To ask how people afford plumbers or new fridges?

Sorry, I see what you mean… Yes, your example is exactly what I was getting at.

£530 for a fridge?
I bought one for about £120 a couple of months ago. What does this super fridge do for that price???
Shop around for your insurance. Going by your mortgage and council tax I'd guess is not a big house.

You can't alter the mortgage, depending on if you are buying a phone,card only Smartie around £5 a month, sometimes less. Get rid of the TV licence.. your household insurance is high,I pay around £350 for a detached bungalow in the SE UK (expensive) corner. Is the credit card zero % interest. Reduce parking somehow,park further,walk. Basic retailers,Aldi, Lidl. Charity shop, Freecycle or similar for the fridge. No clothes,or none essentials, for 3 months minimum. When you are able,check out local colleges,do a basic plumbing course.

I meant the mortgage seemed relatively high for her income. That’s why I just suggested she look at it. I once changed a mortgages from £800 a month to below £500 a month by extending term as a single mum and it made world of difference. Only trying to help!

What do you do for a job? It’s coming up to Xmas, two months of weekend shop work could help you pay off the credit card. Do that and get an emergency fund built up and you’d be in a much stronger position for when problems crop up.

Definitely get a cheaper fridge. Ask around for a plumber - if it’s an easy job a mate might do it for £50 on a Saturday morning rather than a full on ring someone new, come and look at the job and charge a fortune just to look at it.

What insurance is not a con?

Fair points but I don’t know how you can possibly say the OPs mortgage is high without knowing the size of the outstanding debt and the term!

£620/month implies the debt under £100k which is actually pretty low considering house prices (it’s far lower than mine for instance).

However, the mortgage and debt restructuring is probably the biggest thing the OP could do to improve her situation if there’s scope to do so. Depending on age, debt to house value, and remaining term, one possible option would be to consolidate finances and remortgage, incorporating her credit card debt and extending the term…. and doing so on a cheaper rate whilst she’s at it!

For instance, if the OP is 40 and has paid off, say, 60% of the mortgage and has another 10 years left, then she could remortgage; consolidate the CC debt so that there’s, say, 50% left and extend the period for 15-20 years could make a massive difference to her monthly finances, without being reckless.

She could then use even some of the difference to pay into a pension…

I have a similar income and outgoings.
Join a credit union. Put in a minimal amount each month. Take out a loan.
Repeat every 6 months.

I get 1k every 6 months and save my child benefit and 100 a month. I've build savings and use these to get my loans and with that big loan I get all my large purchases.

I also have a nest egg that I'm building and will put into JISAs for my 2 children as they get bigger.

That sounds hard to manage OP. I’d get one second hand on marketplace and save for the plumber if you can do without the toilet for a while

You seem to be managing well. Well done! Although no room for emergencies or big ticket items when they arise.
Not to add in an expense but you mention a dog but no insurance. Given your situation I would try and get some. It would be awful not to be able to pay vet bill. I'd lose the TV licence but pay this.

As for your current situation I would do the following...
£50 on dog food monthly (basing that on my bigger dog on expensive food.could reduce but in my opinion not worth it for health of animal).
£200pcm on food. I can at a squeeze still feed 5 on £100pw although my stock cupboard is full
Put £30 aside for toiletries and clothing per month. Let it sit there if you can. I buy clothing maybe 1/2 a year.

That leaves £137. I'm not sure how much a plumber is for this job but if it was £200 for example I think I would go into an overdraft if I could just to get it sorted. In three months you'll have cleared that.

For the fridge, if you're on your own you don't need a massive one and as others have said get a secondhand one.

Without the credit card payment your outgoings are manageable although tight.

Don't cancel the counselling.

Income protection insurance is a con.

Me neither.

I’d be getting a second hand fridge from Facebook or our local charity shop. I earn more than you but would never pay that much for a fridge.

Why so much on credit card? Don’t buy what you can’t afford.

Secondhand?

I got a lovely Swan fridge from AO for half of what you expect to pay, and paid it off monthly.

Also, could you forgo therapy for a month or 2?

I’ll be honest - it’s not a very high salary to run a house, a car and a dog. It’s no wonder there’s not much wiggle room but agree the debt is where the problem lies - how much longer untol you pay that off? It sounds like you need a side hussle. Good luck.

Counselling and TV licence, stop both and use that money to save for things like plumbers or new appliances.

Why are you even paying a TV licence?

I currently have a perfectly fine working condition fridge/freezer sitting in my living room about to be picked up by the council, if you can arrange pickup by next Thursday from cumbria it's yours, dm me! Also I'd cut out the TV license, but I don't watch live tv or bbc. I also remortgaged recently to save money and its made a huge difference (I'm on a lower wage than you and single) and I also house share (I know this is not ideal especially with pets but I actually prefer it to living alone most of the time). But yes, wages are terrible atm and not in line with cost of living, and supermarkets have a lot to answer for inflating prices of food.

It sounds like you manage your bills very sensibly. Could you check Freecyle to see if there is a fridge on there too? Can you try to reduce your spend on food slightly (shop in cheaper supermarkets use community larders, reduce waste), may not be possible, but if you could maybe you could save something here and be able to put aside some money. Can you look for a side hustle?

I' d go for a second hand fridge. all you need is a friend to help you carry it to the car. it should fit in a medium or estate type car and just needs to be plugged in at the other end.

im sorry I think a few people are missing the point! You don’t have much disposable income and living solo is bloody hard on a normal wage! Been there in the past and the things I’d do

• tv license seems high is this also a subscription? Swap supermarkets to Tesco and use club cards to get free Disney plus
• home insurance seems high, next time use comparison site
• Mortgage seems high - consider if you can afford it, but for short term consider remortgage over longer term to reduce monthly
• shop second hand. For appliances, clothes etc wherever possible (incl fridge)
• consider if anything you can do to reduce parking
• look on money saving expert to see if any tips, bargains etc
• if you have time look at a side gig, simplest can just be overtime in workplace or selling on vinted, eBay. Even £20 month help start saving
• could you put yourself on nhs waiting list for free cbt counselling or maybe reduce that to £50 by dropping a session a month

Across the board all of these things would likely give you another £100 a month even if you don’t do them all. Help you start having a slush fund for emergencies

I am sorry though! Cost of living is awful at moment on normal wage

Your income appears to be enough for your needs but the debt is creating stress.
It is so much better for your peace of mind to attack debt and build up an emergency pot. I know that sounds obvious but if you’re thinking of spending £500 on a fridge maybe you have been too relaxed about spending in the past.
Moneysaving expert forums on paying off debt are great. Get a cheap fridge. Have a few frugal months. Make it a mission.

when I needed a new fridge freezer I had no choice but to get it off the catalog and paid it off every month because there just isn’t the spare money for a new anything right now. My second hand washing machine took the knock a few weeks after having it for 4 years I can’t afford a new one so I’m having to use the laundrette and I’m waiting for a dry buddi to be delivered. It is what it is we manage somehow.