where do people get the money?

skogar

Hello White Ginea Pig,
Your post about 6 weeks in hotels with food from the supermarket made me laugh. :rotfl:We're off to Norway this year and will be doing exactly that, except we'll be camping instead of using a hotel. We'll still see the same things as all the other people who will be staying in hotels and eating out but most of them won't be going for 2.5 weeks! Win win. :j

pigpen

hoglet121 wrote: »

A brought sandwhich will cost very little..

A bought sandwhich will cost you 2.50....

I think you will find it is sandwich ..

kippers

Just wondered...does your holidays, birthday & Xmas presents, car maintenance, children's activities, clothes, shoes, family hair cuts, school trips & school books, etc etc come out of your £750 per month....if so I can understand where it goes as all these things add up and up. Maybe budget towards these things each month when you first get paid and only use what is left.

IrishRose12

bigmaz wrote: »

Do you mean £10? Yeah, we have done that a few times. Although for £9.50 for 2 Indian meals eating out, its only a little bit more, and you dont have to cook it

Yeah sorry that;s what I meant. I usually buy 2 lots for me and the OH to do us 2 nights.

Your comment about just a little more is where you're going wrong though. 2 meals for £9.50 is good yes. But then you have to add the drinks on top of that. And if they're alcoholic then you're talking £4 a go. There's near £10 per round of drink.

As I said we go out once a month to an all you can eat Chinese, it costs us £11.95 for the 2 of us. We buy a soft drink or 2 each and we're still getting for under £20

It's the "little extra bits" that cost the most you know, not the big money

Hermia

bigmaz wrote: »

Some of the people I know, not well enough to ask them how to afford it, dont earn lots of money and still go out a lot. Must be debt, or they might just be good at saving in other areas.

Or they use vouchers etc. I had a lovely posh meal out with family recently. My aunt booked it via a website that meant we got a set meal rate. One person had saved their bonus from work, I had sold a couple of things on ebay to pay for my meal etc etc. Yet no one seeing us would have known all this.

I think unless you are rich you have to be frugal in some areas to have the treats you want. I love theatre and travel so I am frugal in other areas and budget carefully and cut back to afford the things I want. It can be really tedious and I have to be strict with myself, but it is worth it in the end. IME the people who always run out of money aren't swanning about buying designer handbags and sports cars. They are just mindlessly spending small amounts of money on a daily basis and not really accounting for where it is going or noticing what things cost.

bigmaz

IrishRose12 wrote: »

Yeah sorry that;s what I meant. I usually buy 2 lots for me and the OH to do us 2 nights.

Your comment about just a little more is where you're going wrong though. 2 meals for £9.50 is good yes. But then you have to add the drinks on top of that. And if they're alcoholic then you're talking £4 a go. There's near £10 per round of drink.

As I said we go out once a month to an all you can eat Chinese, it costs us £11.95 for the 2 of us. We buy a soft drink or 2 each and we're still getting for under £20

It's the "little extra bits" that cost the most you know, not the big money

The thing is we can afford to eat out for a £9.50 meal for 2, we can afford a dearer meal if we wanted, so I wouldn't scrimp on that to eat in to save a few pounds, suppose fair enough if we done it a lot through the month mind u . As others say, its just all the other little things that add up, I need sort this kind of stuff out

That's an excellent deal for a buffet by the way. Wish they were that cheap where we are, he he. You can maybe get a lunch buffet for that price here

Seakay

IrishRose12 wrote: »

I wish I had your pay packet then OP. I get £768 in my wage after tax. My Hubby gets £842 after tax. We get no benefits, have to pay for children's uniforms (not entitled to school uniform grants) and children aren't entitled to free school meals. We are in debt. I work 30 hrs a week and he works 40 hrs a week. Even though I shouldn't...... I still allow myself to a treat or 2 a month. Nothing big, but we still manage it. We also manage to go to the pictures and a meal once a month on a Monday night. This night only because the place where we eat is an all you can eat restaurant and it's 2 for one on Mondays.

It's not much, but we are just about getting by. We survive month by month. Not the right or a nice way to live but it can't be helped. We don't own our own house so pay rent every month, and have no savings..... Bar what we have started to save thanks to the help and support of the people on this forum.

If you're managing to literally waste that amount of money and have no idea at all where it's going, you really need to have a look at what you are doing.

Not an answer in the spirit of MSE and OS is it? THere are no stupid questions and if someone asks for help then a judgemental assessment is not going to give that help and may well cause upset and offence.

bigmaz

Seakay wrote: »

Not an answer in the spirit of MSE and OS is it? THere are no stupid questions and if someone asks for help then a judgemental assessment is not going to give that help and may well cause upset and offence.

I Kind of thought that as well. I have worked hard to get the wages I get now. I know to some people it is a lot of money, but then again, its pennies to other people. We are all in different circumstances.

Seakay

bigmaz wrote: »

This has been on my mind for a while. I earn a not too bad wage, and my wife has a small income. After all bills, food shopping, petrol etc. We have about £750 per month spending on anything we want. To me, that seems like a lot of money, but the money just dissapears. Now, I see so many other people eating out a lot and having nights out a lot, but we never seem to have the money to do all this stuff. We don't eat out a lot or have a lot of take always. If we have a night out, maybe spend about £80, it ruins us for the rest of the month. Where do these other ppl get the money? They don't seem to have amazing jobs, just normal incomes.

can really recommend using this budget planner - I thought that I was very unwasteful until I sat down and filled everything in!

https://budgetbrain.moneysavingexpert.com/budgetplanner/edit/1777838

bigmaz

Seakay wrote: »

can really recommend using this budget planner - I thought that I was very unwasteful until I sat down and filled everything in!

https://budgetbrain.moneysavingexpert.com/budgetplanner/edit/1777838

Thank you its amazing how wasteful you can be without even noticing