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?

Brilliant, don't be scared to reach out to your community. Church groups and community associations can be very helpful . Good luck!

Thank you @angemorange

I don’t think you need to keep £120pm CB aside for clothes and treats, I doubt many of us spend that on DC pm not at the expense of scrimping on food.

I agree with jk scott above, you don't need to keep the chb aside for kids things. I have managed to recently overhaul my budget by getting a monzo account. it has a great app where you can have as many separate pots as you like which cannot be spent unless you move them into the main account. I have pots for all areas and I work out what each thing costs per year and then pay into each pot monthly. So I have pots for kids haircuts, uniform , xmas and birthdays, their clothes. my clothes etc. When it is in these I dont consider it as money to spend so I then have it there when needed.
That £15 per week for sundries stands out to me to. What is that going on? Can you move that into a particular budget?

@jkscot4 - as I said - it's not just going on clothes and treats! The CB is budgeted like this per month £15 - clothes and shoes, £5 toiletries, £45 - clubs (Art and Brownies), £20 - Christmas/Birthday presents/parties etc £5 - friend's birthdays, £20pm - treats/activities, £10 - DS's phone, £8 - pocket money.

So that is £45 per child per season for clothes and shoes. After shoes there is not much left for clothes. I don't think this is a massive amount to be honest. £20 pm for treats/activities means once every few months being able to go swimming or softplay. Getting some popcorn to watch with a movie or a magazine occasionally.

@pisspants - I think I'd like the £15 so I can be a bit flexible. For example Brownies have just announced a pack holiday I'll need to pay for or my DD could be invited to a party that costs more to get to or the washing machine breaksdown and I need to use the launderette. Monzo sounds good. Does it cost to keep the account open?

no monzo is free to open and run. So with any spare money you had you could start funnelling it into certain pots, or move money out of the clothes pot into another one if you get a sales bargain or something like that.
I think it's good you have that bit of contingency but if you could build that up somewhere, then once it got to a certain amount, you could then start saving for something else

Single parent here, I also recommend monzo! The ‘pot’ system is brilliant.

That does seem very tight OP, I hope you get awarded PIP. Good luck.

Look at downloading the app called "too good to go" - it's where shops and restaurants list any excess food they have really cheaply. Morrisons list on there when they have extra and they have fruit and veg boxes that are worth £15-25 listed for £3 which could help with your groceries budget

@pisspants - thanks for that - it sounds a really good idea.

@Glitteryone - thank you
@WindyMiller1020 - thank you - I'll have a look at that.

@Wilma55 - it's not just the birthday presents but getting to the parties. I think my DD would feel very different to the others if she was the only one turning up without a present.

It's not budgeting that's the issue. It's impossible to budget effectively if your outgoings are more than your incomings. At the moment you cannot do much about either. You need to just use every group, service, church and charity you can find, and concentrate on getting better and hope that the PIP comes through. Please don't push yourself to go back to work before you are ready.

@AmazingGreats - thank you for the advice - I definitely need to take things one step at a time. It makes sense what you say and helps me not beat myself up to much about my financial difficulties.

Join your local library to borrow books, music, magazines for free
They may have toys too & ideas about clubs to join

There’s lots of ways of saving extra money if you’re creative
Upcycling - presents , birthday cards 5 for £1 in the card shop
Check your lightbulbs switching to efficient ones saves us about £100 a year from our bills
Is your home properly insulated?
Are you claiming disability discounts from your utility supplier?
Northern rail are doing train tickets for 10p
If you are disabled have you got a CEA card for 2 for 1 cinema
Have you any friends who are up for saving money , maybe you could get together and have a swapping party ie clothes, makeup etc
Think of this as an opportunity to be creative, get the kids involved so they can make extra money too
As kids we used to often have a little stall selling stuff - just check it first my mums vase was sold by accident x

@C0untd0wnC0ff33 - good idea, thanks
@Pumkinpie - I have been getting my DD to make cards for her friend's birthdays. I think all our bulbs are energy efficient but I will check. My house isn't very well insulated - it is an old Victorian house and no double glazing. I have claimed the Warm Home discount but need to see if I can get any others. Not heard of a CEA card. My DD would love to do a little stall but we are a quiet road so not sure she would get many customers!

I got some birthday cards for 10pence each recently from car boot sale
Charity shops sell them too
Also good places for getting birthday presents if brand new

With regard to Brownies, when I was a Guide Leader (25-30 years ago), we had funds set aside in our district as a hardship fund, so that any child in receipt of free school meals/parent ill and not working / lone parent with limited funds etc etc could be granted a proportion of the cost to enable them to go to Pack Holiday/ Camp etc Meant those perhaps in most need of, and would benefit the most from, could go
Hopefully is the same where you are? Might be work asking if there are any bursaries available because you're struggling to afford it due to current circumstances?

Local charities can be really helpful. A friend had her child’s school trip, plus spending money, paid for by the local Lions club.

@Ariela - thank you for that. Brownies has just announced a Pack holiday. It is £40 which is of course very reasonable but quite a lot for me, currently. I will try and get the courage up to ask!

I have today managed to get an appointment with Christians Against Poverty. They are going to help me sort out my mortgage arrears and other debts out. Feels a positive step!

There are some good cheap staple foods that will help. I know a lot of people use lentils/ cans of beans to bulk out meals and maybe make them last for an extra night. Porridge oats are great! A healthy filling breakfast for you all and only £1 for a big bag of oats (plus the cost of milk). Bananas are also super cheap.

Thank you @GrayTT

The reason you're finding it hard to budget is that your budget is incredibly tight. You can only cut down so far. And also it only takes one tiny thing to happen and you're screwed.

I think £50 for groceries is low so not sure why people are suggesting you reduce it. Can the £20 transport be cut out?

The answer is that you need more money really.

@UndertheCedartree, is there a reason why you don’t work?