Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Money matters

Find financial and money-saving discussions including debt and pension chat on our Money forum. If you're looking for ways to make your money to go further, sign up to our Moneysaver emails here.

Flip

Original poster

How much disposable income do you have?

19 replies

Pointlessfan · 16/08/2014 18:18

I'm trying to work out if we can afford for me to return to work part time when my maternity leave ends. We've worked out that we would have about £300 a month left after all the bills. That would have to cover things like clothes, hair cuts, birthday/xmas gifts and holidays. I think we can manage on that as we haven't exactly been going out for drinks, meals etc since having a baby! DH thinks it would leave things very tight, especially if there was any kind of emergency eg if the boiler packed up or something.
I just wondered how much other families have left over as disposable income each month? Thanks.

OP posts:

FelicityFoxton · 16/08/2014 18:22

Well people have wildly differing incomes but for us as a family of four , we have £700 a month left over. We split this equally between the two of us and it's for personal spends , clothes , haircuts , going out etc.

Original poster

Pointlessfan · 16/08/2014 18:38

We'd probably have about that left if we didn't have to pay for nursery. Childcare is amazingly expensive isn't it?

OP posts:

FelicityFoxton · 16/08/2014 22:12

Thankfully that's a little better for me now as my youngest is 7 and no nursery type fees to pay. Still costs me around 50 quid a week though.

Everything improves money wise when child care ceases

Higheredserf · 17/08/2014 00:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

Pointlessfan · 17/08/2014 10:42

Thank you. I'm starting to think £300 maybe isn't very much after all!

OP posts:

purplemurple1 · 17/08/2014 10:46

Don't just think in the short term consider how it will be in 5 or 10 yrs time as well. If you leave your job will you be able to return to your career? Once you have stopped and taken on most of the childcare and your partner has been promoted will you be able to return to a 50 50 split or will you always have to work around the children. How will that affect your earning potential over your lifetimes?

Original poster

Pointlessfan · 17/08/2014 18:24

Well I'm a teacher so going back to full time after being part time is relatively straight forward compared with many jobs. Also whilst we might have a few tight years now once DD starts school we won't need holiday child care so we can probably make up for it a bit then. I am a bit worried about how my pension might be affected though, I don't still want to be working when I'm 70! I just want to spend as much time as possible with my lovely baby at the moment!

OP posts:

Shannith · 17/08/2014 18:36

Loads. Sorry.

foxdongle · 18/08/2014 12:30

After bills/food/long term and short term savings/holidays/car and house stuff is covered we have about £1500 pm left over.

You would have to budget well. Think it would depend on any savings or debts you have. Could you do it for a year maybe?

Siarie · 18/08/2014 12:36

More than I care to share to be honest, I'm just glad that we haven't got this situation of when two incomes become one. It can be really hard on families who have been used to dual incomes before children.

TheReluctantCountess · 18/08/2014 12:42

About £50 a month between three of us.

teacher54321 · 18/08/2014 14:12

We probably have about 800 a month left after all bills and food and petrol are paid for. We've just bought a house though so all our outgoings have been all over the place-am hoping it will settle down a bit and we will be able to cut down on our food bill (fewer takeaways and ready type meals). DH has also just started to get the train to work which means our petrol bill will go right down. I wouldn't want any less disposable income than we have and deliberately went back to work in order to have it. We had many years of no money at all, and I don't want to go back to that.

CremeEggThief · 18/08/2014 21:51

About £475 a month to include food and travel.

KinkyDorito · 19/08/2014 09:33

You can cut your cloth - it is possible to live to a budget and look at ways to reduce your expenditure. Moneysavingexpert is a great site for this. You can save money from some things to redirect to fun things!

One thing you need to give more thought to is how you cope working FT as a teacher with a little one. This will also be dependent on what ages you teach, your marking and planning load, exam classes, subject, etc. E.g. teaching a KS3 heavy timetable might be less pressured than one with Year 10, 11, 12 and 13, but exercise book heavy.

I went back FT (Secondary English with additional responsibility) and managed, but I am supremely overstretched at times and my house has suffered. I know my children are shortchanged at times, especially when I work the entire weekend to get caught up (frequently). All but one of my colleagues went PT after having babies and seem to really appreciate the extra day or two with their children. They do still work bits on their days off though.

I did feel quite jealous at the time of PT, but I couldn't afford to do it myself as I earn more than DH.

If you do return FT, get as organised as you can. I don't and I wish I did .

KinkyDorito · 19/08/2014 09:36

The other beauty of teaching is that you can very easily change to FT should PT not work out for you.

ilovemydoggy · 19/08/2014 09:38

We have about 400 most months unless I do well at work and get some commission but that's very rarely. It's only me and dh and I do tend to try and save about 50/75 a month aswell out of that and we manage fine.

Metalgoddess · 20/08/2014 10:30

£800-1000. We manage on this extremely well, eat out lots, cinema, theatre,days out etc and tend to still save £200-500 per month out of that.We do have a separate holiday/xmas and birthday and car insurance account though. I could live with £300 per month but would need a lifestyle adjustment, if you are not too bothered about going out lots then I think it could be done so long as you have some savings in case of emergency, boiler, car repairs etc.

Supermum222 · 21/08/2014 05:28

Hi,

Around £1300 left. We are paying extra on the mortgage so should be rid of that within the next 5 years...an extra £900 a month.
My children are 6 and 10. We still pay a childminder for after school and during the holidays. Averages about £150 a month but we were paying a lot more.
School holidays off will save you a fortune.

Original poster

Pointlessfan · 21/08/2014 21:29

Hi thanks for the replies. It does seem like a massive drop in income but we've been managing fine while I've been on mat leave and I think KinkyDorito is right - I teach secondary and have tonnes of marking. I'm not too bothered about being at work in the day but dreading the thought of working all weekend. Being p/t would def ease that. I also think separate accounts to save for xmas/hols is a great idea. Our holidays tend to be camping so not usually expensive.
Now I just need to find a nursery, get my head round the childcare vouchers and ask if work will let me go p/t...

OP posts:

Flip

Swipe left for the next trending thread