To think 2 adults can live on £800 a month not incl rent?

[abacucat]

Just that really. I think this will be perfectly fine to live on and pay bills.

Op do you have non/ dependents living at home? From the way you write it sounds as if you do, are they contributing the amounts they are supposed to? It is set out how much non dips should pay towards the household per week

My childcare bill alone is over £800. We have over £2k of outgoings over and above mortgage. Totally depends on situation

no other insurance? if you rent you should get contents cover, it isnt pricey. fire, flood, burglary and you will be screwed.

This. Definitely a false economy to cut out basic contents cover

When people say food shop is £50, is that just all food? I only ask because I do Ocado each week. Only 2 of us, 3 meals a day most days (DD has school dinner once a week). I spend probably £70-£80 per week on the order but it includes toilet rolls, cleaning stuff, bit of alcohol, dog food, shower gel, deodorant etc. Do you include these in your food shop bill or is that an extra bill from Superdrug or wherever?

Is your partner really not entitled to esa? It's worth going to a specialist organisation associated with his medical condition as they often have specifically welfare benefits officers that will help you apply and support you through tribunal (the default seems to be being turned down after the initial application and mandatory reconsideration). If he genuinely needs to give up work because if illness /disability a specialist will be able to help you get this specific benefit.

I couldn’t. My bills come to about 350 per month so that would leave 450 for childcare, food, birthday presents for family and friends, haircuts, having a life! There is no way I could do it and be happy. Obviously if I only had access to that much then I would find a way to manage but it is far from ideal.

spend probably £70-£80 per week on the order but it includes toilet rolls, cleaning stuff, bit of alcohol, dog food, shower gel, deodorant etc. Do you include these in your food shop bill or is that an extra bill from Superdrug or wherever?

I include it in the food. Usually we only have to buy these products occasionally, and we rarely drink and have no pets.

given what you’ve told us it’s doable but you would have to be very disciplined. Before you do anything else you need to set monthly sums aside for bills, then another sum for unplannable contingencies such as dental work/car repairs/replacing appliances that break down/household repairs. We also used to set a smaller amount aside for Christmas/Birthdays. I would suggest £80 a month for contingencies but £20 for Christmas might be enough given that there are only two of you and you don’t seem to have expensive tastes.

Once you have allocated funds for future expenses divide what you have left by 5 and that is what you can spend each week on food/outings etc. Dividing by 5 rather than 4 means that you should have a bit over at the end of each month to either carry forward or splurge on treats now and again.

And don’t forget loyalty cards, some are not worth it (M&S Sparks card is rubbish) but Boots and Tesco are very good. I used to buy my petrol at Tesco and save up all my Clubcard vouchers for a nice food shop at Christmas full of the things we couldn’t normally afford.

I earn £1065 per month and am a single parent of 2. I do get a top up off tax credits and a small contribution off ex but I manage to pay my mortgage, utility bills, car loan, Insurance’s etc. I am also paying off an old 0% credit card from joint debt from when we were a couple. My outgoings are basically the same s my income with not much wriggle room but I manage.

We spend more than that in food for 4 so I'd clearly say no. But obv very dependent...

I think it's perfectly feasible if you are both committed. I've been living on a similar amount (i.e. half that) due to mental health issues. The job I am trained for gives me severe stress and I would rather live frugally as you do than work myself into the ground. I would advise you to try to accumulate a safety net of about 3 months money for emergencies which may mean cutting back more for a while or consider selling off unwanted items, it's amazing how much money is lurking in the form of junk. There are plenty of inspirational and supportive websites on how to save money/get out of debt/recover from affluenza. Check out Money saving expert, Frugalwoods, Mr Money Moustache and many others.

We spend more than that in food for 4 so I'd clearly say no

How?! I see these massive food bills and never get it!

PIP is not just for people who can't do basic things ffs, please think before you open your mouth ... Sorry start to type ... Some people's ignorance is beyond !!!!

We couldn’t at all.
Rent excluded, nursery- £450, council tax £150, gas, electric & water about £170. Then we have phones, internet, sky (not a necessity I know), insurances (house, life, unions, car). Not to mention food, petrol.

OP PIP is not as black and white as you are making it sound. There's a blank space for any other info plus the face to face interview. What condition does dp have sorry if I have missed it.

Excluding rent, all our joint bills and food comes to 700 a month. My own bills, like loan and petrol, phone etc come to about 350. DF's are roughly the same, so we couldn't. However, we do pay a fair whack in old catalogues/credit cards/loans which doesn't help. Having said that, I'm not sure we would manage even without debts to pay back and we live quite frugally

No we would pay for fillings. I have had a tooth already pulled out because I could not afford root canal work.
This kind of days it all, doesn't it? Of course you can live on that, it's just tough going when things like this come up. I've also had teeth pulled because I couldn't afford dental work, we don't go out and if we do we don't drink, go on special cheap cinema nights etc. The kids don't do hobbies, we rarely have a sporadic day out somewhere amazing etc. so you can do it and do it happily but every so often you wish things were a little different. Is it set in stone? Is it because of the cost of rent ie you're mov somewhere or do you or do have to leave work? Either way good luck and

I cut my own hair, mine is long so it's easy. Youtube has a lot of tutorials.

Really sorry, you meant for 2. My point stands but obviously is different for you. I think you could but obviously still the outlying things that happen will still sting

Are you including all meals blair? Every single breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack for the 3 of you, including all toiletries for £40 per week?

XiCi

Yep. Occasionally we run out of a box of coco pops or something but that’s not often.

If it’s a shop where we need stuff like loo roll it can be £50, but we probably do that every two months.

Yes we could do it. Just budget & stick to it. Will power.

Abacut insurances are not necessarily optional. It depends on what they are. House insurance for house if you own it and home contents are NOT optional. Car insurance isn't optional if you own a car. Insurance for your mortgage for repayment and cover for death/accidental accident etc is NOT optional.

I think your figure depends on where the person lives and other outgoings too. With no debt possibly but it depends on the area and other circumstances. Your figure is a bit general and should only be for a short term as the persons are allowed for their standard of living to improve.

Our eldest son and his wife earn alot more than that, however they have their own home, 2 cars needed for work, child care to pay for and much more. Our eldest son also pays a £100 a month average back for his University loan. He is one of the few who will pay his Uni loan back over the years he works as he is a software developer (technology) as will our youngest son who is studying to be a software engineer (technology)

It would definitely be worth your while applying for PIP, there’s different grades of payments,yes the higher mobility element is for people who need assistance with self care, but the lower element is for other health conditions that affect your life. My husband has a permanent condition that means he has acute pain, he still works full time but gets PIP to help out with medication and other elements he needs for his condition, it acts as a buffer when he has to take time off work when his pain is too bad.
There’s a form to fill in, there’s advice online as to how to fill it in and a face to face interview.
We also live on a small income, I save as much as I can by having veggie meals a couple of times a week and using vouchers or special deals for days out .

No way could we live on that. Our bills after mortgage are still 4 figures. However, people live to their means and if you can then that’s great.