What do you prioritise spending money on?

[Moneymismatch]

Just that really. I’m not struggling but I have limited disposable income and there’s always a million different things I want to spend it on, I never know what to prioritise. Holidays, days out, eating out, new clothes, beauty treatments, private healthcare, the house, the garden, makeup, extra qualifications, more organic food, electrical gadgets, birthdays, savings, after school clubs, personal trainer, cleaner.

What do you prioritise spending your spare money on, and does it bother you having to make sacrifices in order to do so?

I think you need to plan things out over more than a year and work it around your priorities.

I have a 10 year planner - when you start putting on things like kids GCSEs, big birthdays, etc. you can see pretty much when the money needs to be spent.

Then plan accordingly- so a gcse year we won't be going on so many days out so
maybe a summer holiday instead.

This year we have some trips planned so days out will be cheap and cheerful.

If you are not having a summer holiday then you could get an annual pass eg national trust or Merlin even.

Some years our kids have a few residentials so those weekends eat into fun time

Birthdays some years can be pared down - as the kids get older we involve them a bit more - if we have smaller Christmas presents we could get tickets for this event etc.

Also make the most of offers - discounted entry, cashback, take picnics, etc.

Maybe also ask for tickets for days out as birthday presents too.

We are currently mid-renovation on our doer upper. All of our spare cash is going towards flooring, windows, doors, kitchen and bathroom. Once the bulk of the work has been completed we aim to be mortgage free within 5 yrs.

We earn an average income, have low outgoings eg mortgage of £500, run an old car which has 128k miles on it, shop at Aldi, happy to wear primark clothes and eat out 1-2 times a year.

Our DDs are in Uni and we work from home. So, for me it’s keeping fit and healthy. Gym membership, food keeping costs down.

My priorities are 1) House and bills, 2) things to do with work so that i can pay for house and bills, 3) retirement savings so that i can pay for 1 without having to do 2, 4) seeing friends and family, which I hope to be reprioritised to 1 once I retire. I do keep some cash aside for shopping but only what's left after 1, 2, 3 and 4 are met.

Cocaine, tequila and a nice young man to serve them to me.

My house - old - always needs something doing, taking my kids and their partners out for meals every few weeks and my dog.

For me, I think it's important to realise there are many ways to afford things.

So you can have loads of great days out for very little cost - a 'day out' doesn't have to be an expensive theme park / food out etc. It can be a trip to a beach with a picnic, or a local Country park. Depending on the age of the dc - there are loads of options.
Clothes - you can get lots of new clothes (and books, and toys for little dc) in charity shops, at car boots, - toys and books etc at Christmas fayres, Summer fetes etc.
Holidays - I love a holiday. I would hate the idea of not going away any year BUT for us, holiday means self catering at the seaside - it doesn't have to be thousands of pounds.
Eating out - again, this can vary MASSIVELY.

So, what I suppose I am saying is that I think I prioritise doing as much as I can, but doing it on a budget.

Kids sports
Getting hair dyed
Days out with kids
but use savings pots to save up for various things

Oh forgot to say now I prioritise buying presents for people after five plus years of avoiding as many as possible. I try to be savvy and buy in sales and have them ready for people. I love it!

Food, going out, nice stuff/hobbies for my kids.

Recently given up work and empty nesting so income has reduced and priorities have changed.

Holidays, very high priority
days out, low
eating out, high but less frequent than before life changes as more time to cook, also more special offers / lunch menus
new clothes, low - actually I realise I have enough already!
beauty treatments, low, always has been
private healthcare, high - something I chose to continue after stopping work
the house, maintenance high but improving and making current, nope
the garden, medium, we use it a lot
makeup, always been low
extra qualifications, none at all
more organic food, nope
electrical gadgets, never been interested, replacement only
birthdays, reduced, probably used to spend too much
savings, have stopped saving after saving hard for years
after school clubs, no
personal trainer, definitely no!
cleaner. No, gave up on stopping work

Socialising

We were broke for many years, we prioritised the mortgage and staying debt free, I used to dream of what I would spend the excess on………………..

Turns out we are not spenders, we do, now we are retired nip off to the pub in the middle of the week a few times a month, we have upgraded our meat purchases to much more expensive straight from the farm style meat but less of it. (Once broke, always broke in your head)

But that is really it, we take two weeks in Spain and fly Club to Malaga not a whole lot different to economy just a much better luggage allowance and bit more theatre around food and then have a driver to meet us, we spend what we like when there, but again not mad spenders so just a bit more of not an over the top budget. IYKWIM.

