Aibu to ask how anyone has money left?

[sprinklecupcakes]

How on earth does anyone have any money left at the end of the month. I have totalled up all the bills we need to pay and they total more than the income. I just don't understand?! How can you work full time and still be left with not enough 😭please give me tips on reducing costs and making money last. I have gone to bed crying I cannot live like this. I got paid today and once I pay everything tomorrow I will have £3..😭

Can you speak to the bank about the loan and tell them you're struggling? They might be able to freeze the interest or reduce the payment a for a while?

What about the IVa? Can that be renegotiated now that you only have 1 salary?

Are you getting tax credits or whatever they are called now?

Your phones are too expensive. I pay 20 per month for my phone

Your internet is way too expensive.
BT -100?
I pay way, way less than this a month for internet.

Get a different internet deal. Cancel out of the one you have. You are allowed to leave a contract.

@00100001

Why can't you cancel the BT?

Just use your (very expensive) mobile data.

As i stated it is contacted until 2022.

your BT and phone bills are huge
why on earth so high??

@AnneElliott it's UC now. I'll be applying for it once my mat pay ends.

Gosh that sounds harsh with a new baby . The phones are Alot. Worth investigating. Child benefit?

You need to apply for child benefit and universal credit. do an online benefit calculator to see what you are entitled too

You must surely get some universal credit? Are you getting child benefit?

What was the plan prior to redundancy?

If you went back to work now would that help?

I really hate how hard it is for some people.

@sprinklecupcakes you still should be able to leave the BT contract early. You may have to pay an early leaving fee, but you are allowed to leave it!! Look at the contract again

BT is way too expensive and you can cancel
Universal credit / benefits?

I think you know the answer. The issue is debts and sky high telecoms bills. As a contrast we pay £10 a month sim only and £56 for phone line, broadband, sky and Netflix.

Your car insurance seems high too, are you in a high risk area - I pay £220 a year

That’s so weird, you pay nearly 250 quid a month for phones and wifi? Why so much, we use bt and it is no where near so high.

Nearly 20% of your income is going on BT/mobile phones - can you lose the landline? Or reduce your tariffs?

How did you agree to pay 100 pounds a month to BT for internet?
I have never heard of anyone paying that much per month for internet

Phone bills are newish iphones again taking out when things were fine. I was in my job 6 years and had absolutely no indication I would be made redundant. The BT is the tv package and wifi. Again I will get rid of it but when i rang them today they said it is contracted now and nothing I can do. If this was wrong advice I will ring them again in the morning.

I have a sim only deal for my mobile..I pay less than £10 a month

Is your earning potential higher than your partners? Would it be an option for him to stay home with the baby while you go to work? He could then get a PT job in the evenings to pay down his debt?

Yes that's well harsh. Press them to let you out of it due to your circumstances / new baby

@ThreeB

Is your earning potential higher than your partners? Would it be an option for him to stay home with the baby while you go to work? He could then get a PT job in the evenings to pay down his debt?

My earnings would be higher than my partners if i was to go back to work but I am not sure if I would manage to get a job the same that isn't commission only which may be worse in the end.

You’re actually wasting quite a lot of money there on BT/phones. Car insurance is really high & the debts are taking a big chunk. Obviously on one wage, you’re going to struggle, but you should be able to cut some of your bills down.

Are you getting any maternity pay? If not, given your work history, you need to apply for maternity allowance.
Register for child benefit.
Look at benefits.
Contact the IVA, bank loan and credit cards and try to negotiate.

I'm not sure there are many families who would thrive on that level of income.

That said your debts are high. Your phones (BT and mobiles) are extortionate - as a comparison, BT plus Internet is 31. My mobile 6. DHs 14.

Totally empathise with this and it's really shit isn't it! And I don't think people who don't live quite so 'hand to mouth' can ever really understand!

There's a good website that was recommended on here - 'you need a budget' YNAB which had really good tips and made me look VERY hard at all my outgoings. There were a few DDs I had that I was able to cancel and even changing the date on some meant my actual cash flow improved a bit.

Also, if you have any debts that are consuming income I'd recommend getting proper advice from Stepchange or CAP (Christians against poverty, not just for Christians obviously, but a charity started by one). They can offer so much help and approach lenders to freeze interest/write off debts etc. offer budget advice or even discuss bankruptcy, which may or may not be appropriate, depending on each person's situation. Not suggesting you should do this at all, you might not have any debt, just saying that if you have SOME, it can become less of a burden with good advice.

I saved a fair bit by meal planning and wasting literally nothing, plus shopping at Aldi or Lidl as you get heaps more for the money. I eat as well, if not better, now than I did when I could afford other supermarkets. There's far too much food snobbery in this country! Food, ultimately, is just going to end up going down the toilet - why spend a fortune just to have more expensive poo?!

Meal planning and prepping means you're only buying what you need, aren't overspending at all, don't end up chucking stuff out that's gone off and also aren't looking at an empty fridge and getting tempted by a takeaway!

I understand totally how shit and how tough it is (especially at this time of year, when media and marketing forces spending - on stuff none of us actually NEED

• down our throats) but IT WILL

GET BETTER. And budgeting and being a bit creative about celebrating/gifts can be ok once the sheer panic has gone. Lots of really lovely activities are free or cheap too so it doesn't have to be all doom and gloom.

I hope you get some more good advice and check out the YNAB tips.

Are you claiming child benefit and maternity allowance?
The phones can definitely be cheaper. I bought a nearly new iPhone on music magpie and my contract is just over £10 a month with o2.
Hi nice you’ve cleared the debts obviously that will be a massive help.
Have you started looking for work? Childminders are cheaper than nursery. I used to pay my cm £4.20 an hour but this was 5 years ago.

You need to at least try to get jobs,

Do you not get benefits? I assume your partner is not much above min wage?

Also speak to bt and explain your financial circumstances are different and are now in difficulty.

You'll get there. You've got a 7 week old hibernate till spring ringing round trying to lower your phone bills. Pay the get out fee if you can / it's worth it.