Disposable income to be comfertable

Samanthamum

bigmaz wrote: »

This is what I am looking for, ideas what people think is a good amount to have after bills and food. Would be good to hear from other folk how much they need to have these extra luxuries in life. Surely not as much as £1000 though......

Well we have £600 a month and can afford one holiday in this country a year. Meals out once a month. Can put some by for child into savings and they can have pretty much what they like clothes/school trip wise.

If you wanted holiday abroad/ 3 nights out a month etc you would need more.

What are your sepcific aims? Do you want holiday for 1 week/2 weeks, savings for kids?

Marine_life

bigmaz wrote: »

Hi guys

I am wondering wether to go from Contract to Employee. I like the idea of job security with being full time employee. But wondering if I could cope with the drop in salary. Roughly, what kind of disposable income would we need for myself and 2 kids to live comfertable. Having one holiday per year, able to buy kids nice thing, and we like to go to the pub when we can. My wife does not work, she is a full time mum.

Regards
Martin

Why is there a drop in salary to go permanent?

What would you describe as "nice things"?

Where do you expect to holiday?

Do you smoke?

bigmaz

Why is there a drop in salary to go permanent?

- I am a draughtsman, and the hourly rate is higher than a permanent income, I just dont get hoidays paid for, sick pay etc.

What would you describe as "nice things"?

- Anything thats not household bills and food bills

Where do you expect to holiday?

- Hopefully abroad, and maybe some camping holidays in the UK

Do you smoke?

- No

Marine_life

bigmaz wrote: »

Why is there a drop in salary to go permanent?

- I am a draughtsman, and the hourly rate is higher than a permanent income, I just dont get hoidays paid for, sick pay etc.

What would you describe as "nice things"?

- Anything thats not household bills and food bills

Where do you expect to holiday?

- Hopefully abroad, and maybe some camping holidays in the UK

Do you smoke?

- No

My brother was a fireman for many years earning around the national wage (about 25,000 per year befroe tax plus overtime) and he had 4 kids. Never wanted for anything. Only had a small mortgage. I would say realistically somewhere between 500-600 after bills should be plenty to enjoy a comfortable life.

starchild1972

So drop in income and job security, employees rights v freelancing and no security, holiday pay, sick pay, rights etc. In this current climate it is a bit of a no brainer!

donquine

Samanthamum wrote: »

Pub meals we spend about £50 for the 3 of us minimum and if DH and I go out as a couple to somewhere decent with food taxis wine you are looking at £80 easily.

Sorry to butt in, but have you heard of Tastecard? www.tastecard.co.uk

Coverage varies across the country, but some cities have lots of restaurants signed up. London, in particular, has the usual chains etc, but also some really excellent fine dining venues.

A Tastecard costs £70 full price, but there are often promos around taking it down to £30. If you eat out a lot, you can make that back quickly and then some.

My OH is a bit of a foodie and our Tastecard has saved us a lot over the years.

Regarding the original question - we budget an amount for all bills and joint spends, which includes eating out. Depending on how many bills come in one particular month, we eat out more/less. The way to come up with this figure is to pick an average month, go through your bank statements and see how much you spent. Consider whether you would have wanted to eat out more etc and adjust accordingly.

Assume that figure is your take home salary and gross it up. You can use a salary calculator online to help you with this. That gives you your minimum ideal salary.

KiKi

Samanthamum wrote: »

So? My husband works hard. We have had our share of poverty and have lived on benefits. Having to count every penny is no fun. The OP was asking for figures, I was giving ours. Some of our friends have MUCH more left over after bills. I dont gripe about it, they work harder than we do.

Just wanted to be clear that there's absolutely no criticism from me on what you have left over - that's what you earn and what you have, and that's absolutely fair enough! You earn it, you should spend it on what you like!

I was just surprised that in response to the OP's question of how much he needs for a holiday, some nice things for the kids and a couple of meals a month that anyone would recommend £12,000 a year! But then I'm not big on those sorts of items, so it's all priorities, I guess.

KiKi

SueC_2

I'd say that this is such a personal thing that it renders the question meaningless. Different people have different standards / expectations.

One person may say "Fantastic, I could afford a new pair of shoes this week" and mean a £300 of Jimmy Choo's, and another say the same thing and mean a £12 pair from Stead and Simpson.

One person may think a fabulous holiday is a week in a tent in Norfolk (off-peak so the pitch was cheaper), while another accepts nothing less than a fortnight All Inclusive in Barbados.

One person may have a magazine habit costing £10 per week or more, another may not care if they never see another magazine as long as they live.

Only you can decide how much disposable income you need to be comfortable, and what anyone else does or doesn't have or spend is completely irrelevant.