average spare weekly income

Jo1923

can i ask what is the average amount people have each week for spare cash - ie after all bills , food petrol, etc 
so money for the odd takeaway , cofee, little treat ?

pramsay13

£1000, why?

MattMattMattUK

The median household disposable income after housing costs for the UK is £2,495 per month (£2,865-£370) or £574 per week (£659-£85). That does not cover food, transport, insurance, debt repayment etc. 

Beyond that figures get messy, the average seems to be about £210 per adult, but that varies between negative figures and millions of pounds. It is augmented with borrowing, net unsecured consumer borrowing increases by about £58 per household per year, but 56% of adults have zero unsecured debt.

Within the group of people I know well enough to have a beer with it ranges from nothing to several thousand a week in of "fun" money, add in people I know professionally and that rises to seven figures, so averages or anecdotal figures from people on a forum are entirely meaningless.

Work with what you have, make sure you maximise what you get out of what you do spend and when the opportunity presents increase your income.

El_Torro

MattMattMattUK said:

The median household disposable income after housing costs for the UK is £2,495 per month (£2,865-£370) or £574 per week (£659-£85). That does not cover food, transport, insurance, debt repayment etc. 

Beyond that figures get messy, the average seems to be about £210 per adult, but that varies between negative figures and millions of pounds. It is augmented with borrowing, net unsecured consumer borrowing increases by about £58 per household per year, but 58% of adults have zero unsecured debt.

I imagine it's very difficult to get a clear picture, as you say. For example if someone is putting a lot more than the minimum into their workplace pension every month through payroll (a common occurrence on some MSE forums, not so common in the wider population though I guess) then do the extra pension contributions count as disposable income? There are arguments for why it should and shouldn't be. 

Jo1923

iim trying to budget …once paid all debt, petrol . food , etc i’m left with £85 a week ,i suppose i was just wondering really  

Jo1923

that can go with one night out ..or can last the whole week 😂

MattMattMattUK

El_Torro said:

MattMattMattUK said:

The median household disposable income after housing costs for the UK is £2,495 per month (£2,865-£370) or £574 per week (£659-£85). That does not cover food, transport, insurance, debt repayment etc. 

Beyond that figures get messy, the average seems to be about £210 per adult, but that varies between negative figures and millions of pounds. It is augmented with borrowing, net unsecured consumer borrowing increases by about £58 per household per year, but 58% of adults have zero unsecured debt.

I imagine it's very difficult to get a clear picture, as you say. For example if someone is putting a lot more than the minimum into their workplace pension every month through payroll (a common occurrence on some MSE forums, not so common in the wider population though I guess) then do the extra pension contributions count as disposable income? There are arguments for why it should and shouldn't be. 

I agree, they answer is complicated, the same could be said for mortgage overpayments by some as well, they are not spending money as such, but they are also a choice.

MattMattMattUK

Jo1923 said:

iim trying to budget …once paid all debt, petrol . food , etc i’m left with £85 a week ,i suppose i was just wondering really  

If that is what you are left with then that is what you are left with, it is largely irrelevant when compared to others because you are not those others.

Jo1923 said:

that can go with one night out ..or can last the whole week 😂

I agree, easy to go out and spend £100+ on a night out, equally easy to go to a friends house or invite them round and have a great meal and a few drinks for less than £20.

Not the bigger question is where is the rest going? Are you on the best broadband deal, the best mobile deal, the cheapest car insurance, do you "waste" money on buying lunches at work, not getting cashback etc. Depending on the year I get £600-1,200 cashback in various forms. (Topcashback, Amex, voucher deals when changing broadband, car insurance etc.), some of that can then be boosted up to a third if converted into restaurant vouchers. I check Camelcamelcamel before buying on Amazon to make sure I am getting a good deal, I use Clubcard and Nectar when shopping and sometimes play the deals that result really good returns. 

The end result is not that I am tight with money, but that I get the most value for the money I spend. If I had to put a figure on it I probably increase the efficiency of my net income to expenditure by around 15-20% over the average working age adult. I could afford to buy lunch every day, I could afford to buy a morning coffee every day, I could afford to not use deals, to not use cashback etc. but equally making my own lunch and coffee save me enough money to overpay my mortgage, to spend on a holiday, to socialise more etc. I see that as far better value for money than having someone else make me coffee in a disposable cup, or buying a sandwich or ready meal that is far from healthy. 