I prioritise fun these days. Have a decent pension, have savings, adult children so little expense there.

Cat, lovely food, nice clothes often eBay, going out with friends, normally Wetherspoons, hol going to see my brother in Spain few days a year

Obviously mortgage and bills get paid first. Then I prioritize sports packages for Virgin TV so Sky Sports, BT Sport's also Sky Movies, Netflix, Disney Plus and Now TV and Amazon Prime. We don't watch TV all the time but we all like to watch different things so pay for many TV services so we all get to see what we like. We also pay for extra room for sons' bedroom. We also enjoy a takeaway once a week and eating out every couple of weeks. I don't spend much on make up or beauty products, neither of us smokes and we don't drink much, just the odd bottle of champagne or Prosecco. Average spend on clothing. Another thing I prioritize is Foster sons sporting activities.

This post has really made me think. I am fortunate enough to have a good income now (haven't always) but I think I have always prioritised the following;

Quality food and heating and nice surroundings at home to make it comfortable. My home is not a show home by any means but it is inviting and cosy and warm.

Then it is health and fitness so gym memberships kids sports (loads of them) and I'd put our dogs in this category too as having them walking and taking care of them is important to us all.

Saving for my kids would be next. I grew up fairly poor so saving for my children has always been a priority.

Doing things such as holidays and social time with friends and family. I like meals out but it is never really about the food more about who I am with so a cheap tapas rather than 3 course expensive meal would be for me.

Then clothes and beauty stuff. But not a massive priority. Love bargain skincare.

Don't care at all about cars or designer clothes.

Decent food for me and ds is always top priority after essentials are paid out.I

I also always prioritise a monthly gardener six months of the year plus a handyman two or three times a year. In addition one room is professionally decorated every year or two.

My hobbies are largely free and my social life is inexpensive. Finishing off the house before state pension is my main priority. 7 years to go!

No holidays whatsoever they are too expensive. I relax for free at home instead. The one remaining luxury is Sky though and I think I will keep it going forward despite the COL.

Clothing I only buy half price on my Next account and only very occasionally as I have plenty of clot hes.

Priority is taking advantage of new pension contribution allowance.

Savings and DSs' sports.

Savings, life insurance, pensions ... now feeling the benefit as DH has retired early and I work part time.
Supporting DS through Uni and saving for him.
Heating, home maintenance & repairs etc. Not new furniture... still use the perfectly adequate sofas we bought as a 'short term' buy 23 years ago!
Decent food and wine (rarely eat out as consider it poor value but like good food and wine at home).
My hobbies are mainly free but DH enjoys golf club membership.
Charity donations.
Don't spend much on holidays, 'entertainment' or days out. Live in a nice part of the country so lots of lovely walking and scenery.
Always shop in charity shops (by choice) for clothes.
Use library & charity shops for books.
I consider I have a very comfortable standard of living, it never bothers me that I can't 'keep up' with other people's spending, I recognise we all have different priorities.

Forgot one very important priority - private dental cover - essential these days.

After essentials I'd prioritise (in this order)

• Nutritious food.
• Basic make up (foundation and mascara) and a good face wash.
• Personal trainer (or gym membership if I couldn't afford that).
• A TV subscription service - Prime or Netflix.
• Socialising.

After bills we prioritise putting money in our pensions. It's the most tax efficient use of our money and we'll benefit when we're old. We have other savings pots as well, some of which is also for old age and the other is for holidays/house improvements etc. Then we have 'fun money' for clothes, haircuts, days out, books etc, that isn't split up though, it's whatever feels the most important each month.

We prioritise all bills (including pension which we're putting a lot into at the moment) and then after that we have a 'food and kids account' which is food and kids activities and a 'holiday and house' account which is as it sounds. Then DH and I have money each to our personal accounts to spend as we wish.
I'm really cutting back as I spend a lot on clothes and things I don't need. I've racked up some high credit card bills in the past but we're fairly high earners so it's never been a problem per se. We're shortly going to be joining a new gym as a family which will set us back a fair amount but hoping we'll spend a lot of active time there as a family which I think we all need.