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Original poster

Could you live off £500 per month?

80 replies

mothertobe789 · 04/04/2019 18:17

We are currently looking to move house, have found a home we love but it is more than we were thinking about paying. After all bills, including food and petrol we would only be left with around £500 per month between us to cover social life and clothes etc, so £250 each really. We will have around £6k in savings for emergencys, but don't want to touch that unless we really need to. Do you think this is doable?

OP posts:
Original poster
mothertobe789 · 04/04/2019 20:51

I seem to have annoyed some people, not my intention. Like some others have pointed out the 500 a month is not spending money, I have possibly worded this wrong in op. This would have to cover unexpected bills, holidays, saving, presents, holidays, haircuts, clothes, car repairs, mots, house repairs, etc.
I understand that people have less than me, but alot of people also have alot more. I'm just trying to get people's opinions that have been in similar situations before making such a massive commitment like buying a house. Sorry to offend.

OP posts:
Orchidflower1 · 04/04/2019 20:57

young yes I appreciate everyone can worry about money however it’s the tone of the op that suggests that £500 is a measly sum which it isn’t.

If the op had incorporated that fact and had included the sentiments of her most recent update in her op then it would have been a different kettle of fish.

Hecateh · 04/04/2019 20:58

Before I read the OP I thought, well, yes, I could, but I would struggle below £600. Then I read the post. Hmmmm.

My £600 is to cover everything albeit I am much older and already own my own home and there is only one of me.

£600 per month covers council tax, utilities, food, wine, car expenses, cheap holiday.

There have been times in my past that I have spent more - if it's there it will get spent but it can be done.

You need to look at what you spend your money on now and how much of it is 'essential' in your own eyes. That is, what can you go without, without regret and what would you resent losing.

Come up with a sum and then add 30% for contingencies. If you can have your new house under these constraints (or close) then you should be fine - otherwise I suspect you will struggle

Ariela · 04/04/2019 21:23

Definitely do-able, we spend less than that but have low bills anyway.

NGC2017 · 04/04/2019 21:59

What I would give to have £500 a month to play with. After all my outgoings I am left with £109 a month to feed myself, son and our dog. On the 14th of last month I had £9 to last us. I have no money for a social life or to take my child out.

irregularegular · 04/04/2019 22:01

for a couple? or a family with young children? or older children?

makes quite a difference...

NGC2017 · 04/04/2019 22:02

Sorry I forgot to add as long as you don't go beyond your means you will be fine. We are only struggling because of the amount of debt I was left in my the ex. Sometimes I don't know how I do it, but you just do x

irregularegular · 04/04/2019 22:08

ok I've seen now. couple and a baby.

I think it's a fairly meaningless question to be honest. Obviously it is perfectly doable, lots of people spend less. But that doesn't mean it is the best choice for you. You have to look at the alternatives. House X, which has these plus/minus points, would leave us with £X spending money, which we anticipate budgeting as XXX for holidays, clothes, going out, presents etc. Or House Y, which has these plus/minus points, wold leave us with £Y spending money, which we anticipate budgeting as....

You can't just ask about it in the abstract.

It's an awful lot less than we spend, I have to confess.

LizzieMacQueen · 04/04/2019 22:43

See if you can get an offset mortgage so your savings can at least be useful.

RickyGold · 04/04/2019 22:49

If you are going to get regular pay rises then it is doable but I would not like to do it long term. After you pay for holidays, Christmas, birthdays, repairs etc out, you won't have much money left each month

Original poster
mothertobe789 · 04/04/2019 22:58

@lizziemacqueen....an offset mortgage??

OP posts:
IWantMyHatBack · 04/04/2019 23:00

You didn't offend me, I have a similar amount after bills.. I usually manage to save £200ish a month, but we do very cheap holidays and I run a very old reliable car. In time, half of that will go towards car payments and things will be tight again.
Reckon if you have 6k in savings and are otherwise sorted, you'll be fine (unless you spend £2-3k a year on holidays etc)

blue25 · 04/04/2019 23:06

We'd find that tight to be honest, but we put aside money each month for holidays, savings, mortgage overpayments. If we stopped any of these I guess we could survive on £500.

It really depends on what you're used to and the sacrifices you're prepared to make for the house.

