How much do you live on per year?

Lalaladybird

What is your annual expenditure? I'm not asking what your income is ....someone earning £50k might be only spending £15k per annum therefore managing to save £35k a year or someone earning £15k might be spending £25k per annum and getting more and more into debt.

I was just wondering how much (or how little) MSEers and especially the hardcore OSers manage to live on a year.....and how do you do it?

Penelope_Penguin

2 adults, 2 teens and we live on ?????? Actually, I was going to say, but why don't you tell first

As this isn't strictly an OS topic, I'll leave it to get the input of OSers and then move to the budgeting board.

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Cookie_monster_7

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

2 adults, 2 teens and we live on ?????? Actually, I was going to say, but why don't you tell first

As this isn't strictly an OS topic, I'll leave it to get the input of OSers and then move to the budgeting board.

Oops sorry....haha, we (2 adults, 2 kids) live on about £18k per year and I feel like we are really living quite frugally so it shouldn't be this much! We're not getting into debt though so thats a plus.

Penelope_Penguin

Cookie_monster wrote: »

Oops sorry....haha, we (2 adults, 2 kids) live on about £18k per year and I feel like we are really living quite frugally so it shouldn't be this much! We're not getting into debt though so thats a plus.

Are you the OP in disguise Is that £18k (£1500/mth) before tax?

Cookie_monster_7

That's not our income, that's our expenditure!

ceridwen

Hmmm....a very moot point here chez ceridwen.

Reason - I've been doing a lot of "investment spending" recently - ie stuff to grow my own food, preserve my own food, make my own cosmetics, useful reference books, etc.

Right - thats now pretty much complete - so I havent got exact figures worked out yet - as obviously it will make a difference now I will be saving "surplus" income rather than "investment spending" it. I'm hazarding a guess that basic spending (inc bills and 75% of the Council Tax bill on the house) will be around £500 per month. Thats with mortgage paid off/no debt/house is Band B Council Tax on the one hand and the fact that my bills are much dearer because I'm single and EVERYTHING is dearer because I live in a dear part of the country and I'm not able to grow much food (because my garden is so small). I believe in living pretty simply - so theres no car/no tv/no smoking/I'm vegetarian. If I was married and lived in a "standard price" part of the country and with the larger garden I'd have if married (better house!) then I estimate living/my half share of the bills would be around £350 per month.

Theres so many variables in this:
- single or married/living together
- how dear a part of the country one lives in (I say that very ruefully in my case..:cool:)
- how much of one's food one can grow
- level of work expenses

before you start going into all the personal choice things like:
- children
-pets
- cars
- expensive hobbies

Dave101t

i live on 10k a year, thats based on a single person as my wife pays her side herself.
i also blow 200 quid a month at the casino, but dont drink, smoke, go out much or eat at resteraunts.

Hardup_Hester

We've lived on my salary of £833 a month, but probably couldn't do it now, we are now living on £13000 pa, there's only 2 of us but we do live in an expensive area.

tru

There's 4 adults here.

According to my spreadsheet, about £1300 per month, £15600 per year. That includes paying off debt, but doesn't include any repairs/replacements to washing machines cookers, etc.

But my kids both pay keep. Our chickens and the internet both make more money than they cost. If I went out to work, the gas and elec bills would go down - but the money I earn from home more than covers the extra.

I keep household 'accounts' and biz accounts on seperate spreadsheets (although the money is all in together). Maybe I should merge them just for today, to see what the actual amount is once all the extra income bits are added

EllieA_3

good lord, where is all my money going then??

We are living on about £1700 a month (just over £20,000 a year) before any sorts of treats/holidays or general "spendings" thats just for the bills.

We have no debts bar the morgage and the only "frivalty's" i'd concider we have that comes out of that money is the spends on the cat, and sky/internet which is about £80 a month.

I simply can't comprehend how someone can live on less than £1000... i really can't, we arn't living in an expensive area. so where is all my money going? or more to the point how on earth do you guys do it??

ceridwen

EllieA wrote: »

good lord, where is all my money going then??

We are living on about £1700 a month (just over £20,000 a year) before any sorts of treats/holidays or general "spendings" thats just for the bills.

We have no debts bar the morgage and the only "frivalty's" i'd concider we have that comes out of that money is the spends on the cat, and sky/internet which is about £80 a month.

I simply can't comprehend how someone can live on less than £1000... i really can't, we arn't living in an expensive area. so where is all my money going? or more to the point how on earth do you guys do it??

The bills are as low as I can get them - cheapest insurance provider, water meter, no tv licence, cheapest fuel provider/careful with use of fuel and water (but if its needed - then I do use it). Food - cooked from scratch.

When you say "bills" - is that exactly what you mean? - or are you referring to all the basic living costs (ie food as well).

To get the nearest we can to comparing like with like on this thread - then I think we need to state the amount of money we spend EXCLUDING mortgage/rent or debts. Personally - I talk about "bills" on the one hand (meaning gas/electric/insurance/gas servicing/telephone & broadband/water) and Council Tax as something completely separate (because thats a tax I have been lumbered with - the level of which depends to some extent on my income coming in - ie if there was no income or only JSA coming in - then I wouldnt have to pay it).