How much 'fun money/allowance' do you get a month? - Page 2

[VisionaryMom]

We have never budgeted disposable income in that way. We have X amount come out for retirement/shorter-term savings, bills, and then we use what's left to buy groceries, for entertainment, etc. It probably would be better in theory to have categories for everything, but I would feel stifled by that type of system. Our bills currently are 41% of DH's income, so we have a good bit of wiggle room. When things were much tighter, we really didn't get any fun money.

[hollytheteacher]

probably about 1,000 but we need to pull the boot straps and pay down some debt! My cat just had 3,000 surgery and we bought a 8,000 car like 2 weeks before so...it will be considerably less now!

[jildez]

hi, another mostly lurker here.

My husband and i get $20 a month each. We have a budget w/ ab 12 categories, we do the envelopes of cash for things like gas, healthcare (co-pays, meds). tithe, groceries and fun, and pay our bills out of the first of two monthly checks and deposit the second into savings.

As for our fun$$ for each of us- our son is just 1, so we don't give him cash yet- my husband actually gets $5 cash and plays WOW several eves a week after our son goes to bed (that costs about 15 dollars a month) and i may go to the thrift store, order a book (very small towns don't have expansive libraries and ours charges by the day for interlibrary loans, i can buy books used online for less then that), buy gifts for friends (not in the reg gift budget- that is for family), get something like cookies at the farmer's market or save it. We don't have an eating out budget- but very very very very occasionally we will use our own spending money to take each other on a date- usually when we are on vacation or take a trip to the city.

For me, having a little wiggle to spend on whatever helps me not feel deprived and keeps me from spending what i shouldn't. Occassionally, we might not put anything in our envelopes if its a tight month, or we are close to a spending goal and want to put aside some extra, but for us, its better to not do that too often.

[lil_earthmomma]

We do the envelope system and our spending envelope is $200/month. That covers EVERYTHING that isn't covered by the various bills/groceries/gas envelopes.

It works for us, it gives us the flexability to have a few treats, buy any clothes/household supplies, oil changes blah blah blah.

[Vancouver Mommy]

DH and I each get $150/mo for personal spending. That is meant to inlcude clothes, but a couple times a year we each buy a few things that probably exceed this amount. We also have $165 budgeted for entertainment and babysitting.

[seeing_stars]

We don't budget disposable income like that. We have separate accounts and pay separate bills then do whatever we want with the left overs. For me "left over" money covers groceries, eating out, activities with kids, fun purchases for me and the kids, luxury things like pedicure or eyebrow threading, etc. DH uses his for gas, eating out, fun purchases like tools or hobby items, yearly guys trip, etc. We each get about 25% of the household monthly income to spend as we see fit after the set bills are paid.

[honeybunmom]

Too much. I need to earmark more for debt repayment or just basic savings.

[mtm]

we do about 100 a month out of which comes an evening out for me, an evening out for dh and a take out meal or hot chocolate out with the kids. We'll also budget a few fun excursions over the year, a day at the water park etc. Clothes come out of a separate fund. We're in mortgage paydown mode though after a couple years of debt repayment and have loosened the purse strings.

[lyterae]

DH, myself, and DD all get $20.00 in "fun money" a month. DD's is used for things like activities/new clothes/etc, so ultimately it's really money for us to spend on her. For DH and myself that is the amount we can spend on whatever we want.

[Poddi]

DH and I each get $100 per month. Although I don't think we really track that too well, as we don't use cash. I mostly buy things online using Paypal or credit card, and I also sell stuff quite regularly. Some months I might not spend a single cent outside my Paypal balance, some months I might spend up to $300-400, especially if it's right before Christmas. I have some vague idea how much I've spent but never really did any balance sheet. I don't think DH uses his $100 much at all. He hardly ever eat lunch out at work and only buys a DVD occasionally.