This week somebody asked me how much fun money we have set aside in our budget, and if $550 a week seemed too much... When she was talking "fun" money, this girl included everything but utilities, groceries (and necessities), other bills etc. into this number. So it's eating out, fun with a family, gifts, clothes shopping and anything and everything that might fall in between.
And yes, $550 a week seems a little too high for me. In fact, that is only slightly less than our whole monthly budget was for the longest while, including mortgage. But my first question for her was whether or not she could afford it. Her husband and she are both professionals and make good money. They have two cars, both paid off, no mortgage or any other consumer debt, and they set aside a certain amount into retirement every month. So in their case, I think they can afford it if they really want/need to spend that kind of money on unnecessary things.
I did tell her that I personally would not spend that much for something of such little value. I think, it's important to have some fun money. But I would rather take a big chunk of it and put it into savings. Another way how I would spend extras are vacations. If they just trimmed their expenses to $500 or so a MONTH, they could afford to go to a nice place for two of them in just a couple of months. To me, experiences are much more valuable than things or life's little pleasures. I prefer to have big ones... but on a budget :)
But this conversation made me curious... How much money do you set aside for "fun"? And how did you determine this number?
oh wow, I can't imagine having that much money to "blow" each week on fun. Your answer was great! I would want to build up my emergency fund too. I prefer to take vacations and make happy memories with my family too.
ReplyDeleteOur fun money is around $20/week now. We are going to see Godzilla this weekend as my teens and husband have been looking forward to that movie. ;)
we budget no more than $100 for eating out or fun activities. we sometimes go over if we have birthdays or holidays.
ReplyDeleteWe budget about £160 a month, but that doesn't include holidays.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like that fun money may pay for vacations also. It seems like a lot of money, but if she can meet all of her other obligations, both short and long term, I can't judge. Does she live in a very expensive place like NYC where "fun" can be expensive?
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, that is a lot of money to waste each week on "fun." I'm with you, I'd rather tuck most of that money away for the future. I don't want to burden my only child financially in the future if for some reason we run out of money (I've seen this happen a lot due to hospital bill, having to live on a fixed income, etc.). We too make a good amount of money, have no debt, are mortgage-free, and max out our retirement accounts, but there are just too many fun things to do out there that require very little, if any money. I do agree with you on vacations and experiences - and these are very affordable too if well planned! I think your response is perfect, I couldn't agree more.
ReplyDeleteAbout $50 dollars per week is my "fun" money. We also budget for one dinner out per week, so it is not included in the fun money at all. Some weeks I go over and some weeks I spend nothing. It does not impact our retirement, savings or investment monies which we take care of weekly. ( Different accounts on different weeks). Some months I like to play little games with myself to see exactly how little I can spend.
ReplyDeleteWOW $550 a WEEK! I cant even imagine the trouble that I could get in to with that much money!
ReplyDeleteOur budget for the entire month is right around $2700. I'm pretty sure that even if I had that much money extra to spend on anything I wanted, I would probably put it in the bank or pay off the mortgage.
I'm with you, putting money aside for a vacation is more up my alley too. I love to visit places and think that's way richer than most anything I could buy or do locally. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm just getting back on track with our budget once again, but never do we ever spend close to that even in a month on "fun". lol! It's usually $100/month for our family of 6. So something fun with the kids and a date night for hubby & I. Which we haven't done in forever...
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