payday.

I pretty much live hand to mouth each month.

Am I a minority ?

No, we get paid weekly

By the end on the week I am down to pennies.

Hahah no!

Never lol

Yep normally down to last £10 on week of payday

I had £10 in my purse on the day I got paid. This is very unusual for me these days. I had bought absolutely nothing in the week before though, except for petrol.

Are these people you know spending their own cash or are they living off their credit cards by the end of the month?

No, if it wasn't for the family allowance, I would run out of money about a week after pay day. It's hand to mouth in here all the way.

I try and budget to spread money across the month so we've got an equal amount each week but something always goes wrong / gets broken.

Due to unexpected vets bill, not enough to warrant the excess on the insurance, this month have had to resort to returning some stuff bought for the flat to B&Q and Ikea to get enough money to put petrol in the car (live in the sticks so public transport is not an option for getting to work and walking 7 miles not really practical!)

As Quenelle suggests, I suspect a lot of these people are using credit cards - only use ours for online shopping after saving up or in a total emergency after getting in a little bother a while back.

Yes, I do. I've not come on to brag though. I had years of living hand to mouth, wondering how much I could go overdrawn without the bank suspending my account and praying that my card wouldn't be rejected in the supermarket.
I am unbelievably tight with money as a result, even though I probably don't need to be now, so I can't really enjoy it.
What I came on to say was that it can get better, gradually. A little payrise here, or a better mortgage deal there, just adds a little cushion so you can breathe easier.
Someone told me when I got my first real job that every time I got a payrise I should set up a direct debit for 50% of the extra money to a savings account before I got used to having the extra income. Really good advice.

Not recently.

Hit post too fast. I think the only way in which you may be in a minority is that you are taking the sensible approach of not spending money you don't have (credit cards) on things you don't need.

On a seperate note, if you squirrel away whatever is left over, even it's only a pound, then you'll begin to build up a small amount and get in the habit of adding to it. Some people might laugh at the idea of saving £1 a month, but it's likely to be those who are currently squandering future earnings on credit cards.

I have a seperate account and sideline a regular amount to it. It has been great for emergencies and luxuries. If I can I try to top it up if I've taken from it I do.

It's a bit of a sweeping assumption that people who aren't broke by the end of the month, must be using credit cards or other loans to get by. They might just be better at budgeting throughout the month, or save up their money for special occasions / big spends.

I agree that these people might not be existing on credit cards - they may have come through the other side/had nothing break that month/just be better at budgeting.

We are starting to see the light at the end of the debt tunnel, finally. The next two months are going to be really hard, but then a couple of repayments totalling about £400 in all will be done and dusted. These are as a result of dh being out of work for two years three years ago when we were £200 short each month before eating. Horrible.

At the moment we never have money left at the end of the month and somehow we get by; God knows how. I do an enormous online shop once a month for all the storecupboard stuff and the idea is then just to buy fresh .... that's the idea anyway!

I'm looking forward to climbing out of the other side of this.

For years I lived hand-to-mouth the last week before pay day.

I'm now planning ahead and budgeting everything, and writing down every single thing I spend, to the last penny. It takes more time and effort but it's so worth it. I feel in control of my finances for the first time :)