How to cut corners when you already cut all of the corners?

[Moneysavvymam]

Me and DH have been eating into our savings recently. We have just moved so that comes with costs. Bought a few extra takeaways after being knackered from unpacking amd moving, bought a few new things we needed including furniture (all second hand though) so we initially thought that was part and parcel of the move. It costs money.

However now its been a while and the savings are still going down when they should be going back up.

We need to cut costs but we already do the following-
batch cook one pot meals mostly and freeze.
cycle or walk to cut travel costs (no car)
called Internet and got a better deal but they keep putting the price back up despite setting up an 18 month fixed price contract. eye roll.
-buy almost everything second hand
-we already shop at aldi and lidl
-we don't buy stuff for the sake of it anyway its all second hand
-stay in mostly, or local walks no days out for £££
-keep heating off and use electric blankets in winter and jumpers and extra socks

I don't know where else we can save. We were given a couple of hundred from family as a moving in present, it was supposed to go toward a new kitchen or flooring which is bare and unsafe but it just went on bills and now I'm too embarrassed to have people round because we are still living in a fixer upper when I budgeted and planned to have saved enough to have redecorated 80% of the place by now, but in reality I've put off buying a tin of paint because the money is just running away it seems.

oh and we just had a letter saying the gas and electricity is expected to rise in price. And I've noticed I'm spending more and more on food.
Is there anything I have forgotten? We are a family of 6 and I didn't even replace all of the uniform this year because I just couldn't afford it.
We still have about 2 months worth of expenses in savings but its dwindling.

I feel like we should be raking it in because we cut expenses to the bone but I'm struggling to think of where else we can cut. Any advice? I'm sure lots are in the same boat. Thank you for getting this far if you did, I know I'm a rambler when I worry.

We have some of the most expensive childcare in the world.

I do think it should be subsidised from age 1, so many women have to stop working for a couple of years.

OP are you eligible for free hours for 2yo?

I do think babysitting could be a good way to bring in some extra cash as long as you know your husband's schedule ahead of time.

We have paid £10 an hour before.

@allpucelleauxblanchesmains for clarity I am permanently disabled after an accident that was not my fault and have an adorable adult DS with multiple special needs. Luckily my brain functions and I work from home. I am not a cold unfeeling person. I really do try to see the glass half full and understand poverty. What I see in this thread is people suggesting cancelling mobile contracts, streaming services and oddly dishwashers. None of which makes any sense to me or are essential - neither is paint...

Not helpful but to have a family of 6 on one income you need to be earning a really good salary to be comfortable.

Can your dh look for a different job with more regular hours that would enable you to work.

Could you work in a pub of an evening and then pay a babysitter? You might not earn much net but £20 is still better than nothing

@pucelleauxblanchesmains - one more thought. Instead of jumping on me, you have a voice. Stand in your local elections. Make your thoughts into reality.

@myfaceismyown I've campaigned actively for other candidates in past elections although currently my views don't really align with any party and I'm not well enough to stand for any elections for quite a while. But I don't think some of the things described in this thread are actually luxuries - I don't see the utility in growing mint to save a pound on teabags for example, and while nobody needs streaming services, society now is built around the assumption everyone will have some kind of mobile phone even if an inexpensive one.
Also: I do think the conception that children are a luxury and shouldn't be subsidised in any way is short-sighted. Trying to fix the ageing population with immigration is essentially a Ponzi scheme. At some point if we want there to be enough people in the future we need to make it easier for people to have children. Maybe this will be subsidised childcare. Maybe it will be cheaper housing or at least stable, affordable rental accommodation. Maybe it will be tax breaks like in some other European countries. But I do think we have to do something otherwise the birth rates will keep falling.

Also agree with @Blankscreen that because of the non-taxable threshold you will be better off if you're both working (even if earning the same amount as your sole earner DH now) than if one of you works and the other doesn't. May not be possible today, or even for a while, but that's what will get you out of this situation so better start planning for it asap!

What job is your husband going that's 70 hours a week excluding travelling time?

Was it always this way? I know you can't put them back in the womb but surely this is something you at least considered?

It just seems like if its how you say it is, and money is that tight he needs to look for another job that pays a bit less so you can both go out and earn.
Do you get benefits?
What age are the children?

Rarely are these posts quite as they seem.

@pucelleauxblanchesmains I have already said that I think a ridiculous waste of money like the HS2 should be abandoned, or at least put to vote. if you look at the figures the expenditure could far be better utilised elsewhere.
i don't think anyone should be growing their own tea unless they particularly like it. For that matter, don't make your own toothpaste... Society is fundamentally flawed if you need mobile phone to be happy!!!
Further, children should not be viewed as a luxury. BUT over the past 40-50 years women were made to work and run the household/raise the children. I have witnessed all this. The so called emancipation of women is not freeing in the least, it just gave women an extra role with no recompense and more guilt for not fulfilling the role they were "gifted". I have several friends who have chosen lifestyle over children.
My DCs are a gift to me every day. I think we may be actually in agreement. It is more to do with the incorrect allocation of tax payers funds than anything else. the birth rate falling. well check your fact, not in all areas.

But I do think we have to do something otherwise the birthrates will keep falling
I think they'll carry on falling even with financial incentives. I think a lot of people just don't want children now and there's no social stigma against it.

