To be so sick of being broke?

I completely sympathise with you in not wanting to take money from your children but your children are adults with an income of their own , albeit as small one . Even a token of £50 per month each would help you balance your budget and is a good lesson in budgeting for them for the future .

The phrase champagne lifestyle orange juice budget comes to mind (or living beyond your means at any rate)Things such as Netflix, gym membership and Mounjaro are nice to have yes but you can’t afford them so don’t have them. If you can afford to keep a roof over heads and food in your fridge you’re doing better than some. Cut back on the luxuries use that to over pay debts.
I would like to be booking a holiday business class to the Maldives but I can’t afford to so I am not.

Disney+ also has a £4.99/month ad supported tier, too.

That's average for a lot of people, I've been driving 9+ years, have a 12yo renault scenic 1.5l and pay £48 per month for just me, no additional drivers

My eldest is autistic, nearly 20 and he still attends a college. From September it will be a remote package (through his EHCP). I don't know the OPs DD, but ability to attend a college doesn't mean able to work. Certainly not the case for DS1.

DS1 has significant savings from an inheritance, but I know it is possible to get UC when over 18 and still in some kind of education, as others do.

Same with Neurofen. It is just ibuprofen 200mgs. People who choose to pay £4 instead of 40 pence are crazy.

Not really - it’s just not good for people to think things are clinical trials if it’s just every day sales. She-med are just suckering people into long term contracts with BS, when they could get the same thing elsewhere without having to sign anything.

Disney plus is £6.99 a month, changing to one of the budget supermarkets (aldi or lidl) could save you £200+ a month so it would be worth considering :)

Car insurance seems high, too. That's £540 a year. If it's expensive because the car's in a high insurance group, I'd change it for something a bit more modest.

The problem is, many times people get frustrated with the OP just refusing to act like a responsible adult, with their head in the sand and refusal to engage with appropriate solutions.

In cases of genuine need, this place can be incredibly supportive, and full of good ideas and helpful links. But yes, if you just want to come and moan when there are a few reasonable steps you can take to make your troubles less severe that you just don’t want to do, you will get your arse handed to you.

Same here. Couldn't afford to continue. I have two kids at Uni that we are supporting and just couldn't carry on. My current job is ending next year ( fixed term contract) and I'm so worried about not being able to find something else. I keep thinking that MJ might be a good investment s at least if I could lose a significant amount of weight I would be able to do care work or something.

On the mounjaro line item - OP I earn significantly more than you and have very little debt apart from a mortgage. When we’ve had unexpected bills or outgoings my mounjaro is the first thing to go.

I find Tesco pricey, do you rely on club card rewards for Christmas or anything? Aldi would probably be much cheaper, I shop for 4 (2 kids but one eat adult size meals and they both like things like fridge snacks (fridge raiders, yoghurt pouches, pepperami sticks, smoothies etc) that add up fast! And we eat a lot of meat (3 chicken based meals, burgers, meatballs etc each week) My shopping also includes dog food and I usually spend under £130 a week (it's been £150/160 in the summer holidays as they're not usually home for lunch)

This thread is wild.
OP, never use this site to vent, especially about money. It never ends well.

I didn't think kids waiting to start college could even get UC tbh. PIP I guess will depend on how the disability is affecting her.

This is bollocks. You can’t pay for a bona fide clinical trial.

To be blunt - if she’s well enough to be in college level education, she’s going to need to work and contribute properly. Benefits are absolutely not a long term support option - I wouldn’t be relying on any future government for any support for anything other than the most severe needs. Moaning about it and complaining about how unfair that might feel won’t help.

You’re also very fortunate to have such very low rent. You really do need to be knuckling down and clearing debt, no matter what you consider to be treats for working hard or “necessities”.

Swap to lidl. It's the cheapest supermarket. Made official by the yearly award. We get most of our shop from there. Fruit and veg is good. The little meat we eat has been decent as well. The app gets you extra savings on things they know you like to buy and you get 10% off your shop every now and then. It really does add up. We'd never go back to one of the traditional supermarkets. They give you a free bakery item as well later in the day. I can't recommend it enough.

I have just had a look to see if its worth changing. Its not