AIBU to think we can survive on £50k

[Hadenoughtoday01]

My DH lost his job the other day, Brexit (i.e sterling) related concerns to the internet start up he was working for. Others lost jobs there too too.
Now his income had pushed us above £100k (household income) which sounds like so much but actually (we both pay into company pensions) it wasn't. Now he has lost his job I'm quite concerned. Can we survive on my income - that amount above includes a bonus and freelance work I do.
The real killer for us is childcare - my youngest doesn't start school until September, however we have paid pre school fees up to the end of the summer term (we could get these back as DH salary only paid up to end of May) but she is thriving there. I'm just wondering what we can cut back on. We shop at Aldi, only buy the DCs new clothes when I make some extra freelancing (have to put half away in savings account for HMRC), my only luxury is highlights every six months and new trainers (I get free gym membership with my work). I
We owe £1,500 on credit cards and I'm paying a tax bill delayed from maternity leave. I feel like asking this might attract some negative comments, but I work in the City of London and we live in an expensive part of the South East...

I think you should be okay.

Stop your pension contributions for the moment -- at least until your little one starts school and childcare costs go down.

Consider cutting down the childcare time temporarily? It could be one of the only opportunities that your DH gets to spend some one-on-one time with the children, and as long as you leave enough childcare time in place that he can still sort out his business plans and new job applications, it might be a really lovely time for him and the kids.

It sounds as if you have the potential to free up one of your bedrooms. Could you get a lodger in, or a homestay student? You can sometimes get 'Monday to Friday' lodgers, which means that you have the place to yourself at weekends. And the money you get from having a lodger is tax-free up around £4.5K I think.

Or could DH find temporary work that may not be ideal but will pay the bills until he sorts out the right long-term plan?

Mobile - only pay £20 a month and I need it for my freelance work. We get 15 hours at the school-based nursery (where DC1 - 8 - is at school) DD2 goes to the pre school in the afternoon. That costs us £350 a month. the £200 is the after school club and £50 my DC1 school meals.
I do get more than that most months, for example I'm earning £250 (after tax) overtime, but that will go into paying off old tax bill and probably summer uniform for DD2. I buy a couple of coffees a week and occasionally buy lunch but mostly take stuff in from home. I start very early (8am requiring a 6.30/6.50am train into the city) so sometimes I do have to buy lunch but am mostly very careful. DH has been paying off cards so not sure we still owe £1500. I've got some other extra work - possibly £500 after tax - which I will use to keep DD2 in pre school. Am thinking that after July my DM and DD are having my girls for large chunks of the summer holiday - we are taking the first 2 weeks off. Then in September small pre school bill for settling into full time school and then from 20th September we have the after school club. It is do-able just have to hang in there.

Not lodging could be a good idea...

Could you scrub the after school club (after term) if DH is going to be around?

You should be able to based on those outgoings.

We only bring in £2000 and our rent is £800 and childcare also £300. The remaining £900 is food and the rest of the bills (council tax, gas etc) with about £100 a month left over for 'luxuries' (i include anything other than food and bills in this!)

It's doable. It will just be shit compared to what you're used to.

If your DP is not working, surely you will not need childcare?

Thing is the pre school is only until 3.30 - so DM and my DS help out, so DH will do school run and look after the girls till I get home (6-7pm).
DD2 loves pre school and it's only two more months, I can budget that in, as I know we won't be paying for it much longer. Seems very disruptive as she has been there nearly 2 years now and we wanted to see the term out.

Didn't want to read and run...bless you,worry you could do Without x fingers and toes crossed for you,hope your dh gets a new job quick.

Why overpay on your energy bills? The energy company is earning interest on money you could be earning yourself/using to pay off debt.

Why do you need to keep childcare when one of you will be at home? You could save all this, and your phone/ internet is very expensive, could this be halved.
Can you contact HMRC and ask if you can pay a bit less back whilst your dh isn't working.
Contact cc company and same here ask for bare minimum.

For goodness sake take this opportunity to learn to live within your means and pay tax bill when it arrives rather than putting it off.
You never know what's round the corner, so saving what you can for these events is better than booking a holiday.

Stop paying over for your energy bills, get in touch and reduce your payments.
Obviously stop buying lunches and coffee for work, take a flask and butties.

Why overpay on your energy bills? The energy company is earning interest on money you could be earning yourself/using to pay off debt

This.

Better the money in your bank earning interest than the energy suppliers.

Your DH needs to get another job fast.
It sounds as if you are working on him being out of work for some time; he ought to be looking (is he?) Even if he did something really menial like delivery driver or bar work he would earn to tide you over.

If your DH can earn money from his hobby I would suggest he pursues that over the summer whilst also looking for another "proper" job.
Temp work is not as easy to get as people might think. If you're a mid-career professional you'll be ruled out of a lot of jobs for being overqualified, companies want someone they can train up who'll be with them for the long haul, not someone looking to fill a gap until they get a better job.

