Prima magazine is running an article this month about spending and saving, so I turned straight to that page, of course!
It says that the UK Government recommends that we use our income in these proportions:
32% living costs (food, clothing, transport, childcare, education and healthcare)
25% housing costs (mortgage/rent, council tax and utility bills)
18% entertainment (eating out, alcohol, tickets to cinema/theatre/events, days out and hotel costs)
17% taxes (national insurance and income tax)
4% pension contributions, savings and loan repayments
4% insurance - life, health, home and car.
I was, as you can imagine, very interested to see how we measure up to this.
We come in under budget on living costs, housing costs, entertainment (you just knew we would on that one, didn't you!!), and taxes. We put a much higher proportion into savings, and we spend a little more on insurance, probably because we insure two cars and a motorhome!!
It was eye-opening to find that they would expect people to spend so much on entertainment - Amy Dacyzyn would have a fit!! Like her, I would much rather do something that I enjoy which also contributes to the household by saving money than go sit on a beach for two weeks doing nothing!
You might want to check out how your family's spending compares with the guidelines.
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1 comment:
Very interesting. I think in the U.S. the 'rule' used to be 25% on housing .. but sometime ago, when the gov. allowed 'questionable' home loans to people .. that ratio went drastically higher .. resulting in people living beyond their means. You know the world wide result of that mistake ;( I'm with you on not wanting to sit on a beach for two weeks .. we tend to take more local mini-trips in our own neck of the woods. .
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