What do you do with you maintenance?

[Starlightbright1]

I receive £10 a fortnight.

I do not tell DS I receive anything as £10 probably sounds quite a lot.

I just let it go into my account and I don't spend it on anything special.

Mine goes in my bank and on bills, I know some people do special stuff with it, save etc, but I couldn't afford mortgage, bills, food etc without it. I figure it's all going on DD anyway.

I don't get any now, but should do in about 2 years. I'm planning on learning to drive with it

Don't get anything these days

It goes in the household pot.

Mine gets put into my bank weekly, and just gets sucked up with whatever comes out of there, nothing special.

Bills, rent, food... I wanted to try and manage without it so I could build up some savings but it's just never happened.

Same as twirlypoo, ex is really unreliable so I wanted to manage everything without it but unfortunately I've come to rely on it for ds nappies and wipes . Dreading the month he decides to go on holiday and can't afford to give me anything, just know it's coming he's too selfish not to

I put it in my savings account for holidays and days out. I don't add into the household budget in case he decides to stop paying so its treated as extra money. I've just paid privately for DS to have a brace and used the maintenance for that.

I've always tried to pay the normal household expenses, bills etc from what I earn and not to rely on it. I know that's not always possible for some.

I get around 35 per week, depending on the exchange rate, and receive it every quarter. I immediately put 10% of it into a saving account to cover the times it doesn't get paid (has happened three times and left me struggling to pay for a residential school trip I'd already signed ds up for).
Assuming that saved money remains there it will go to pay for ds's driving lessons and car insurance (he's a teen now). Any left over I'll transfer to a savings account for him when he is 18.

The rest goes on things I could not afford for ds over the years; Birthday parties, music and swimming lessons when he was at primary school, school trips and activities, days out, we try and go to the theatre once a year, the odd weekends away (travelodge booked early enough is reasonable), and we've managed the odd (cheap caravan or PGL type activity) holiday too.

Now he's a teen I spend some on clothes that I couldn't afford otherwise (they are into labels big time at school and ds got given a hard time for not having the 'right' shoes on a non uniform day - so he now has a pair of vans).

When he was younger I used some for one of purchases like a wooden climbing frame for the garden, and a storage heater for his bedroom.

Mine used to go in the household pot (when twatface works for the small window that CSA catch up with him).

A friend of mine opened an account under both children's name and put in the kings ransom of £10 a week in it so when they grow up she could hand it to them... meanwhile she struggled with paying for household bills in the now, I did suggest she might want to just pout it in the household pot.

The amount is so small and in my case so erratic, it's not a source of money I make plans with or even expect. Always amuses me that I even get it when it does appear (vanishingly rarely).

Having said that when I read the title of this thread I was so tempted to say I use it to fund my luxury lifestyle of Yachts, Cristal Champagne, designer labels, lavish holidays, plastic surgery etcetcetc...

household pot.

Having said that when I read the title of this thread I was so tempted to say I use it to fund my luxury lifestyle of Yachts, Cristal Champagne, designer labels, lavish holidays, plastic surgery etcetcetc...

Yes I do that with my £10 a fortnight

Look at us all, living the high life.... What ever would we do without our poor hard done to exs funding our lifestyles eh?!

(I'm usually not this bitter but ds dad has just gone on holiday with his new lady friend and I'm feeling hard done too tonight!)

I separate mine and put it in a different account, Im one of the "lucky" few who do get the csa specified amount, still ridiculous for 3 but still better than nothing at all....
A few years ago he stopped it with less than 24hrs notice, that month went tits up, I learnt not to rely on it and separate it.
I dip into it during the month for kids clothes, sports kits, shoes and school trips, I also try and add little bits myself as it then pays for a pgl type holiday for them in the summer and their clubs.

Well, after the shock that we were getting any at all after 18 months of the CMS chasing the wanker, it has been treated as bonus extra money. I wouldn't dare figure it into the monthly income - too inconsistent and unreliable.

I get £5 a month to cover DD and DS (£2.50 a month each!) so don't really plan anything special.

ExH is too unreliable to expect anything more. Mind you I'm slightly bitter at the mo as he came down to see them on Easter Sunday with no Easter egg and no birthday pressie for DS (7) that he had been promising him for weeks, because he "didn't have any money". Yet miraculously after dropping them back home, he managed to meet up with an old friend "for a few beers". Priorities all in order then...

MrsTodds I am not surprised you are slightly can pick on up for £1. I would be more hopping mad much like the Easter bunny

It just goes into my bank account and is treated like any other income I receive - i.e. spent or saved but not accounted for separately.

I don't need it to live on and I do have savings, but I don't consider that I am saving the maint, my savings are just a part of what happens to my income.

Ifr I think about it, as I am now with this thread - then both ex and myself contribute to the kids costs and I am then saving/spending what remains of my income after my outgoings. So I spend the maint, and part of my own earned income, on the kids, and I spend part of my own earned income on other things, and I save part of my own earned income.

I get none. But if I did I'd spend it on shoes and gin

I spend some of mine on a cleaner - I work ft, have a 4 and 6 yo and was being run into the ground. Rest goes on usual bills and childcare fees. I am still stunned that someone could walk out on their kids and think money will make it ok. Even worse that lots of you don't even get that!

Just goes into the bank really.

I don't really need it. I'll get round to siphoning it out into DD's account one of these days...

Why don't you tell your ds?

Stbxh was useless with money. He format know how much the bills are and he doesn't know what we owe on the mortgage.

He gives me a proper whack of money.

I earn the mortgage plus £100 a month. So in theory I pay the mortgage and gas bill.
His whack pays for everything else, clubs, music lessons, swim lessons, decent school shoes, clothes heat light etc.

I manage to save a fair bit of it too for holidays and my solicitor bill
But it's not viable long term because I don't want to be reliant on him for the mortgage so would rather have that in my name only, affordable to just me and my wage then take a more in line maintanence.

He doesn't seem to be in a hurry to discuss money or divorce so I shall carry on receiving my whack. 2 yes and counting.

Sorry for typos.
Doesn't know
2 years and counting

Gas, electricty, food etc...goes in the pot.

£5 a week? Id be embarrassed on your son's father's behalf too. No point saying 'son your father gives us £20 a month".