To find budgeting hard!

[UndertheCedartree]

I'm needing to really sort my finances out.
I have an income of £1268 (UC, CB and child support) per month. There is me and my 2 DC (12 & 7)

My mortgage, utilities and other bills come to £652.86. I keep the CB for DC's clothes, shoes, toiletries, treats, birthday/christmas presents and friend's birthdays. This leaves about £20 aside which I keep as an 'emergency' fund. So I am then left with £110 per week. I'm thinking £50 for groceries and £20 for transport. I have to pay £5pm for a debt and £20pm mortgage arrears (need to increase this if possible). That leaves £15 per week for sundries.

Can anyone see anything obvious I have left out? Are there things I could cut down on do you think? Does £50 groceries for 1a 2c sound ok?

That’s so tight OP. Any way you could earn a little more, maybe online from home?

With regards to the groceries, how much do you currently spend? Rather than assign an arbitrary figure it would be better to look at what you spend at the moment and areas where you could cut back.
Haircuts? New clothes/shoes etc for you?

Is that food toiletries and cleaning stuff in that £50.00 online would also help and if thus us weekly you can keep an eye on it and just take off what you need and don’t need each week. Do you take your own bags to SM?

MoneySavingExpert has a budget spreadsheet to fill in. It's really useful.
www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/Budget-planning/#bplanner

It's well worth taking half an hour or so to fill it in

Are you on the best tariffs for you? Worth checking. I'd find the food budget tight but doable if well planned.

How much do you currently spend on shopping? £50 is doable but you’d have to be fairly strict.

@TinklyLittleLaugh - I'm not sure. I'm currently recovering from a mental breakdown and still in hospital. I'm trying to figure a budget for when I come out. I will still be doing therapy in the community so I know I will have to take it slowly so I don't think I could do anything straight away but maybe im the future.

@elbeagle - I currently spend £30 to cover Fri-Sun when I'm on home leave (see above). I've not had a hair cut or new clothes or shoes since I've been unwell and I really can't see that there is any money I can put aside for that.

@Mumgonenuts2020 - £50 is for food, cleaning things and my toiletries. I go to either Lidl (I take my own bags) or get a delivery with no bags.

@DesLynamsMoustache - thank you - I'll do that.

@Tombliwho - I want to go through things like that. I applied for the warm house discount and one for the water too I think. I think I need to send things in for the water one.

@cakeandcustard - I'm really not sure I can manage on £50 for groceries to be honest! I spend £30 at the moment but that's just for Fri--Sun.

You can do food shopping for less, but it means planning very carefully. Have a look at thrifty lesley for meal plans for £1 day per person. Even if you allowed a little bit extra for treats that should still bring you in within budget. You'll need the kids to be on side too.

Wishing you all the best for the future

@nonever - thank you for the advice - I will take a look

Make sure you are getting all the money you are entitled to - Citizens Advice might be able to help.

I think maybe analysing your bills could help. Food bills, are you overpaying on gas electric , mobile tv etc.
Are you entitled to any rebates ie council tax, water
Go through your bank statesments are you paying for things you shouldn’t be on standing order /direct debits you don’t need ie an insurance
It’s tough on a small budget but Martin Lewis budget planner is a useful tool
Things like taking a flask instead of buying expensive coffee takeouts packed lunches can save a fortune over a year
Have you gone through the kids toys to see what you can sell on line

@angemorange - as far as I know I'm getting everything except the loan to cover my mortgage interest which I've been trying to claim for 2 years - but they make it so hard! I have also put in a claim for PIP in August and if I get it should be able to claim 'boaders fee' while on leave. If I can get those 2 it will help massively.
@pumpkinpie - I already get a council tax disregard so don't need to worry about that. I'm going to go through the rest of my bills to see if there are any discounts available. I'm not sure if I have anything to sell but I will definitely have a look, thank you

Have you checked whether your council offers help with school uniforms. Some do, some don't.

Have you put in for free school meals?

What part of the UK are you in?

If you were in the previous ESA Support Group, do you get the Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity supplement (£336 p/m)?

You could cut your food bill to about £40 and save £10 a week, which would give you a little saving pot for emergencies.

To spend less on food you need to buy multiples when they're on offer. Don't buy items if they are expensive, wait for them to go on offer and then buy a few and store. Make most your meals cheap meals - dishes based around rice, beans, lentils, pasta, noodles, eggs, bread, tortillas, potatoes, soup can be very cheap. Avoid buying most meat, tropical fruits etc. Batch cook meals and freeze some so you're not tempted to buy convenience food. Always use your supermarket vouchers. Buy yellow sticker items at the end of the day. Shop around to find the cheapest of everything.

What about an ESA claim too? Good luck with the PIP claim. Also how long have you been in hospital? When you're home will you be under a section 117? They sometimes have benefits advisors

Once a month my DH and I go to farmfoods and stock up on freezer items, we also meal plan.
We try to eat a mix of fresh and frozen.
If you plan ahead it can help you spend less, likewise shopping online coz you can keep an eye on your bill as you go.
X

Apply for PIP? Xxx

I'd reach out to your local food bank or community group if theres one as well. They could help with some basics and even if you didn't want to use them you might get signposted to areas of support. Credit unions also good, you save a little and can borrow on low interest terms.

@Mintjulia - I'm in the South East - my DD gets free school lunch and there is a school shop that sells 2nd hand uniform for 50p so that's not a problem.
@rockingaroundthemulberrybush - I was never on ESA - it was UC when I applied. I was told about a year ago that they should have done a 'medical' questionnaire straight away as I was in hospital. So I was getting lower than I should have been for a long time - hence where mortgage arrears started - that must be the £300 you're talking about. I got it finally!

It took 5 months to get any money then I got about £400 first, then a few months later about £700 and about a year later £1000. I had quite a bit of savings but got through a lot in the time I was waiting to get any money then got through the rest when I was only getting £400pm.

@mindproject - thank you for the advice.

Tell friends you won't be doing birthday presents and save that money

@MacRedsocks - we don't have ESA here it is UC. No I won't be under section 117

@strawberry2017 - thank you - I'll give farmfoods a try
@MrOnionsBumperRoller - I already applied for PIP in August - still waiting to hear.
@angemorange - there is a FB that gave us a hamper of food at Christmas. I'd forgotten I will be able to go there - which will help get my food shop cost down. You can get 7 items plus bread every week.