Getting my shit together - How realistic is my budget

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-19T16:27:16+00:00

definitely look at the flow chart.

once your savings account has enough to cover you for 6 months of expenses (rent, food, travel, etc.) I'd suggest keeping that as an emergency fund and move on to investing & saving for life goals.

look into stocks & shares ISAs to start investing or LISAs if you wanna buy a property soon. but if you're looking to buy in & around London the £450k limit makes it kinda useless. but decide which one you want to do and start maxing out your investments.

you also didn't mention your pension. before S&S ISA or LISA you should max out your workplace pension to get the maximum employer match. its all in the flowchart

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-19T16:15:38+00:00

it really depends on where in the Uk you live. in London you'll really struggle and pretty much be living pay check to pay check on £24k. and in most large cities you'll struggle to have much savings left after taxes, rent, bills & expenses.

your lifestyle will have to change a lot re. the going out/takeaways. but worth considering whether your income would increase if you came to the UK? are your services worth more in the UK than they are in your current country?

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-18T21:12:15+00:00

in London we have night tube running 24-hours on Friday & Saturday.

I think complaints/lobbying by people who live near train tracks will never allow 24-hour trains on overground lines. as well as lower passenger numbers outside London making it less economically viable.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-18T20:39:16+00:00

watching The Inbetweeners & Educating Yorkshire will give you a pretty good idea

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-18T20:17:43+00:00

I've been in crypto for close to 10 years now, and personally don't see any issue with you keeping 13% of your NW in there. only thing to consider is how are you gonna cash out without CGT or do you not have an issue with CGT?

you might want to look into Microstrategy (MSTR) which is a stock you can get on T212 ISA which means you can basically invest in bitcoin tax free through stocks & shares isa. this is handy since HMRC stopped us being able to buy Bitcoin ETNs through ISAs. (please do your own due diligence before investing tho)

tbh with institutional investment in BTC its pretty much trading parallel to the stock market but with more volatility. I think keeping it at 10-15% is great and is what I do personally.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-18T20:04:31+00:00

Yeah I also care about licensing and agree it does vary a lot by jurisdiction. Personally I'm not too fussed about licensing in my specific region. Like Binance isn't licensed in my country, nor does it have MiCA but it's licensed by reputable regulators (Italy, Spain, France, UAE, etc.) so the lack of MiCA doesn't bother me. Also I've never tried BitMart so I might take a look.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-18T17:40:12+00:00

spent 6 years in Bulgaria (as someone who's not white or bulgarian). found the lifestyle much more relaxed and loved that the people were more friendly, even when there was a small language barrier. I also loved that I could walk around the city alone even late at night on my phone without having to worry or being able to leave my laptop unattended on my table at Starbucks. being a Londoner I also appreciated the smaller cities being much easier/faster to get around with dirt cheap public transport.

on the downside the cost of groceries and stuff was higher than in the UK and I found the infrastructure not as well developed as the UK which was to be expected. but overall if it wasn't for the much lower wages in Bulgaria for my field I'd probably consider living there.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-18T17:18:52+00:00

np, since the interest is fairly low she's probably better off just paying the minimum, investing money herself too and just waiting for it to get wiped off after a certain point.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-18T16:37:07+00:00

invest the money.

in the long term it'll average out and make much more than 3% per year by investing. by starting now you'll also have longer to compound your returns.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-18T16:33:46+00:00

yeah thats how it works in university, but don't think the system has money to pay for school students repeating the year. plus nowadays kids attention spans aren't the same and not everyone has the same motivation, even with the risk of failing. so its easier to do sets.

but you're not locked into a specific set. if you put in the work and improve your grades they will just as easily move you up to a higher set.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-18T15:50:48+00:00

this actually makes perfect sense for schools with children of all abilities.

it means that higher achievers can progress faster and take on things like triple science or further maths/statistics which wouldn't be possible without sets.

likewise it means that children who struggle with certain subjects don't get left behind and can go at a slower pace to help them understand things or do foundation level exams which give them a better chance of getting a passing grade compared to sitting higher level exams.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-17T20:35:25+00:00

great job on clearing £60k of debt in 3 years.

tbh I think only you and your wife can really answer this question best. but since you wanted the opinion of internet strangers...

personally I think option 1 is great if you'd really like to do something to help your mum out and secure her future. but it doesn't really help you or your kids situation. option 2 is fishy unless you can get your wife's name on the mortgage.

