To feel like I can’t go on with this financial pressure as a single parent

That sounds really tough.

Can you move mortgage to interest only until you get 15 free hours?

I assume you only pay council tax as a single occupent?

Can you get phone bill down? I pay £7 / month sim only contract.

Do you have a food pantry you can go to? as well as £2 entry for a big bag of stuff at our community centre they have a community pantry cupboard outside in the car park that anyone can open and take food from at any time.

Or (just an idea, and depending on where you life and work etc) could you get rid of the car and get a bike with a trailer or bike seat for baby on the back? Then maybe budget yourself a couple of ubers a week or something?

I think child maintenance is about 15% so £650 a month? Get on to the CMS if he’s not paying already

Can you compress your days into 4? So 9 hours instead of 8? It wouldn’t quite be full time but may work out better with only 4 days of nursery.

It is supposed to be that from September the 15 funded hours will apply to all kids over 9 months. It probably won’t make a huge difference - ten years ago when mine started getting the hours it reduced our bill by about £150 I think - but it will be a reduction of some sort and that will help.

So you just have to get through the summer. Have you had a look at your gas and electricity meter readings? Right now most people currently owe money and then they use less over the summer and so they end up having overpaid by September time. So you may be able to reduce your payments between now and September.

OP do you use tax free childcare ? You need to get onto this now

www.gov.uk/tax-free-childcare

Can you speak to your mortgage company and go interest only for a year. Then you only have to get through 5 months before subsidised hours kick in.

Google your local councils name and food pantries.

If there is no list freely available online, call your council and ask if they know who can send you one. If the person you speak to says no, ask to speak to the person was in charge of administering the Household Support Fund, they will be able to provide you with a list.

Are you getting the 20% govt childcare help?

Nothing much else to suggest other than what’s been mentioned.

• Keep seeking child maintenance
• Use a food bank and claim child benefit - at least this will give you a basic budget for clothing/shoes
• Look into cheaper childcare options
• Speak to your mortgage company about going interest only or extending the term of your mortgage (under the Mortgage charter they have to let you do one or the other for six months)
• Only pay the minimum on credit card and ensure it’s on 0% interest

Know that in two years you’ll likely have had further pay rises and your childcare costs will reduce significantly, the end is in sight!

You own your own 2 bed house and your child is very young still - so I’d get a lodger and move your child in with you. That will fix your financial issues until maintenance claim is sorted.

You are on a decent wage and your mortgage isn't massive. have you looked at what help is available for childcare. Also child maintenance. Childcare costs are for a few short years at that high a cost. Look at going interest only on your mortgage. Once childcare has reduced you can overpay.

Also perhaps even worth using a food bank for one month (or more) and buying yourself a decent pair of shoes with the money you save. Food banks are for anyone struggling.

I've just seen that you have to be on a low income for this, so probably no use to you.

Have a look here, there might be something you can access.

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/money-troubles/cost-of-living/where-can-i-get-emergency-help-with-money-and-food#how-to-get-emergency-money-from-the-government

Would a childminder be cheaper than nursery fees?

See if your employer can pay childcare through salary sacrifice. There are schemes they can join for this. It will essentially reduce the childcare by the tax at your highest marginal rate and i believe your work will reduce their employers NI as well.

Definitely claim child maintenance. It should be both parents shouldering the financial burden.

Re your mortgage are you tied into a fixed rate? I would look to extend the term if you can, you can always reduce it back down later on.

Your credit card is interest free, if you don't manage to pay that off before the interest free part ends you can look to transfer the balance over to another 0% card. That could reduce your monthly payments down now, it will take you longer to pay that balance off but it is 0%.

Nursery fees are absolutely crippling but in the grand scheme of things aren't forever but still completely shit when you are in the thick of paying it.

Could you go interest only on the mortgage temporarily?

Hello OP,
it sounds like you're in that very difficult "squeezed middle" with gross income too high to claim benefits but too low to absorb the incredibly high costs of living these days (especially for parents of young kids). The tax and benefits system in the UK is irrational and needs a complete overhaul IMO but that's for another day.....
Is you DC's father paying Child Maintenance? Or offer practical help with childcare (your greatest cost)?

It is a really tough time, financially, but it won't be forever. been there xx 💐

Will you get some child benefit now that the earnings limit has changed?

How long until you pay off credit card?
Are you using tax free childcare?
Can you reduce mortgage payment short term while you are paying childcare costs.

Tax free childcare if you're not getting that already, and look into a childminder instead of a nursery. Ours charges £4 an hour vs nearly double that at the local nursery, and she's fab.

Can you just pay the minimum payments + £1 on your credit card for a while, or is £120 the minimum? Look into this and whether a balance transfer could save anything.

Finally, could you wfh more or do condensed hours at work to bring childcare needs down?

It's tough and I feel for you.

It’s temporary though, then you’ll have 1.6k a month to play with. That’s serious money OP