Bad news re what I spend

shinytop

There are different ways of buying essentially the same stuff. A good example is your car. You can spend 30, 40, 50k or more on a car. Or you can spend half that and get something that is just as comfortable, reliable and goes as fast as you are allowed to. Apply that thinking elsewhere - food, clothes, technology - and you can live for less without doing without or changing your lifestyle. Remember, nobody else cares if you shop at Aldi or wear Primark clothes.;)

lisyloo

justme111 wrote: »

It is for one person , not a couple. I live in a couple but we have different budgets. Yes I accounted for no mortgage spending and no pension savings

That is a lot by most people’s standards.
Most people would be expecting that for 2 people one.
You’d need to put up a lot more details to get help, so it can probably be improved and people here will help but it will be some effort to break down.

lisyloo

shinytop wrote: »

There are different ways of buying essentially the same stuff. A good example is your car. You can spend 30, 40, 50k or more on a car. Or you can spend half that and get something that is just as comfortable, reliable and goes as fast as you are allowed to. Apply that thinking elsewhere - food, clothes, technology - and you can live for less without doing without or changing your lifestyle. Remember, nobody else cares if you shop at Aldi or wear Primark clothes.;)

Ha ha....£30k - £50k !!
My last car cost me £250 in 2012.
It’s still going well after 7 years with fairly low maintenance spend and does the speed limit.
It doesn’t look much but I can go the same places as everyone else and it’s more reliable than our other high spec car (it doesn’t have an alarm so battery goes flat less often).

I’m not saying this is a good strategy (this was a family members car so I have history) as in a lot of cases a £250 may be a false economy,

The £30k-£50k budget just made me laugh.

I’d urge you to break it down and get more help.
The dealing with debt board are very good with this (even though it’s not debt).
I think you problem could be helped a great deal with some work.

GunJack

lisyloo wrote: »

Ha ha....£30k - £50k !!
My last car cost me £250 in 2012.
It’s still going well after 7 years with fairly low maintenance spend and does the speed limit.
It doesn’t look much but I can go the same places as everyone else and it’s more reliable than our other high spec car (it doesn’t have an alarm so battery goes flat less often).

I’m not saying this is a good strategy (this was a family members car so I have history) as in a lot of cases a £250 may be a false economy,

The £30k-£50k budget just made me laugh.

You need to come and join us on the Bangernomics thread on the Motoring board

shinytop

The £30k-£50k budget just made me laugh.

But plenty people (definitely not me!) do spend that much (or the PCP equivalent). Me, I've run enough bangers (2 and 4 wheeled) to last a lifetime. I currently have the luxury of a (fairly modest) company car but when that goes it'll be something practical and reliable costing a 4 figure amount.

crv1963

justme111 wrote: »

It is for one person , not a couple. I live in a couple but we have different budgets. Yes I accounted for no mortgage spending and no pension savings

While your lifestyle is your choice as others have said it is time for a good look at budget. If 28k pa is your need then there's a lot to be cut out or changed, or the usual choice of work longer.

We too have separate income/ expenditure but joint bills account and holiday/ big spend account (although cars are not from this the purchase of these come from our individual incomes), I macro-budget as in Mrs CRV tells me I need to put x amount pm into the account, she micro-budgets it all as in pays the bills etc.

Jointly we look at pensions/ savings/ mortgage etc. I think you need to have a chat with your partner and agree some objectives. For instance we jointly agreed for our future benefit we'd increase her pension saving, costs us a bit of compromise now but will ensure she has her own income when we do retire when she hits 55.

Our aim is retire when she is 55, joint income roughly 24-32k pa, covers the lifestyle we want and gives us a bit of a cushion for hobbies/ interests. 24 is the need, 32 is the want.

AlanP_2

Our finances are fully joint and have been since we got married so our plans are based on a couple, whilst we work and once we retire.

I don't see how we could plan independently, it just doesn't make sense to me and surely just makes it a more difficult exercise. Our intention is not for 1 partner to spend their 50% and then pop their clogs.

Our target retirement income is £4k per month net which correlates with our current spend less mortgage, additional pension contributions over and above DB scheme deductions.

Higher than many I know but does include £10k a year for holidays.

Silvertabby

AlanP wrote: »

Our finances are fully joint and have been since we got married so our plans are based on a couple, whilst we work and once we retire.

I don't see how we could plan independently, it just doesn't make sense to me and surely just makes it a more difficult exercise. Our intention is not for 1 partner to spend their 50% and then pop their clogs.

Our target retirement income is £4k per month net which correlates with our current spend less mortgage, additional pension contributions over and above DB scheme deductions.

Higher than many I know but does include £10k a year for holidays.

Ditto. Both retired, no mortgage, currently on over £40K between us (plus my own State pension in a couple of years time). Separate finances in a marriage has never made any sense to us either.

In our case, we don't do expensive holidays - but we do like a new car every 3 years (£20K max).

P.S. Alan, have you also factored in that you don't pay any NI from pension income?

lisyloo

shinytop wrote: »

But plenty people (definitely not me!) do spend that much (or the PCP equivalent). Me, I've run enough bangers (2 and 4 wheeled) to last a lifetime. I currently have the luxury of a (fairly modest) company car but when that goes it'll be something practical and reliable costing a 4 figure amount.

It’s perfectly fine to spend your money on whatever you want IF you can afford it. I have other things than cars I’d prefer like early retirement so I make no value judgments on others.

However the plain truth is if you want a luxury lifestyle in retirement the you either need to save more or work longer.
Most people I come across including this forum in their 50s who are stressed and jaded would prefer an earlier retirement in preference to a posh car.

I have no issue with what people prefer but it’s very expensive to be comfortable in retirement so it’s very much a trade off.

justme111

Dox wrote: »

Doesn't sound as if you are living as a couple (or not as most people would understand that word) - perhaps talking to your partner might be better than posting here?

Shall respond to one comment at a time - busy but can not resist talking about money in MSE.
I noticed that the above post had 3 likes as well so there is a discrepancy between how I see my situation and how other people see it which I will try to fill now. My money , my expenses, , my retirement - what does it have to do with him and how talking to him would help? I did write that we live with separate budgets , just so that the situation is clearer - he moved in with me 2 and a half years ago , we are both at the stages in our lives where we have our own liabilities and assests and habits and I greatly appreciate not having to rely on anybody in my planning.