It is amazing if one takes the time to go through a year's spending how much money does go on things that one really does not care about. If you take the time to know where every penny goes you can decide how you want to spend it, rather than letting inertia make the decision for you.

FlorayG

£85 a week for non-essentials if pretty good for a single person.
Some months I can put away £200 in end-of-month savings ( That's AFTER my 'fun' spending) and other months there's not enough left after bills to have any 'fun' spending at all. There's not way I could average it except to say 'a bit' because I never have to borrow on a credit card

Hattie627

MattMattMattUK said:

Jo1923 said:

iim trying to budget …once paid all debt, petrol . food , etc i’m left with £85 a week ,i suppose i was just wondering really  

If that is what you are left with then that is what you are left with, it is largely irrelevant when compared to others because you are not those others.

Jo1923 said:

that can go with one night out ..or can last the whole week 😂

I agree, easy to go out and spend £100+ on a night out, equally easy to go to a friends house or invite them round and have a great meal and a few drinks for less than £20.

Not the bigger question is where is the rest going? Are you on the best broadband deal, the best mobile deal, the cheapest car insurance, do you "waste" money on buying lunches at work, not getting cashback etc. Depending on the year I get £600-1,200 cashback in various forms. (Topcashback, Amex, voucher deals when changing broadband, car insurance etc.), some of that can then be boosted up to a third if converted into restaurant vouchers. I check Camelcamelcamel before buying on Amazon to make sure I am getting a good deal, I use Clubcard and Nectar when shopping and sometimes play the deals that result really good returns. 

The end result is not that I am tight with money, but that I get the most value for the money I spend. If I had to put a figure on it I probably increase the efficiency of my net income to expenditure by around 15-20% over the average working age adult. I could afford to buy lunch every day, I could afford to buy a morning coffee every day, I could afford to not use deals, to not use cashback etc. but equally making my own lunch and coffee save me enough money to overpay my mortgage, to spend on a holiday, to socialise more etc. I see that as far better value for money than having someone else make me coffee in a disposable cup, or buying a sandwich or ready meal that is far from healthy. 

It is amazing if one takes the time to go through a year's spending how much money does go on things that one really does not care about. If you take the time to know where every penny goes you can decide how you want to spend it, rather than letting inertia make the decision for you.

Great advice.

kimwp

Hattie627 said:

MattMattMattUK said:

Jo1923 said:

iim trying to budget …once paid all debt, petrol . food , etc i’m left with £85 a week ,i suppose i was just wondering really  

If that is what you are left with then that is what you are left with, it is largely irrelevant when compared to others because you are not those others.

Jo1923 said:

that can go with one night out ..or can last the whole week 😂

I agree, easy to go out and spend £100+ on a night out, equally easy to go to a friends house or invite them round and have a great meal and a few drinks for less than £20.

Not the bigger question is where is the rest going? Are you on the best broadband deal, the best mobile deal, the cheapest car insurance, do you "waste" money on buying lunches at work, not getting cashback etc. Depending on the year I get £600-1,200 cashback in various forms. (Topcashback, Amex, voucher deals when changing broadband, car insurance etc.), some of that can then be boosted up to a third if converted into restaurant vouchers. I check Camelcamelcamel before buying on Amazon to make sure I am getting a good deal, I use Clubcard and Nectar when shopping and sometimes play the deals that result really good returns. 

The end result is not that I am tight with money, but that I get the most value for the money I spend. If I had to put a figure on it I probably increase the efficiency of my net income to expenditure by around 15-20% over the average working age adult. I could afford to buy lunch every day, I could afford to buy a morning coffee every day, I could afford to not use deals, to not use cashback etc. but equally making my own lunch and coffee save me enough money to overpay my mortgage, to spend on a holiday, to socialise more etc. I see that as far better value for money than having someone else make me coffee in a disposable cup, or buying a sandwich or ready meal that is far from healthy. 

It is amazing if one takes the time to go through a year's spending how much money does go on things that one really does not care about. If you take the time to know where every penny goes you can decide how you want to spend it, rather than letting inertia make the decision for you.

Great advice.

Agreed. Very good post @MattMattMattUK