I earn £60k and I can’t keep my family warm

[Theyarellthesame]

Exactly that and I’m so, so frightened.

im 31 and I’ve done everything ‘right’ - went to uni, got myself a job and in 8 years increased my wage from £16k to £60k. We waited 13 years to have a baby until we’d saved up £20k so I could afford maternity leave, had £6k-ish left over after mat leave.

I live rurally in one of the cheapest areas in the country in a 4 bed Victorian semi, it’s not grand in any way. Lovely, but a basic 4 bed, 3 storey family home. When we moved in I had the loft insulated but we can’t have a smart meter because of something to do with where the meter is located.

My DH is a SAHP so no childcare costs for my 18 month old and he’d only be able to earn minimum wage so his take home pay per hour would be less than the cost of childcare, hence why he’s a SAHP.

Yesterday I got an email from bulb putting my direct debit up again from £290
to £470. It was £120 2 years ago. On top of everything else going up I just categorically cannot afford to pay that. There isn’t enough money by £149 a month to cover the bills for the household.

I think my options are to cancel paying in to my pension to free up that money or stop paying my student loan? Can you do student loan holidays?

mortgage is on a 5 year fix with 2 years left at 1.99% so that’s as low as it can go, we don’t have Netflix, sky or Prime anymore, we just have a TV license. We do have a Spotify subscription. Both our phones are on £20 a month contracts, we don’t have any debt other than student loans and the mortgage. We do have a dog and his pet insurance is £60 a month but it’s none- negotiable that we keep that going.

We batch cook using the instant pot to avoid putting the oven on, we do use the washing machine a lot because we use reusable nappies. I drive a plug in hybrid so the electric is high because of that.

We have 1 or 2 U.K. holidays a year, usually a static caravan or holiday cottage for a few days. Total cost of holidays per year is around £1k so I’ve already knocked saving for those on the head.

No chance of my wage increasing again any time soon, I’ve pushed very hard for the last 8 years to climb a very greasy ladder and there’s no where else to go from here.

WTF do I do?! There’s news all the time how this is going to get worse again in January and the only advice coming out seems to be ‘go and get a better paid job’ but I HAVE a well paid job! we want another baby but I’m currently telling DH no because we can’t afford it and need to save like crazy.

Im very very frightened, how much worse is it likely to get from here?

What is your monthly usage? As opposed to direct debit. 2 very different things

Is your mortgage very high? A 31 year old affording a 4 bed house on one wage would be unusual in many places where I live.

Your DH needs to find a job working nights

So many people being put on these over increased amounts based on expected use not actual usage.
You can get your usage down and pay just for what you use.

Have a look at changing your gas/electric to Octopus - they have cheaper night tarriffs specifically for charging cars.

Can you change your car because your electricity bill is ridiculously high imo?

Check your electricity tariff , are you charging your car at a cheap rate for electric car owners?
Can your partner look for a part time job at the weekends or in the evenings, when you are home, to save on childcare costs?

Can Dh work in a pub or something?

Also, contact your company about tariffs for electric cars.

When would he get to sleep?

£470 a month would take your annual bill to £5.6k.

Unless you are a high gas/leccy user, this is double the cap of £2.5.

I'd contact Bulb and reject their generous offer and ask to remain on £290 and submit a monthly meter reading and can see how much you actually spend.

Or have you fixed before the cap reduction was announced.

I'd also check what your annual usage was for the last 12 months incase you are a high user (this is normally found on your bill).

I am definately not doubting what you are saying but this line stood out to me:

Yesterday I got an email from bulb putting my direct debit up again from £290
to £470. It was £120 2 years ago.

Mainly because I live rurally and 2 years ago I was paying £120 with Bulb. We have reduced our energy usage by about 20% and currently are paying £240 a month with Shell on the new capped SVR.

I only wanted to mention it to give you a comprison in case you wanted any help spotting things to reduce etc. Or help working out how come it's £470 now if you find energy bills a but mystifying etc.

If not, then ignore me.

Bulb have become absolute fuckers for putting up direct debits in a way that doesn't relate at all to actual usage. I would suggest that you log in to your account to see how what they're asking has been calculated. Are you submitting regular meter readings? And have they applied the energy bills support scheme payment yet?

How much are mortgage payments

DH gets pub job or hotel babysitting.

Bulb into administration so if you’re with them you’re stuck with them for now however, my bill with them last month once the grant been applied to the bill was 22 quid, this is after the massive increases etc.

Your DH needs to get a job - evenings, weekends. Why can he only earn minimum wage?

The reality is a bit skewed that you don't think a 4 bedroom / 3 storey house is a big house for 2 adults and a toddler?

60k is a good salary. It isn't a particularly high household income however, and that's why you're struggling.

Have to agree with this both myself and my DH, earn less than this each. We both went to university, have degrees. We only ever feel to work, have no kids as we have never felt we could easily afford. were in our late 40`s always worked hard and have a 2 bedroom terraced house in the north, in a pretty average/poor area.

This.

But your bills do seem extremely high. Is that based on actual usage? Have you actually read your meters? We are a family of 4, 2 disabled, dishwasher 2/3 a day and washing machine twice a day and our combined bill is about £200. I would double check everything. Also you may find disposable nappies from Aldi etc cheaper than reusables at the moment.

Sorry OP but your dh needs a job. Fine if he’s looking after dc during the day and that is saving more than he could earn but he needs an evening job when you are looking after dc in the evening

We earn £50000 between us and don't struggle. I know everyone's circumstances are different but you must have massive mortgage payments or something

Oh and yes to check electricity options. If your vehicle is fully electric there are sometimes cheaper rates. Or can you take public transport instead?

Having a SAHP is sometimes a luxury - I'd say that's the case here and he needs to bring some money in. What did he do before dc? Even just weekend / evening supermarket work.

How would this help? He would then need to sleep in the day so couldn't look after the baby. Childcare costs more than he would earn on minimum wage, OP has already said. Maybe an evening shift or two a week somewhere, but he would be competing for a minimum wage job with cheaper under 25s.
OP no practical ideas really but lots of sympathy. This government is so out of touch telling us to 'go and get well paid jobs' without any understanding that if you have a child under 3 and the childcare costs in order for both of you to work, rent/mortgage and bills, a 'well paid job' isn't enough to get by.

No it’s not astronomical, we bought the house for £270k with a £50k deposit 3 years ago (our first house was a total wreck, we did it up and sold it at a £50k profit including the cost of the works we did after 5 years). Our repayments are just over £800 a month.

The house is now worth £312k according to our mortgage estimation, I have considered whether we sell but we absolutely love this house and it was supposed to be our forever home