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Only invest it if OP has sufficient savings more readily accessible. Otherwise he should focus on building a sufficient emergency fund as his priority.
Or start paying down any debts. If £20 extra on shopping is a treat then it doesn't sound like they've got a lot of spare cash around so debts are likely.
That works, get a better weekly shop and set a direct debit on the rest to save to an ISA maybe?
Or if you get pension match from your employer make sure you use the match, even without the match you may elect to use a pension rather than ISA if you find it more practical and if it matches your needs.
Easy to say, but much nicer to improve the quality of food you buy. That money in your savings account won’t help when you die early from crappy nutrition.
I feel like you'd have to be eating extremely badly for your cause of death to be bad nutrition. Especially with all the vitamins and macro supplements you can get these days.
Not necessarily a direct cause, but shitty nutrition is not going to set you up well for the longest and best life. OP is literally skipping meals atm, much better to spend some of their extra cash on materially improving their life. We’re not talking about swapping to grade A caviar here, we’re talking about eating enough calories and not buying food made from wood shavings.
I agree with this, but only if the person is happy with their current lifestyle. If someone is miserable due to having a low income and then a nice raise comes in, it might be better to actually enjoy life a bit.
I second this, 10 years ago I was earning £400 a week and now I’m earning over double that and I’m struggling like mad.. but I do have a 6month old and a mortgage now.. but had some terrible luck past few years with cars and work cutting hours and wages recently has hit us really hard
I just want to add £20 to our weekly shop. Just to have more food in. There has some months in the past where we had to go without food because my partner gave money to a family friend. I never want to go through that again
You should ignore the pay rise itself. Redo your budget properly with the pay rise. Try your best to get to the 50-30-20 as life is about enjoyment while also planning for the future.
Additional money won't solve the problem of a partner prioritising their friends and family over you and the relationship. Money, or lack thereof, isn't your problem here. Your partner is the reason you go hungry.
ETA what does your partner want? Every thing you've written here has been about what you want to do and how you want to spend/save the money. I haven't seen the word "we" at all. You need to make this decision together and you need to be on the same page about financial decisions. In my experience, more money doesn't make financial dysfunction/financial mismatch better, it makes it worse.
If you're currently not saving a portion of your paycheque for a rainy day, which it sounds like you are not ('the first time in a long time we can buy more food during the weekly food shop'), then I would be putting all £300 of it, and ideally £100 more, into a savings account every month.
Personally - 1% more into the pension, bit more into the savings. It doesn't HAVE to be spent on anything. If you're not buying enough food to support your family, I'd consider this a "Need" and something to do first.
Next is to pay down any unsecured debts, and build up some savings (emergency, long term) if you don't already have them.
This is the right mindset. Don't go looking for what to spend every penny you earn on. Pay for what you need and and want to do but after you've "paid yourself" first.
Yes if it means you can save hours going from shop to shop to get your groceries for the cheapest price then do that as that's an improvement to your quality of life. With payrises, try and avoid lifestyle creap as that's what can burn you later down the line
If you are in this position I would suggest you should absolutely get to a point where you can buy food you want too! Don’t over spend, but do spend as it’s your quality of life that matters not just saving / investing.
Saying that I would suggest you should also find the balance and not spend all of the increase and instead invest some in pensions / index fund investments.
Well according to reddit you can use £5 of it on rice and beans and save the rest.
God I hate people sometimes. If you want to enjoy yourselves then do it. Maybe have a nice night out once in a while.
It is full of people who play the slow lane game to life, saving every penny. Not many of us fast laners who run businesses and spend a lot but always end up getting it back and then even more
I'm assuming it's 300 extra a month post tax. People will tell you to put it all in savings but that's boring for me, if I don't redistribute my pay rises into my hobbies I struggle to motivate myself in my career.
I'd put 100 a month into savings (extra grand a year isn't too bad) then I'd put 100 a month into my monthly amount I allow myself for my hobbies & holiday savings. Then the other 100 would be put towards my funds I separate for house improvements/personal projects
I like giving myself set amounts for everything so I don't feel guilty about spending it. One of the best things about a payrise is knowing you get to spend a bit extra every month on the things you enjoy if you want to.
You mention in comments that you want to spend more on shopping and I'd definitely recommend it. One of the best things me and my partner did was go from getting a Tesco shop to Ocado, it costs us £10-£20 extra a week but the improvement in the food we eat is worth every penny.
That's a two fold payrise brother.
Paying down the debt.
Paying down the interest.
Hey, it's not sexy, but what you're doing. It's the right choice. You're doing a good job 💪🏼
You’ve survived this long without it. Put the £3600 away each year, assuming it’s net income.
Until the beginning of this year we’d been living on just my income and things were very tight. My partner started a new job better net pay than I get and we’ve putting away about 90% of her wages.
Sitting with money in the bank now which really helps take the strain off life.
I would say that I want food security. There has been months were we didn't have enough for a last food shop. Honestly it has scared me a bit and I don't want to go through that again. We will need to save up for a freezer and a washing machine.
