Is £2500 a month acceptable spending for a family of 6?

[Fressia123]

We're trying to reduce our outgoing but I don't think there's much leeway TBH.

We have a mortgage of £800 and childcare of at least £600. That £1000 left is for food, car/commuting related expenses, and all other bills. We don't have Sky and only have Spotify and Netflix. Phone contracts are £25 each (we only have two). The obvious is food shopping but we reduced it to £80pw it didn't make me feel great so had to change it.

Can you break the 1k down a bit further?
How much is a weekly shop?
How much are your utilities?

Well it sounds tight. Any savings in case the washing machine packs up or anything?

It won’t always be like that though.

Utilities including CT are £270. £100 for fuel/road tax, £500 groceries, £60 pet related expenses and two repayments of £100 each.

@SerenityNowwwww I have an "extra" income for savings, going out, etc...

Well does it need to be any lower? If you have a separate income on top which covers going out and savings then why do yu need to cut the 2500 down further?

It does IF my DP retrains as it will reduce his income considerably. Also that extra income is in foreign currency (and comes from rent) so it's variable. I usually try not to take into account for our day to day living.

You need to a full income and expenditure. I have a spreadsheet and our wages are at the top and every single payment that is regular is listed for us both so phones, contact lenses, milk delivery are even included, I put in £100 for shopping so that’s a main shop, cleaning stuff and top up all covered (rarely sieve that so that’s money to save). Then I can see where we really are.

How the hell do you feed a family of six, breakfast lunch ( including packed lunch?) dinner snacks for £60 per week!!!!? Are you only eating rice and cereal???

@bashfulclam we already do that. I think the obvious answer is to reduce our groceries. Also to see if our expenditure is within "normal" I think TBH we're quite frugal

@Imloosingmyshit I spend £125. I've been able to take it down to £90 but it wasn't great.

So after you have taken all spending into account what is your disposable amount left?

It seems like there's not much leeway until childcare is cheaper/not needed. Food can be reduced a bit with batch cooking and being creative for a month or two but it's hard ongoing. Your bills seem low otherwise, except the repayments, how long term, can you find the extra to pay off early before income drops?

Can you reduce your mobile bill? I pay £9 per month for a Sim card and use my own phone.

It varies (as I work OT) but this month it would be £-10. Next month it will be £+150. Those £10 can easily be covered by my extra income.

I know we're both on NMW (thus retraining) but I'm not sure if there's anything else we can reduce.

One phone died and another one was given to one of the kids. We're on newish contracts but they're lower than they were!

We have the savings to pay off most of the repayments but I'm making a conscious decision to keep those savings in case they're needed.

Not sure you can in the short term but you can work towards it. Is Spotify and Netflix essential? There are a lot of free stuff to watch. Pick 1-2 easy batch cook meals. Anything you can sell. Drip feed savings to reduce debt further each month. Keeping savings especially now is important.

I use Spotify for work so that one has to stay and Netflix is really our only entertainment.nor much I can sell. Batch cooking is hard as both our fridge and freezer are quite small. We have no money left to save (from our own income) which does worry me.

If you're both on minimum wage do you receive tax credits and childcare vouchers?

Perhaps if you need money behind you to retrain and eventually increase your income, then you should consider selling your rental property abroad to release that equity. Then use that to secure a better future (by retraining).

Your set up isn't unusual in that you're working your backsides off and just breaking even, you can't save. Most families nowadays are in the same boat. Wages simply don't cover the cost of living for a lot of families.

No, we don't get any UC as we own our home. We get some help towards childcare that's it. My property abroad isn't for me to sell as my family has control over it (needs a separate thread).

Right ok. I've nothing useful to add but I understand your predicament. It's tough and we are in a similar position. It appears that you've made cut backs where you can.

Honestly, I don't think you'll reduce that. We spend the same on a family of 5 with less in childcare, and still would struggle to reduce by much.

You can get UC if you own your own home. We do. But our income has dropped dramatically and not both working ft.

Your savings have to be under 6k though.

Im a bit confused what youre asking. Do you have a big savings pot? How much is the rental income from abroad? Having another income for days out and savings is great but needs to be included in a budget.

Having any money free for savings seems a luxury if on minimum wage at the moment.

So if you're asking if its okay for day to day expenses and youve added those up then yes it is surely? Most people have to include says out/big things like car tax/ xmas/ white goods breaking in their budget. But it sounds like you aren't if you have another income for that?

It varies but we have between £550 to £700. Thanks to that money we've been able to pay for the first month of childcare, house emergencies, etc... We have about £4k in savings so not much but would clear the debt if needed.