Am I too strict with my budgeting.
Hi everyone,
I’m 19 and currently working in a permanent admin role at a property management company, earning just above minimum wage — around £20k plus overtime. At the moment I’m only working part-time (3 days a week) until August, when I’ll move to full-time, so my current take-home pay is roughly £1,200 a month.
The company is also offering to support me with qualifications, which should hopefully help increase my salary into the £30k+ range in the near future.
On the side, I produce music, which has made around £500 so far this year. Since it’s all digital, that’s basically pure profit.
A few things worth noting:
- I still live at home, but I contribute a small amount towards household bills.
- I bought my car outright with cash last year.
I’ve been at this company for nearly 3 months now.
Current savings/investments:
Most of these savings have been built up over the last 2 months.
The thing is, I sometimes feel like I’m not really doing much else with my money. I do enjoy saving and investing, and I want to keep going because my goal is to buy a house within the next 5–6 years (aiming for around a £30k deposit).
At the same time, I know life is short and I want to find a healthy balance between saving for the future and enjoying the present. Right now I usually allow myself around £100 a month for “fun money.” Does that sound too restrictive for someone my age?
I don’t really have expensive hobbies, so I’m lucky that most of the things I enjoy don’t cost much.
Would be great to hear other people’s opinions or experiences. Thanks.