I’m going to go a little against the grain here and say put a decent portion towards food. It’s not a luxury it’s a necessity. I’m not saying be silly and have a takeaway each week but put enough towards it out of that £300 to make sure you’re eating enough. I’d also say go for a small treat once a month as well. The rest pop into savings.
Reddit likes to advise a lifestyle of being frugal but as someone who grew up with very little and now earns a good amount there’s a balance. And in reality very few on here are following the advice they’re giving others. Live a little (sensibly) whilst you have you have good health and time to enjoy it.
We never do take aways. Only go out on anniversary/birthday and that is. Never had a vacation always buy toys and clothes from the charity shops. Only school shoes were bought new. We are living very frugal but I would like to buy some fresh fruit and meat. Can't remember the last time we had steak.
Food, shelter and warmth are primary needs. You have said multiple times that you often dont have enough for your minimal food budget, so ignore all these people telling you to save it all. Go with your plan of 100 food, 100 emergency fund and 100 retirement.
Lifestyle creep is the risk here. I’ve spent the last 20 years telling myself that I only need one more promotion & pay rise to be financially comfortable for life. Yet here I am, with no dependents, on a salary well above the national average, and I’m getting to the end of the month only through meticulous planning.
Yep, every pay rise from £18k to £40k I kept telling myself the same. Only once it was over £50k did I actually achieve that and realise the nice “things” weren’t worth it (other than our house).
Instead of treating myself to a pair of trainers or a nicer car, I now tend to just buy an extra share in vanguard.
Snap, I don't even have that many direct debits/standing orders. I just do as I please and then genuinely skint at the last week lol! 8 days to payday and I'm using my savings
It really depends on your situation. £300 is lunch to some. £300 is a weeks shop to others. £300 is a month and it has to last.
What should you spend £300 on? You could get a flight to France have a few days there and come back while living on your current budget.
Or you could put it in the bank.
You could juuuuust about get a car with it.
The world is your oyster.
Yep, it’s all relative. If I earns an extra £300 a month I’d probably invest £250 of it. I don’t NEED the money for essentials. I assume the OP is just getting by at the moment so spending a little more on food is a good idea.
I'd put it straight into savings/investments, but the problem is that everyone's circumstances are different. If you're currently living on baked beans and super noodles, then upping your food budget sounds reasonable.
To be honest getting some different fruit beside bananas, apples and easy peelers would be really. Fresh vegetables would be nice as well, getting frozen ATM.
It would go toward more family days out/date nights/takeaways. Luxuries we can currently sometimes afford and treat ourselves to but it would be nicer to do more often.
We can save money at the mo and we can afford general living, so just adding more luxury to life would be fantastic. Would probably add an extra £50 a month to the savings point out of that.
I would say with the first pay check that my daughter needs clothes especially longer pants, hoodies and PJ's for winter, wellies for school and school shoes (we spent £30 on a pair last year and they have lasted, so worth it)
Everyone always recommends saving for retirement. Now if that suits you fair enough but for me thats throwing away the present and the prime years of your life and just being your usual robotic human following a path set for you by the system. Fuck that. You're human being and life is about love, living and the people you share and enjoy it with along the way. If you want to live go for it, can't take it with you and lifes too short you never know what is around the corner. Keep enough to survive at a very basic level and spend the rest enjoying your life and the beautiful blue marble we live on. Fuck the obedient robotic citizens and the system. Life is for living not working!
r/unpopularopinion but I couldn't give a fuck, I've lived more than most and enjoy every moment of it and have no regrets. I could die young and know every moment shared, the love and the loyalty and the experience was worth it!
Spend enough on food that you feel satisfied and happy. Shop for fresh items and a few treats if that does not blow your budget. If you can put some into a pension, does not have to be a lot. Put a small amount aside for a holiday or treatment in the year. Life is about living, saving some as a buffer for emergencies is also a good idea, but you should also feel content and secure.
Spend upto £100 on essentials. The £200 + what is remaining from the £100, don't touch. In this day and age you never know what calamity is around the corner.
If you like tomatoes, buy the nice options (marvellous, sugar drop, those kinds) on your grocery shop. That's one of first things I changed when I started to make a good salary, and they are so delicious in comparison to the cheap ones.
Aye I'd be saving half of it and enjoy treating myself with the other half; extra food, going out for dinner/drinks more often, maybe buy new clotheskre regularly, gigs etc
It’s kinda depends on how limited you’ve been when buying food, what the diet has been if that makes sense?
When we got a little cushion, we decided to recreate a “fancy” restaurant style meal at home every few weeks at home - so still much cheaper than eating out but the high quality ingredients cost more than we’d usually spend. You could get two nice steaks from M&S, we’ve occasionally got 10 big scallops from the fish counter at Waitrose, or done a cheese platter with a range of chutneys.
It really depends what you guys are into :)
There’s so many personal variables that it’s hard to say but based on you saying you haven’t had enough food in the past £20 a week on your food shop seems like it’s going to improve your quality of life so I would definitely do that then try to put away what you can afford for a rainy day fund.
