Question About Budgeting......

jd_1984 | 13:47 Sat 22nd Jun 2013 | Family & Relationships

19 Answers

Ok, so my net income (i dont mind sharing) is £1800 per month, my partners is £900 per month.
We have a car each, a mortgage, shop at aldi, very careful with our energy bills, try not to waste. Since moving into our home 1 year ago we have been abroad once and had the odd weekend getaway, we dont go on crazy shopping sprees, just the essentials and the odd treat to one another. We dont drink much, we dont have out of the ordinary outgoings (gym membership each and a mobile phone each) I would say we are fairly good with money. There is also the toddler, but currently he isnt too expensive.....
Despite the care we take, belts have had to be tightened since moving in.

So, how is it that some families who rely on one income, lower incomes and benefits, who seemingly spend money on things such as sky TV, the latest gadgets, brand new cars, latest Iphones, luxury holidays as well as being able to shop at M&S, wear the latest fashion, still manage to have the time and money not to struggle financially!

We know some of these people and I dont get how they do it!!!!

Is it all financed, credit cards maxed, perhaps counterfeit or stolen goods... I just dont know!

Am I jealous, no. Just confused how they do it? We are careful and barely save a penny when all essentials and the odd treat are considered??

Keeping A Death From The Family,feedback Plz.

Family Problem

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factor-fiction

Is your mortgage fairly big?
We've always had two cars but they are expensive to buy and run- maybe others share a car.
But I agree with you - some people seem to have a lot more disposable income for no obvious reason. Maybe a lot is on credit. I think some also get large windfalls from inheritances (never happened to me) or get given money regularly by parents

jd_1984

Question Author

Mortgage isnt excessive, we know we can manage the essentials and live to a good standard but like you say that throw away income isnt there, we cant be flash put it that way

sherrardk

Do you buy lots of ready made meals - they can be very expensive? Have you looked at where you are actually spending your money and tried to cut back (take lunch to work, don't buy coffee when out, etc).

factor-fiction

Maybe you are saving regularly or putting into a pension.

whiskeryron

I know from your post that you do not have Sky TV. We discovered that Freesat & Freeview is all we need for viewing. Have a look at various suppliers of electricity & gas & any other ways of cutting your budget. Check on whether you can get a better way of paying your mortgage. See if there are ways you can receive council benefit ( I don't suppose it would work now but way back in the dim past I converted a bedroom into a bathroom & instead of being rated on a 3 bedroom house it was re-rated to a 2 bedroom house) I know that probably appears stupid now but maybe you or someone else can come up with sound ideas that will help with your problem. Good luck.

WR.

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KJN

The only answer I can give to this is that you are living within your means in a very sensible way whereas maybe just maybe the people that you know about are not, I know what road I would take, see you on it .

Ratty2E

There seem to be a lot of people who live on credit and don't seem to bat an eyelid. Maybe these friends of yours are up to their eyes in it but it doesn't bother them so they look like they have it all despite most of it belonging to he credit company. Me and the OH have lived the best part of 30 years on 1 wage with no debt (apart from a mortgage) perfectly happily. It does seem more difficult these days with more 'things' to want but it's just a case of priorities and what's really important.

tiggerblue10

No idea JD. My wage is roughly the same as yours and there is only one income as I live alone with my 3 year old. I do get child tax credits though to help with childcare but it only covers half of what I spend on childcare so the rest comes out of my wage. I paid off my mortgage a couple of months ago - had it since 1992 - so I consider myself extremely lucky in that respect. I don't live beyond my means and have always been careful with money. I haven't had a holiday for a few years now but I'm not fussed about going on holiday. I can make do without.

My colleague at work is always moaning that she doesn't have any money, yet she goes on more than one holiday a year, has an expensive car to run and is always buying treats for herself and her son. I don't know how she does it.

Maybe some people are better at budgeting than others. I usually only splash out if I've got the money to do so and my credit card only comes out just before Xmas.

LDC134

I imagine they are putting a lot of it on credit to look like they are better off. My husband and I tread a similar path to many on here, no credit etc but also no children so are able to save some money. I was astounded to find that my brother in law and his wife (both work in banking at management level) with one child, lived in a 4 bed house, 2 cars and all the latest gadgets had £ 10k+ on the credit card so weren't as 'well off' as they pretended to be ! I would rather be debt free then have that hanging over my head, but I think many nowadays aren't considering the consequences of debt.

hc4361

My household is much better off than most families of our age simply because our mortgage was paid off years ago.

How much is the gym fees and mobile phone bills? My smartphone is £8 a month with 1gb data, others pay more than £30.

SuzySoo

May I just say your very lucky! And thank goodness that your quite normal in today's world of finance...Everyone is just scraping by since the recession first started. Unfortunately they are the benefit cheats that spend our monies freely and get away with it.
My partner and I are grateful for what we have and we make extra money by having Car Boot sales and salvaging items from skips and making good!
There's nothing wrong with that it gets us by and the money we make goes to the thing's we need.....Our wages together amounts to your wage alone, are you from the south where it's more expensive?
Take care...

jd_1984

Question Author

Thanks for all replies.
Yes, I do contribute 7% net income to a company pension
No, we try not buy ready meals, we try to source fresh, but if possible cheap products that stretch and try not to be wasteful
Dont have Sky, freeview is enough for us we dont spent that much time watching TV
Tied to fixed mortgage rate until 2015
Dont have any vices really, we have a drink now and then
Our mobile phones come to £38 and£20 each month and £30 each gym membership per month
Balance on my credit card is£0 and £340 on my partners
No additional benefits other than the child tax credit I think is £20 per week that my mrs gets for the little one, he goes to school in September

I think we do well for a younger couple, everything we have, we have worked dam hard for. But I remain confused how people my age (30) who dont have massive incomes, still pose around in BMW's with their Iphone 5's and carribean holiday booked?
I had some overtime in week so I have put some away to begin saving for our wedding in 2015

ummmm

Maybe their outgoings are just not as high as yours.

Maybe they were left some money (I have been left money more than once)

Do the people you know really discuss their incomes with you?

wolf63

I think that many of the unemployed young ones that you see with posh cars are probably selling the odd bit of "cat-nip" for money. They are probably fathering droves of kiddies all over the place.

You can look at yourself in the mirror and know that you are a good person and that your wife and the wee one (and any that kiddies that you both have) love you and you know that what you have is yours due to hard work. Better than a flashy car any day.

Marijn

You could probably do a lot better with your mobile phone bill. I get 800 minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB for £9.43 per month. You might be paying more than you need to for other things too.

daffy654

You are probably spending more than you realise. Things like 'the odd drink', sweets or snacks for the little one, coffee when out or at work etc. all add up to quite a lot over the course of a month.

Try keeping a journal of every single penny spent for the month and see what you actually spend.

whiskeryron