What % of your take home do you use to pay debt?

mrsb83_2

Me and my DH have joint debts which we are clearing at a rate of £900.00 a month, which is 35% of our combined take home pay. This will leave us debt free in 2 years.

We could save more money if we cut back further in other areas. We're planning a very frugal month in March which will allow us to throw another £400 at the debt, by not contributing to the funds we have for things like home maintenance and by cutting our entertainment budget to £0 for the month.

But we couldn't do this every month. The sacrifices don't seem worth it to us; as we are, we're overpaying, we have ££ in the bank to go to the pub, we don't panic if the car needs to go to the garage etc.

I was just curious if 35% was high or low compared to other DFWs.

tbourner

I think it's high, but we're the same, £880 on debts from a £2800 income!

goodgirl80

I pay 510.77 a month
Income 1195.67. Maybe a bit higher % than yours?
But I literally do NOTHING for myself.
42% on debts
49% goes on household and personal bills
Just under 5% on Christmas/ Birthdays/ Car Tax/ MOT - just upped this to 5%
4% on me! - trying to be VERY careful with this so I can overpay debts quicker. Last month the 9% as well as what I needed to overpay my loan went on car repairs so hoping all goes to plan so I can build up for things that need replacing in the future.

No wonder I'm depressed:eek:

mrsb83_2

goodgirl80 wrote: »

I pay 510.77 a month
Income 1195.67. 42% Maybe a bit higher % than yours?
But I literally do NOTHING for myself.

That sounds really tough. It'll be worth it.

tbourner wrote:

I think it's high, but we're the same, £880 on debts from a £2800 income!

I thought it was a lot, but when I see other people's SOAs, I feel like we're not trying hard enough.

I'm really looking forward to the extra £900 in 2 years, that's for sure.

goodgirl80

mrsb83 wrote: »

That sounds really tough. It'll be worth it.



I thought is was a lot, but when I see other people's SOAs, I feel like we're not trying hard enough.

I'm really looking forward to the extra £900 in 2 years, that's for sure.

It will be worth it. I WILL be debt free this year! :j

tbourner

mrsb83 wrote: »

I thought it was a lot, but when I see other people's SOAs, I feel like we're not trying hard enough.

I'm really looking forward to the extra £900 in 2 years, that's for sure.

Yeah ours is kind of a compromise I suppose, there are always suggestions on SOA threads that either me or the missus aren't willing to give up.

poddle911

That's interesting, we're probably paying about 35% too - we could be tougher on ourselves too, but our view is that you gotta live!

I'm looking forward to the extra cash too - it makes me wonder what other people do with all their money! Quite a few of my DF friends say they don't have any savings, so I can't work out what they're doing with the extra £1k (or whatever) a month...

Spiritedwolf

We're spending about 25% of our income on debt repayment. (~£300/£1200)

It seems less than other people's but we struggle to plan for irregular spending or saving for presents, and things can be tight by the end of the month. So we couldn't afford more. We're doing better than we used to be though, and I'm looking forward to our DFD, can you imagine a 25% pay rise after tax? It just doesn't happen!

Debt Free: Spring 2012

lakxx_2

I'm paying around 25% but I've got no room with outgoings to push that up or I would do. I've been paying off for five years at times paying up to 50% and not eating to the point of making myself very ill because I couldn't afford it, I then took a hard re-evaluation, you have to live too. I'm lucking forward to being debt free end of this year!

Swinstie73

OMG, I've just worked out I've been paying between 40 and 50% of my take home pay to my debts! That's flipping ridiculous, although I will be debt free next month, so hoping I can then start saving that money. It's been a struggle but my mortgage is low and I've no kids so suppose it's easier for me to do this.

goodgirl80

Spiritedwolf wrote: »

We're spending about 25% of our income on debt repayment. (~£300/£1200)

It seems less than other people's but we struggle to plan for irregular spending or saving for presents, and things can be tight by the end of the month. So we couldn't afford more. We're doing better than we used to be though, and I'm looking forward to our DFD, can you imagine a 25% pay rise after tax? It just doesn't happen!

Debt Free: Spring 2012

How about 42% pay rise! OMG