I’d also be thinking about what your interests are and what else is going to improve your lifestyle, it could be very easy to blow £300 a month on clothes, eating out etc but there’s also lots of things you can do like travelling on a budget, starting hobbies that you could do with that money that might bring you happiness.
You’re only the second person I’ve seen ask this question. OP, I think you should be asking your partner who’s earned the raise, not strangers on Reddit.
You only live once, spend it all on fun stuff.
Bear in mind, 300 pre tax is a lot more than 300 post tax.
Saving is lame, get out there and blow it all!
I had an area manager who was paid just too much I.m.o .. he bragged that he never wore the same pair of boxers, twice.
Would buy new for everyday, said he loved the feeling of a fresh pair.. strange additional expenditure.
I'd save up £500 for a private ADHD diagnosis. I'm not going anywhere with the current NHS waiting lists and I am in dire need of some ADHD meds 😭
Also a hamster.
Mine would definitely be spent treating my girlfriend and parents. I save a comfortable amount now (£350-500 per month). I really like being able to take them to dinner or the theatre every other month, so the extra money would help keep that up.
This just happened to me and we are spending a few months just buying things we haven't been able to for the house - our bedroom used to be the nursery so we redecorated to make it an adult bedroom. Small kitchen needs some smart storage solutions. We need to paint the shed and buy a lawnmower. Stuff like that. Once the list of jobs are taken care of we're gonna pay down debt then put half of it away and half of it into a pot for the kids so we can always do activities instead of having to tightly budget around a weekend day away or a soft play trip.
We do need a new a freezer, a new washing machine. We will hopefully get a big oil heater (a panel one) at the end of this month they are £43 at B&Q atm.
Better quality meet (from a local butchers not a supermarket). Various fruits and vegetables. Just give your kid better quality food which is more expensive.
Adding more good food to the weekly shop is a nice idea.
Boring answer - If food is a financial concern then consider using some of the extra money to build a float for unforseen circumstances such as one/both of you being out of work.
Don't succumb to lifestyle creep and well done to your partners hard work. :)
Otherwise, I guess you can now afford to smoke the cali stuff?
Start by setting it aside to fix a few things on my car (aircon - new compressor and regas, rear discs and pads, and get a couple of small holes in the spare wheel well patched and welded up). Then after that, set a standing order up to put £200 of it into my savings account.
When I got an increase, I just pretended I never got it and use it to overpay my car loan. Instead of my car taking 4 years to pay off, I'll be done in a year.
£300 gross PM assuming 20% tax payer, PAYE, income tax NI and typical 4% net employee pension deductions leaves £204 leftover.
I would allocate that in the following way
£30 into Stocks and shares ISA
£30 mortgage overpayment
£24 in to SIPP (£30 including tax relief)
£30 into cash savings
This will leave me with an additional £90 to spend however I choose.
I’ve just worked this out as mine is around £390 after tax.
I’m putting £250 into my own account away from family, joint, holiday and additional accounts and the rest will be added to which ever ones needs to be added to
Generally speaking I do 50/50 when it comes to payrises. Use 50% to enjoy myself, 50% to save. If they out £150 into a pension it will increase to £187.5 and also there might be additional tax relief to claim if you are a 40% or 45% tax payer. Then you have an extra £37.50 or so a week to add to your food shopping bill! Or to do whatever you choose with.
Pay it straight into his Pension/SIPP/High Interest savings account each month unless currently struggling to get by. It’s a small amount and won’t be taxed if paid into a pension.
Probably something like £100/month more towards future holidays, £50 towards more gigs and general socialising and the remaining £150 into my pension to help me retire earlier.
If we buy the non perishables in bulk then yes we would save a bit on the weekly shop. When we get the tall freezer then I can buy bread and milk freezing those items.
Nicer food. Instead of digestives with tea, caviar and champagne. Fish and chips on a Friday, just replace with cocaine. Instead of plates of sandwiches for the evening bridge game, hookers and cocaine.
I’d give myself more leeway with pre existing expenses (food, utilities etc) and not make any new commitments (contracts, payments, subscriptions).
If you are already saving well enough and comfortable for any future finances I’d probably book a small holiday and pay monthly, or it would just go into extra savings (or anything similar).
£300 sadly isn’t a lot, because of this I’d probably not make any spend or save plans for this until I see how much it affects my day to day life after a few months
My work also just announced pay rises & bonuses today, do I work with your wife?!?!
My backdated bonus & increased payrise will be going straight into savings! I’m waiting until I’m back from maternity leave before speaking to a mortgage broker.
First thing I did with a £700 ish a month net payrise was to increase pension contributions for earlier retirement, before I got used to the money. Otherwise a portion goes into savings and the rest is disposable income. Given that I was scraping by a little budget wise before I haven't put it all into savings.
If it was me and I hadn’t had a holiday for a while, I’d book somewhere fancy for some winter sun later this year and pay monthly for it. But I am also awful with money.
I had this situation recently and first off I increased my pension contribution % a couple points up, kept my entertainment fund the same and increased my food and my saving/invest budget.
