Can I afford to live?

PasturesNew

EmilySmith19921 wrote: »

£21,000 a year,
mortgage £260 a month.
£200 car /insurance.

A quick "tot up" shows:
£21k is take home £1,453.93/month, let's round that to £1450.

Mortgage £260
Council tax (complete guess) £120
Car/insurance £200
TOTAL: £580

£1450-£580 = £870.

That is £200/week.

If you were on the dole you'd get £70/week, housing costs and wouldn't have the need for a car to get to work.

So, on that basis you can manage, easily.

You just have to be aware that £70/week is "what you need" and the remaining £130/week needs to be spent wisely, putting some aside for any household stuff (fixes/repairs, new bits and bobs).

Split that £130/week into two portions, say, and start by shoving £65/week (£280/month) into a separate account "in case".

trailingspouse

And there are things you DON'T need. You don't need a TV. You don't need to have your hair cut/coloured every 6 weeks. You don't need to go out every week every fortnight or every month. You can turn the heating down. It's amazing how frugally you can live if you need to.

Once you've worked out what the absolute essentials are, you might be able to add in a few 'discretionary spends'. If you find that you have any surplus after paying for the bare essentials, you need to start putting a bit aside every month to cover emergencies. Then you can start buying the fun stuff.

Being independent - priceless.

luvchocolate

That's a good surplus per month...look into how much you are paying into your pension, maybe save more in there.

EmilySmith19921

PasturesNew wrote: »

A quick "tot up" shows:
£21k is take home £1,453.93/month, let's round that to £1450.

Mortgage £260
Council tax (complete guess) £120
Car/insurance £200
TOTAL: £580

£1450-£580 = £870.

That is £200/week.

If you were on the dole you'd get £70/week, housing costs and wouldn't have the need for a car to get to work.

So, on that basis you can manage, easily.

You just have to be aware that £70/week is "what you need" and the remaining £130/week needs to be spent wisely, putting some aside for any household stuff (fixes/repairs, new bits and bobs).

Split that £130/week into two portions, say, and start by shoving £65/week (£280/month) into a separate account "in case".

I have added all bills, such as gas and electricity, water rates, food shopping, phone bill etc into my final budget. I also over-calculated just to be sure. The 'leftover' will go towards things I need, such as items for work which I have to buy.
I am definitely going to start by saving 100 per month, then if I can adding to it! Thanks.

EmilySmith19921

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

£500 a month spare? Get saving half of it. Minimum.

The £500 wouldn't actually be 'spare'. It is ear marked for other necessities that aren't main debts like my mortgage and bills etc are. I have non-urgent debts such as family who I will be paying back for financial help. I'm going to start by saving £100 per month then upping it if and as soon as I can.

EmilySmith19921

trailingspouse wrote: »

And there are things you DON'T need. You don't need a TV. You don't need to have your hair cut/coloured every 6 weeks. You don't need to go out every week every fortnight or every month. You can turn the heating down. It's amazing how frugally you can live if you need to.

Once you've worked out what the absolute essentials are, you might be able to add in a few 'discretionary spends'. If you find that you have any surplus after paying for the bare essentials, you need to start putting a bit aside every month to cover emergencies. Then you can start buying the fun stuff.

Being independent - priceless.

This is my plan, and why I have also padded out my other costs-if I have more left over at the end of paying bills then fantastic. If not I have prepared for that eventuality!
You are right about being independent. It feels very good!

jimjames

EmilySmith19921 wrote: »

I have added all bills, such as gas and electricity, water rates, food shopping, phone bill etc into my final budget. I also over-calculated just to be sure. The 'leftover' will go towards things I need, such as items for work which I have to buy.
I am definitely going to start by saving 100 per month, then if I can adding to it! Thanks.

Presumably the bank thinks you can afford it or they wouldn't have lent you the money. Current criteria are pretty strict so if you're sensible then it should be possible