Is this enough?

[Shining4321]

Hi,

I thought I had already posted this but it seems to have disappeared - or perhaps I didn't click post??

I am in the process of adjusting to being a one income household - just me and my 14 year old DS. I am determined to keep on top of my finances. I have set up my direct debits so that all of my bills are paid on payday. I also transfer £400 to a monzo account on payday and this is our food budget. I have a separate pot for petrol which I transfer £150 into.

This leaves me with £1000 which I have to use for fun, holidays, birthday's Christmas etc. Does this seem ok or will I find this tight??

do you mean £1k a month? That’s loads!

Does 'bills' include car insurance each month? What about a savings pot for car repair/tyres/MOT, and eventually replacing it?

Yes, it does look a lot on paper but I am conscious that I need to budget for the fun stuff - holidays, birthdays etc.

If that’s after food, bills and travel you’ll be in a good position!

£1000 fun money a month and you’re worried if you’re going to be ok?!

It will also need to cover clothes etc

Have a look at the MSE budget spreadsheet- it prompts you to put in absolutely everything then tells you what that means per month.

Thanks, I'll take a look

I think that I'd a pretty healthy budget but as you say it will need to cover clothing, birthdays, Xmas, holidays. Any other things like insurance, Netflix, internet, council tax, TV licence, or purely the former?

Hi, Insurances etc are all included in the bills that leave my account on payday

Doing a cash flow is well worth the effort. I update mine monthly and when DH says can we afford it I can say yes or no. I list all monthly expenses and then in a separate line do the yearly ones so there are no unexpected bills ( emergencies excepted!).

£1000 a month fun money. Are you being serious?

Don’t forget a direct debit to an investment account! Get that money invested and working for you 👏🏻👏🏻

Of course it's plenty.

You'll still need to keep an eye on it though, especially if previously you were used to multiple foreign holidays etc...you need to ensure you're adjusting your habits and lifestyle accordingly.

Put some away.

It’s not just fun money, though. Some of it would need to saved for future expenses eg replacement of white goods, car repairs, increase in insurance premiums etc.

Do you already have significant savings?

Save half at least then the rest is your fun budget. Seems a good position

I can't believe I'm reading this

OP, everyone will get their knickers in a twist saying this is of course enough (or words to that effect). But as someone posted upthread, it's important to account for all spends over the course of the year in your budget, so including things like haircuts, glasses, new tyres etc. Good luck.

I am not suggesting that I am in a mess or anything like that. I know that I am fortunate to have some spare money, however I am the only earner now so I need to make sure that I am using it wisely and that it will cover all of those discretionary things that we all use our money for.

@westisbest1982 I have about 4k but would like to build that up

I am single mum, two kids,

So my fun money is £1400 and I always have loads left!

I do annual passes for places I pay monthly for fun holiday things.. pay my holiday via DD for going abroad, birthdays I just keep back money.
We don't spend £400 on food we do spend less tbh. You will be absolutely fine xx

Like you I have Monzo and use my pots, for annual payments - like birthdays/ Christmas. I work out what the budget is and make sure I put 12 equal payments in. Even the annual ring doorbell has it's own pot for £5 a month!

Perhaps for the £1k 'fun' you can look at what you've spent over the last year on clothes, birthdays etc and also what feels like a suitable day out fund, especially as school holidays will typically be higher and put an equal amount aside every month. You'll get an idea of what can be used more spontaneously that way and hopefully have enough surplus to pop some into savings without the anxiety that when it gets to school uniform or new shoes/trainers that money will be tight