How much do you spend on yourself?

I find this thread intrusive. I wouldn't tell anyone, except my late DH, how much I spend on myself.

sillynanny - me too. The parents tell me I’m too generous. And I say, I’ll die poor, but happy 😂

GrandMattie I'm sorry to hear that has happened, even if we think we're aware, we could still be caught out. Hope you get some good news soon.

Last week I tried to put an order in online to that well-known High Street chemists; I was going to treat myself to facecream and cleanser. Something strange happened and I got angry messages saying I'd been denied access etc so I logged off and put a complaint in via the email address.
Now I have a reply, supposedly from that chemists, someone wanting to know all my personal details, name, address, dob etc. 🤔
I haven't replied.

I spend very little on myself,i don`t buy much at all tbh.

We had a joint account for bills and every day spends, however my late husband and I had our own account to spend how we wished. Worked just fine for us, we were overdrawn once in all the 47 years of our marriage. It's nobody else's business how couples deal with their finances.

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My husband is the same. He had his own successful business and a ready supply of money. He sold and retired but still has the same mindset and thinks he has the same access to funds..

His saying if, for example, I couldn't choose between two dresses, was ' "What's better than one ice-cream?". Meaning to buy them both.

Now I have to keep telling him that we can no longer afford two ice-creams!!

We go out for a nice meal or Afternoon Tea 'about' once a month but have little other personal expenditure.

I get (c) monthly floral deliveries from a son. So don't need to buy blooms and they really cheer me up (Homeland Florists via Amazon - highly recommended; beautiful and lasts 2-3 weeks).

Also, eldest son buys me my year's supply of Olay face and eye creams at Christmas and gives me the dosh in April (birthday) to cover my twice a week hair visits and tints. All of which I could no longer afford nor justify from pensions - especially as our Council Tax has gone up to over £4k pa (for less and less service). We're having to downsize.

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I hate spending money on myself, will wear shoes and clothes until they are done before buying any more. Hair gets cut once a year.
I did take out a National Trust membership last month, but managed to get that fairly cheap with me being over 60 and the blue badge means I get a carer in with me for free so wasn't too expensive. I need to get out more and I thought this might encourage me.
I also begrudge buying dairy free foods as they are more expensive. a 500 ml tun of dairy free ice cream is £5, but if I want to eat I have no choice.

I surprises me that many of you sound as if you only have joint accounts with your spouses.

If this is the case, will you please all open a personal acount and get your husband or wife to do the same, and make sure that money goes into them each month.

Joint accounts are frozen upon the death of either holder and not re-opened again until probate has been granted.

So the survivor in a marriage will find her- or himself with no money at all upon the death of her/his spouse.

And if you only have joint accounts or if bills are paid from a joint account, there is nothing your bank can do to help you, as it is a legal requirement that a deceased person's accounts are frozen immediately and not re-opened until probate has been granted.

Hair cut blow dry every 4/5 weeks. Nails at same time. Flowers for garden at the moment. I don’t really count how much as it depends what I see that takes my fancy.

A joint account isn’t frozen when one of the holders dies. The account automatically belongs to the survivor(s).

I had no trouble accessing our joint account when DH died.
Perhaps you mean savings/ISA accounts?

Crossed post GSM

Often even probate between spouses isn’t needed either.

Eh? Surely if my name appears on the joint account, I get to carry on spending from it without jumping through any hoops?
Otherwise, I'm stuffed.

Whoa….had me sweating momentarily. I do have my own account but most of ours is sorted through our joint accounts!

I hardly spend money on myself. The most I spend on is wool, wool and more wool! I love buying wool and anything to do with my crafts. My main joy in life is to give to others.

grandtante we have only had a joint banking account since shortly after our marriage and I have no fears about that when either of us dies. We do have separate savings accounts to take advantage of tax free exemptions. On joint current accounts either name has access to the whole balance within the account.

What can be a problem is when a wife (it usually is the wife) is an additional cardholder on the husband's credit card. You can't get joint credit cards. When the husband dies the wife is immediately locked out of the credit card. A friend to whom this happened made us all very aware so a few of us immediately took out a credit card in our own names. Mine is for a small limit and used just for one store to keep it in use. I doubt I'd be dependent on it as I have my own accessible savings but it's a good precaution.

I think I spend around the same a month on outings with friends meals cloths hair products and getting hair and nails done. I’m enjoying my money to many people are dying in there mid 60s around my age, so I’m enjoying while I can.

Totally agree with this, a friend in their 40’s divorced after having their husband looking after all the finances, I literally had to teach her to use a cash point machine as her husband had just given her her weekly allowance in cash

I treated myself this morning. Had an email from a company I was interested in a while ago but bought nothing. They have Easter discounts so got 20% off my purchase today.

We share everything - although comfortably off now, we were both brought up with absolutely nothing, and we've never forgotten it! We both have the same attitude to money and never argue over it. I still find it difficult to spend money on myself - but we are very generous with our children and donate monthly to several charities. Although we now have a lovely lifestyle, I would find it hard to spend £250 each month purely on myself - my hair costs me £70 every 6 weeks, may go for lunch with friends twice a month, and other than toiletries and occasional makeup/perfume purchases that's about it. Would love to be able to buy clothes every month, but I just can't find anything I like! (So fed up with the baggy tops and tea dresses on offer - OK if you're tall, not so good when you are 5' nothing!). I live in hope 🙄

We each have our own bank accounts and split our bills. My husband spends very little on himself though I can be self-indulgent with kitchen gadgets.
At the moment all our spare cash is being lent to my son and his family who are renovating their house and I think that it's quite good for me to be short of money as it makes me think twice before I spend anything that I might need for our bills.
We don't live a fancy lifestyle and I don't spend much on clothes or shoes but if I find something everyday that I like I may buy a couple of them.
I'm amazed by what people are prepared to spend on holidays, sometimes several times a year.

We do go out for lunch together every week to a local restaurant, a sort of dual extravagance really.

Primrose53

I treated myself this morning. Had an email from a company I was interested in a while ago but bought nothing. They have Easter discounts so got 20% off my purchase today.

I tend to buy thinks I like when they are on offer too, recently saved 30% on new plates and pasta bowls.

sorry "things"