How much do you live on per month?

juliebunny

What lovely ideas on here for mothers day. I do photos for people I know now who are older and really have everything they need, and sometimes the plants present someone mentioned too.
I get photo frames from the car boot sale in the summer to stock up, and print pictures at work so very cheap!

When my mum was around, :A she honestly didn't give a hoot about presents. She just wanted to spend time with us. I have so many regrets...:(

Make a card, pick some flowers from the park (when no one is looking) and just spend the day together.

Lucy1010

poddle911 wrote: »

Hi Lucy
Great thread, it's been fascinating to follow and well done on making such progress in a short time
I love being a non-smoker too! Now if only I could cure my car from its petrol addiction...
Pod x

Thank you Pod!

OK so we are coming towards the end of the month and I am already counting my pennies.... how on earth do you lot survive on nothing? I am doing well but a £200 p/m budget on food and treats is just not enough... lets forget about food because I dont really eat much and I cook everything from scratch... its just the day to day... I am missing out on get togethers with friends because I just can't afford it. It costs too much to get into the car and drive anywhere at the moment.....

I hate my new budget, I feel so restricted

Lucy1010

taj wrote: »

Having gone from overspending £200-£400 per month wasting money, too actually saving £200 this month is such a sense of achievement and to record in my financial diary another NSD gives me a high too. This happened when i had a LBM and realised my saving had dwindled so badly i was in trouble and was going to be living on beans on toast, if i was lucky. This has only happened because of the posts i read on all of the threads on MSE that i've read gathering massive inspirations from people like you. Thank you for sharing.

Ahhhh thank you

WeBeBroke

Just thought this article was interesting on the amounts people spend on food as a percentage of income all over the world. We spend about £400 a month on food/groceries for a family of 4. I can't get that any lower but it does include all household cleaning stuff and any wine/beer we drink at home and lunches. However, this is around 10% of our take-home pay so I think it's pretty do-able for us and I'm not going to kill myself trying to get it down more. I already meal-plan/bake bread &biscuits and make lists to the point of obsession.

http://shockedinvestor.blogspot.com/2010/08/2010-percentage-of-income-spent-on-food.html

curlygirl1971

Lucy1010 wrote: »

I hate my new budget, I feel so restricted

I know what you mean Lucy and you have my sympathy - I am currently on (what I regard to be) a generous budget but can remember very well what it felt like not to be able to do things that other people seem to do without a seconds thought.

But your budget plan is YOUR PLAN - you are doing it for a reason. It's your choice and a good choice. The alternative is being in debt longer and that debt costing you more than it needs to. This is your hard earned money - the cost of debt is your money going to line the pockets of corporations. Try to think of your plan as your choice rather than it being enforced on you. Perhaps give yourself little rewards at the end of every month? 'If I stick to budget for 4 weeks then I can go out for lunch..?' (But check out the latest resturant offers first :money:)

Sometimes we need to look at things in a different way - what can we live without? Do we need to live without? What's fixed and what can we influence?

I categorise different types of expenditure into the following and here is also what I budget against these categories as a % of net income:-

Necessary Bills (ie Roof over my head, car costs etc) 34%
Un-necessary Bills (eg. TV, Phone) 4%
Necessary Expenses (Food & Petrol) 16%
Un-necessary Expenses (Social, Hair, Clothes, Presents etc) 16%
Saving for Treats (Holidays etc.) 10.5%
Saving for Sense (Replacement Car, ISA, Mortgage OP, Pension) 19.5%

These figures a year ago were different and categorising expenditure in this way helped clarify things for me and made me realise what my priorities were/should be. The reality is I probably do spend a little less and save a little more than above.

Another way of looking at it may be to look at Expenses we have no control over (ie Housing) and Expenses we can control (ie We need Food & Heating etc but we could do it cheaper).

No Control 30%
Control 70%

I'm never going to get that 70% down to zero (because that wouldn't be living) but I can influence 70% of my outgoings. Take it with a pinch of salt - you need a house over your head but if you are paying for an 8 bed mansion then that's hardly out of your control

I don't know if this is helpful to you or anyone!.... But sometimes we just need to look at things a bit differently or view the hard facts

The other thing is....'What would I be cutting back for?' If I had more spare cash (due to not going out) what would I do with it? I would either

• Over-pay the mortgage in larger amounts than I am already or
• Save it.

