Mum trying to budget - money left after biils

Edenrose1 · 9 August 2018 at 9:24AM

Hello All,

I could see old threads on this subject, but nothing new... I am keen to know what people / families manage on after bills, mortgage and essential items.

We have a fairly good income / bills ratio. Just bought a new house - on paper we will be £200 a month better off...as we cleared unsecured credit cards and the childcare costs will end. However I do worry that we are stretching ourselves a bit... took a 5 year fixed, on a slightly higher rate, and less term...yikes... we will be mortgage free by 58 years old...

After all essential bills and mortgage, school dinners (Not including travel and food ) we are left with approx £2,500 to 2,900 (depending if my husbands does overtime)

Out of this we buy food, travel to work...I believe our shopping bills are approx. £750 a month (this includes clothes), fuel is approx. £600 a month as we both commute... so on paper we are left with £1,150 for 'fun money'...which we should be saving, but it soon goes...

On top of this I get a bonus each year of £3000 *(after tax). This is used for a holiday...

Running 2 cars and commuting seems very costly... we probably save approx. £400 a month give or take...however keen to hear from other families ... sometimes I worry that we have stretched ourselves by taking on this mortgage...even though each month we are £200 better off ..

We are a family of 4 (2 adults and 1 teenager and 1 toddler)

Just out of interest - how do other families make it work and what does your household budget look like....

Thanks

happybunny86 · 18 September 2018 at 11:16PM

I feel like we are in a similar position. We moved in March. We are a two adult one child household and left with approx £1,900 a month after mortgage and bills.

We have to take childcare fees our of this, our commuting is less around £300. Our shipping bill is more £450 a month. You cod probay reduce that if you wanted.

I also get a similar bonus which is used for a holiday.

In all honesty both our families are very lucky. Most people live off a lot less than the above.

MrsSippi · 19 September 2018 at 4:50PM

I'm not moaning about you AT ALL when I say this but you are so, so lucky and have a disposable income I can only dream of.

We have 2 young kids and I can't work because childcare costs would completely wipe out whatever I earnt. DH doesn't have a bad wage but it's not great either. We only have £400 pm left after all bills

.

Because of this we have hardly any savings, a credit card bill which is about £3,000 and a loan for £5,000 so although we're ploughing whatever we can into it every month its still taking forever. Equally no one forced us into getting the loan or using the credit card so we are completely responsible for our debts which is why we're working hard to clear them, it just feels like a slog sometimes.

On top of that there are always school trips/school clothes/new clothes (always supermarket own brands but still....) etc to pay for.

We haven't had a holiday in 11 years (that was our honeymoon) and the car is on its last legs.

Having said all that, we manage as best we can and for the most part we are very happy. Of course I worry a lot about our financial situation but then I remember that saying "nothing lasts forever, everything is temporary" and focus instead on when my youngest starts secondary school, I can get back to work and we can plough all my earnings into savings or overpaying the mortgage to help cover all the time I've had to give up work.

Again, I'm not moaning at you (of course

) but just confirming what happybunny86 said - there are people who live off a lot less.

PrettyKittyKat · 19 September 2018 at 6:22PM

We don't have one sole account for all bills so it is a little harder for me to calculate.

I would say our earnings are around £3700. We pay £2600 of that into a joint account, which pays all of our joint spending. Our personal spending comes out of what is left in our own accounts.

In the joint account after all bills and food we have £1200 left which I divide up into different saving pots. Some is used for long term saving (i.e. our wedding, then holiday, now moving home), some saving for presents throughout the year and xmas, some for when we have my stepsons and we want to do fun things with them. We also have a separate account where we build up 'free' money, such as money that we make from selling things. We are currently saving hard to move home so this pot is used to pay for little breaks away here and there so we don't dent the savings pot. I also find it quite satisfying to pay for something with this money as in my mind it is like it is free!

I have always saved a regular amount each month since I was around 16 and got my first job.

We are 2 adults with 2 children every other weekend. No debts.

phryne · 21 September 2018 at 12:54PM

happybunny86 wrote: »

In all honesty both our families are very lucky. Most people live off a lot less than the above.

MrsSippi wrote: »

I'm not moaning about you AT ALL when I say this but you are so, so lucky and have a disposable income I can only dream of.

I would echo these two sentiments. When I was working (for a global finance company) I had £50 a month to myself once all the bills were paid.

I hope the OP has got some good advice on the other thread re. saving and managing their money.

Chayes17 · 26 October 2018 at 11:42PM

I have approx £25 left a month, as a single mum with 2 teenagers., and there is always something round the corner to swallow that up

We don’t have holidays and this year we’re not even having a Christmas. I’m in bits.....how do you tell your kids you can’t afford any presents, when Christmas is shoved down our throats at every turn?

I work full time but have a long term health condition which means I have time off sick with no sick pay. I won’t even be able to cook Christmas dinner this year as it’s too physically demanding

I have pared down all my bills as much as possible and drive an old car. I am totally reliant on this for work

To cut a long story short, I split from my husband, he’s disappeared and I’m left with debts I was unaware of. Due to personal circumstances, my situation will never improve- not the future I planned for my kids.

So yes, you bet I could manage on a disposable income of £200, with my own home (I should have been living mortgage free but again, without boring you, my ex was a con man). There are plenty of people worse off than you. Be gratefufor what you have

Mum trying to budget - money left after biils

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