How much do you earn and are you struggling?

[AG1210]

touchy subject I know.

we have a monthly income of just under £3000. We have 2 kids.

DH earns just under £2000 a month.

ds gets DLA, I get carers allowance, child benefit, small amount of tax credits and £30 PW maintenance off ds's dad (he probs should be paying more but I haven't got the energy to sort this!) brings us to just under £3000 a month.

but we are always skint!!

house is mortgaged and it's currently £350pcm which is cheap. If we were renting we'd be on our knees. But we've had a lot of necessary house repairs in the last year which hasn't helped - boiler and heating repairs etc.

we don't spend about our means.

like anyone, bills have shot up but we have been struggling for a while, so even more so now. Always over drawn by the end of the month.

we don't spend above our means. Don't go out to eat, drink alcohol or smoke.

we also run 2 cars. we took out a loan for our newer family car (not brand new!) which we are still paying back. The other was bought outright 15 years ago before dh met me. . 2 cars is a necessity where we live as there is little public transport and dh works unsociable hours. But if dh car goes wrong (it's not looking good atm) we are screwed as can't afford another. This is a big chunk of our income gone.

we have some credit card debt - about 2 grands worth buy could be worse I guess.

we've cancelled Netflix and other subscriptions.

not had a holiday in 7 years.

we have recently spent our on annual passes to a local theme park which cost nearly £200 but thankfully they are valid for a year and it's only a few miles away so will give us something to do with the kids at the weekends - hopefully they don't get bored of it.

made cut backs with food. Food has gone up but I'm buying less to compensate.

how do you get by each month?

we shouldn't be struggling so much should we?! Is this just life for everyone now?

I totally appreciate that there are families much less off than us and I can fully sympathise.

I am just at a loss on what to do.

there's just always something extra we have to pay out for too!!

any money saving tips??

This

I don't really understand why you say you are "struggling" doesn't cost £1700 a month to run two cars?

I think this is just life now, yes. Our income is £2700 a month combined. Our mortgage is higher than yours but we only have one car an no debts. We just about get by every month but my car needs a bit of work before it's MOT and I don't know how I will pay for it. We are OK until something like this crops up.

Have you looked at whether you are eligible for the WaterSure scheme?

It is worth comparing what you would get on UC, as some carer’s with disabled DC find they are better off on UC, especially if DC receives HRC DLA.

Have you also looked at grants you may be eligible for?

Similar mortgage and earnings to you OP but only run one car. Also don't drive to school or work, generally spend £50 a month on petrol.
We don't do a monthly shop anymore and go to a local supermarket for the yellow stickers at 7pm. Also eat at the majority of meals out of the house. Breakfast is cheap, kids are young enough to get free school meals, dp and I don't eat lunch, then I have a lot of veggie, 50p a portion or less recipes up my sleeve.
My kids have never had a treat cupboard of cakes, snacks etc which seems to cost a lot to keep up. If they're hungry they can have cereal, toast, fruit or a scoop of sorbet.

I prioritise holidays as I need them for my sanity. Usually camping or haven who do some good deals at times. I would rather go without an afternoon at a softplay or drinks out to be able to go on holiday.
I am aware that kids who are older are way more expensive so not smug about my finances yet.
Also the reality is that I've had 28p in my account since the 7th of July. I do have savings but try not to use them.

You have written some but not all information about your spending and income.

A list with all income and then every single outgoing is needed to budget as effectively as possible.

I would try making a note if every singer thing you buy, even the lowest amount.

Go to the Money saving expert website and look at their budgeting section.

Can’t you work if children are in school?

How much on the cars?

I have done but not at the mo. My eldest has severe autism, I have had to be available at a drop of a hat recently because things aren't going well at school. As well as appointments, meetings etc. He doesn't sleep so I'm already exhausted. It's not as simple as finding a job when your child has a disability I'm afraid, I wish it was 😓 I get Carers allowance for him.

Thank you. I've not had time to list it all on here yet! We have looked through everything!

Honestly, on that income with those bills you should be able to manage well, albeit not extravagantly.

You should be able to save a good chunk of your after bills money each month to use to pay for car repairs/home emergencies etc.

I suspect you've been spending all the excess that you have on treats and nice to haves in the good months rather than saving/budgeting for the hard times, and now a number of repairs/emergencies have happened all at once, and you don't have the reserves to deal with them.

The first thing you need to do is to understand all of your income and all of your outgoings. You need to account for periodic things, such as replacing cars without using credit, car repairs, home repairs, replacing appliances, once a year costs such as Christmas, birthdays etc, and put money away each month towards these things. This will give you a better idea of exactly what you have left each month to spend on non essentials and treats.