I am always in conflict about my 'Un-necessary Expenses' and also my food (necessary but it can always be controlled better) And this brings me round to the same guilty niggle I've been having ever since my income rose but even little old frugal, cautious, boring me still keeps coming round to the same answer......You only live once.

curlygirl1971

A year ago I came across this. I've no idea who wrote it (I believe it was originally in a leaflet handed out by Sales Reps from The World Financial Group a couple of decades ago). It's clearly American in it's language and feeling.....but I like it. It struck a cord. Perhaps you're not at the point where you can put money away into a Savings Account but if you are making a tight budget work or actively reducing the cost of an existing debt then you're working towards a bigger better plan for yourself - and therefore I think the sentiment in this cheesy statement applies to you


"Your savings, believe it or not, affect the way you stand, the way you walk, the tone of your voice - in short, your physical well-being and self-confidence. A man without savings is always running. He must. He must take the first job offered, or nearly so. He sits nervously on life’s chairs because any small emergency throws him into the hands of others.

Without savings, a man must be too grateful. Gratitude is a fine thing in its place. But a constant state of gratitude is a horrible place in which to live. A man with savings can walk tall. He may appraise opportunities in a relaxed way, have time for judicious estimates and not be rushed by economic necessity.

A man with savings can afford to resign from his job if his principles so dictate -- and for this reason he will never need to do so. A man who can afford to quit is much more useful to his company and therefore more readily promoted. He can afford to give his company the benefit of his most candid judgments.

A man with savings can afford the wonderful privilege of being generous in family or neighborhood emergencies. He can take the level stare of any man ... friend, stranger or enemy. That ability shapes his personality and character.

The ability to save has nothing to do with the size of income. Many high-income people spend it all. They are on a treadmill, darting through life like minnows.

J.P. Morgan, once advised a young broker: "Take waste out of your spending; you’ll drive the haste out of your life."

If you do not need money for college, a home or retirement, then save for self-confidence. The state of your savings does have a lot to do with how tall you walk."

We might not be in that lucky place - I know that some people on the forum are far from it despite best efforts - but it's the trying that counts doesn't it

Lucy1010

curlygirl1971 wrote: »

A year ago I came across this. I've no idea who wrote it (I believe it was originally in a leaflet handed out by Sales Reps from The World Financial Group a couple of decades ago). It's clearly American in it's language and feeling.....but I like it. It struck a cord. Perhaps you're not at the point where you can put money away into a Savings Account but if you are making a tight budget work or actively reducing the cost of an existing debt then you're working towards a bigger better plan for yourself - and therefore I think the sentiment in this cheesy statement applies to you


"Your savings, believe it or not, affect the way you stand, the way you walk, the tone of your voice - in short, your physical well-being and self-confidence. A man without savings is always running. He must. He must take the first job offered, or nearly so. He sits nervously on life’s chairs because any small emergency throws him into the hands of others.

Without savings, a man must be too grateful. Gratitude is a fine thing in its place. But a constant state of gratitude is a horrible place in which to live. A man with savings can walk tall. He may appraise opportunities in a relaxed way, have time for judicious estimates and not be rushed by economic necessity.

A man with savings can afford to resign from his job if his principles so dictate -- and for this reason he will never need to do so. A man who can afford to quit is much more useful to his company and therefore more readily promoted. He can afford to give his company the benefit of his most candid judgments.

A man with savings can afford the wonderful privilege of being generous in family or neighborhood emergencies. He can take the level stare of any man ... friend, stranger or enemy. That ability shapes his personality and character.

The ability to save has nothing to do with the size of income. Many high-income people spend it all. They are on a treadmill, darting through life like minnows.

J.P. Morgan, once advised a young broker: "Take waste out of your spending; you’ll drive the haste out of your life."

If you do not need money for college, a home or retirement, then save for self-confidence. The state of your savings does have a lot to do with how tall you walk."

We might not be in that lucky place - I know that some people on the forum are far from it despite best efforts - but it's the trying that counts doesn't it

BRILLIANT. Thank you very much CurlyGirl for quoting these words, they will stay with me x

Lucy1010

curlygirl1971 wrote: »

I know what you mean Lucy and you have my sympathy - I am currently on (what I regard to be) a generous budget but can remember very well what it felt like not to be able to do things that other people seem to do without a seconds thought.