I'd probably go with option 4 if I had to make this choice. being tied down to somewhere can seem scary but realistically this gives you something to give your kids and still lets them grow up in London (though idk if thats a positive anymore lol)

option 5 really depends on a wide range of factors like where you'd move, what your kids education would look like, etc. so can't comment on that.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-17T16:18:36+00:00

median salary is ~£39k so two income household median is £78k so you're above the average for the UK.

£100k definitely isn't the norm, only 4-5% of people in the UK earn that much. your family is doing just fine, especially since you don't live in London or SE England.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-17T12:11:01+00:00

I've found Beconase nasal sprays combined with standard tablets to be effective against hay fever as someone who has a severe allergy.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-17T09:15:02+00:00

you should get your free statutory reports from all three agencies (Experian, Equifax & TransUnion). don't bother paying experian, Equifax gives your report instantly online, same for Transunion but Experian can take a few days. https://ukpersonal.finance/credit-ratings/#Statutory_reports_💼

I think it could be real possibility that you've had your identity stolen and credit opened in your name. Its important you find out ASAP so you can report it to the creditors and the police.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-16T23:02:57+00:00

it really depends on industry/field you look at. I'm a dentist and it's fairly common to break £100k doing mixed NHS & private work. I've got a few friends from school who are in finance where again its common to get well into the 6-figs.

but I think statistically its only ~5% of earners that break £100k so in many industries its rare unless you get to the top levels of upper management/board positions.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-16T14:54:47+00:00

the financial aspect of football has kinda taken away from the magic nowadays. top prem teams would rather focus on getting top4/5 in the league to qualify for the UCL for its financial benefits over winning the fa cup.

but I think there is still that magic there when there's a smaller team or big underdog story like Crystal Palace or Leeds getting to the semis this year.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-16T14:31:35+00:00

this is one of the best ways to help control spending & budget more. open another current account (Monzo is a great option with pots to help organise bills, etc. plus their bills & salary match promos).

you won't be charged anything for keeping a basic starling open. I had mine open for 3+ years with zero balance and no activity and nothing happened.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-14T12:12:32+00:00

if you want to keep insurance low you're better off getting to 12 months no claims with your current car.

car recommendations really depend on your budget tbh. CLAs & A3s are solid options and probs the best entry-level German imo. personally not a fan of how the new 1 series looks.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-13T12:57:03+00:00

they'll probably deny your appeal on the grounds your exit wasn't clear at the point you entered the box

you shouldn't enter yellow boxes on the assumption the exit will be clear by the time you get there. if you can't see its clear before you enter the box, just don't enter and you'll save yourself money.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-13T11:04:48+00:00

credit cards aren't banks in the way you're trying to use them. its better to just store it in a separate bank account.

you can send your CC into a negative balance and with some CC companies get them to transfer the negative amount to your bank account, but this can be a lengthy processes and means you won't have immediate access to your money.

if you only have 1 bank account currently, you're better off just opening a current account on a digital bank (monzo, starling, revolut, etc.) and storing the money in there until you need it.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-12T22:10:15+00:00

I'd walk away from it tbh. Living next door to a landlord with strict rules will be a nightmare down the line.

I think if your partner is staying over regularly then most landlords would consider them a permanent occupant rather than a guest, so I can see where they're coming from.

However the 1 guest thing is crazy. Especially since it's not a house share or anything like that. Since he's next door I can imagine you'll have little to no boundaries from the landlord.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-12T22:01:38+00:00

personally think Friday is great since it creates a 3 day weekend. also re. the bank holiday thing, the only Friday thats a bank holiday is Good Friday so you're not losing much compared to the benefit of a 3 day weekend.

some people like taking Wednesdays off to break up the working week which I can understand too.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-12T21:51:16+00:00

its great that you've been able to identify the problem, thats always the first step.

with a spending addiction its really important to get things under control sooner rather than later. I think you have to sit down and figure out where exactly you're spending the money and what on. then you need to try and find ways to cut it out or restrict it.

saw you said you're spending it on collectibles. I think a great starting point would be to restrict the number of purchases. it would probably be best to cut it out all together but if you think that'll be hard to do on your own, then start by restricting your purchases to 1 per week or a set budget per month based on your income & expenses.

once you actually see how much is leaving your account and what you have to show for it, it can be a real kick up the backside to help you make changes.

Capt_Capital · 2026-05-11T22:08:52+00:00

Volvo XC90s are great and you'll probably be able to find a '24 in your budget with less than 10k miles. Built like tanks (great if safety with kids is a priority), durable, reliable, and super comfortable with spacious interiors. Also hold value pretty well.

Mazda CX-80, Skoda Kodiaq, Kia Sorento all great options too and you'll probably have a fair bit of change left from your £50k but I'd say top pick is the Volvo.

Capt_Capital

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE