So....just how much money is 'enough' ?

debbycatz

rovers wrote: »

or would it be clearer to say how much money you have left per month after paying out all the essentials and if it's just for you or for a family.
we have £400 a month left for a family of four and life would be easier if that was £600
but i bet there's people who think we're well off.
horses for courses;)

That's a good point Rovers - I realise peoples income can vary greatly depending where they live and what there mortgage is so it's perhaps a better measure to say how much we have left and how much we'd like to have left. I have about £150 a month after bills, my mortgage is only £170 a month tho'. There is just me and an 18 year old in the household. I'd love to have more like £400 a month (£100 a week) 'spare'.
It's interesting that some posters earn around the £40k mark and are still in debt.....I'm really not judging here, promise. Just maybe naively thinking that if I could ever hope to be bringing £40k into the house, I would have no reason to borrow . I know all circumstances are different and I really am not judging. I just find it interesting to understand what really is 'enough' in terms of salary/wage/income etc.

debbycatz

Gemmzie wrote: »

I think most people just end up expanding their outgoings up to the max and beyond of their incomings, whatever the scale.

But why is that Gemmzie Is it just human nature and desire to always have the latest car/fashion/gadget etc :j
Perhaps it's similar to many of us just wanting to lose a stone or two eh Maybe we are destined to never feel 'happy' with our lot

TurnaroundSue

I can remember when my OH was earning £18k pa and we thought that if he could get to £20k we would be sorted. He now earns £30k plus and we are still finding it a struggle - with not much debt at all and a small mortgage. Mind you having said that, I have been on the Giving Up Spending Money for Lent challenge and it has changed my perception of money completely and how I look at things. I really am now of the opinion that it is the mindset that we really need to work on to be happy with our lot, and that is not easy. I am nowhere near there at the moment, but with this site and all you wonderful people I am on my way!!!

MoaningMyrtle

We earn below average salaries (joint income of £28,000) and live in a very expensive area. We have a mortgage of £100,000 plus £45,00 debt. I may eleborate further later, it is very hard to talk about it.

ETA Our house is worth £375,000ish

James240

im on £18,000 and if i didnt have my debt i would have around £5-600 spare a month so that would be ample for me

pointypenguin

This is a great thread and this is something I have often thought about every wishes they earned that little bit more.

I have about £600 pounds a month after essential bills to cover food and other spending. I know I am lucky as this is just for me as I have no children and my boyfriend works. But everyone wishes for a little bit more.

I admire people to manage to live on a lot less.

tinandsue

Just thought I'd throw my twopenneth in!

There are 6 of us - my husband and I and 4 kids. We have an income of £10,500 per year after tax and about £22,000 of debt. We have absolutely nothing left after essential bills etc. We have a plan through the CCCS that means we pay just over £100 towards debt per month. We would be ecstatic to have that £100 all to ourselves to spend on luxuries but alas, that's not the case.

We often have just £60 a week to feed us all on.

Therefore, anything more than what we currently have would be fine by us!

debbycatz

tinandsue wrote: »

Just thought I'd throw my twopenneth in!

There are 6 of us - my husband and I and 4 kids. We have an income of £10,500 per year after tax and about £22,000 of debt. We have absolutely nothing left after essential bills etc. We have a plan through the CCCS that means we pay just over £100 towards debt per month. We would be ecstatic to have that £100 all to ourselves to spend on luxuries but alas, that's not the case.

We often have just £60 a week to feed us all on.

Therefore, anything more than what we currently have would be fine by us!

Wow - I take my hat off to you bringing 4 kids up and tackling debt on your income. Well done for managing so far :money:

tinandsue

Thanks. It is tough. After reading other people's posts on here, I have learnt that many claim for things they don't really need such as pet food when they don't have a pet. When we completed our forms, we were completely honest and therefore, never have a spare penny.

earwig

i think alot depends on what you have to pay out we earn 350 per week and we have to pay out 150 rent per week plus 45 councill tax and 9 water per week leaving 140 for food gas electric car in and so on so it can be really tight but if we lived next door in the same house we would only have to pay 68 per week (as it is a coucill house ours is privately rented ) we would have a better lifestlye