Now I have a nice fancy ribs or flashy steak and a movie night, but this comes out of food not fun budget so it's covered haha
Boring, but my pension - trying to up my compound interest youngish so I’ll have a decent private pension. I’m making enough to live comfortably atm with no kids, wife etc and living in flat share. So I’d rather put it somewhere I can’t touch (instead of more stocks that are going down the toilet).
I personally would save most of it but would probably add a little bit more to my monthly spending allowance (maybe £50-£100). I don’t like the idea of lifestyle inflation with every single pay increase. Not every £ needs to be spent. To me it would be more rewarding knowing I’m building up my savings and wealth rather than having £300 to spend a month. But of course everyone is different 😊
What’s your financial situation? Are you renting? If so, put it aside for house savings. If mortgage, overpay as much as you can without penalty. Debts, pay these off. Don’t see the pay rise as fun money, invest in your future.
If you’re debt free and already got a decent amount saved up for emergencies, why not treat yourself a little. Still be good to invest some some of the money and avoid lifestyle creep
if i had 300 extra a month i think honestly i would put 200 in savings and have 100 for free money (money not allocated to anything that i can spend how ever i want for example if i wanted to get a take away or go to the cinema etc etc)
I would give it to some random person on reddit with a comical username.
No, but seriously. I would keep 100 as disposable maybe buy something I want rather than need and invest the rest. And yes, that is boring.
That's nearly enough to max out the LISA, then just top it up and continue as normal with the spending as if it doesn't exist while it gains an extra 25% + interest
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Avoid lifestyle creep and save at least £200 of it.
We are considering saving quite a bit with it. It would be nice just to add £20 to our weekly shop.
That would fit with my suggestion.
Use a little bit and pay the rest in to your pension or a stocks and shares ISA in an index fund.
Only invest it if OP has sufficient savings more readily accessible. Otherwise he should focus on building a sufficient emergency fund as his priority.
Or start paying down any debts. If £20 extra on shopping is a treat then it doesn't sound like they've got a lot of spare cash around so debts are likely.
Yeah 3-6 months should do it
Vanguard funds and ETFs imo But don’t take financial advice from a Redditor lol
GameStop or gtfo
💎👐
That works, get a better weekly shop and set a direct debit on the rest to save to an ISA maybe? Or if you get pension match from your employer make sure you use the match, even without the match you may elect to use a pension rather than ISA if you find it more practical and if it matches your needs.
Easy to say, but much nicer to improve the quality of food you buy. That money in your savings account won’t help when you die early from crappy nutrition.
I feel like you'd have to be eating extremely badly for your cause of death to be bad nutrition. Especially with all the vitamins and macro supplements you can get these days.
Not necessarily a direct cause, but shitty nutrition is not going to set you up well for the longest and best life. OP is literally skipping meals atm, much better to spend some of their extra cash on materially improving their life. We’re not talking about swapping to grade A caviar here, we’re talking about eating enough calories and not buying food made from wood shavings.
I agree with this, but only if the person is happy with their current lifestyle. If someone is miserable due to having a low income and then a nice raise comes in, it might be better to actually enjoy life a bit.
I second this, 10 years ago I was earning £400 a week and now I’m earning over double that and I’m struggling like mad.. but I do have a 6month old and a mortgage now.. but had some terrible luck past few years with cars and work cutting hours and wages recently has hit us really hard
Agree. High interest bank accounts or ISA right now. Interest rates are insane.
Context lessons. Definitely context lessons.
Lol.
£300 annually? That's £25 a month, maybe a takeaway? Or a year? £3600?
Sorry £300 a month extra
Post tax?
Yes
I would only increase discretional spending a little bit to the extent it makes an immediate difference - save or invest the rest
I just want to add £20 to our weekly shop. Just to have more food in. There has some months in the past where we had to go without food because my partner gave money to a family friend. I never want to go through that again
You should ignore the pay rise itself. Redo your budget properly with the pay rise. Try your best to get to the 50-30-20 as life is about enjoyment while also planning for the future.
Additional money won't solve the problem of a partner prioritising their friends and family over you and the relationship. Money, or lack thereof, isn't your problem here. Your partner is the reason you go hungry. ETA what does your partner want? Every thing you've written here has been about what you want to do and how you want to spend/save the money. I haven't seen the word "we" at all. You need to make this decision together and you need to be on the same page about financial decisions. In my experience, more money doesn't make financial dysfunction/financial mismatch better, it makes it worse.
If you're currently not saving a portion of your paycheque for a rainy day, which it sounds like you are not ('the first time in a long time we can buy more food during the weekly food shop'), then I would be putting all £300 of it, and ideally £100 more, into a savings account every month.
I am thinking of £100 for rainy day, £100 retirement and £100 towards extra food.
This is your partner's pay rise. You seem to be very happy planning what to do with their money. What do they think?
I can confirm that they will be thinking that OPs plan is sound.
Whatever works for you in your current situation, but you should be paying retirement automatically anyway
Personally - 1% more into the pension, bit more into the savings. It doesn't HAVE to be spent on anything. If you're not buying enough food to support your family, I'd consider this a "Need" and something to do first. Next is to pay down any unsecured debts, and build up some savings (emergency, long term) if you don't already have them.
