To ask you to look at my budget and for the money savvy amongst you to give me some advice?

[Swinningforza]

Context is I'm a lone parent renting in the south east. I am financially responsible for my children for 50 percent of the time but I get no maintenance.

My monthly family budget is as follows, with the emphasis on each number being a limit not a target:

Housing 1050 (includes monthly rent 975, sofa payment and then bits and bobs like paint etc)
Bills (TV license, prime, audible, bt, 3, car insurance, water, council tax, energy) 350
Food (grocery shopping) 400
Childcare, clubs, school lunch, and education things (2 primary aged children) 360
Personal care (medicine, prescriptions exercise) 150
Eating out (3 times per month) 150
Shopping for me (my clothes, shoes for work make up etc) 75
Leisure (kids days out, entrance for attractions, films bought on Google etc) 100
My lunch at work 40
Miscellaneous (bits and bobs) 50
Monthly payments to a savings account (to cover 500 for Xmas and 250 for each child's birthday 500 for car tax and mot) 291
A family loan towards house deposit (15k at 2.5 percent over 10 years) 141
Petrol 300
Socialising (3 evenings out a month ) 150

Total: £3,577

I work as a self employed consultant and I earn per month after tax and allowing for 6 weeks holiday per year: £4,800

(This figure is with a recent increase in pay and I would think it is a stable figure going forward)

Which leaves me with £1223 to pay an outstanding tax bill and to save for a house.

The outstanding tax to pay (2 tax years which are being calculated now I think it's going to be about 7k - was frantically trying to pay off debt acrrued for solicitor's bills for child arrangements order and divorce and did not put aside for tax .

I'm also trying to save for a house deposit (trying to get to 10 percent of a 300k property).

I have the 15k family loan for house deposit in premium bonds but aware I am likely to need a large chunk of that for tax.

Any thoughts or suggestions, is there anything I've missed or could do better with? I think the overall goal is to not have a fairly ok quality of life ie it's unrealistic for me not to go out or to have kids days out, but to be financially stable and able to buy my own home within 3 years.

It seems easy to live on and you could aim to come under and save more/put more aside for long term stuff like car, appliances etc. Do you go on holiday? Need to cover that.

Only minor but every little helps

I went to cancel my audible account a month a=or so ago and they immediately offered me 3 months at half price.

Did the same with kindle unlimited if anyone uses that too.

I have to say you're not "skint" when you have a take home salary of £4,800 per month including 6 weeks off. It's not helpful to see yourself this way - you have a very good income and could easily save more each month.

Infact a quick google of a salary calculator suggests you're earning the PAYE equivalent of nearly £85,000 p/a.

There are four of us and jointly we don't bring in far less than you. Can I make a few suggestions?

Our mortgage etc seems really similar but we seem to spend less in certain areas:

We spend £400 a month on food for two teens and two adults
We have one Netflix subscription where we can watch films and phones are older handsets £10 each a month contracts
We ALL take packed lunches to work
Rarely buy clothes
Eat out once every month or so (can you use Tesco vouchers. Treat kids to Wetherspoons instead?)
Kids do minimal and cheap/free clubs
Christmas and birthdays - can you spend less?

Sorry, meant our joint income is far less than yours!

Also go veggie a couple of days a week. Lentil and spinach curry, veggie casserole. Lots of food for very little cash.

Go to charity shops in expensive areas, you can pick up amazing stuff!

Sell old clothes/tech on Ebay. It's amazing what people will pay

I don’t understand the family loan at all. It makes no sense to be paying interest on money you’re not even using yet.

I think if you’re serious about reviewing your budget you need to be stricter about what fits into your categories.

You shouldn’t put gym membership (luxury) and medicine (necessity) in the same category.

You also shouldn’t include paint in the house category - who buys paint every month?!

You absolutely do not need to be spending £75 a month on clothes for yourself. You should easily be able to go a year without spending a penny on clothes - except perhaps tights.

I could go a year or three without spending any money but then I'd need to buy double! In a professional job I don't think £75pcm is that much. It's less than £1000 a year. Jacket, smart trousers, work dress, shoes, bag, jeans, t shirt, summer dress - possibly a coat of some sort, 2 bras, 6 pants, 12 opaque tights, smart cardi. Pushing it if you ask me.

I think our lifestyle is not dissimilar to yours. You are spending a lot on food and socialising for someone who is in debt. If you're serious, cut that out until you are out of debt. If you aren't going to do that you could cut 3 nights out down to 2, exercise at home for free, trim the food budget to £300 or all switch to packed lunches to bring non- bill spending down without changing your lifestyle

Depends on how much you want the house deposit???? If it's the priority then you need to drop the following

Meals out
Socialising

Keep the kids entertainment but that could be reduced significantly

Home ownership and maintaining the lodestone you had before/currently have unfortunately doesn't always go hand in hand

Move north.

@OhTheRoses I’m in a professional job and don’t spend that per month on clothes. Sure, if you’re just starting out and need a professional wardrobe. But I expect the OP has enough clothes to hold off buying more for quite a while.

I agree that putting it off still means a catch up spend sometime... but that can be planned for and done later. A tax bill if more important.