How much are you left with a month?

[NewMum2021x]

Hey everyone - I know this is nosey and probably rude. Sorry!

First time mum here getting our first place (only rented) with my partner this year. He works - I will be looking after the baby until nursery/school years. Worked out we will be left with roughly £300 a month after paying all bills? (Boyfriend works away in the week and has to drive 2 hours home every Friday and back on Sunday so we use about £200 patrol there)

Is this high or low or average compared to you? How do you make it work?

Sorry to be intrusive just thought I'd ask! Thanks in advance x

About £300 but thats only because I'm paying off my credit card at £300 a month to get rid of it by the end of the year.
When I've done that I'll be overpaying the mortgage each month so it's gone in 5 years.
That was average when I was your age, I earn more now because I'm older but being single again means i'm not as well off.

1. don’t be a SAHM unless you are married
2. when you say you have paid all bills are you including food , money for clothes , Christmas , birthdays and saving .

And a pension contribution to your personal pension?
And all the car expenses of MOT, tax, insurance, new tyres etc

We are left with around the same - £300. That's once all bills, petrol, food, savings etc. have been paid. We spend this money on treats, so takeaways, clothes etc.

It's not much I know but we're a family of 3 (dd is10 months) so we're not spending a lot on her. I'm working but only 8 hours a week so I don't earn much.

When I'm back working full time we'll have more money but with life as it is now we're doing absolutely fine and can't complain.

We are left with 600 which we split into 150 a week for food shopping and whatever light ehtertainment/ days out/ take aways we want that weekend. Then we have another 300ish for clothes and bigger monthly expenses like a zoo trip or something. This is after we have spent 80 on fuel.

Make sure you look into what you're entitled to help wise. Universal credit may be of help to you. Otherwise, if both parents are working then the gov has a tax free childcare scheme where they pay 20% of your childcare bill up to 120 pounds a month.

What’s the £300!for, is it completely just spending money or do you need to pay for clothes, birthdays etc. out of that? Do you have savings to cover any large expenses and emergencies? It’s very low compared to everyone I know, we have around £800 left after all expenses and savings. If you have enough in savings for emergencies though it’s not too bad.

@Mousehole10 my partner is 24 and I'm 23, I'm not working due to covid... he's in the military and only gets £20,000 salary. So yeah £300 left and that's after all bills... I do know it's very low no need to be rude

Does he get his get your home pay towards petrol? That can make a huge difference! As long as all bills are covered, £300 doesn't leave much wiggle room it an appliance breaks etc, but it is very challenging working when your partner is away all week, so I understand why.

Are there housing options closer to his work?
Are you taking advantage of all housing allowances available to him through his employment?

@GlowingOrb @Backbee he lives three hours away and we aren't married yet so can't get housing options. And I don't believe he can claim any petrol costs back either! I mean we have a few thousand savings for any emergencies... but £300 a month is after everything (we don't drink or smoke) so was thinking this might be ok?

Would you not consider getting married quickly?

@PrimeraVez we had our wedding booked for February but it's been cancelled because of lockdown restrictions :(

He needs to speak to the clerks, everyone is eligible for get you home pay. He just needs to provide proof of address, a council tax bill for example, and he will get mileage paid. It's not every weekend, I believe it's every other, but should definitely help. He could also speak to welfare, as once you have a child you might be eligible for a house on the patch even if not married if you did want to move closer.

I think it’s fine OP.

I would massively struggle with that amount left over after bills, I suppose it could be done but it would be very tight and not enjoyable. Have you checked if you would be entitled to any universal credit claiming as a couple?

Sorry op, just saw you had written after everything. I thought you meant after house and house holds only but if you’ve factored in car expenses, food, clothes etc then definitely doable.

When I was your age I had around that amount left per month and managed OK, but it was really hard to build any savings and I would often have to spend the small amount of savings I had on emergencies throughout the year (mainly car issues!)

I would struggle on it now, so while I think you'll be OK for a bit, I think at some point you're going to want to feel more financially secure, so maybe you can look into options for how you plan to make some money once your child starts nursery/school. Take some courses or something that you can turn into a business or something you can get a part time contract position doing even now while you're at home?

No way for me.

If I gave up work completely we would have that a week left and we have high mortage .
And that's after petrol, two cars, food, bills for everything (phone , tv etc)

But is there anyway you can stay in any type of work PT? Just to help keep your foot in even.

Can you get married at a registry office ASAP if you've had a wedding cancelled? That would mean that you can live on base, which would save a lot of money, time and you wouldn't be alone all week with the baby. Obviously you miss out on a big party but it's a lot of money for one day and being married is far more important right now.

Other consideration if you continue as you are would be what his spending is like while at work. Does he get everything provided, or does he have to fend for himself, which can get expensive if he's buying takeaways etc.

£300 might be manageable, but it really depends on what you mean by 'after everything'.

Does it include car repairs and replacement, MOT, insurance, house insurance, Christmas and birthdays, appliance replacement, baby clothes, bits and pieces like batteries and lightbulbs etc etc.

If not, you could quite often find that you need to pay for these sorts of essentials out of that £300 and sometimes you might struggle and obviously you want money for adult clothes, days out etc too.

Especially as, on the car front, he needs to keep a reliable vehicle running, as I expect that his employer won't be very sympathetic if he's late back on duty due to car trouble. Another reason to get married and move onto base/nearby ASAP, on top of the high cost of fuel, which is money that could be better spent elsewhere or saved.

@NewMum2021x he should be able to claim Get You Home for fuel, it won't cover it all but it should give a good amount, tell him to speak to PSF. He does need to be on the council tax bill though so he needs to officially live with you.

If you're planning on going into MQs once married it might be worth raising with welfare to see if you can get an MQ early due to Covid cancellation, the FAM is changing and non married couples will be allowed MQs in the not too distant future so it wouldn't be a tall ask, worth trying, though I personally would just have a quickie wedding and do a party later, you don't know how much time you'll miss together waiting for full restrictions to lift.

[quote NewMum2021x]@Mousehole10 my partner is 24 and I'm 23, I'm not working due to covid... he's in the military and only gets £20,000 salary. So yeah £300 left and that's after all bills... I do know it's very low no need to be rude [/quote]
I wasn’t being rude, you asked if it was high, low, average compared to others and I answered!

You mention your partner is on £20000, have you included child benefit in your calculations? It’s £90 per month. Also you might be entitled to UC when the baby is born.

If it's purely for frittering, it's fine - more than we have ever had. Although probably not enough for holidays abroad etc.

If it has to cover anything that comes up like Christmas, appliance breakdown, new car seat, car repairs/MOT, dentist bill, child needing new coat and shoes in the same month, etc, you'll always be chasing your tail and wondering why you have no spare cash. Although you say you have savings, you'll blow through them very quickly if you use them for everything like this, so you'd need to keep replenishing them.

Money Saving Expert is great in terms of helping you make the most of the money you have but I would also consider working part time once your child is about 1 or 2. And anything you can safely do before they are born.

When I was your age and had no dependants, 300 a month left over was fine.

Now with a child and another on the way, I must admit 300 would be a huge struggle. I think we have around 700 left after all bills, ish. And that's comfortable.

We have around £1,100, which is after all bills and saving £250 for misc stuff.

I could live off £300 after all bills are paid if I had to. I'm sure most people would. It just might feel a bit restrictive in terms of going out (when we can) as days out for a family can get expensive quickly. It would also be hard to balance saving as well, which while I understand you have a buffer now, could be easily wiped and then hard to replace.