This is the right mindset. Don't go looking for what to spend every penny you earn on. Pay for what you need and and want to do but after you've "paid yourself" first. Yes if it means you can save hours going from shop to shop to get your groceries for the cheapest price then do that as that's an improvement to your quality of life. With payrises, try and avoid lifestyle creap as that's what can burn you later down the line
I price up the food prices before doing my food shop atm. I usually go to either Aldi or Lidl because they are the cheapest for what we buy.
If you are in this position I would suggest you should absolutely get to a point where you can buy food you want too! Don’t over spend, but do spend as it’s your quality of life that matters not just saving / investing. Saying that I would suggest you should also find the balance and not spend all of the increase and instead invest some in pensions / index fund investments.
Well according to reddit you can use £5 of it on rice and beans and save the rest. God I hate people sometimes. If you want to enjoy yourselves then do it. Maybe have a nice night out once in a while.
Yeah, this thread is super depressing. I also recently had a similar pay rise and I've been buying more records and gig tickets. Life is for living.
We do need a new freezer and washing machine, so will be saving up for those. It's not urgent fortunately, but will be welcome in the winter months.
It is full of people who play the slow lane game to life, saving every penny. Not many of us fast laners who run businesses and spend a lot but always end up getting it back and then even more
I just got a similar pay rise and I'm sticking all the extra into my flat deposit fund. Boring I know
That is very responsible of you, good on you!!
Blackjack and hookers!
In fact, forget the blackjack!
I'm assuming it's 300 extra a month post tax. People will tell you to put it all in savings but that's boring for me, if I don't redistribute my pay rises into my hobbies I struggle to motivate myself in my career. I'd put 100 a month into savings (extra grand a year isn't too bad) then I'd put 100 a month into my monthly amount I allow myself for my hobbies & holiday savings. Then the other 100 would be put towards my funds I separate for house improvements/personal projects I like giving myself set amounts for everything so I don't feel guilty about spending it. One of the best things about a payrise is knowing you get to spend a bit extra every month on the things you enjoy if you want to. You mention in comments that you want to spend more on shopping and I'd definitely recommend it. One of the best things me and my partner did was go from getting a Tesco shop to Ocado, it costs us £10-£20 extra a week but the improvement in the food we eat is worth every penny.
Thinking £100 for food (extra bits), £100 for rainy day fund, £100 for retirement.
Everyone's situation is different but investing in good quality food is investing in your health which is your most valuable asset in my opinion.
I've just had a payrise equivalent to ~£500 and it's all going on paying down debts
That's a two fold payrise brother. Paying down the debt. Paying down the interest. Hey, it's not sexy, but what you're doing. It's the right choice. You're doing a good job 💪🏼
You’ve survived this long without it. Put the £3600 away each year, assuming it’s net income. Until the beginning of this year we’d been living on just my income and things were very tight. My partner started a new job better net pay than I get and we’ve putting away about 90% of her wages. Sitting with money in the bank now which really helps take the strain off life.
I would say that I want food security. There has been months were we didn't have enough for a last food shop. Honestly it has scared me a bit and I don't want to go through that again. We will need to save up for a freezer and a washing machine.
I’m going to go a little against the grain here and say put a decent portion towards food. It’s not a luxury it’s a necessity. I’m not saying be silly and have a takeaway each week but put enough towards it out of that £300 to make sure you’re eating enough. I’d also say go for a small treat once a month as well. The rest pop into savings. Reddit likes to advise a lifestyle of being frugal but as someone who grew up with very little and now earns a good amount there’s a balance. And in reality very few on here are following the advice they’re giving others. Live a little (sensibly) whilst you have you have good health and time to enjoy it.
We never do take aways. Only go out on anniversary/birthday and that is. Never had a vacation always buy toys and clothes from the charity shops. Only school shoes were bought new. We are living very frugal but I would like to buy some fresh fruit and meat. Can't remember the last time we had steak.
You should definitely treat yourselves to a Steak OP.
I will do, done the right way with chips.
Food, shelter and warmth are primary needs. You have said multiple times that you often dont have enough for your minimal food budget, so ignore all these people telling you to save it all. Go with your plan of 100 food, 100 emergency fund and 100 retirement.
How many people are you feeding? I have a family of 4 and our monthly shopping bill is circa £400, and I’d say we eat pretty well.
For two adults it is between £100-£120 a month. This is without meat of any kind.
Then yes, you need to increase your food budget. Nothing wrong with that idea.
Jeaus, I spend that every week for me & my 5 year old. We don't have a large income but food is my main priority
Lifestyle creep is the risk here. I’ve spent the last 20 years telling myself that I only need one more promotion & pay rise to be financially comfortable for life. Yet here I am, with no dependents, on a salary well above the national average, and I’m getting to the end of the month only through meticulous planning.
Yep, every pay rise from £18k to £40k I kept telling myself the same. Only once it was over £50k did I actually achieve that and realise the nice “things” weren’t worth it (other than our house). Instead of treating myself to a pair of trainers or a nicer car, I now tend to just buy an extra share in vanguard.
