How much do you PERSONALLY have available to spend each month as discretionary income?

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JackeeBoy
JackeeBoy Posts: 229 Forumite
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in Marriage, relationships & families
Approximately how much do you PERSONALLY have available to spend each month as 'discretionary income', that is to say money left over after deducting taxes (including council tax) as well as expenditure on accommodation, utilities and food?

just curious....

After everything, there is probably £300 I can spend on what I want, including saving. If I was going to spend all that money at the beginning of the month, I would pretty much have to live of bread and water.

How much do you PERSONALLY have available to spend each month as discretionary income? 359 votes

Practically nothing
11% 41 votes
Less than £125
11% 40 votes
£125 to £249
13% 48 votes
£250 to £499
15% 57 votes
£500 to £749
8% 31 votes
£750 to £999
8% 30 votes
£1,000 to £1,249
8% 29 votes
£1,250 to £1,499
3% 13 votes
£1,500 to £1,749
3% 12 votes
£1,750 to £1,999
2% 9 votes
£2,000 or more
13% 49 votes
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Comments

  • goodwithsaving
    goodwithsaving Posts: 1,311 Forumite
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    What's the point of this? Everyone's situation is different.
  • Pollycat
    Pollycat Posts: 34,686 Forumite
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    goodwithsaving wrote: »
    What's the point of this? Everyone's situation is different.

    +1 to this ^^^^
  • Les79
    Les79 Posts: 1,337 Forumite
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    roughly £2100
  • KnightRider
    KnightRider Posts: 63 Forumite
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    Yep - everyone's situation is different and will depend on where they are in life, what has happened along the way and other stuff. If you'd asked me this about 10 years ago it would have been a very different answer to the one I can give now!


    I'm not going to give an exact figure... but I'm a single guy, living on my own and have no debt other than a mortgage (which I've managed to whittle down quite a bit over the last few years). I set myself a fixed amount to save each month for the future or for when something big breaks (like the roof, for example) but I live very comfortably, I collect geeky stuff and go to events... spoil myself probably more often than I should. I'm very fortunate and grateful because it hasn't always been that way! :-)
  • AylesburyDuck
    AylesburyDuck Posts: 939 Forumite
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    JackeeBoy wrote: »
    Approximately how much do you PERSONALLY have available to spend each month as 'discretionary income', that is to say money left over after deducting taxes (including council tax) as well as expenditure on accommodation, utilities and food?

    just curious....

    After everything, there is probably £300 I can spend on what I want, including saving. If I was going to spend all that money at the beginning of the month, I would pretty much have to live of bread and water.
    You said after "accommodation, utilities and food?"
    So why would you be on bread and water if you spent it at the start? Presumably you dont budget for bread and water. :rotfl:
    ,
    Fully paid up member of the ignore button club.
    If it walks like a Duck, quacks like a Duck, it's a Duck.
  • euronorris
    euronorris Posts: 12,247 Forumite
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    AylesburyDuck wrote: »
    You said after "accommodation, utilities and food?"
    So why would you be on bread and water if you spent it at the start? Presumably you dont budget for bread and water. :rotfl:



    I was wondering the same thing!
    February wins: Theatre tickets
  • AylesburyDuck
    AylesburyDuck Posts: 939 Forumite
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    goodwithsaving wrote: »
    What's the point of this? Everyone's situation is different.
    Exactly, it varies depending on overtime in this household, no two months the same unless theirs no overtime on offer, so how longs a piece of string.
    ,
    Fully paid up member of the ignore button club.
    If it walks like a Duck, quacks like a Duck, it's a Duck.
  • Pollycat
    Pollycat Posts: 34,686 Forumite
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    AylesburyDuck wrote: »
    Exactly, it varies depending on overtime in this household, no two months the same unless theirs no overtime on offer, so how longs a piece of string.
    I'm always suspicious when someone asks questions such as this because they're 'curious'.
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
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    If I have £1 ..... and then meet Mr Right .... it'd change overnight to, possibly £1000.

    If you are going to do such a thing as this, then you shouldn't arbitrarily pick your numbers - disposable income is "after housing costs", else it gets queered by people living luxuriously and bemoaning poverty.

    Maybe "after work travel costs" would be relevant, but not food etc.

    Two people might have £500/month at this point.

    If one spends: £150 on heating/water and £200 on food they have £150 remaining.

    If another spends £60 on heating/water and £100 on food they have £340 remaining.

    Both have the same money, at £500 ... but the one with £150 remaining will be "moaning" that the other's so much better off....
  • ska_lover
    ska_lover Posts: 3,773 Forumite
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    About £7.6M Give or take a few hundred thousand
    The opposite of what you know...is also true
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