But your budget plan is YOUR PLAN - you are doing it for a reason. It's your choice and a good choice. The alternative is being in debt longer and that debt costing you more than it needs to. This is your hard earned money - the cost of debt is your money going to line the pockets of corporations. Try to think of your plan as your choice rather than it being enforced on you. Perhaps give yourself little rewards at the end of every month? 'If I stick to budget for 4 weeks then I can go out for lunch..?' (But check out the latest resturant offers first :money:)

Sometimes we need to look at things in a different way - what can we live without? Do we need to live without? What's fixed and what can we influence?

I categorise different types of expenditure into the following and here is also what I budget against these categories as a % of net income:-

Necessary Bills (ie Roof over my head, car costs etc) 34%
Un-necessary Bills (eg. TV, Phone) 4%
Necessary Expenses (Food & Petrol) 16%
Un-necessary Expenses (Social, Hair, Clothes, Presents etc) 16%
Saving for Treats (Holidays etc.) 10.5%
Saving for Sense (Replacement Car, ISA, Mortgage OP, Pension) 19.5%

These figures a year ago were different and categorising expenditure in this way helped clarify things for me and made me realise what my priorities were/should be. The reality is I probably do spend a little less and save a little more than above.

Another way of looking at it may be to look at Expenses we have no control over (ie Housing) and Expenses we can control (ie We need Food & Heating etc but we could do it cheaper).

No Control 30%
Control 70%

I'm never going to get that 70% down to zero (because that wouldn't be living) but I can influence 70% of my outgoings. Take it with a pinch of salt - you need a house over your head but if you are paying for an 8 bed mansion then that's hardly out of your control

I don't know if this is helpful to you or anyone!.... But sometimes we just need to look at things a bit differently or view the hard facts

The other thing is....'What would I be cutting back for?' If I had more spare cash (due to not going out) what would I do with it? I would either

• Over-pay the mortgage in larger amounts than I am already or
• Save it.

I am always in conflict about my 'Un-necessary Expenses' and also my food (necessary but it can always be controlled better) And this brings me round to the same guilty niggle I've been having ever since my income rose but even little old frugal, cautious, boring me still keeps coming round to the same answer......You only live once.

I have taken your advice and have made some changes... the money that would have been spent on a night out with friends is being spent on something that will last me a good few months! Yes a night out is great but will it make me any happier? Prob not after realising how much the drinks/cab home and whatever else cost! I am better off at home, paying my debts and staying out of expensive bars! x

kerri_gt

Lucy1010 wrote: »

I have taken your advice and have made some changes... the money that would have been spent on a night out with friends is being spent on something that will last me a good few months! Yes a night out is great but will it make me any happier? Prob not after realising how much the drinks/cab home and whatever else cost! I am better off at home, paying my debts and staying out of expensive bars! x

Hi Lucy, I've been away on business this week, hence my lack of usual posts but just wanted to chuck in a quick thought. As far as your debt busting is concerned, you are in quite a fortunat position where you have some wiggle room in your budget. You don't need to lock yourself away in solitary until your debts are paid (unless you choose to) but what you need to do is choose a) something that will last a few months or b) a night out with friends. Its the choosing both when we can't afford to that has got many of us into the debt we're trying to clear. There is nothing wrong with a night out with friends so long as your budget can accomodate it and you recognise that in order to pay for the night out, you will need to forfeit something else you may have wanted.

Lucy1010

kerri_gt wrote: »

Hi Lucy, I've been away on business this week, hence my lack of usual posts but just wanted to chuck in a quick thought. As far as your debt busting is concerned, you are in quite a fortunat position where you have some wiggle room in your budget. You don't need to lock yourself away in solitary until your debts are paid (unless you choose to) but what you need to do is choose a) something that will last a few months or b) a night out with friends. Its the choosing both when we can't afford to that has got many of us into the debt we're trying to clear. There is nothing wrong with a night out with friends so long as your budget can accomodate it and you recognise that in order to pay for the night out, you will need to forfeit something else you may have wanted.

Ahh thank you Kerri! I won't be locking myself away but I did fast forward in my head and I know spending the money on myself is going to make me a lot happier this month. You are right in that I can't do both if I want to bust by debt! x