How much disposable income is comfortable?

dirty_magic

People tend to learn to live within their means. You might think you'll struggle now but that's because you're used to having more.

I have less than half what you will have because I bought a car on finance but I don't struggle, despite the fact that I had twice as much disposable income before!

I justified it because I needed a new car; mine was 12 years old and was starting to cost me a fortune, plus tax is free in my new one and I knew I wouldn't have 3 years of expensive MOTs.

theoretica

getmore4less wrote: »

Another way to look at it is what are you giving up to fund the car

Savings? You save less

Spending? What is going to be replaced with the car?

If it is a pay rise that's different.

This! How much disposable income do you currently have and what are you spending it on that will have to change?

rach_k

Why don't you give it a test run? Work out how much you're likely to need to spend each month from that money (be generous in your allowances for things like unexpected household repairs) and then see how you do for a month or two with what's left over. If you find yourself desperately waiting for the trial period to end you'll know it'll be a stretch but if it's comfortable you'll know you can go for the car.

Any

I have after all the bills and savings £600 per month. This includes fuel though.
My biggest expense is holidays, think £2k probably, and I manage fine.
However I only shop in sales and don't have designer clothes/bag fetish like some of my friends.
I wouldn't want to go lower then this, as first that would go would be holidays and I don't want to make sacrifices on that.
I would rather see foreign countries then to have nicer car.

What I did before we were looking for a new house was to monitor my spend to a penny to see where my money goes and what would be still comfortable to pay on mortgage and still have what I want. It helped me a lot to see my spending habits and decide what I am willing to give up in return for bigger house and what the price range of the house would be.

onlyroz

The biggest cost of owning a car is depreciation, particularly if you buy a new one. Have you considered leasing one instead? I've done this for the last two years and the scheme covers insurance and servicing. After three years I can either pay off what I still owe on the car and keep it, trade it in for a new one (using any equity as a deposit), or just hand it back. And so I get to drive a brand new car for £250 a month without having to worry about it breaking down.

NoAngel

Have you considered using your savings to buy a car instead of paying for a new one that will depreciate very quickly?

Any

Just to add-I don't normally do restrictive budget, I only did it for a while to see how would bigger mortgage impact me.
Found out certain things were just a waste or not that important and that bigger house would actually make me happier then these things!!

But I was able to identify them and how far I am willing to go on the house.

getmore4less

Any wrote: »

Just to add-I don't normally do restrictive budget, I only did it for a while to see how would bigger mortgage impact me.
Found out certain things were just a waste or not that important and that bigger house would actually make me happier then these things!!

But I was able to identify them and how far I am willing to go on the house.

Ths is critical to financial choices...

find out where you get value from your money.

you can only blow the £ once make good choices.

if you want a good idea where you money goes do annual totals for categories of spend nothing like seeing your takeaways cost more than your holidays to give a new perspective.

Gavin83

I'm curious, what do people consider a good amount of disposable income per month?

Gloomendoom

Gavin83 wrote: »

I'm curious, what do people consider a good amount of disposable income per month?

It will vary person to person. Some people like to spend a lot, some not so much.