How much disposable income are you happy with?

jessegee

Hi everyone,

We've been offered a repayment mortgage on an old house in good condition.

What concerns me is that it only leave us with £300 per month " disaster or fun" money, this would include things like a puncture on my car, emergency dentist treatment, a new pair of wellies, a day trip out or birthday cards for friends etc

We wouldn't have a savings pot for these things.

I'd be interested to know what level of fun/ leftover money you'd be comfortable with?

PasturesNew

Only £300 isn't a lot .... but there's a world of difference between "£300 but I can walk to work if the car breaks down" and "£300 but I work 40 miles away and the only way to get to work is by car".

csgohan4

Never a good idea to push yourself to the limit, don't forget the interest rates also going up in the future

spadoosh

It depends whats accounted for.

£300 left over a month for us would be a lot but then we factor in days out, presents, servicing and repairs, savings and more or less everything that can be accounted for.

I much prefer my way of budgeting than what most people use which is absolute essentials. I can always cut back on some expenses if needs be. If you cant cut anything from the budget then i would think £300 isnt going to be enough.

getmore4less

spadoosh^^^^^^^

Depends how good your budget is if it is full of holes and you are always spending on unplanned stuff then £300 might be too little if you have a solid budget and have been saving every month and not dipping into it for things you forgot then you could be fine.

do a analysis of the last 12months.

Thrugelmir

Home ownership comes with financial responsibilties. Personally I would always ensure that I had a good buffer of easily accessible cash savings. Far too easy to fritter money away on non essentials. At the end of the day all done to personal choice and circumstances. As you can only spend money once and it's gone.

shortcrust

I've just bought my first home and I've got £450 left over each month. I'm good at budgeting so that £450 really is only for unexpected extras and emergencies. It doesn't seem like a lot to me and I'm only comfortable with it because I know in a couple of years time I'll have a few hundred more each month. I've also got six months pay in savings. I would be a bit worried by £300. However, my house needs quite a bit doing so there are going to be constant drains on my funds. I might be a bit more relaxed in a house in better condition.

chelseablue

On a good month we have £1,100 left over, on a 'bad' month about £800 (which I think is still quite good)


At the moment we're spending most of that as we've only been in our house a few months and it needs work doing on it.


I do have £11,000 emergency fund that I don't touch though

warby68

I think £300 per month for 2 people with no existing buffer is very much on the low side.

Also , it is a rare house purchase even in good condition, where you don't want to spend on it once you're in there. Then there are the unknown larger items that might need repair/replacement in the short or even medium term.

My exception would be if this was a very short term measure with really good prospects of increasing that surplus by a decent amount within say 6m

poppy1010

Personally that would make me very worried. I think that's far too little remaining money, especially for two of you!

We have 3k remaining after our total outgoings (all bills and direct debits but NOT 'fun' or 'social' stuff).

chelseablue

poppy1010 wrote: »

Personally that would make me very worried. I think that's far too little remaining money, especially for two of you!

We have 3k remaining after our total outgoings (all bills and direct debits but NOT 'fun' or 'social' stuff).

3k, wow that's amazing!


What do you do with it? Im intrigued (and slightly jealous!)


Overpay mortgage? Invest? or spend, spend, spend?