We have a take home of £5k.

£1500 mortgage (Victorian end terrace house)
£1700 child care (wrap around & nursery with 30 free hours)
£175 council tax
£550 gas & electric (draughty Victorian terrace)
£600 supermarket shop (including cleaning products, laundry, pet foods and toiletries)
£130 car insurance and maintenance
£150 petrol
£60 water

Which leaves around £150 left for everything else.

So yes, as ridiculous as it is on £5k a month we are struggling.

We don't have a fancy house, just an expensive mortgage. Can't remortgage as interest rates have gone up and the early repayment fee is prohibitive. And for the same reason we can't downsize either (though as DH WFH permenantly, downsizing would add different stress to our lives). We already only have 1 car which is a condition of my employment. Childcare won't get more than £200 cheaper as we need full time wrap around care (or to run a second car).

Definitely look at Watersure, I'm sure you'll qualify due to your child's disability.

Also try and negotiate with BT. They might not necessarily know you have no other choice (are you sure about this?) and might offer a cheaper rate if you sign up to a contract.

What are your mobile phone costs? People pay such huge amounts, but you can get a SIM only deal for £10 a month or less and then buy a decent smartphone for around £200 every few years, meaning your average cost is under £15 pm each (I always sell my second hand phones on eBay for around £50-100).

Do a budget. It's the only way.

It's quite possible that your theme park tickets give you days out and you also end up paying for food and drink etc at high prices. Presumably that could be stopped for a rucksack picnic? (We have a ruck sack picnic set).

Looking to eliminate unnecessary spending and looking for alternatives can only really be done if you write everything down and then you can work out where things can be adjusted.

It does sound like your children's Dad isn't pulling his financial weight either, but appreciate that might not be so easy to solve.

I know some posters are saying they should be able to get by with 3K a month but I can't understand how? Maybe I'm bad a budgeting?

With 2 kids, and the cost of living being the way it is now, 3K a month is just enough to keep your head above waters but I'd still struggling TBH.

I earn a similar amount and am a single parent. My rent is £1k a month. My childcare is quite low as only mainly use it for youngest now and before and after school. I only have one car though and is old and have a small house so electric/gas isn't that bad yet. I still manage to normally save a bit each month.

We are comfortable. We have a high income but high outgoings too - it will help when DD starts school and no nursery fees to pay 😅

It all depends on your outgoings. If you’ve got a £700 mortgage or a £1050 mortgage (not £350 like OP’s) then yes, you’ll struggle. If you pay childcare, if you have 2 cars or no car (but commute by train, or get taxis), if you have lots of activities for the DC or a big draughty house…

But if you’re genuinely not sure where it’s going then yes, you’re not budgeting effectively.

I know some posters are saying they should be able to get by with 3K a month but I can't understand how? Maybe I'm bad a budgeting?

I think the mumsnet demographic is older, nowdays a mortgage of £300 for a young family is highly unusual.

It's fairly obvious that the OP should feel quite comfortable on £3k unless she's misrepresented their situation.

£3k income, £350 mortgage, no childcare costs, most of their other basic outgoings only come to £1260, say £2k once running cars, mobiles, insurance, clothes have been included, which means they should have around £1k pm to spend or save, but she says they're really struggling and always in OD.

Same mortgage costs (well £380), no DC and struggling on £1500pm

but if you read her list of outgoings it only adds up to £1260 so there's a lot of money being spent somewhere that's not accounted for if they are living into overdraft every month.

How much are your debt payments? I would work on getting them cleared then you will have extra in your budget to save an emergency fund and for a new car. Take a look at the Dave Ramsay method and the Debt Free Wannabe board on Money Saving Expert and make a plan.

£40 per person for food a week-£640 a month for family of 4 ( Joseph rowntree healthy diet )
£200 council tax and water
£200 gas and electric
£50 phone and broadband

Car £300 for one basic car with insurance service and fuel

1400

Housing 0-2000?
Child care 0-1000?

So 3k could be loads left over or none depending on big ticket items like car home and childcare

Our post tax monthly income is around £3500 and we're doing okay.
It's just the two of us, no kids.
I do budget and manage money carefully though. We put £650 into savings every month but we have cancelled netflix and other unnecessary things to be able to continue saving. I'd rather have the savings than the 'luxury' items. Fortunately we are making those decisions and not the choice about eating or not.

As a single parent I bring home just a little bit more than you. No debt but double your mortgage. I save £800 a month. What are you doing with the rest of the money that seems to be left over ?