To be struggling on 3k per month?

What about child support payments, do you get those?

Consider a water meter. That bill is astronomical. Is Sky essential, and can you reduce your fuel bill? Mine is a fraction of that and I WFH so have the heating on a fair bit.
And as others have said, right now you should have around £700 left over. That's got to cover clothes, shoes, hair, dentist, optician, etc etc and these things add up fast. Write down EVERYTHING you spend for a couple of months and you'll see where it's going. You can then decide on what you can do without.

If you live in England, you have a right to the free installation of a water meter.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/water/paying-your-water-bill/changing-to-a-water-meter/

Make this, and the cancellation of Sky, the top priorities and get the savings you are making automatically transferred each month into a savings account.

Can you leave all your money that covers bills in one account and not touch it and transfer the £700 or whatever it is you should have left after bills to a separate account so that everytime you buy something it’s clear what you’ve spent money on? Although a quick look at your bank statements will tell you’ve where you’ve spent money

Well do it then!

Not sure how that is going to improve your frivolous spending but get your lower paid job, go on benefits and all is ok 👍

You need to sit down and check your banking apps and look at all out your outgoings. Check the direct debts and standing orders.

Are you paying home insurance, life insurance, pet insurance, because you didn't include them?
Do you have other subscriptions? Netflix, Spotify etc?
Do you have credit card repayments?

£150 a week on food for 3 people is a ridiculous amount. There are 4 adults in my house and we spend between £70 to £100 per week and that includes a takeaway once a week.

Cancel sky, send the equipment back and set up a TV license to pay monthly.

Only if you watch iplayer/live TV. I'm guessing if you're paying so much for sky you also have broadband/other stuff included. Need to sit down and see if you can get these services cheaper elsewhere eg with your phone company. I've saved a lot since started to actually shop around for this stuff.

Council tax is second on the list

My gas and electric is £250 month

@Strictlyskint I always suggest YNAB (You need a budget). I bet you'd save loads because you don't have a handle on what you're spending and you would become aware of it really quickly.

I don’t even use sky at all, since I split with ex I haven’t even plugged it in but they keep sending me bills and asking for the equipment which I need to apparently pay for

If they are asking for equipment that you don't use, tell them they can have it.

Honestly, for someone stressed by Christmas, you sound incredibly passive to your own financial situation!

If you're spending too much and it's stressing you out and you know you are 'frivolous' then stop spaffing money on crap and you'll be less stressed.

£600 a month on food seems very high. Do you do a lot of takeaways/convenience foods? Is it an area you can reduce spending?

Your list adds up to less than £2k a month so are you spending the remaining thousand on frivolous ‘stuff’?

When I had to trim my spending I went through all my outgoings and incomings. I made a list of all my dd’s and the days they come out. At the beginning I checked my account every day. I still check frequently but only 3 or so times a week now. Not a single penny leaves my account without me knowing what it is and why it came out. It’s become second nature to me now to know exactly what state my bank account is in on any given day. Looking back I could kick myself over how easily I let money run through my fingers, I must have wasted so much.

It actually comes to approximately £2,200, as some of the figures given are per week.

Call and cancel the contract. That's what you are paying, whether you plug it in or not.

It's £1900 - the £150 food is per week.

Your gas and electric are more than a typical user. So check you are on the best tariff possible and you will have to look as to how you are potentially using more than you need to. You also need to make sure that your energy supplier is getting regular readings and your bills are not estimated.

Your food bill is on the high side, as is water and your phone. The cat food seems on the pricy side as well. I have two dogs on specialist food and don’t spend much more than that a month on both of them.

You need to get sorted with Sky.

Basically you are spending a lot of money on things which should be costing less than they are, which is why you are feeling the squeeze when you should be feeling more comfortable than you are given your income.

I’d look into water, that’s high, car insurance seems very high but varies, cat food seems high too. Obviously you need the fuel you need. Could potentially get utilities down too, my gas & electric is £120 for example

If you post the equipment back to sky then they won’t charge you for it. They should be able to provide you with free postage.

It sounds to me like the real problem is that you don’t have time to sort your finances out and may need more skills with bills etc You could make an appointment with Citizens Advice to go over it all or maybe take a day of AL to just go through all your bank statements and change all your contracts.

It feels daunting but if you give it a go things will be easier in the long run if you have more cash for Xmas and food etc.

Also, look at applying for a savings account that pays good interest, apply and put even just £5 a month in. Building Societies are good like Coventry. www.sky.com/help/articles/return-or-recycle-sky-equipment

That's not £1500 month bills, that's £2200 month so left with 800 plus child benefit. That's nearly £100 month spare. Where's it going?

So you should have more than £700 leftover for last months ???

Quite honestly it's very easy indeed to go overboard on spending. I earn £3,500 after tax and only have a £300 a month mortgage left.
Coffees, lunch from M&S, a new top etc etc can leave me short.
I put 1K in savings as soon as I get paid and make myself manage on what's left.
I have a spreadsheet - all outgoings and incomings and check my bank balance every single day, I don't buy any magazines or coffees or lunches out, I have to check my bank balance before I buy anything, I shop at Aldi or similar and compare prices.
When you are putting expenditures in a spreadsheet it's very easy indeed to see how much you are wasting.

I can't get my head round £150 a month for water, I know it has gone up loads but paid over 8 months that is £1,200. I have vague memories that water bills are based on the rateable value of a property so lost in the mists of time as to how they were originally calculated. Seems a huge amount of money, mine are £55 a month so yours are nearly triple what I pay yet your council tax is only £38 more. I live in a Band A house. As for managing money, I have all my direct debits come out on the same day so I am clear about what is left over after bills have been paid, I menu plan, make lists to (try!) and avoid impulse buys, always shop with a list, and check my spending daily on my banking app

It sounds like you just don't know where you're spending so you should probably go through your current account and look at what you're doing. I hate doing this, I hate counting pennies, but if you don't know where your money is going you need to find out.

Sky isn't worth the money you're paying for it imo but if it's something you like to have then it's fine to have it.

Have you not answered your own question? Try reel it in! That feel good factor of buying things is real but it's short lived.

The other thing I do every so often is fish around for better deals. Internet, utilities, phone contracts, car break down/and insurance when due. All those little sums can add up, plus it's personally pleasing to get everything a little cheaper :-)

Edited £60 for phone, ouch. I switched to rolling contract, tenner a month including 100% free calls & free texts and some data. I buy my own phone as in the long run it's a lot cheaper than signing up for 3 years.