Does anyone ever have no money at all?

Also that is a huge council tax bill. Is there also council tax debt? That amount of council tax suggests a massive house which is inconsistent with your income. I’m Band D and less than £200/month.

It's hard to feel solidarity with you when I've lived such a frugal life since I was in my early 20s. I didn't get the party, drinking, travelling to different countries youth experience than many people did because I was saving. Because of that, I'm now entitled to no Universal credit and zero housing schemes help because I've saved too much. I should have spent most of it. Then I'd be entitled to more government help. If you live in the South-East or London, or you're a single mum, then that will be expensive, but otherwise, I wonder where all your money is going.

What you need isn't solidarity. You need a kick up the bum.

Why are you terrible with money? Are you particularly impulsive? If not, there is no reason for you to be terrible with money. If you're smart enough to get a 40k job in the NHS, you are smart enough to manage your money.

I think the fact you're still donating to charities when you're in this situation indicates you either want to live in la-la-land, or you have serious issues with saying 'no'. You need to cancel any reoccurring donations immediately. All of your focus should be going on paying them back or getting debt advice, not spending over £400 on school trips!!

You also need to make friends with Excel or a similar program. There are free templates out there you can use where you put in your monthly salary, and then each time you enter spend it deducts it from that total, so the number you have left automatically gets smaller and smaller. No adding up or subtracting required from you. This is the time to show your children how to be financially sensible, otherwise they will grow up to have the same problems or they will pick up your worries about being in constant debt.

How much do you owe on these credit cards op? If they are minimum payments they are huge!

You need to consolidate your cc debt into one card. Look for an 18 month interest free balance transfer. You can pay less a month than you are currently doing and still make more of a dent in the debt. In 18 months time, rinse and repeat.

So you have well over 2k per month to live off plus child benefit after the mortgage is paid. You would likely also get some UC ? have you checked?

Yes I hear you but I was thinking if just in the short term to change the mortgage over or see if it's possible to extend the term as far out as you can.
X

What awful advice . Do better .

I’m a single parent and have been v careful with money & planning to ensure I always have a safety net. I have though been generally able to get decently paid work and am able to be v frugal. My dsis however in good professional job regularly totally runs out of money to the point she needs to borrow…

Theyre not the cause but it makes the difference between no tomato puree and having plenty of puree! Or, its £360/yr off the debt

I am confused with all the 'credit card' spends you have listed. For a true outgoings list, you need to specify what you are spending on the cards. Is this ALL old debt, or you are actively buying new things on CC each month?

Agree with PPs, if these are charity donations, that has to stop today.

And maybe I'm crazy here, but tomato puree is not something I'd bother with on a week I am short on cash. It adds extra flavour but isn't needed!

I cancelled my Virgin and TV licence as was hardly using it, I just stream things on the internet now. Saved loads.

I've been in your position and had preachy friends tell me it was because I was bad with money.

It wasn't. I lived on the poverty line. I didn't have enough money. I frequently had to feed 2 of us on £25 for half a month. Those judgy friends had never been poor and didn't understand.

I earn more now. I'm an AMAZING saver.

GO and speak with Citizens Advice asap.

There are savings to be made and all your debt could be consolidated and the interest frozen.

Giffgaff at £15???
I have Smarty at £6 pcm. And DH a Lebara @ £4 pcm.
Oxfam and Woodland Trust have to be ditched temporarily. Needs must.
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Can you do a survey or two like another person mentioned.
You can do this OP. Just a little help needed 💐

I agree with much of what you said apart from the mortgage! Never switch to an interest only mortgage as you need to take out a policy to cover the capital, most people don’t bother and then find they have to sell up to pay off the capital! Any financial advice days would not suggest an interest only mortgage,!

OP you say you don't want advice and just want people in similar situations to join in a collective moan fest. What exactly is the point of that?

If you're getting further into debt by the tune of £600 pm can't you see you're going to end up in a huge mess?

It sounds like finances are unfairly distributed in the household with him paying the mortgage you paying everything else.

If he won't join finances and share money fairly, you need to live separately and claim child maintenance and UC. But either way you need to stop getting further into debt before you lose you home.

