Please rate my budget - is this workable?

bigolsausage

DiamondLil said:

I don't see water bill among your house bills / expenses OP ?

Scotland  

theoretica

What is your car replacement plan? Is this your forever home?

I would separate out your savings so necessities (eg the boiler died) is separate from nice to haves (redecoration).

I would also look a bit closer at the 1200 for general spending and separate some for smaller frequent things like a meal out and some for much bigger occasional things like new bikes or computers, special events, I would put holidays in this too rather than with the house money.

bigolsausage

theoretica said:

What is your car replacement plan? Is this your forever home?

I would separate out your savings so necessities (eg the boiler died) is separate from nice to haves (redecoration).

I would also look a bit closer at the 1200 for general spending and separate some for smaller frequent things like a meal out and some for much bigger occasional things like new bikes or computers, special events, I would put holidays in this too rather than with the house money.

Either finance one and keep one. Or just buy another old car. They’re both fine for now. 

Savings will be separate, they just total £600 a month for the budget. They will be in different pots. 

Holidays is put aside with savings in a pot. Once there’s enough, we book one!

northAthenian

really boring wee things.. but
>  TV licence?  ( speaking as one who has recently redone our yearly figs& forgot ours)
also- do you have a garden/brown bin charge p/a ?
as you mention holidays- is your travel insurance per trip, or a yearly policy...

bigolsausage

northAthenian said:

really boring wee things.. but
>  TV licence?  ( speaking as one who has recently redone our yearly figs& forgot ours)
also- do you have a garden/brown bin charge p/a ?
as you mention holidays- is your travel insurance per trip, or a yearly policy...

We don’t pay a tv license. 

Good point on the bin charge!! Pretty sure there is one. About £50 a year if it’s the same as our current one! 

Travel insurance is included with my private healthcare which I get with work. 

Cisco001

You probably could ditch life insurance, but consider accident insurance instead.

theoretica

bigolsausage said:

theoretica said:

What is your car replacement plan? Is this your forever home?

I would separate out your savings so necessities (eg the boiler died) is separate from nice to haves (redecoration).

I would also look a bit closer at the 1200 for general spending and separate some for smaller frequent things like a meal out and some for much bigger occasional things like new bikes or computers, special events, I would put holidays in this too rather than with the house money.

Either finance one and keep one. Or just buy another old car. They’re both fine for now. 

Savings will be separate, they just total £600 a month for the budget. They will be in different pots. 

Holidays is put aside with savings in a pot. Once there’s enough, we book one!

If you might want to buy another car you will need a savings pot for that.  If you finance one in future it would be another payment out that you can foresee, and money best not to get used to spending on other things. But the car could take its turn - eg boiler first, then car...

Rich1976

Looks like you have got everything covered. No Netflix, Spotify or other subscriptions?

I would check the life insurance and income protection. Sometimes you can get life insurance through your employer.
income protection, check what it covers and when it pays out. Some will only pay out after 3 months of being off work due to sickness, so unless you are in a bad way you may not ever need it. But that’s the whole point of insurance.

Things like home insurance and car insurance, are you paying these annually in one go instead of monthly as it costs less usually to pay annually?

you are absolutely right I saying there is always things to save for. Household refurbishment is expensive and can soon add up. The washing machine breaks down, the fridge freezer breaks down, the water tank starts leaking . Or you may decide to replace the carpets, buy new furniture, give all the rooms a fresh lick of paint. You may decide to redo the garden.

on top of that you have issues with car maintenance. Last year we spent £1100 on our 10 year old car.

Holidays are getting more expensive . And so it goes on and on.

not to mention a replacement car. Ideally don’t get into debt just to buy a car. It’s enough having a mortgage as a commitment each month without additional debt. So try and save up as much as you can.

and finally don’t ignore pensions. Look at what you are paying into your employer schemes . Could you pay a bit extra? Your future self could well thank you . 

I think you’ve got the balance right in what you are doing and appear very sensible. So I would say keep tweaking things as you go a long through life. Budgets can change from one year to the next if not more frequently and it’s about having the flexibility to adapt accordingly.

Sarahspangles

DiamondLil said:

I don't see water bill among your house bills / expenses OP ?

OP is in Scotland, where for most it’s bundled in with Council tax

Malale

Life insurance and income protection may make sense, but it depends on your circumstances and risks. Look, it might be worth reviewing the policies and their costs. Your budget looks generally balanced, but it's worth looking for opportunities to save on subscriptions or other recurring expenses. It's important to continue to build your financial cushion and strive to achieve your financial goals.