Does anyone else have nothing left over at end of month?

[accidentalwarfare]

Worried we're in a bit of a precarious situation. We are affording life but just have nothing left over at the end of the month at all!

I'm talking after bills, food, subscriptions, a little bit in savings (£3k savings total so not much!) and general life with a bit of fun stuff we just end up in the red just before payday usually about up to £100 overdrawn

We own our home (fairly big mortgage) share one family car (£300 per month) have two kids, I'm currently on the unpaid months of maternity leave and we have extortionate nursery fees coming up very shortly.

So it's an expensive time in life, and eventually I'll earn more again and childcare will be done and things will be easier.. but we sometimes feel like as grown adults with a family we should be in a position where we aren't running out of money every month!!

Anyone else?

I have minus at the end of every month. It's shit

How are you running out of money if you have some to save? Ins't that the opposite?

We're only putting £100 in savings a month so it's a pittance. But then ending up overdrawn for a few days until payday. Can't bare myself to stop putting the £100 away because I feel like I need to save something!

Just nothing left every month. Feel too old to live pay cheque to pay cheque!

Not saying we're on the breadline by any means but just not a nice feeling running out every month.. wondered if a lot of people are in the same boat!

Same here, zero.

Loads of people run out of money before the end of the month, always have always will. Hence the terms "living paycheck to paycheck", "surviving on credit cards", "always in my overdraft". And the invention of payday loans.

The difference is now it is happening to more people and "middle class" people, who used to blame others for "not budgeting properly", or "not getting a better job". "Cut your cloth" ra ra ra and all that bullshit.

Yes, always more month than money left

Yes I guess that must be it. We never expected to be in this position with my husbands salary as what it is, we thought he earnt well but I guess whilst it's covering both of us with a big mortgage and large outgoings it doesn't feel that much sometimes

But surely most people are like this at your stage of life; I certainly was 25 years ago when my children were small.
However in 10/11 years time you won’t have any childcare costs, you may have had a promotion at work and you will have paid off a good chunk of your mortgage.
Hang in there op it does get better and think you are lucky having a DH, children and a house. Lots of people are missing one or all of those.

Yes, same here. I have reviewed all direct debits, cancelled every single insurance apart from life/car (building and contents I pay off at once when it's due for renewal). I have a spreadsheet to track EVERY SINGLE expense even if it's just a loaf of bread (75pence one), entertainment is Netflix which I will not cancel no matter what, walking the dog and books from library. The amount of mental energy that goes into planning every single meal and tracking everything makes me think that I'm developing some obsessive disorder

Same. I’m trying to look at the nursery fees as an expensive period of time, but we aren’t doing private school so they will drop away in a few years and our mortgage is fixed until Dc starts school which helps me feel ever so slightly calmer. I know other expenses will replace nursery fees when DC’s are older, but I don’t forsee anything being as steep.

Go back to work so you get paid?
extend your mortgage term to get you through the years of nursery fees?
review your subscriptions?
I get what you say about wanting a safety net with savings but if you’re being charged to use your overdraft then it’s a false economy.

You are bound to be struggling if on unpaid part of mat leave surely ? People do have the option to go back to work after nine months off. I had to go back when my two eldest were five and four months as we had no money to live.

Sounds like you can't afford to take the 3 months unpaid mat leave so I'd be seeing if you could back earlier. And with respect if you're going into the overdraft by £100 each month and putting £100 in savings, you aren't really saving anything but just spending £100 the following month of your next wages getting out of the overdraft. You'd be better keeping the amount you have in savings as a safety net and not putting anything else in there until you can stop going overdrawn each month.