Budget- can I make this work?

[Stressedgiraffe]

I need help budgeting. What can I do to reduce things or is it impossible?
What have I forgotten?

Income : 3000
Outgoings
Rent :1650
Bills: 250
Phones: 125

Entertainment
Amazon Inc kindle, prime, audible- 36
Netflix- 7
Aws/gcp- 20

Transport
Bus fares - 200

Food
Approx 500

Pocket money/ things for school
200

That leaves - about 100?
This isn't possible is it?

Are you sure you don’t qualify for UC?
and do you get child benefit too?

I don't get child benefit as I earn over 50k
So I don't think I'd get uc. But I'll check.

£100 to do Christmas, birthdays, entertainment, emergencies, school trips, clothes? That's not living, that's existing.

Top of my list is him getting any bloody job but I can't physically make him.

Chuck him out to reduce your food bills and get CT discount? Only slightly joking

Rent - you can't change unless you move.
Bills - you could maybe reduce gas and elec slightly by minimising use but not council tax.
Phones - way too much for 4 phones. Mine is SIM only £10 a month for a fair amount of data.

Entertainment - get rid of all for 6 months or so.

Transport - is cycling or walking possible?

Food - you could cut this back to £400 relatively easily I think.

Pocket money - could cut back £10 per child and explain that the whole family are cutting back. Could they get jobs.

As for jobs, noticed Royal Mail are taking on temporary staff here at least, that could be a good stop gap for him

Dh seems very passive about getting a job. I think you need to be assertive about this. Ie don’t leave it up to him but sit down with him, and apply for jobs with him. Christmas jobs will be coming out soon.

If he wants retail experience, go and volunteer in a charity shop - around here they’re all crying out for volunteers. If nothing else, it’ll fill the gap on his cv.

He can spend 2 days a week looking for work and 3 days a week doing anything in a minimum wage job.
Uniforms etc set up a monthly standing order of say £20 to another account.
Pocket money in these circumstances, no way.

Nothing to add other than it’s really sad that you’re all struggling while your husband isn’t working. That’s your problem, yeah you can pause audible, cut your children’s pocket money and eat cheaper food but at the end of the day you know what needs to be done. My patience would have worn pretty fucking thin by now. There’s no excuse for it, there really isn’t. Best of luck to you.

People can get UC as a higher rate tax payer if they have high rent and/or childcare so it's a possibility.

However I'd question your CB eligibility as your take home is the same as me on £50k exactly. You don't lose all your CB until you earn £60k after pension contributions so perhaps up to £65k is and if you earn that much, your take home would be a lot higher.

So I would definitely check the availability of student bus passes locally - I know the costs will vary throughout the country but for example in the area I'm from, it's £140 per term for unlimited travel, which is much better than £20 per week, or £370 for an academic year pass which is even cheaper. You need a student ID for this but one from a local college might be sufficient.

For some reason the under 18 one, if they're still at school, is more expensive - £238 per term/£685 for academic year - but still cheaper than £20 a week (assuming term is 15/16 weeks).

Trust me! my patience is getting very thin.
I've been looking at better paid jobs for me but that's not the answer.
I've worked 12 hours today ( my choice due to insomnia)and he's been asleep on the sofa for most of the day.
Dds want to do things over half term but I can't afford it.

How much of the budget above is paying off your dhs debts?

Your DD would probably have had a child tax fund thing as she’s similar age to mine we found that her NI number is the reference - I’ve still not got her official NI number from tax office but this has worked for her current p/t job. She earns £200 month from this. You may find it herehttps://www.onefamily.com

But yes, agree, DH needs to get a job. That's the main blocker here.

It's a bit petty but if he's not responding to the discussion/logic angle could you just ruthlessly cut all the things that he likes/that are useful for him from the budget and then be like "Such a shame that we can't afford that until you get a job"

If he's sleeping all the time has he been to the GP - depression? Vitamin deficiency causing excess tiredness? Or is he just staying up all night because he wants to?

only read op posts but prime only needs one member and you can add all family so they all get benifits

Honestly Op any budgeting that you can do is just papering over the cracks. Your husband needs to get a job.

What an awful situation - even if your DH did what someone else suggested, get a minimum wage job at 20hrs per week and then spent the rest of the time looking for a job that he wants to do, that would help massively - but he must tip up the majority of it to you. Marriage is a team, a partnership, and you sound like you have been carrying him for several months. What is he doing for money? Does he have his own savings that he's living off, or are you giving him money?

Also, re the budgeting - I think with careful planning (maybe get him to do it as you work full-time) you could bring your food budget down by about £100 a month. Not fun, but definitely do-able.

Even if your h got a part time job earning £100 a week, that would add £400 to your income and you'd be more comfortable.

What is his reasoning?
Does he have access to any money?

You'd be much better off leaving your husband. Smaller house, council tax discount, less food, etc.

What keeps you with him? I can't see how there would be any respect left in a marriage like this.

With every comment, dh is coming across as a cocklodger. Whilst you’re working all day, is dh cleaning, cooking, sorting out the kids etc.?

Who's the AWS/GCP for, @Stressedgiraffe ?

The aws/gcp is his but he needs that to keep his skills up to scratch.
He has applied for a civil service job but they could take ages.
We've been using savings so far- so council tax/ tv license/ water are paid up till next April and we're in credit by a good amount for electricity/gas
Phones I've just checked I can only move by a few £.
Dh-£10
Dd2-£10
Mine-£27
Dd1 is the most expensive-£40 and £45 ( phone)

The obvious one is cancelling all entertainment subscriptions. You can get free ebooks/audio books from your library using the likes of Borrowbox (I may have made up that you use Audible!).

TV streaming - there are free to use websites, which I've used for the past 3yrs or so, where you can watch everything from Netflix, Apple TV, Prime Video, Disney and latest cinema releases. No need to pay to stream.

Your bills of £250 seem very low. Does that include council tax? I can imagine your energy bill a month not being far off that in a five bedroom house.

Also second going sim only. I get 16gb, unlimited texts and calls for £8 a month.

Check out your local community pantry. For £5 a week I get a minimum of £20 worth of food, toiletries etc.

Oilio and Too Good To Go are excellent apps as are cashback apps such as Quidco. I never order online or renew insurance without going via a cashback app.

Make sure you're receiving all benefits you're entitled to. Check out discounts on bus passes. Also seriously think about downsizing your house - okay, you wfh but you don't need a separate bedroom for that.