Money Struggles

[KTeachMom]

Is £4k a month a good income for a family of three?

in the past we’ve been perfectly fine, but lately it seems as if we’ve been having squabbles over money.

£1K disposable income per month between two adults working full-time isn’t too bad, but if you’re not already, I would be working hard to accrue a buffer / rainy day fund of at least six months worth of essential expenses in case of job loss or other emergency situations.

You need to review everything. Can you increase your incomes either by getting better paid jobs, or second jobs/self employed work etc?

Then review all your other costs. If you can shave a few pounds off here and there, it can add up to a noticeable amount. Question the value of every expense to you - if you find you're spending £100 pm on work lunches for example, could you take packed lunches/leftovers which would probably cost £20-30 pm which frees up £70/80 to save or spend on other things. Repeat for mobiles, subscriptions, broadband etc. Look at changing your bank account for the free money. People have done this repeatedly and made £1k+ just for a bit of admin.

Have a look at Moneysaving Expert and do everything that is relevant to you.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/money-help/

The mortgage being so high indicates a larger house too. So that's higher CT and utilities to pay on top for a bigger property. Water appears to have gone through the roof in price this year.

The cost of living squeeze will affect you so much quicker when half of your income is going on the mortgage.

Forget holiday etc. They are luxuries anyway. Look at the essentials and having some sort of pot to call on if something important requires a repair.

It depends where you live to be fair. A £2k mortgage with a high interest rate in the south east could be a 3 bed terrace.

Mortgage too high as a % of income.
Also no mention of pension contributions which is worrisome.

I wouldn’t mention pension contributions in this scenario because it comes out of pre tax income. I’m assuming £4k is their net household income, after tax/NI/pension/other deductions.