We went from just under £100k to just over £40k last year when my partner was made redundant. It has been very tough, emotionally as well as financially, but we're still standing. my partner has applied for literally hundreds of jobs, including jobs like supermarket, bars etc, and got nowhere - I think companies won't recruit "professional people" into for more "menial posts"because they know the person is u likely to stay. If your partner plans on signing on it's worth bearing in mind that contribution based benefits only pay for six months, then it's means tested based on household income. This made quite a difference to us, particularly when my partner needed some pretty expensive dental work (even on the NHS) which we didn't get any relief on and still had to pay full whack.

Have you tried having a look at Money Saving Expert? Have you any card loyalty points you can cash in?

Agree with PPs that your DH needs to be looking for work, any work, especially if you're still going to be using childcare.

When DP had his accident we literally went from £20k a year to nothing except benefits.

We are also a family of four and paying maintenance for his DD as well. We are still struggling with him having little to no work most of the time. I am disabled and therefore no childcare costs but you really need to think long and hard about long term if your DH can't find another job soon.

He could take on the childcare which would reduce your bill to zero, a saving of £600 a month which is a huge amount of money. It would also mean he would be freed up to concentrate on his other job which he would hopefully be able to fit around school hours. He could shop around for bargains and do some bulk cooking.

It is massively do-able. We pay more rent than you and also have the usual bills to pay plus are supporting an teen through uni.

You really need to prioritise essentials and cut down on stuff you don't need. I think most people waste money on stuff they want rather than need and don't even realise they are spending too much.

Look back over your last years bank statements. Look at your annual outgoings and income and you'll be bound to find something to cut. If you pay for a TV package, get rid and get freeview. Look for a better deal on everything you have to pay - utilities, phones, insurance.

Seems the more you have the more you "think" you need! We bought our first house together, (2 mortgages, 100% on house purchase, extra for central heating and double glazing) 4 weeks later he was made redundant. Had insurance but q qualifying period of 3 months, totally unexpected. I worked night and day, old car, that we share no credit card or other debts, keep to minimum. We didnt go out, couldnt even afford fish and chips. I worked nights to his days, so we didnt have to fork out for childcare. I know not every job can do this, but I did a job I really didnt want to for this reason/ I didnt go to sleep after a night shift till my youngest (of 4) was 5 and at school.

I'm confused how you ran up credit card and HMRC debt on such a high income.

Your figures aren't adding up for me. I'm not trying to catch you out or accuse you of lying, but I think you need to sit down and itemise every single penny you spend. You say you are paying into a pension, but that isn't on your outgoings. What about your husband's pension?

Do you work part time for a company and then do freelance as well? Can you up your freelance work? If you are really worried about money, then you have to decide what gives. It's crazy paying for childcare when your husband isn't working. You can't manage for the next 2-3 months on a pipe dream of festival work. He either needs to bring in money, or step up and save you money.

Child tax credit and housing benefit on 50k??? God I hope that isn't the case. The average wage is around what 22k? Sorry I mean this kindly but maybe a bit of a reality check is needed here. Yes of course you can live, not just survive off 50k.

go through everything look where you can cut down.

popping to the shops is going to eat up a lot.

the practice of having 6 months salary in savings is a good one, but 6 months is not always enough time to get a new job.

I live in one of the most expensive places in the UK, and it would be entirely possible to have bought a house on your income, but your priorities were elsewhere. You're still on a good income yet still can't seem to prioritise. I am raising a family on a fraction of your income and I make it work. No childcare if it's not needed. Homes before holidays. Homes before pensions. And there is always work out there. I'd rather clean toilets or flip burgers than have my children go without, and I'm an educated woman.

It's a no brainer really to take your youngest out of childcare. Maybe you don't want to but it's not going to do her any harm and you'll be £600 better off a month.

Stop overpaying on your utilities unless you're on a prepay meter. Refinance your credit card to a 0% finance one or even a loan - 1% minimum payment will only be £15 a month.

Was your rent of £995 on a four bed in the SE a typo? Because even living in the NW that seems low to me!

You can easily manage it. I don't think it even requires much 'cloth cutting' as it were - just end the contract with the nursery early. Seriously it's not disruptive to do that.

Why will you need to spend £600 on childcare? That'll be zero surely once pre-school has finished?

Sp £1000 rent, £400 bills, £400 travel and £300 food. That comes to £2100. Leaving you a spare £600 a month...

Treat except rent/utilities/commuting costs as 'nice to have's' and either reduce or remove those costs. This includes childcare. The SE is very competitive when it comes to childcare in general shop around - you will prob be able to get another highly regarded place for cheaper.

It looks like the outgoings in your first post (which did not include the pension contributinos) are about equal to the income at the lower rate. Is there any reason your husband cannot get a temporary full time job starting almost immediately doing just about anything even working in a shop at minimum wage just to tide you both over particularly as the child care is paid to the summer?

We had a second job each at weekends at one stage which helped when money was tight. Perhaps one of you could also get a Saturday job and the other something on Sundays.
If you have 4 beds and don't need to use them all and if your tenancy does not forbid it you could let out some rooms via airbnb too?