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Cost of living

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How much do you spend per month eating out & entertainment?

38 replies

wherehasthesungone23 · 23/07/2023 15:46

I've recently joined YNAB and I'm setting up categories - I've myself, dh 2dc aged 2 & 5 and I've put down £100 per month for eating out and 150 for entertainment (days out/ soft play etc). Does this seem realistic - what do people with similar sized familes spend on these non essentials - I now it will vary from family to family but I'm trying to pay off some credit cards and make savings where I can - is this a realistic target figure for these figures over the summer holidays (will be less when kids back in school & childcare)

OP posts:
fgfhds · 25/07/2023 21:48

We put £600 a month into a leisure fund that covers most "fun" things (except Christmas and holidays which we save for separately) but it's a bit misleading as we also pay for kids' clothes, uniform, school trips and things like family presents from.

wherehasthesungone23 · 26/07/2023 14:27

Thanks everyone - the debt will take a while to pay off (approx 2 years) so I don't want to completely cut everything out for that amount of time eso for the kids sake. I've taken on board what you've said and had 2 days out with picnics this week which has saved loads and kids loved choosing what was going into their picnic. YNAB has been a bit confusing this month as I joined after payday so it didn't recognise what bills had already been paid so I'm looking forward to starting fresh on Monday when I'm paid. I think for now I will keep the amount as they are but aim to not spend as much of possible - I think having to take money out of categories like birthdays and Christmas will really encourage me not to overspend and being able to move money and pay more off the credit card if I don't hit those amounts for days out etc will be an incentive to try to get things as low cost as possible. I do find it hard to say no to the kids when they ask to go somewhere or when it comes to snacks / lunch out and about etc so that's defo something I'm going to have to work hard on for sure

OP posts:
FatCatatPaddingtonStation · 03/08/2023 19:37

We don’t have a set budget but we very rarely eat out now - we take snacks/ picnics/ flasks everywhere.
Try to do free activities - beach, woods etc. Kids not keen on heavy rain though so more difficult atm. Mine have outgrown library events and find the local museums boring. TBH , we usually stay in - games, movie afternoons, Lego.
we do about one, sometimes two trips out a month to trampoline parks, ninja warrior etc. Swimming. But we are on the coast and the kids have wetsuits so we try to utilise that. Spend a lot on our expensive local parking tho!

Maybe 100 pm?

Dotgat · 04/08/2023 07:33

When my children were pre school age we rarely did regular paid days out, except soft play and swimming. Only bought myself one hot drink and never stayed for lunch. We would do free museums, or buy an annual pass to an exciting attraction, free trips to library and do the Lego and craft days. They were in nursery most of the week though, I imagine we'd have spent more if we were at home all week.

Now they're older we budget £150 for entertainment, days out and take away. We rarely eat out as prefer the flexibility of picnics and take our own hot drink and snacks.

gogomoto · 04/08/2023 08:05

Try taking drinks and snacks routinely, ensure if you do eat out it's actually something nice, it's amazing how much you can waste on junk (been there) think how much easier it will be without debt

whiteroseredrose · 04/08/2023 08:09

When DC were that age we didn't eat out regularly. Cake in a cafe every couple of months. Unfortunately, even without debt it wasn't a huge priority. I couldn't bear the wasted food. If money is tight, which it must be if you have debt, then you need to cut your cloth accordingly.

You could have days out to National Trust places, maybe with friends. They usually have seats and tables for a picnic and space to run around while you finish off. During the school holidays they often set up free trails for children to follow. Some have farms, mazes, adventure playgrounds etc. We would rarely go into the house or mill but they used to have dressing up gear and activities to do.

After the initial outlay if you take a picnic the only cost is the petrol.

In Central Manchester the Science Museum and Manchester Museum are free and have picnic areas and I'm sure that's not unique. Lots of museums are.

Taking a bus or a train somewhere can be an adventure. We got a train to a forest for a walk and picnic which DC loved. Pre strikes obviously.

A beach day can cost very little other than petrol.

Do cinemas still do early morning cheap screenings? Buy your own sweets and drinks beforehand.

Do a bit of research for free and cheap places. There will be lots near where you live.

And finally I bought a book called I'm Bored by Suzy Bennett which had lots of ideas for things to do at home. At least half of the week we didn't go anywhere at all.

Ragwort · 04/08/2023 08:17

My DS is grown up now but I spent very little on 'entertainment' when he was younger, like others we lived rurally so there wasn't much to spend your money on.! We had loads of free activities available to us ... beach, walks, forests ... (always took picnics), community events, churches often have free holiday clubs .. my adult DS now helps at one Grin. Swapping play dates with other families. Probably helps that I am an ex Cub Leader so could easily plan a day's activities for nothing!
I probably sound a bit tight but I've always had a bit of an aversion to paying for 'entertainment' even as an adult I research 'free' events .. there's loads around if you know where to look, sometimes there's a collection for charity. And despite working in the hospitality industry for years I now rarely eat out, the standard of food and customer service seems so low now, unless you get very lucky, and I am not paying £££s for a mediocre meal.

SecretShambles · 01/09/2023 17:30

After a speedy summer I'm cutting my budget right down.

No eating out unless it's at works expense ( regular overnight stays get £25 meal allowance)

I do like a few drinks out and have been known to put a few away, I don't like rationing myself on the night so have planned no more than 2 boozy nights out a month.

I'm also cutting down on my Costa habit to once a week.

Let's see how much difference that makes

SecretShambles · 01/09/2023 17:31

*Spendy summer. Speedily spending though

Sarfar45 · 01/09/2023 17:59

That's loads at that ages there's so many free things to do.
Seriously they don't need so many days out, watch a movie at home, bake a cake, go to the park or the library.
Then when you do a day out it will be a nice treat.

Sarfar45 · 01/09/2023 18:01

Ask for a annual pass for your favourite place to visit for Christmas.
You could pay off £600- 800 by Christmas if you cut back !

endowarriorqueen1996 · 10/09/2023 19:33

Heya.

I now have a free water bottle in order to help costs. I get five free books at my nearest library in question these days. I only drink water before five pm each day. I cut my council tax bill in half (I always have to split the total cost). Best wishes. I even had a road meeting back in the summer in addition to talk about money.

We spent a entire evening finding some other ways of saving money. I made some brief summary notes on my free options as well. I tend to look very closely and carefully at the theatre or cinema discounts and advertised wine offers. Make full
use of free resources. Every little helps. I manage to borrow fresh fruit and veg instead of buying it.

Research help to afford the cost of a house schemes. Also research schemes for healthy eating and debt control. Research food banks and benefits. Talk to a financial advisor.

NursieBernard · 10/09/2023 20:37

I have a different budget month to month depending on if it's school holidays or family birthdays etc. I can see my from spread sheet that I have spent £685 on entertainment and eating out since January. This includes activities like trampoline parks, sporting events and the cinema etc.

2 and 5 year olds are easy to entertain without spending a fortune and always take a picnic or at least drinks and snacks.

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