Budgeting.... am I being unreasonable?

masonsmum

DH and I decided earlier this year that this would be the year we would get rid of our debt.

I'm delighted that we have managed to knock £4000 off our credit card and catalogue debts and now the end is in sight we have been thinking about how much we could actually save.

For the first time ever I have completed a spending tracker and I am still horrified at the amount we spend and how much I could have in the bank if I stopped this over-spending on things we do not need.

Today I have completed a budget on Moneysavingexpert.com if I could stick to it we could have a large amount left at the end of each month that we could then save.

However I am wondering if I am being unreasonable on the amount that I am budgeting for certain things. Household bills are there and there is no way around that but leisure, clothes etc is where I need to cut back so I'm hoping to stick to this budget:

Food Shopping & Eating Out - £450
Petrol - £70
Family Days Out - £150
School Meals - £70
Health & Beauty - £130 - (includes haircuts and gym)
Clothes - £100
Summer Holidays - £250

I really would welcome any advice on sticking to this budget.
For more information - we are a family of 4, 2 adults, 2 children, I mostly cook from scratch. I work locally so no large commute costs or petrol.

Mumoffourkids

I budget £100 per week for food and that includes all cleaning products, toiletries and up until recently nappies for 2 (my son now only wears nappies at night time), so over a month averaged out it is £433 per month. And that is for a family of 1 adult and six kids and also includes packed lunch for four of the kids. I would definitely think you can cut down on your food bill, especially if on top of the £450 per month food shopping, you are paying £70 a month school dinners.

In addition, I only budget £100 a month a clothes for my lot and that includes uniforms and school shoes for four kids.

Summer holidays looks high to me as does family days out.

But then it all depends on what you want to do with your money once your debt is gone. I have almost paid off my old credits cards so would have been debt free if I hadn't bought a new car. But if the new car hadn't been bought, I would have been looking at roughly £800 to £1000 a month spare money after paying for everything including putting money aside for Christmas/Birthdays etc. I had been planning on relaxing my budgets slightly but still saving the majority as I want to buy a house and save for my retirement.

masonsmum

Thanks Mumoffourkids. We always like to budget for a summer holiday and if I can stick to this budget we should have a disposable income of £1,500 per month!


I am horrified at how much I have overspent and I am adamant I will stick to this to get a healthy bank balance again instead of living in an overdraft despite having a very healthy joint income.

SavingAFuture

Hi masonsmum - I think it's great that you're looking past your debt and thinking about what to do with the extra money you have once it's paid off. I've started to do the exact same thing. There was a time when savings was a totally foreign concept!

Looking at the budget you've put together, it all looks very reasonable but you might want to think about factoring in things like car repairs into an emergency fund and perhaps put away a bit for Christmas and birthdays?

All the best,
SaF x

Mumoffourkids

masonsmum wrote: »

Thanks Mumoffourkids. We always like to budget for a summer holiday and if I can stick to this budget we should have a disposable income of £1,500 per month!


I am horrified at how much I have overspent and I am adamant I will stick to this to get a healthy bank balance again instead of living in an overdraft despite having a very healthy joint income.

That all looks good then if you will still have £1500 left after that. As SavingAFuture has said, make sure you have budgeted for things like emergency repairs, car repairs etc as well. I even put money aside each week for holiday childcare as I have to pay extra in the holidays for two of the kids.

masonsmum

Mumoffourkids wrote: »

That all looks good then if you will still have £1500 left after that. As SavingAFuture has said, make sure you have budgeted for things like emergency repairs, car repairs etc as well. I even put money aside each week for holiday childcare as I have to pay extra in the holidays for two of the kids.

Do you meal-plan to stick to your grocery budget?

worriedDan

Hi

I guess it depends on your income and other outgoings. Can you give an indication of these?

WD

Working_Mum

How do these planned budgets compare to what you've actually been spending your money on??

If you looking to halve everything then these budget may be tough to stick to!!

I give myself a weekly FFF budget of £150 - the FFF stands for fuel, food and fun!! It is a bit of a dynamic split as sometimes I do nothing socially and others it is a bit busier - some weeks I live out of my cupboards & freezer and others it is W*itrose all the way! I put £30 fuel in each week so I always have fuel in my car. It accrues a little each week.

I think you have to find something that works for you. I track every penny I spend and plan ahead to avoid impulse spends etc.

Good luck!

masonsmum

worriedDan wrote: »

Hi

I guess it depends on your income and other outgoings. Can you give an indication of these?

WD

Our Combined Household Income is £4,300 per month


Household Bills & Insurances: £780.00
Car Loans & CC Repayments: £720.00
Food Shopping: £450.00
Petrol: £70
Family Days Out: £150
Healthy & Beauty: £130
Clothes: £100
Summer Holidays: £250
School Meals: £70


So following this budget should leave us around £1500 per month disposable income.

Willing2Learn

masonsmum wrote: »

Our Combined Household Income is £4,300 per month


Household Bills & Insurances: £780.00
Car Loans & CC Repayments: £720.00
Food Shopping: £450.00
Petrol: £70
Family Days Out: £150
Healthy & Beauty: £130
Clothes: £100
Summer Holidays: £250
School Meals: £70


So following this budget should leave us around £1500 per month disposable income.

I think worriedDan was really after a full SOA (Statement of Affairs). If you could fill out the form it would be really helpful. Just don't forget to click on the 'format for MSE' button at the bottom of the form.


http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

theoretica

I would probably rearrange those figures a bit - take a bit away from food and beauty and put it in a 'things not otherwise covered' pot - for books or whatever. Also you have nothing for Christmas and birthday presents?