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.

That’s a bit unfair, pregnancies happen even with birth control.

Free childcare is the elephant in the room in this country. We need free childcare from 6 weeks in this country for women not to get stuck in the house.

It sounds like you are doing reasonably well on a fairly low income for a 6 person family, especially with increasing costs of living. I’m a doctor and I find it hard to put aside any savings at the moment (although I work part time and am a single parent in an expensive area of the UK, and there are definitely areas I could cut back on if I wasn’t so busy and stressed with my job and my ex all the time). I think I would just relax a bit about doing up the house and building up savings until your youngest is at nursery, unless you can find something possible to do to bring in more income while looking after your kids now. It’s a tough time. Also I think it’s very sad that we are now a country where having 4 children is seen as crazy financially, this used to be fairly affordable on one income not that many decades ago. And I think it’s lovely to have a large family personally, even if it does mean money is tight OP.

A family of 6
The mind boggles.

Free childcare is the elephant in the room in this country. We need free childcare from 6 weeks in this country for women not to get stuck in the house

It’s not free as others would be paying for it. Surely it would be better to ensure that parents covered the cost of any children they choose to have, after all it’s a choice people make for themselves. Better to encourage personal responsibility than put it back on others.

It’s not unwise to suggest the OP finds work, with six people and only one working that’s a huge amount of pressure let alone on a very tight budget.

Why should I pay for childcare for people who can’t budget having an enormous family.

Go and get a night job, cleaning offices.

It’s not unwise to suggest the OP finds work, with six people and only one working that’s a huge amount of pressure let alone on a very tight budget.

It's not unwise, it's just a bit unrealistic surely?! With 4 small children and a dh who works unpredictable & long hours, sometimes away. There aren't that many jobs with that sort of flexibility.

The guy who cleans my office, does 10 across the week.
Gets the night bus. That’s what people do. Get £18 p/h

@confusedofengland

Try to buy yellow label for as many of your groceries as possible. It takes time & effort but can be done, I get 80% of our fresh food this way at Tesco, then Aldi for other bits.

Forage for blackberries, apples, plums, pears, elderberries to eat or put in crumbles or jams. Check out community orchards. Also keep an eye on social media, freecycle etc for people looking to get rid.

Start looking now for Christmas presents on FB marketplace. Lots of excellent condition or even new stuff being sold cheaply.

Try again selling your bits. Great market at this time of year. Check out other schemes for getting rid of clothes eg Oxfam exchanging a bag of clothes for a £5 M&S voucher, H&M for £5 to spend there. Put these towards presents/essentials/school uniform

Check you are getting all money you are entitled to eg child benefit, marriage tax allowance etc

Get some more work between you, even if weekends or evenings. Loads of places here needing staff, especially cafes/pubs/shops.

Christ. I read the middle paragraph as “try selling your kids”

Must get new eyes

@category12

Don’t be silly. But there is six of them living off one poor sods wage and it’s clearly not enough.

He's as much author of their situation as she is, so don't know why he's the "poor sod".

But he also works 60-70 hours a week - he can't do much more.

So OP needs to do what she can and maximise HER income. Very few families of six can survive on one income, unless that income is high or living costs (mortgage, etc) are very low.

Yes, presumably they both chose to have four children but he can't work more hours than he currently does, so OP will now need to find a way to earn some extra money. Does it suck? Sure, but that's life when you have four kids and the bills aren't getting paid.

Have you used the benefit calculator on GOV.CO.UK you may be entitled to some help. When i had children i used to take cash out on a Monday and only ever use that, amazing what you will do without if you don't have a card on you.

I love how the solution to money worries is always to get a better paid job or a promotion 🙄. Presumably this comes from people with a six figure income. If only it were that simple.

Not even close, actually.

But generally the only solutions to money worries are to cut back costs or increase income. OP has already listed numerous things they've done to cut costs, so if that's not enough, they're going to need to increase their income somehow.

Her husband works 60-70 hour weeks so unfortunately the onus will fall on OP to try and earn some extra cash. It probably won't be anything glamorous or enjoyable, but as has been said, that's life when you have four small kids on one income.

If he’s working 70 hours a fucking week. Then he’s in the wrong job.
I bet he’s self employed, faffing around doing something he loves and I bet he doesn’t HAVE to work 70 hours.

Most self employed people I know that work that long are bringing in serious money.

Something does not add up about this at all.

Anyway, if he works 70 hours that still leaves the evenings to work. So she should get a job then.

Also what does he do that he earns so little yet works 70 hours where he has to go out at 3 am at the drop of a hat and work away.

I can’t think of any. Maybe the police or ambulance service, but then that’s shift work, and it’s easy for 2 people to work around shifts. Though not pleasant.

@Limejuiceandrum

If he’s working 70 hours a fucking week. Then he’s in the wrong job. I bet he’s self employed, faffing around doing something he loves and I bet he doesn’t HAVE to work 70 hours.

Most self employed people I know that work that long are bringing in serious money.

Something does not add up about this at all.

Anyway, if he works 70 hours that still leaves the evenings to work. So she should get a job then.

Yes something isnt quite right here. I suspect what you have said about being SE or debt or FA. Please come back and do a full budget for us OP so that we can help.

Look at the Earn £10 per day threads for lots of work you can do from home on a laptop. Transcribing and surveys etc. Prolific is one good starting point

kylie that's not really true about 4 children being affordable on one income. I was one of 5 children and we were very poor even though my dad was a professional on a salary. My mum had to go out to work full time as soon as my youngest sister started school, and we were latchkids, the eldest had to look after the youngest until our parents got in. My mum was quite open about wishing she'd only had two kids for financial reasons (this was in pre pill days).

@Moneysavvymam, i understand now why you can't work round your husband. And you certainly aren't lazy, you have too many kids to be lazy

I hope you get good ideas here.
Can you get any benefits?

Honestly. You need to have a serious conversation with your husband about how to increase your family income.

What's his annual wage? If he's working 70 hours a week, and antisocial hours, what is his hourly wage?

You need to seriously think about whether you would be better off if you were both working more normal hours. Eg your income tax allowance is doubled if you are both earning.

So as a couple if you worked 35 hours each you'd be better off.

Eg your income tax allowance is doubled if you are both earning.

this is very true, even working 20 hours each would give you the equivalent of one person full time hours of 40 but with £25000 income tax free instead of £12500

Try your local freecycle group for paint, tiles, etc to help do up the house

Instead of vegetarian bulk meat out with beans and other legumes. Cooking on a bootstrap has some amazing meals

How old are your children OP?! Could you not become a childminder? It’s something that many parents have done, and worked nicely around their own children. Just a thought.

In simple terms if you cannot cut costs the only thing to do is increase your income. Promotion or change job. Sorry but it’s unfortunately as simple as that.

Apparently fb is good for selling things. Car boot sale? Get a dbs check and start a babysitting service! Do you have any other talents? Can you teach anytji g online and get advertisers to advertise on your aite for a fee? You would need to get a lot of followers first.....

Sell anything you don't need or don't use to raise cash on ebay / facebook market place, and sell seasonally - e.g. put those winter boots you've never worn up for sale when the weather gets cold, or sell that unused/unworn swimsuit in summer. You'll get more for those items that way. Electrical items can go for quite high sums.