Are you financially comfortable?

FBaby

Are you putting anything towards a pension? We are paying more into our occupational pension than our mortgage monthly! Also I think you will find most professionals telling you they were financially comfortable... and then had children and they were not any longer!

basil92

No, never have been and doubt I ever will be....

Tanarif

I'm comfortable. I'm on £25,000 and my rent (all bills included) is £610 a month. Of course I wouldn't mind another £5,000 though, round it off.

Alter_ego

Yep, I'm comfortable and so is my wife. We are pensioners of course. Early baby boomers in fact.

Bossypants

FBaby wrote: »

Are you putting anything towards a pension? We are paying more into our occupational pension than our mortgage monthly! Also I think you will find most professionals telling you they were financially comfortable... and then had children and they were not any longer!

I pay into a work pension up to the maximum matched contribution, and also private investments. My main focus right now is to get myself into a mortgage-free position, however.

You're most likely right about children, but a family is one thing I have never been interested in having, so I don't have to worry about that one at least! I hope to be helpful to my brother's children in due course, though, since their parents have enough to do with the immediate bills to pay without needing to think about helping them with uni/deposits/whatever further down the road.

Gavin83

I'd imagine spending a third of your salary on rent/mortgage is probably fairly normal. However a lot will still depend on a third of what. Someone who earns £1k a month will notice a third going a lot more than someone earning £6k a month.

Anyway I'd consider myself comfortable. I'm not rich but I'm not poor either. I can afford the basics as well as enough to eat out/go out, spend on my hobbies and go on holiday. However I can't afford to go out and buy a Ferrari. Both me and my girlfriend have well paid jobs so I consider us fairly lucky.

jaydeeuk1

Wife SAHM, but shes employed by my co. to use up her 20% allowance, I'm just in HRT. After pension contributions we're left with around £5k net, mortgage in new house will be £1100 10 year fix. No way I'd want to spend much more than 20% on mortgage, wouldn't feel comfortable. We have no debt, other than some 0% stooging cards but if it was 1/3 or more then we'd need to cut back on other things like savings, or pies.

AubreyMac

I would have to say yes.

I'm single owner occupier and it feels like I'm living hand to mouth each month.

I bought my flat a year ago and have spent 10k for new boiler, new floor and furniture so for me it's not just mortgage repayment I'm worried about. Hopefully those things will last few years and will only need replacing when I can comfortably afford it.

I say yes I am comfortable because I am aware that I'm lucky to have my own flat, car and full time job that is secure for the near future and can manage to keep things afloat.

I'm also on holiday in a couple of weeks which is a luxury.

Besides mortgage I don't have any other debts. Although I find it a bit difficult and feel like I'm waiting for payday all the time, I am focussed on the bigger picture and remind myself it'll get easier. I really have to count my blessings.

Person_one

FBaby wrote: »

Are you putting anything towards a pension? We are paying more into our occupational pension than our mortgage monthly! Also I think you will find most professionals telling you they were financially comfortable... and then had children and they were not any longer!

Children cost money, especially in the earliest years before they start school and you have to either pay for childcare or sacrifice your earning power, but how much impact they have on whether you are 'comfortable' is, like everything else, dependent on how much you have coming in in the first place.

LilElvis is absolutely right that everybody's idea of 'comfortable' will differ. It does seem that the more money you have the more you think you need.

HappyMJ

I have more than enough. The posters on the pensions & retirement planning board think that I have nowhere near enough and think I'll be living in poverty. I can easily live on £155 per person per week so I don't see why I need to save any more when that's enough for me and my partner. That's all I spend now and have done so for the last 15 years (adjusted for inflation).

I do not own a car. When I was working that was the biggest drain on my finances. I now no longer work full time. Since getting rid of the car it freed up thousands of pounds per year to spend on other things. I chose to work less hours instead.