How much do you live on?

Rebecca01

These have been done before but how have people's circumstances changed for 2015?

I am losing £200 a month in tax credits which means I will have £500 to live on for food,petrol and entertainment. I can have some meals at my parents to reduce the food budget. ( they are kind like that).

There is myself and my daughter and this is renting. Its not like the money is paying off a mortgage. But oh well.

Is this livable or just survivable?

How much do you live on?

retepetsir

It comes down to your lifestyle and other choices.

£500/month seems plenty to me, even without the extra £200 in tax credits!

If it is just yourself and your daughter then the food budget could be under £200/month, leaving £300 for everything else.

As a family of three we spend approximately £200/month on groceries via Aldi

Pixie5740

On the plus side you don't have to fork out if the boiler breaks down or the roof needs repaired.

£500 for two (assuming your daughter is under 18) people for food, petrol and entertainment sounds decent enough depending on how far you are having to travel.

I ended up taking a substantial pay cut (price of oil has plummeted) at the end of last year. Thank goodness I had decided to sort my budgeting out during the times of plenty or I might have been up the proverbial creek without a paddle right now. As it is I am still comfortable.

peteuk

We as a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids who eat more than the adults) can do a weekly shop from between £60-£90 per week. We do one larger shop per month for toiletries, washing powder ect.

Here's my 5 ways of saving on money on shopping.....

1) Plan a head (if you can) - make a menu or meal planner, this helps reduce waste and will reduce your shopping bill, especially if you combine it with number 2.

2)Make a shopping list and stick to it - buy only what you think you need. Dont fall for not so special, special offers (but do keep an open mind)

3) Look at the cost and offers - look at the cost of buying small amounts as bulk buying isn't always the cheapest. For instance if you buy Vanish gold stain remover 1.4kg is £13 but currently the 940g is £6 (Tesco.com) which means if you buy two 940k you get nearly 1.9K cheaper than 1.4K. But only do it on items on your list.

4) Online shopping - again make a list and stick to it, I know that people moan about substitutes, but on the whole I've never had a real problem. It also means you don't walk around the supermarket and get pulled into the deals.

5)mysupermarket.com - will instantly compare the top supermarkets and tell you were the cheaper ones are, will also help with substitute items (often supermarket brand rather than main brand) will give you an idea of what's about.

Stevie_Palimo

I have no clue what I live on to be honest as it changes from one month to another depending on what is happening.

rockm87

completely doable just need to plan plan plan!

Try living on less (Say £450), challenge yourself, so that you can keep an 'emergency' fund just incase.

ReadingTim

The amount doesn't really matter as different people have different circumstances and outgoings - the key thing is to make sure that whatever the amount is, it's less then you're earning over the same time period!

GwylimT

We earn too much to claim any benefit bar child benefit, we don't have £500 after our mortgage etc, there are four of us. It is perfectly liveable as its a lot of money!

lhead123

We live on about £700 a month after bills and there's 2 adults and 2 kids here. I find it plenty, and we live on the south coast where living costs are high x

uncreative

Without any other knowledge of yoru situation, the issue here is you should create a monthly budget like:

Food £280
Petrol £80
Entertainment £40
SAVINGS £100

This way you will have £1200 a year set aside for anything big things that come up.

To set out budgeting to £500 with no savings means you will live paycheck to paycheck and need a loan/debt/bank of parents to sort out a new washing machine, car repair etc etc.

Perhaps you can do an SOA and maybe a few more savings will come from the good people on here. You need to stick to your budget (I think thats actually my catchphrase!)

Rebecca01

Thanks everyone.
My only out going at the minute is my 16.99 for my phone.

However this 500 is looking at current rents and taking 200 for utilities council tax. It could be more or less.

300 of my 500 to live on comes from child maintenance so I am lucky to have that.

I could stay living with my parents but think I will go mad.

Thanks everyone for the advice it looks doable.