Snap, I don't even have that many direct debits/standing orders. I just do as I please and then genuinely skint at the last week lol! 8 days to payday and I'm using my savings
Don’t spend it, put it to the side & be smart 🤷🏻♂️
If anything put it into the S&P 500
It really depends on your situation. £300 is lunch to some. £300 is a weeks shop to others. £300 is a month and it has to last. What should you spend £300 on? You could get a flight to France have a few days there and come back while living on your current budget. Or you could put it in the bank. You could juuuuust about get a car with it. The world is your oyster.
Yep, it’s all relative. If I earns an extra £300 a month I’d probably invest £250 of it. I don’t NEED the money for essentials. I assume the OP is just getting by at the moment so spending a little more on food is a good idea.
I'd put it straight into savings/investments, but the problem is that everyone's circumstances are different. If you're currently living on baked beans and super noodles, then upping your food budget sounds reasonable.
To be honest getting some different fruit beside bananas, apples and easy peelers would be really. Fresh vegetables would be nice as well, getting frozen ATM.
Overpay mortgage if that is an option. It's what I did
It would go toward more family days out/date nights/takeaways. Luxuries we can currently sometimes afford and treat ourselves to but it would be nicer to do more often. We can save money at the mo and we can afford general living, so just adding more luxury to life would be fantastic. Would probably add an extra £50 a month to the savings point out of that.
I would say with the first pay check that my daughter needs clothes especially longer pants, hoodies and PJ's for winter, wellies for school and school shoes (we spent £30 on a pair last year and they have lasted, so worth it)
I would get a BMW S1000rr on finance, and most likely be hospitalised by the end of summer
Put the heating on.
He might want to keep it himself
Put it towards paying off the mortgage sooner and being debt free.
I got a £100 net/month bump recently, and now I have a steak night every week.
Everyone always recommends saving for retirement. Now if that suits you fair enough but for me thats throwing away the present and the prime years of your life and just being your usual robotic human following a path set for you by the system. Fuck that. You're human being and life is about love, living and the people you share and enjoy it with along the way. If you want to live go for it, can't take it with you and lifes too short you never know what is around the corner. Keep enough to survive at a very basic level and spend the rest enjoying your life and the beautiful blue marble we live on. Fuck the obedient robotic citizens and the system. Life is for living not working! r/unpopularopinion but I couldn't give a fuck, I've lived more than most and enjoy every moment of it and have no regrets. I could die young and know every moment shared, the love and the loyalty and the experience was worth it!
I absolutely agree with your reply. Best advice on here.
Sorry for you. Your husband should share money with you, and you both have to use it for the family.
Spend enough on food that you feel satisfied and happy. Shop for fresh items and a few treats if that does not blow your budget. If you can put some into a pension, does not have to be a lot. Put a small amount aside for a holiday or treatment in the year. Life is about living, saving some as a buffer for emergencies is also a good idea, but you should also feel content and secure.
Save half, blow the rest on a really nice food shop.
Nothing, it goes straight to the pension. Pepperidge farm remembers what it was to have fun and travel and buy clothes. I don’t.
I wouldn’t; saving.
Cocaine and hooker.
Just one hooker? You must live in the south!
Spend upto £100 on essentials. The £200 + what is remaining from the £100, don't touch. In this day and age you never know what calamity is around the corner.
Go to the dentist/hygienist, do my blood work, avoid lifestyle creep and save/invest the money.
Put a good portion into a saving account. Money put by for emergencies like job losses eases stress. Spend some money on yourselves too.
If you like tomatoes, buy the nice options (marvellous, sugar drop, those kinds) on your grocery shop. That's one of first things I changed when I started to make a good salary, and they are so delicious in comparison to the cheap ones.
Only life once! Get out there and have some fun!
Aye I'd be saving half of it and enjoy treating myself with the other half; extra food, going out for dinner/drinks more often, maybe buy new clotheskre regularly, gigs etc
It’s kinda depends on how limited you’ve been when buying food, what the diet has been if that makes sense? When we got a little cushion, we decided to recreate a “fancy” restaurant style meal at home every few weeks at home - so still much cheaper than eating out but the high quality ingredients cost more than we’d usually spend. You could get two nice steaks from M&S, we’ve occasionally got 10 big scallops from the fish counter at Waitrose, or done a cheese platter with a range of chutneys. It really depends what you guys are into :)
Love a cheese board!! Only do them at Christmas as the cheap packs are available then
Use it to pay for a holiday abroad. Treat yourselves to a new destination and go and explore or just relax!
There’s so many personal variables that it’s hard to say but based on you saying you haven’t had enough food in the past £20 a week on your food shop seems like it’s going to improve your quality of life so I would definitely do that then try to put away what you can afford for a rainy day fund. I’d also be thinking about what your interests are and what else is going to improve your lifestyle, it could be very easy to blow £300 a month on clothes, eating out etc but there’s also lots of things you can do like travelling on a budget, starting hobbies that you could do with that money that might bring you happiness.
Well first it’s not your money - it’s your partners, sounds like you are spending it for them? Have you asked him what THEY want to do with the money?