Perhaps, given your circumstances it’s unrealistic to think you can afford to have savings. If saving for tomorrow means you can’t pay to live today, you might need to rethink that.
I can’t recommend Citizens Advice enough. They helped me hugely a few years ago and it was a massive weight off my shoulders. They will write letters to creditors for you etc if you are struggling with payments etc.
Why do you have to invite people over?
Do you have relatives handy with decorating skills who would help you? If you can’t afford to pay them, maybe make an arrangement to do something in return? Eg some baking, mending, gardening or taking their children out for a few hours for some cheap n cheerful fun (park and snacks).
If your income is low enough to claim universal credit you would probably be eligible for free school meals and school uniform payments ( about £150 per child), but you must claim by about January.
Don’t be embarrassed about your situation; lots of people are struggling.

Hi @Moneysavvymam just wrote a massive post on the ipad but the internet went down so I'll repost in the morning.

You need to identify why your overspending and where. It would be best if you could analyse all transactions from your bank and credit cards through excel (exporting from online banking), categorise and then summarise into income, essential expenses, non-essential expenses. Then drill down from there.

PM me if you want some help. I work in finance and used to doing this.

@HahaAreyouSerious

What job is your husband going that's 70 hours a week excluding travelling time?

Was it always this way? I know you can't put them back in the womb but surely this is something you at least considered?

It just seems like if its how you say it is, and money is that tight he needs to look for another job that pays a bit less so you can both go out and earn.
Do you get benefits?
What age are the children?

Rarely are these posts quite as they seem.

This. Unless DH is bringing in significantly above NMW for every one of those hours he works, he should look at changing jobs to one with better hours so the OP can also work when he's at home, such as a weekend shift and one or two in the evenings in the week. You could look at a babysitter if there's occasional short overlaps, eg you have to go out to work at 8 pm and DH is not home until 9.

OP, you describe a frugal lifestyle and if that's genuinely all you spend, you should be managing, although you don't say how much your rent or mortgage is, which is obviously a factor.

But without knowing what your DH earns, it's impossible to know where you're going wrong. Do you know what he earns? Does all his salary go into a joint account each month?

@Moneysavvymam

If you’re eating into your savings your monthly expenditure is more than your income. You need to analyse you income and expenditure and identify why. Either your income has dropped or expenses have increased.

Income
Have your husband’s hours dropped
Have there been changes to his hourly rate, overtime
Have any benefits/other income reduced

Expenses
New house - Have your mortgage repayments, home insurance or utilities, council tax increased, changed to water meter
Have you any additional regular expenses since moving
Travel - Are transport costs higher if you use public transport if you have longer journeys to work/school (possibly irrelevant)

I would suggest getting a transaction listing for your bank account, credit card and credit facilities into excel, categorising everything and then identify any changes. Do this for the past 12 months, starting with August and work backwards.

Maybe categorise as follows

Income - wages, child benefit, other income
Expenses - mortgage, council tax, utilities, insurance, telecoms, groceries, clothes, travel/transport, household tools and equipment, decorating/furnishing, holidays, clubs/hobbies, going out, other non-essential goods/services.

Once you’ve done this put this into a monthly summary. Months across the columns, and categories on the rows, grouping and subtotalling by income, essential and non-essential expenditure. Add a total for your bottom line.

Does your income cover your essential expenses, any money over is your disposable income. If your essential items are more than income, you’ll need to increase your income.

Is your non-essential expenditure higher than your disposable income?

Look at income first then essential expenses to see what’s changed. Then identify what’s driven the change, is it a one off (disconnection/connection/router fees for landline/ISP, professional fees associated with house purchase) or regular cost increased.

www.shopandscan.com/

I’ve done this for years , I earn points that I exchange for vouchers.

If you need furniture look at Freecycle or your local community page to see if anyone is giving it away. If not post that your in need of x but are struggling financially so wondered if anyone was planning to give an unwanted item.

Food banks if you haven't got enough money for groceries.

I thought u needed a voucher to go to food bank, from the benifit office, I may be wrong.

@Ddot

I thought u needed a voucher to go to food bank, from the benifit office, I may be wrong.

You do for a food bank, you don't for the majority of community run food projects. It depends what is about in your area.

Mine has both the community food hub doesn't ask any questions and you can buy membership for less well off families etc.

That's what I meant - community food bank.

Do you have a local abundance group? They give away fruit and veg that they've grown which is too much for them to use personally.

Fruit picking locally from public land. Blackberries are out the moment.

Lodger

www.which.co.uk/money/money-saving-tips/making-money

Volunteer for a clinical trial.

Matched betting is good if you've never done it before. I started in June and was up to £600 by August. Since I've used up all the reputable companies' bonus offers the profit has dried up but I'm still making a consistent £20 per week extra for an hour's "work". It's not gambling because you can't lose if you follow the rules.

Also - ready meals are a great way to save money, you'll find it much cheaper than buying fresh food even if you do batch freeze.

Cancel the internet subscription, you can go down the library to get access or find a public hotspot.

Vote Labour. When they were in last time, they reduced child poverty by half.

Maybe I’m getting confused but I thought that OP was asking for advice on how to save money ie to build up a cushion to fall back on if times get tough etc. That implies that day to day the income coming into the house is ok for paying mortgage, bills etc. So why on earth are people now talking about food banks, I thought they were there for people in genuine need rather than allowing people to build up a nest egg to decorate a do-er upper

No it isn't as the OP is using savings to cover income shortfall when paying for essential bills/regular money. She has enough savings to cover two more months, then she will be using credit and going into debt which she won't be able to pay off.