WBWIFE · 04/04/2019 23:08

We don't spend anything on clothes etc. Bills and food and that's it. So quite easily

Original poster
mothertobe789 · 04/04/2019 23:10

@iwantmyhatback no we definitely don't spend that on holidays, I am lucky that my mum has a caravan that she kindly let's us use for free, now that we have a baby I think these types of holidays are the best, I used to love going as a child. I realise I'm very lucky to have that, so dont need to worry about holidays if we weren't able to go abroad for a few years.

OP posts:
DustyDoorframes · 05/04/2019 08:03

@NGC2017 if debt is leaving you that tight you should talk to stepchange and find out your options. If you ring them you don't need to commit to anything, but they may well be able to help. Thanks

redstapler · 05/04/2019 08:22

social life and clothes

on the assumption that you are adults and have stopped growing, why do you need to buy clothes every month?

user1471426142 · 05/04/2019 08:53

I think you’ve had a tough time. Obviously some people have less but this shouldn’t be a race to the bottom and you need to think about whether you’re stretching too far. It really depends what you are used to spending and what you’d need to cut out. For me it would be too tight, for others it would be comfortable.

Realistically holidays would probably have to go and you’d have to budget each month for car expenditure, Christmas etc so your monthly spending would maybe be £250-£300 a month max.

BarbaraofSevillle · 05/04/2019 09:19

If you're used to spending more, it will be hard. I know there's plenty of people saying that it's loads, but there are equally many people who spend a lot more and don't have what looks like an extravagent lifestyle.

The OP says it has to cover holidays, car repairs, presents and probably things like white goods replacements as well as clothes and personal spending.

All these things will significantly eat in to the £500 - OP have you included insurances, medical/dental/optician bills, haircuts etc? An expensive car repair, and they really will struggle and any sort of foreign holiday looks quite unaffordable on that budget, unless they spend very little on other stuff day to day.

flirtygirl · 05/04/2019 10:39

A foreign holiday does Not look unavoidable with 6k excess income a year and a baby so no 3rd person to pay for.

flirtygirl · 05/04/2019 10:50

Unavoidable = unaffordable

NGC2017 · 05/04/2019 11:02

Thanks for your advice @DustyDoorframes

I suppose I have been digging my heels in not wanting to ask for help. It hasn’t always been this way, but since Jan 18, my son's maintenance has been very irregular. It's probably better to say if doesn't come at all as in most cases it doesn’t. We have a Deduction of Earnings order but for the some reason the employer is allowed to get away with no paying. It's made things extremely hard, especially this year. I still have another 2.5 years of paying the ex’s debt off too so obviously any loss financially is hard.

I have been reluctant to seek help because I suppose I do feel a sense of pride that I am doing it on so little, that my DS is absolutely oblivious to our hardship, and that I will hopefully get it out the way by the time my DS is 7. I know that sounds silly but I have to try and find a positive somewhere lol. I have also been able to maintain a really good credit rating despite the shit we were left in.

But I know the option is always there if it gets too difficult

ChampooPapi · 05/04/2019 11:08

@mothertobe789 i do think living closure to family actually saves money when you are off with a new baby. So factor that in as I did the same and now spend a lot less as can visit parents for free and everything is on my doorstep so travel costs, buying food/coffee out has been reduced a lot.

Go for it without hesitation i'd say! Good luck Smile

Tealtights · 05/04/2019 20:20

Honestly no I don't think it's that much, clothes? Socialising? Holidays? Christmas? Birthdays? Obviously if it's of necessity you'd make it work, but if you are actively choosing this I would think long and hard about whether a cheaper house is possible. I think lifestyle is more important than disproportionately spending on a house, we specifically bought a smaller house to ensure we could do holidays, meals out etc etc.

SoyDora · 05/04/2019 20:32

Of course it’s doable, many people live on less. That’s not really the point though, it depends what lifestyle you will be happy with.
We deliberately spent less on a house than we could reasonably afford as we like spending our money on meals out/weekends away/day trips etc (3 young DC). £500 a month wouldnt enable us to do the things we personally want to do, so we planned our budget accordingly. You have to decide what means the most to you... the house, or a comfortable lifestyle.

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