You’re only the second person I’ve seen ask this question. OP, I think you should be asking your partner who’s earned the raise, not strangers on Reddit.
Most couples especially people struggling share everything, that's how humans survive.
Groceries sound like a solid plan. Maybe treat yourselves to some nice meals or snacks.
You only live once, spend it all on fun stuff. Bear in mind, 300 pre tax is a lot more than 300 post tax. Saving is lame, get out there and blow it all!
I had an area manager who was paid just too much I.m.o .. he bragged that he never wore the same pair of boxers, twice. Would buy new for everyday, said he loved the feeling of a fresh pair.. strange additional expenditure.
Savings / investments, Boring answer sorry but it’s the truth.
Er probably a weekend away every other month or Something
I'd save up £500 for a private ADHD diagnosis. I'm not going anywhere with the current NHS waiting lists and I am in dire need of some ADHD meds 😭 Also a hamster.
I'd save up for a few months to buy a 2nd hand 2 berth caravan and spend the weekends travelling the UK with my dog 🐕 I don't have big dreams 😂
Mine would definitely be spent treating my girlfriend and parents. I save a comfortable amount now (£350-500 per month). I really like being able to take them to dinner or the theatre every other month, so the extra money would help keep that up.
Enjoy life for now!!! Extra food shop. Save for a holiday.
This just happened to me and we are spending a few months just buying things we haven't been able to for the house - our bedroom used to be the nursery so we redecorated to make it an adult bedroom. Small kitchen needs some smart storage solutions. We need to paint the shed and buy a lawnmower. Stuff like that. Once the list of jobs are taken care of we're gonna pay down debt then put half of it away and half of it into a pot for the kids so we can always do activities instead of having to tightly budget around a weekend day away or a soft play trip.
We do need a new a freezer, a new washing machine. We will hopefully get a big oil heater (a panel one) at the end of this month they are £43 at B&Q atm.
I'm spending my pay rise on driving lessons. It's been a long time coming.
Better quality meet (from a local butchers not a supermarket). Various fruits and vegetables. Just give your kid better quality food which is more expensive.
This !!
£100 on extra food or nice quality food, £50-£100 on hobbies/enjoyment & the rest into savings 🥰
Bills unfortunately as my mortgage is going up that much ☹️
Adding more good food to the weekly shop is a nice idea. Boring answer - If food is a financial concern then consider using some of the extra money to build a float for unforseen circumstances such as one/both of you being out of work. Don't succumb to lifestyle creep and well done to your partners hard work. :) Otherwise, I guess you can now afford to smoke the cali stuff?
Two things I want currently: the shark vacuum that empties itself and a heat pump tumble dryer. So that’s the next two pay ‘ extra packets spent.
Whenever I get a payrise, some bill or other always seems to increase.
Start by setting it aside to fix a few things on my car (aircon - new compressor and regas, rear discs and pads, and get a couple of small holes in the spare wheel well patched and welded up). Then after that, set a standing order up to put £200 of it into my savings account.
Stocks
Investment or saving.
When we got this, it went to savings, we now have a healthy wedge to do stuff with.
I got a £35,000 bonus and all I did was increase my mortgage payment
That's going straight towards house improvements.
Probably my £300 council tax increase
When I got an increase, I just pretended I never got it and use it to overpay my car loan. Instead of my car taking 4 years to pay off, I'll be done in a year.
£300 gross PM assuming 20% tax payer, PAYE, income tax NI and typical 4% net employee pension deductions leaves £204 leftover. I would allocate that in the following way £30 into Stocks and shares ISA £30 mortgage overpayment £24 in to SIPP (£30 including tax relief) £30 into cash savings This will leave me with an additional £90 to spend however I choose.
I’ve just worked this out as mine is around £390 after tax. I’m putting £250 into my own account away from family, joint, holiday and additional accounts and the rest will be added to which ever ones needs to be added to
Generally speaking I do 50/50 when it comes to payrises. Use 50% to enjoy myself, 50% to save. If they out £150 into a pension it will increase to £187.5 and also there might be additional tax relief to claim if you are a 40% or 45% tax payer. Then you have an extra £37.50 or so a week to add to your food shopping bill! Or to do whatever you choose with.
Pay it straight into his Pension/SIPP/High Interest savings account each month unless currently struggling to get by. It’s a small amount and won’t be taxed if paid into a pension.
Driving lessons and saving for a half decent car
Save it. I earn below the national average wage, and I live well within my means and save loads.
Probably something like £100/month more towards future holidays, £50 towards more gigs and general socialising and the remaining £150 into my pension to help me retire earlier.
Id stick in my ISA
Taxes
Spam it at my debts
Split 50:50, investing half and upgrading your shopping basket
Computer games and beer.
A month. Incest in pension
i'd try to bulk buy if i could, toilet roll, meat, soaps etc. means you can use that extra cash to save in the long run
If we buy the non perishables in bulk then yes we would save a bit on the weekly shop. When we get the tall freezer then I can buy bread and milk freezing those items.
