How much do you spend?

Dawn248

Hi all. hope you can help me with a problem I have. Apologise if this is in the wrong place.

I'm in the process of divorce and need to complete a financial form for a settlement (Form E).
It asks me to set out future costs relating to me and my children. I need to estimate annual/monthly costs for uniform, school supplies, school trips, everyday clothing, birthdays, xmas... everything!

My ex was very controlling so I never had anything to do with money. We also never had a budget for clothing and the kids never got pocketmoney. He earnt good money but I would get their clothes on a mail order catalogue and they would sometimes get something out of his income. How do I estimate these costs when I don't know what is a 'normal' amount?

I'm adding up the yearly cost of uniform and shoes for school and will divide it by 12 for a rough monthly figure, but would really appreciate any help with what other mums allow for clothes, trips, xmas, haircuts, school clubs etc if you don't mind sharing and can spare the time!

If anyone can be bothered I'd be really grateful! I don't want to overestimate and look greedy but also don't want to leave us even shorter of money than we already are.

jackomdj

This is a tricky one to answer, which could be why nobody has replied!

Take school uniform, if you get two sets of tesco finest it will be a lot different to a school which requires everything to be logod from the official school shop.

School trips, again can be £200 or could be £1500, depends upon children's ages and the sort of trips the school sends them on.

Have a look at local prices for things, eg the local hairdresser. Remember clothes will get more expensive.

Good luck.

Spendless

How old are the children? You are likely to be spending less on clothes if they're toddlers than teenagers, but less on childcare as they grow. Primary school uniform is more likely to be cheaper than Secondary school. Are you meant to be updating this figure year on year?

Top_Girl

I'd say my child has NEEDED the following:

1 summer and 1 winter coat per year, plus 1 raincoat and 1 hoody

I reckon his feet have gone up at least 2 shoe sizes per year, and he's needed a minimum of 2 pairs of trainers, 1 pair of football boots, 2 pairs of pumps, 1 pair of school shoes, 1 pair of wellies and 1 pair of slippers per size.

School uniform wise, he's gotten through each school year on 8 shirts, 4 pairs of trousers, 2 jumpers, 1 tie, 2 PE shirts, 1 pair of shorts, 1 pair of trackies.

Other clothes, he always has at least 10 pairs of boxers and socks, 7 sets of PJs or onesies, 5 t shirts, 2 smart shirts, 4 pairs each of tracksuit bottoms and jeans, a couple of pairs of shorts and at least 2 hooded sweatshirts. He also has 3 football kits per year.

I'd look up Primark and named brands and split the price difference, in the interests of fairness.

School costs per year of trips and additional bits were about £100. After school and breakfast clubs depends on the school. Remember to factor in school dinners if not on packups.

Haircut for my son is £8 every two months.

I spend approximately £300 on Christmas and the same on his birthday, plus bits and bats I pick up through the year.

MoneyMission2015

It's a tricky one to answer because it depends how many children, how old they are, what the school uniform policy is etc. The way I would suggest is to get an idea of uniform policies in some of the surrounding schools and then get some prices for the uniforms based on whether you can just buy from places like asda/Tesco or whether you have to buy proper logo items.


With out of school clothes I would suggest putting a list together of a few basic items they would need. For example


jeans x 2
shorts x 3
tshirts x 5
dress x 1 (for girls)
extra pair of jeans or trousers for boys
pants x 10
vest x 5
jumper/cardigan x 2
winter coat x 1
summer jacket x 1
trainers x 1
shoes x 1
summer shoes/flip flops x 1
pj's/nightie x 5


My list is just an example. I'm just trying to think of basics and basing it on what 1 child would need. Younger children might need more pants just in case of accidents, older girls would need bras but then I guess wouldn't want to wear a vest :rotfl:. Some people might feel the above list is too much for a child, some might think not enough. For example you might want to include a budget for a special occasions outfit.


I can't give you a list of what I buy for my daughters because I sometimes go a bit mad & then end up going without myself because I've spent all my money on them


Once you have a list try and get some prices off a mixed range of shops and come up with an average price. You don't want to just price using the cheapest because prices do go up and sometimes items wont be available in the cheaper shops so you will need to buy from somewhere a bit more expensive but at the same time, like you said you don't want to appear to be greedy. I would go for the higher end prices with shoes and coats because these are the things that I find are better quality if you pay more for and particularly with shoes you don't want your children to find them uncomfortable as painful shoes just make everybody miserable.


School trips really do vary. Primary school trips for my youngest have been quite reasonable at around £10 for the most expensive but then my eldest daughter went on a school trip to Florida which cost us £1200!! Of course you can say no to those sort of trips as they're not critical to the curriculum. Also if your children are entitled to free school meals, I believe some schools have a concession that means these children pay a smaller amount towards school trips if they are educational trips.


Haircuts, youngest daughter only costs me £15 but my eldest daughter is now a teenager so she has a cut & colour which I pay full price for (anything from £40 to £70 depending what is done).


Christmas - set yourself a budget for this one of what you feel is a reasonable amount to spend. This really does vary from one family to the next because it depends on how many people you buy for, how many people will also be buying for your children (grandparents might chip in for big presents) etc. I openly admit that I spend way too much on Christmas, but I do save a monthly amount towards it and also pick up bargains throughout the year to help with the cost.


I also make sure I go through cashback websites whenever I buy anything so I earn cashback and I convert them into vouchers which I keep for Christmas.


If you need childcare you can get average prices off local childcare providers in your area. Don't forget to check out childminders and nurseries, as sometimes one works out cheaper than the other depending what sort of hours you need.


Good luck x

mary.f

what does it include or exclude lolz :A
well, or you are talking about wedding venue expenses and wedding photographs expenses as well. :beer: