To struggle on this salary?

£300 pcm for a car is ridiculous…childcare won’t last forever.(can’t the father pay half??) Do you need Netflix? Not to sound harsh but this sounds very first world-problemy. We’re in a cost of living crisis so belts need to be tightened. you're earning a good wage - Do some sensible budgeting and lose/reduce non essentials.

ThisOldThing I graduated in Psychology in 2001. I live in Greater London and work in Central London as a Management Accountant. It's not like I haven't worked hard or that I haven't tried. Because of my not great wage, I had to save a ridiculous £150K so that I could get a mortgage on a flat in an area where I'm less likely to be stabbed. Having been evicted a good number of years ago due to being a an illegal sub tenant and spending six weeks sofa surfing before I could sort out a new roof over my head, I know to not only cherish my flat, but to be thankful that I can just about pay my bills. There are too many people out there who expect an easy life to be served to them on a silver platter, when they've never even had a sniff of poverty.

Think you’re muddling posters. I certainly didn't call you names - in fact, I was sympathising a bit and explaining why you were being given a hard time. I also acknowledged £100 then isn't the same as now. Even 2 x £167 isn't anywhere near £500, and it was a one off special from wedding, so hardly everyday expenditure.

If you don't mind me asking, what did you study and when did you graduate?

Is the lack of opportunities down to location?

I’d get rid of the car asap and get a cheap runaround.
We as a household earn less than you by a lot, our mortgage is a grand a month and we have 3 kids. Our gas and elec is £200, water £65, council tax £200. Our food is a lot because we also have a teenager 🤦🏽‍♀️😂 and we don’t have childcare costs due to my job, I’m a childminder. I’m currently on maternity leave though, so not bringing anything in.
im shocked that on that income you’re struggling personally.
But I’m exceptionally frugal, and obviously that’s making a difference for us. For example we haven’t yet had the heating on. We use blankets, hot water bottles, cheap oodies, 13 tog duvets, slippers etc. is that an option to lower your bills a little?
can you shower less and for shorter times? Can you sell some things? Can you get rid of your
phone contract and get a sim only? For example I pay £1.10 per month with lebara. Our Netflix is £4.99 a month, we get Disney free because I switched a dummy bank account to Lloyds for £200 and then got free Disney. Lots of things like this you can do to save money. Sign up to money saving expert newsletter, he has so many tips to save money.

The car loan is not for ever, nursery ends, you'll be fine then, and it's not that tight now. Even on bc a high salary we only had £4K after tax and we lived really well on that, certainly didn't need to watch the pennies

9 month oods get 15 hours and from 2 years they will get 30 hours in April I believe.

I earn that and it's hard with two teenagers one of whom is learning to drive.

Can you re-finance your mortgage by extending the loan period to bring the payments down whilst you pay for nursery? My 17yr old is on the cusp of finishing school and not ruled out uni plus she is learning to drive so I have prepared for this by extending my mortgage period.

I'm in a similar boat to you OP, except for that I earn less. I got the university degree, which Tony Blair promised would open doors for me-but did not. I can't afford to put my heating on amd spend the winter layered up, looking like the Michelin Man. Stop whinging and sounding entitled. Just count yourself lucky to have a roof over your head!

Once you add in food, petrol, insurance and unexpected expenses that can easily account for the remaining 1000 a month, and that's before takeaways, clothes or treats.

You have my sympathies OP, no advice but I feel your pain.

Presumably you're stuck with the car and penalties to stop early?
Worth taking a pension break until you get free nursery?

I live outside London and I pay £70 for full head colour, half head foils and a cut/blow dry.

I would consider £500 for bedding very extravagant and I’m sure the £230 spent in Tesco was for more than washing powder, dishwasher tablets and a couple of bottles of wine.

Your post comes across as a stealth boast and doesn’t help the OP one bit.

How much would you get on benefits?
Try living on that, then you'll know the difference, oh and you might lose your home

Your car is costing you £300 a month

Get rid and buy a cheap run around outright

Why do you need a brand new car if you're skint?

Salaries haven’t kept pace with costs and what was once a good income no longer affords a comfortable, not extravagant, lifestyle. It is pants and certainly makes you wonder if it’s all worth it.

This sucks op can't you get more child maintenance? Seems unfair your paying all this money and ur ex is paying 100 a week for his dc. Why do men get away with not being held responsible for half of upbringing costs. just because you work it should not all be your responsibility. I hate reading these messages where the men can help make the child but not pay for there upkeep. The government need to do more to get parents who leave paying 50% of the dc no matter what there situation is.

I hate this narrative “I’d be better off not working” I’d love those people to get by on the pittance we have to get by on. I’m disabled and my partner is my full time carer and I get just over £2000 a month & that has to cover everything including 2 kids. I haven’t been on holiday this year either and only managed 1 last year because a relative died and left a little bit of money. I’ll tell you what we can swap I’ll have your monthly income and you have mine and we will see how quickly you want to change back.

Do you qualify for tax free childcare? I didn’t know about this until a colleague told me, which I found odd as I thought the childcare I use attached to my child’s school might have said?

Its a 20% discount.

🤣🤣🤣

Whenever I see threads like this I always wonder if the person posting is actually someone who should be complaining.

How about if you had your rent being £900 a month and then some of your other bills and trying to cope with take home of less than half what you get? As someone else has pointed out there's £1k more income than expenditure.

Check your budget and see what you're doing wrong. Yes I suspect you are doing something wrong. Too many Starbucks? Too many takeaways? Too much on makeup, hair styling, clothes? Get a cheaper car for a start.

I really hope you’re actually taking the peesh and not being serious here about UC 😂

Would a childminder be cheaper?

How high is your heating/what kind of house?

We swapped to netflix with ads, there are barely any I hardly noticed.

There's a LOT of people who live on much less each, but still have the same bills.

Op you can also use thre mortgage charger to increase the length of your mortgage or switch it to interest only for 6 months, I did this and it saved me a couple hundred a month.

This is what my part nursery bill is after all these things