Extra money for you or every penny on debts?

shellyjane

Every month I pay £700 on bills including groceries, and pay £250 towards my debts. This leaves me £100 left of my monthly wage for 'me'. This £100 includes any social spend, clothes, health and beauty products, and any other 'treats' such as magazines, books and chocolate, etc.

I am caught up in two feelings about this £100 'me' money. Half of me feels like I should have more money and not pay back so much money towards my debts, (I don't have to pay £250, I do because I want to pay them off quicker), and half of me feels guilty for having this £100 for me and I should use this money towards my debts.

What I would like to know is...

How much money do you keep aside for YOU?

Does a true DFW pay every single spare penny (after bills) towards their debts?

tsharp

That answer depends on how OD i was on payday!

loubie_lou

I'd have to have some 'me' money otherwise i'd go insain!!

postingalwaysposting

hi shelly, i wont be of help here but i give myself £3 a week spends = £12 a month (give or take depending on weeks) i then have £8-£18 a month for tolietries, girls stuff, cleaning stuff and music downloads = £30 if i want anything from ebay i have to have the money in my paypal account and i get it there through selling, if i want anything 'big' ie over £5 then i wait a month and contimplat if i need it etc etc and if i decide to buy it i will save for it, i used to be a complusive shoper ie look at it, want it, buy it but since becoming debt free i am toataly different, the best bit is liking something, deciding after waiting and then trying to find it somewhere at the cheapest price and usually through quidco so i get money back, after my bills are payed (and regular savings ie xmas/birthdays) anything left (except this £30) goes into savings.... unfortunatly it doesnt always work this way but 99% of the time it does :j....

you need some me money otherwise you wouldnt want to be debt free its like you are punishing yourself, you are doing that already with overpayments

shellyjane

you need some me money otherwise you wouldnt want to be debt free its like you are punishing yourself, you are doing that already with overpayments

Hi posting

Think you might be right there! I am always thinking I should pay more cos I feel bad for getting into debt in the first place! Never realised that before...:A

Brassic

I don't have any me money atm. Everything goes towards debts, bills, and kids stuff. Next month we will have 50 quid from the first credit card paid off to decide what to do with. I want to put it straight back in debts to clear another for some breathing space, but dh isn't so keen. We shall see (well, he shall see ).

Actually, I lie. I do have me money. On Fridays I splash out and get a fancy garlic bread to go with our pizza, things like that keep us from going insane.

postingalwaysposting

shellyjane wrote:

Hi posting

Think you might be right there! I am always thinking I should pay more cos I feel bad for getting into debt in the first place! Never realised that before...:A

yes but its not humanly possible to live on nothing (unless you are a hermit :rolleyes:) i think you need to weigh up the pros and cons, yes paying even more than you do now on your debts will get you debt free that bit quicker but what will it do to your person/your sanity/personality.... :A

i am just hard on myself, i have been told that by many people but i am saving for my future and it has to be done if i want any type of quality to my future

Brassic

postingalwaysposting wrote:

but what will it do to you are a person/your sanity/personality.... :A

Moooooooooooooooooo! <twitch> <wink> <twitch> Baaaaaaaa.

Nothing, doesn't affect me at all.

<twitch> <wink> <shake>

postingalwaysposting

Brassic wrote:

Moooooooooooooooooo! <twitch> <wink> <twitch> Baaaaaaaa.

Nothing, doesn't affect me at all.

<twitch> <wink> <shake>

MoneyMagnet

I always have a bit of casual money for myself - might only be £10 a week when I'm in full-on DFW mode (like I am right now), or sometimes a bit more if I've had more money coming in (my income is a bit variable). I'm finding at the moment that I don't really want to buy stuff I don't need, cos I'm really keen to clear my debt in the next year or so (plus I have a lot of pre-LBM 'stuff' to keep me going!), but I like knowing that there is some flexibility & I can have some treats if I want them. If every penny had to go to the debts, I'd probably just end up rebelling!

pivotalgubbins

I'm in a luckier position of not having any debt (apart from a student loan) so allow myself £50 a week for 'me' money. This includes money for going out, clothes, gadgets, etc... anything other than the basics really. All my other money goes towards my savings, which is quite a bit at the moment as I still live with my Dad.

However, I don't always spend the £50, so anything left over will generally go into my savings or go towards bills for the following month. Now and then I'll have a busy month and spend a bit more, and this is covered my quieter months.

As long as you are satisfied with your budget and are happy that you are paying enough of your debts quickly enough, then don't worry too much. Everyone is different and different people need different comforts. If your spending hundreds a month on 'stuff', that obviously isn't good enough when you have debt, but £100 seems reasonable to me as an outsider!