Is £650 each a month enough disposable income after buying a house?
Hi all, just looking for a bit of advice from anyone who’s bought their first house, especially in the South East.
Me and my partner are both 22 and we’ve found a house we really like and it’s within our budget based on our AIP. We’re not planning on using the full amount of the AIP as I know things can change once you actually apply for the mortgage.
The sellers have now received a higher offer and have asked if we want to counter. The amount we’re thinking of offering would leave us with around £650 each a month (£1,300 combined) completely disposable after everything is paid.
We’ve tried to account for pretty much everything when working this out — mortgage, bills, cars, insurance, fuel, phones, food, shopping, etc. Basically all the normal costs of living.
The £650 each would then be for things like going out, buying stuff for ourselves and saving whatever we don’t spend.
We’d also have a 6-month emergency fund put aside, so we’d have some money there if anything unexpected came up.
For context, my partner spends £500+ a month at the moment and I spend around £700, so our current spending isn’t massively different to what we’d have left over.
I’ve spoken to our mortgage advisor about it, but I’d really like to hear from people who have actually been in this situation.
Would £650 each a month feel comfortable to you, or would you consider that quite tight?
Obviously everyone spends differently, but I’m just trying to get a bit of real-world perspective before we decide whether to increase our offer.
Thanks!