To use the child benefit payment as my grocery budget?

[iwillsoiwill]

Would it be unreasonable to use my child benefit as my grocery budget for all 4 of us??
We get 280 per month so in a 4 week month that’s 70 per week, which is my average weekly spend! Or should I assign to to something more child specific?does it really matter?

Is this serious? In our house child benefit goes on whatever we need to function as a family. Whether that’s food, bills, kids clothes, car costs etc.

I would spend it on food. I mean you’re feeding your children with it after all.

Also have you miscalculated. We get £34 odd a week for two DC. So £136 odd every four weeks.

Ha yes I did
I didn't explain myself very well.
I'm honestly not an idiot

Cross posts I was replying to Joxer

Coff, OP, NEXT.

I am also baffled as to why you would ask the question. Why would spending CB on general household running costs be anything other than OK?!

Think about it logically, what’s the point of only spending child benefit on something specifically for the child eg clothes/toys if you don’t have much spare to actually feed them until payday? It obviously make sense to prioritise food.

CB is paid four weekly so the time of the month that it goes into your bank account will change surely ?

Over here it’s paid on the first Tuesday of every month.

I honestly think some people believe they have to spend the CB directly on specific things for the children ie; shoes/activities/toys etc. We always put the equivalent amount of CB in our DS’s pension fund (yes, from the day he was born ) it wasn’t the exact same £60 of course, just that we could afford to feed, clothe, look after our family etc and still ‘save’ £60 a month . No need to ask ‘permission’ if we could do that, the CB would of course stop if we earned over the threshold.

@Ragwort no threshold here. Yeah I think I just got used to using it on child no1 that I didn’t know if it made sense but it does now.

How can you tell if the £70 you spend on shopping is the same £70 that you got for child benefit? It all comes out of your bank account?

@fishonabicycle because when the CB goes in on a tues I take it out straight away and put it in my grocery envelope (I work on a cash envelope system for budgeting) so I take the whole 240 out until the next month.

@fishonabicycle

Maybe when she gets it she transfers it to another account and then transfers it back as and when for shopping. It is then 'budgeted' for shopping.

OP I’d spend that money on general day to day support. If you’re asking a question like this, you need it.

Why would you even need to ask this question OP. I get €420 a month and it goes into the pot and with back to school expenses alone this month it's been spent twice over on the DC. I find in real life no one even questions what you spend it on but online I do see a lot of people talking about long term saving etc I was on a page where it seemed like everyone was saving theirs.

Mine covers my gas/electricity because it goes in/comes out at the same time.

I don’t understand why ppl are confused as to how I can “assign it” ppl on here say things like “my dhs wage pats the mortgage and council tax and mine pays the other bills” it’s the same thing!!

Oh OP, I am virtually patting your head.

I give up!

@lovemenorca
No need to be so patronizing! I don’t need any support, I am capable of functioning, working and running a household whilst budgeting successfully thank you very much! And all the while without being rude or patronizing to ppl unlike you!!

Well your child will be using the groceries so YANBU. If money is scarce you do what you have to do.

ppl on here say things like “my dhs wage pats the mortgage and council tax and mine pays the other bills” it’s the same thing!!

I'm not sure it is the same thing. I pay mortgage and utilities etc. DW moved in with me, all the bills were in my name, I couldn't make her pay them if I wanted to. She knows I'm not going to refuse to pay the bills just because she doesn't want to contribute. Similarly, she pays for all things child-related. It's not that I don't want money spent on DD, but I know if I pay nothing, she will.

OK, we're an extreme case, and I take no responsibility for our fucked up relationship, it was her idea to from the start treat me as an adversary to be taken advantage of rather than a partner to come to agreement with.

My point is that different people paying for different things has more complex and different explanations than one person compartmentalising money they have complete control over.

I don't think it's logical to link the grocery budget to the child benefit payment, but if the two happen to be the same amount, then there's no harm in it, for as long as that remains true.

@lovemenorca it must be wonderful to be so clever.
No need to be so unpleasant. OP was just wondering what other people do with their Child Benefit.

Years ago everyone got CB even millionaires( one in our village) I used to see her in the queue at the Post Office.
However nowadays children get nursery hours whereas we paid for ours and some of my benefit went on that. With first child you tended to spend it on them just as OP says but subsequent children meant it went into the food envelope.

No need to be so unpleasant. OP was just wondering what other people do with their Child Benefit.

Read her posts
She’s not
She’s asking whether eight to spend money on groceries from the account that CB goes in to and on the day it goes in.

right

That doesn't make sense and I meant you not OP