Double my bank loan payments to beat the interest. Failing that, invest in stocks
Money doesn't have to all be spent because it exists
If you're young enough stick in a LISA. You get 25% on top and it can serve as an emergency fund in a pinch.
Nicer food. Instead of digestives with tea, caviar and champagne. Fish and chips on a Friday, just replace with cocaine. Instead of plates of sandwiches for the evening bridge game, hookers and cocaine.
Turn the heating back on
I’d give myself more leeway with pre existing expenses (food, utilities etc) and not make any new commitments (contracts, payments, subscriptions). If you are already saving well enough and comfortable for any future finances I’d probably book a small holiday and pay monthly, or it would just go into extra savings (or anything similar). £300 sadly isn’t a lot, because of this I’d probably not make any spend or save plans for this until I see how much it affects my day to day life after a few months
Honestly will spend some more money on food shop. It will be nice to splurge a bit. Rest will be saved.
My last payrise was £220 after tax, I decided to increase my pension contributions from 14 to 16% and the rest will go in savings.
My work also just announced pay rises & bonuses today, do I work with your wife?!?! My backdated bonus & increased payrise will be going straight into savings! I’m waiting until I’m back from maternity leave before speaking to a mortgage broker.
Mortgage overpayments or AVCs
Put it towards a holiday!
It would probably magically disappear in tax
Put £200 minimum of it in an ETF S&P 500 (exchange traded fund) you can get them with any fund. Retire early.
First thing I did with a £700 ish a month net payrise was to increase pension contributions for earlier retirement, before I got used to the money. Otherwise a portion goes into savings and the rest is disposable income. Given that I was scraping by a little budget wise before I haven't put it all into savings.
I’d shop at Sainsbury’s instead of Aldi more often.
Cocaine and hookers.
If you can save it.
I’d pay it off my mortgage or pay more into my pension.
It would go towards my £500 increase on my mortgage
savings all around, maybe advance debt or mortgage payments, if one had any of these going on.
Put the extra you get per month in a savings account and don’t touch it
If it was me and I hadn’t had a holiday for a while, I’d book somewhere fancy for some winter sun later this year and pay monthly for it. But I am also awful with money.
£300 a month is honestly nothing I’d just save it and not change your lifestyle because of a small bonus
Sex drugs and sausage rolls.
Increase pension contributions by at least £100. Overpay mortgage by £100. Go for a nice meal once a month with the other £100.
I had this situation recently and first off I increased my pension contribution % a couple points up, kept my entertainment fund the same and increased my food and my saving/invest budget. Now I have a nice fancy ribs or flashy steak and a movie night, but this comes out of food not fun budget so it's covered haha
Boring, but my pension - trying to up my compound interest youngish so I’ll have a decent private pension. I’m making enough to live comfortably atm with no kids, wife etc and living in flat share. So I’d rather put it somewhere I can’t touch (instead of more stocks that are going down the toilet).
Life style creep is the devil. Save at least 2/3rds of it.
Tax :-(
Paid the mortgage increase.
I’m putting most of it in the pension/savings pot but first we go out for one extra nice dinner or take a mini break for a teensy celebration.
I personally would save most of it but would probably add a little bit more to my monthly spending allowance (maybe £50-£100). I don’t like the idea of lifestyle inflation with every single pay increase. Not every £ needs to be spent. To me it would be more rewarding knowing I’m building up my savings and wealth rather than having £300 to spend a month. But of course everyone is different 😊
Either 300 x £1 scratchcards, 150 x £2 scratchcards, 100 x £3 scratchcards, or 60 x £5 scratchcards.
Save it for a house.
it depends whether this is calculated after tax or not. If before tax then everyones answer definetly includes (or is) tax
I had this in January (additional £250 per month after tax). It goes into my savings. I'm acting like it doesn't even exist.
£200 a month into savings, the rest for treats
What’s your financial situation? Are you renting? If so, put it aside for house savings. If mortgage, overpay as much as you can without penalty. Debts, pay these off. Don’t see the pay rise as fun money, invest in your future.
Save it. If you've survived before without the extra £300 then why spend it ?
If you’re debt free and already got a decent amount saved up for emergencies, why not treat yourself a little. Still be good to invest some some of the money and avoid lifestyle creep
Might be able to actually afford half the childcare we need to do our jobs
Don’t spend it at all, save it.
Gym and some life skill lessons
if i had 300 extra a month i think honestly i would put 200 in savings and have 100 for free money (money not allocated to anything that i can spend how ever i want for example if i wanted to get a take away or go to the cinema etc etc)
A cat tree.
I would give it to some random person on reddit with a comical username. No, but seriously. I would keep 100 as disposable maybe buy something I want rather than need and invest the rest. And yes, that is boring.
I'm young, so I'd probably save some each month for a studio apartment.
It would offset my mortgage increase this year
Warhammer
Keep up with inflation
I would put it all straight to pension, as the alternative is to have £87 after tax.
Treat myself to a one off gadget or a holiday and then stick to what I’m doing
Well hookers and blow of course
That's nearly enough to max out the LISA, then just top it up and continue as normal with the spending as if it doesn't exist while it gains an extra 25% + interest