How much spare money do you have each month?

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  • DCFC79
    DCFC79 Posts: 40,598
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    edited 19 April 2017 at 8:32PM
    It depends how much you earn and what your other bills cost.
  • EssexExile
    EssexExile Posts: 6,110
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    DCFC79 wrote: »
    It depends how much you earn and what your other bills cost.
    And what you call "spending on myself".

    As grumbler said earlier, it's meaningless without knowing all your circumstances, & the circumstances of everyone you are comparing with.
    Tall, dark & handsome. Well two out of three ain't bad.
  • enthusiasticsaver
    enthusiasticsaver Posts: 15,445
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    We budget for £200 personal spends for both DH and me. I tend to save for a few months then splurge. It has to cover clothes, hobbies, haircuts etc and personal entertainment. My DH is a fritterer although now he has retired less so.

    All our money is accounted for in categories for gifts, car, house, holiday, entertainment, bills, personal spends, food and fuel and savings. None of it is spare.
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  • Poppy9
    Poppy9 Posts: 18,833
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    At this stage in our life we are mortgage & debt free so have a lot of free cash. Not so long ago we had virtually no spare cash. I now find it difficult to spend money.
    :) ~Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone.~:)
  • Towser
    Towser Posts: 1,303 Forumite
    There is a website where you input all your details, situation, incomings and outgoings. Gross domestic disposable income as well as how much council tax you pay. It works out if you are in the richer decile or poorer decile according to your disposable income. Unfortunately I cannot find it again to give you the link. I thought it was quite telling as to how well off you really are.
  • jimjames
    jimjames Posts: 17,532
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    Alternatively you could put money into savings at the start of the month or when you get paid. Then you know the savings are taken care of and you can spend what's left....
    Remember the saying: if it looks too good to be true it almost certainly is.
  • glosoli
    glosoli Posts: 739
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    Living at parents with thankfully very little in the way of monthly outgoings, net monthly income £1600, supplimented by around £500 average per month matched betting income, typically only spend £300 a month, mostly on work lunches and take aways! God I need a life...
  • Sea_Shell
    Sea_Shell Posts: 9,272
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    None of the money is "spare" - it all has a job, and has to work hard!!!!

    As for true "Disposable income", well that has been up to £2000 pm in the past, but is now about £100 pm now we're starting to wind-down, and draw-down on many years of hard saving.
    How's it going, AKA, Nutwatch? - 12 month spends to date = 2.47% of current retirement "pot" (as at end February 2024)
  • Shakin_Steve
    Shakin_Steve Posts: 2,695
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    Well......if Jeremy Corbyn manages a miracle at the election, we're going to have less than we have now because, according to John Macdonald, we are "rich". We don't feel rich :(
    I came into this world with nothing and I've got most of it left.
  • Zanderman
    Zanderman Posts: 4,642
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    £300 per month to spend on myself?! Sounds a lot to me!

    We budget for less than £200 per month between two for 'personal' spend. I'm not sure how I'd spend £300 a month!

    Depends on how you define 'on myself' of course, but OP I think you have plenty to spare - and should consider yourself fairly lucky. But, if you're not already doing this, you should perhaps be considering putting more into savings and pension.
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