My wife and I are in Debt up to the eyeballs. It started about 17 years ago and multiplied until about 2 years ago where we owed about 50 grand on top of our Mortgage. We joke that we are still paying for that Curry we had in 1997… No nice car, no new bike. Just memories of those things 🙂 Completely self-inflicted of course but what’s done is done

Went into an IVA two years ago and every penny is accounted for – As well as agreements with the creditors, we have a car fund, a dog fund, a “contingency” fund etc etc . . My wife IS my best friend and we are doing this together…

We build up the pennies and save. With whats left over I amuse myself buying second hand tat to fix and my wife has the occasional night out. Been using plastic to buy stuff for so long, it feels good to buy with your own Money, however small…

I get another chance in 3 years to conduct my affairs properly. Maybe then I will have something to pass on to my Son.

Significantly less than it was pre house buying what with all the furniishings and modernisation ( and refusing to use credit for them)

But despite that i dont miss it, i have something tangible to show for being skint.

Dont think ive bought a single new item for my bike this year.done 2000 of my kms on fixed wheel at a cost of 0.00 in maintainance and the rest on my scabby on-one summer season and had a hoot.

In a similar boat – second nipper is coming up to 3 months old, and Mrs Udder has given up work for the mean time for a ton of really solid, sensible reasons that are pretty obvious. So we’re down to a bit more than half our usual income for the next few years at least.

One thing we did after Mrs Udder went back from her first maternity leave was to try and live on my income alone, with everything she earned going into savings or on things we were spending on because we both worked – childcare, her commuting costs, and a weekly visit from the cleaner.

We cut down from two cars (we both drove to work) to one (I changed jobs and commute by train and Brompton).

I try to spend the bare minimum on biking. So, for example, I sold a much-loved hardtail I’d had for over a decade, and a singlespeed bike, and got a singlespeed with a mech hanger, combining two bikes in one. The frame came with rigid forks, so, if I end up with busted suspension forks, I’ll just go rigid until I can afford new forks.

I service my own forks and shocks. I fund the costs of stuff I need to get for bikes by selling off old bike kit that’s just sitting around. I did this recently to build up a cross bike / commuter for peanuts. If I can, I buy second hand kit. Otherwise, I look out for bargains. I gave up one sport (sailing) for time reasons a few years ago, and get the occasional race in on friends’ boats, so my kit doesn’t wear out like it used to.

One thing I’ve found works really well is to have a separate mad money account for stuff like this. If I sell something, the money goes in there. If a kind relative gives me some money for a birthday or Chrimbo, the money goes in there. I also ask (cheekily) for birthday and Christmas presents to be stuff I need, or cash.

My company pays a bonus most years; I have clearance from Mrs Udder to spend this on bike stuff.

All of this then goes into discretionary spend on bike stuff or other things, like Mrs Udder’s big birthday, which is rapidly approaching.

I suppose this is a long way of saying: try changing your way of thinking. These next few years are going to be about supporting your partner and children, and your happiness comes second. But don’t forget it completely. Just change the way you spend on things.

Have not re-mortgaged for years. Never had any kids. Worked my way up to a decentish job. I can now blow cash on XTR and the like willy nilly, near enough when I feel like it really 🙂

You makes your decisions you pay (literally) the consequences.

Whilst MTB’ing usually costs a lot of money, (unless you have a rigid singlespeed and lots of doorstep riding), not all cycling is like that.

I save a lot simply by commuting. Its a 26 mile round trip. By car its around 5 pound for fuel and parking, by train its 6, so even if i only do it three times a week its saving 7-800 quid a year and the only consumables used on the road bike over the last 18 months have been brake pads.

I do all my own servicing and buy online & 2nd hand a lot too.

At the end of the month I balance what is left of the overdraft against what I would like and then dismiss the notion as MrsCat explains the realities of just how poor I would be funding a divorce lawyer – who needs relate when mutual poverty provides the glue!!!

I perform on the webcam at £1.99 a minute to make ends meet (actually, making ends meet costs extra)

to make ends meet

Is that a euphemism?

For us, new kid means disposable income basically doesn’t exist any more. So no more snowboarding holidays, stuff like that. But we’re happier than ever – little people are easy to keep entertained for free.