I never used to be able to get to the end of the month.
I wasn’t a spender, there was just not enough money to live on.

If you’re a single person on UC you get about £300 a month.
Yes you get your rent paid but that £300 a month is to pay for food, electricity, water, internet, getting to job interviews or job centre appointments etc
A bus ticket alone easily costs £10 a day.

I was a single parent so got more money but it just never stretched to the end of the month.
I would regularly not have electricity or toilet roll etc.

I am in a better position now but there’s still no room to create any savings.

What do you do in the NHS? You don’t have to stay in the NHS as you say you have a qualification which I’m guessing would be transferable! Whilst the NHS is a mess currently, if you’re good at your job there will be be opportunities to progress!

You are paying £257 for council tax. Your partner must pay half so that frees up £130.
You could add that £130 to your food bill.
You're paying too much on credit card bills.
Its not sustainable.
You can ask them to freeze the interest and start paying a nominal amount.
Im not an adviser .. Im a person of very limited means.
Once I was so desparate about a credit card debt of £2000 that I was seriously considering hari kari.
Was in a park weighing up my options and this older guy said to me : "You mustnt worry about DEBT. It isnt worth it!!! ALL THE BANKS ARE INSURED!"
W e had a liitle chat and watched the ducklings swimming.
I changed my attitude to money that day. I froze the interest ..and started paying £20 per month nominal payment.?
Money came in eventually and I cleared the debt outright.
But I never forgot that mans words!

I was in debt for a few years when younger and had zero.

Took a real mindset shift to move me from a spender to a saver, but it is possible.

Yes, first husband tried to kill me,boss sacked me, didn't want the scandal. Used my last wage to buy son a bicycle to get to school 5 miles away. 6 weeks wait for benefits, dss got free school meals,I lived on 3 slices of white bread a day, house was repossessed, I lost my last £10 note,had no credit cards

This must be really draining ,for me I would be so anxious and unable to function.We were really poor at one stage but so were many of our friends.We had all bought on mortgage rundown cheap properties and doing them up ourselves.we grew so much lucky to have small parcels of land the days of self sufficiency we swapped food,skills,clothes, childcare and had a barter scheme .Never used a CC. Food shop write a list of cheap easy meals and stick to it.Popping to the shops is not for you.Go through clothes ,toys,games etc and sell on Vinted.We used to have jumble sales these were life savers.Swap clothes,toys,books use the library. May be boring but write down every penny you spend.Lastly seek advice from CA but you need to want to do it.If you really have no money for food ask for a referral to a Food Bank. Take control and good luck.

Yes. And tbh the only thing which helped was counselling and sorting out my mental health.

which helped me to change why I was spending money I didn’t have.

i hate using the word mindful, but this is exactly what I use now in my attitude to spending. I was just buying things for the feel good factor it gave me at the time.

Hi OP, I know what it's like to have no money. When my son was a baby, I had no money for nappies, meter, food.
Soul destroying and I thank God every day that those days are over.
I am not being judgemental but it does seem that you need support on budgeting.
You are not paying rent or mortgage so should be able to be comfortable on your salary without getting into troublesome debt.
Take care OP

I've had no money a couple of times in my life. It was quite scary. I had to register for a credit card as I needed to pay a vet bill. I managed to slowly turn it around. Partners can be a big factor. My previous one bled me dry. My current one is quite savvy but very boring, no eating out, no alcohol.
I get quite jealous of those who go out drinking regularly and have regular holidays. I think maybe I spend too much on food. I plan to stop spending money on lunch during the week even if it's quite rare and start taking my own near 100% of then time. Penny pinching seems to do wonders though, although quite boring.
I work with a few drug addicts and alcoholics. They are always skint and struggle. It's quite sad.

Thankfully no never.

You can't afford holidays or school trips until you clear your credit cards. Go to MSE (Money Saving Expert) and get advice there.

Throughout my life there have been periods where I have no money. I'm a spender and when I have money I spend it. It's a repeating cycle. I too have absolutely loads of cc debt. I don't know your circumstances but in an ideal world you would have a side hustle and chuck that money at your cc. Paying them off will make a huge difference. You have to be absolutely ruthless and it's exhausting. Sending solidarity and a hug.