I have two second hand bikes which cost me less than a grand all told and just ride and maintain them myself. I’m too much of a jessy off road to need 140mm travel super gnar gear so have a 100mm XC bike, and on road its all about the legs, so Tiagra is good enough.

Got close to spunking a load of cash on a new Canyon, but the cost to performance increase just didn’t work for me!

I do however have nice gear to wear and a garage full of reasonable (Halfords Pro) tools and racking as I would rather spend my money there than on a fancier bike.

Salary
– House costs
– Holibobs
– Living costs
– shiny things costs
– Bike costs
– Bike clothing costs
– Bike magazine costs
– bike tool costs
– anything else I can manage to get home without the other half noticing
= Disposable income

Is that a euphemism?

Yes. It’s the same as saying ‘its only gay if your balls touch’

Like all things in life, it’s about prioritising/accepting those things you can do without.

I’m not poor by any means, But if I bought everything I dreamed about, I’d be in a shed loads of debt (one thing about having a good wage – the potential to get into tens of thousands of debt is there, as you’ll get leant it….).

It was a refreshing though to realise the best way to get quick and have more fun on a bike, is simply to ride it harder and further! I’ll treat myself every now and then, but I acknowledge it’s pretty much ‘wasted’ money, as the gains are negligible (bar the reverb…).

The bike I’m probably quickest on, and have the best “laffs per £” is my cheapo single speed…..

Currently for me, a big priority is time……can’t really buy more of that (so to speak)

DrP

Although I’m fortunate enough to have a ‘disposable income’, I don’t really have any urge to buy things. My bikes are all several years old, and I have no desire to replace them with a ‘latest model’. I generally don’t ‘upgrade’ as the main thing that would improve my biking ability is improving my fitness / skills! Don’t buy cycle mags etc, but do have an annual membership of the CTC and my local road cycling club. I road ride (or sometimes mountain bike) from the door, so no additional transport costs.

Add to that a lack of suppostedly girlie interest in handbags / shoes etc, plus in the evening I’d rather be out on my bike or up in the mountains than down the pub, and I generally don’t have much that I need / want to spend money on. The only exceptions are travel / holidays and going out for a nice meal now and again.

As a few people have mentioned, happiness and biking does not necessarily depend on having a substantial disposable income … to use a cliche: the best things in life are free 🙂

having got into mega debt in my twenties I now keep the balance of 50% salary on mortgage/bills/food/car and 50% disposable much of which ends up in savings though did blow a huge chunk on a trip to NZ for a couple of months earlier in the year, tis true tho that more money does not equal more happiness!

My wife and I each put 700 into a joint account which covers mortgage, bills, food and a night or two out a month. Anything I have left in my account at the end of each month is my disposable income and I tend to save it/put toward mortgage overpayments.

I am coming back into biking with the frame of mind of ‘ride, don’t buy’. I reckon the whole thing will be much more enjoyable if I can get out loads and hone my skills to perfection, regardless of what I’m riding.

Compared to a lot of you i earn two thirds of bugger all, but i don’t have kids, i don’t own a car and my mortgage is tiny.
Basically this means after tax/NI half my wage goes on mortgage and bills leaving me with the rest. Don’t know how, but my bank balance is into 4 figures and i have no debts apart from the mortgage – no credit card either.

Don’t have new bikes as such although i have bought two bikes for cash in the last two years – a Boardman Hybrid for £500 and a Marin Wolf Ridge for £1400 (special offer as end of line model).

MsD will be moving in soon though so lets see how the heating bill goes through the roof!

“MsD will be moving in soon though so lets see how the heating bill goes through the roof”

+1(00KWH) 🙂

Don’t, i’m not joking! She is shivering when i’m sat in a pair of shorts and sweating! 🙁

“She is shivering when i’m sat in a pair of shorts and sweating!”

I had so many unsuitable responses to that, they all clogged up and I couldn’t decided on which one to type. 🙂

I have a ‘thing’ which goes off in my brain when the thermostat twitches; it’s quite strange. I can be in another county and I know when she’s flicked the heating to manual, and whacked the temp up to 30, which of course it never achieves, even after 8 hours of trying.