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?

I am a single parent and earn £10k less than you with a similar mortgage and feel quite comfortable, am able to save/pay for holidays etc. Can you tell us more about your expenditure? I think the key will be to work out where your money is going.

A PP mentioned the married couple's allowance - that doesn't exist any more unless you were born before 1935!

Bulb - and all other energy providers - will only give you a cheap ‘electric car’ tariff if you have a smart meter, which OP says they can’t have.

OP - you need to find out EXACTLY why they say no smart meter. Then you need to decide if an electric car is actually cost-saving in your circumstances at your property.

Your DH needs to get a job on the opposite ‘shift’ to you, or a part-time job at least. You can’t afford a full-time SAHP.

A basic 4 bed, 3 storey family home isn’t what most people live in as a young family of 3. It’s an expensive house to heat, as you’re discovering. Can you downsize- would you be willing to?

*Okay so

Income 3000 a month

Mortgage 800
Dog 60
Phones 40
Tv licence 15
Energy 500
That's 1415...

What is the other £1600 a month going on? How much for cars / food / insurance? Something isn't adding up with these figures?

That's the expenses you've told us about..*

This is the crux of the matter.

You have had some good fiscal advice so far but …

Lovely, but a basic 4 bed, 3 storey family home

that is not a “basic” home by any one’s standards. Big houses with 3 stories are expensive to run.

Hi op,

Please check your usage. My utility company tried to increase our payments to £400. This was after they sent me an estimated projection for12 months showing about £2800. Because we were in credit I got my payment reduced to £200.

But I had to argue and ask them to explain why they needed 4800 to cover a 2.8k projected bill.

Yes, where's all your money going?

@Theyarellthesame
i really must reiterate this to anyone reading this thread - so login and check your account.

A couple of years ago my direct debit was put up to £300+/month - checked account and found I was £2000k in credit, even googled to check what credit meant in this scenario as I couldn’t believe it. I then promptly dropped my payments to £50/month.

I am currently £130 in debit and have arranged monthly payments of £150 but the energy company are saying is should increase to £400/month to cover future usage esp increased use over winter.
No F-img way - the money will stay in my account until I need to pay and then it will cover the cost of my current bill and not some projected amount.

I implore you all to check your accounts. Changing your direct debit amounts online is very easy to do.

I'm a single mum with one teen, in a Victorian house of approx the same size, earning £50k and we manage fine. DD is £150 a month. I wfh so am here all day. I'm in the south so may be slightly warmer than you. What energy do you use? Heating uses the most power so....

Water heating - I've found that 20 mins in the morning is enough for both our showers plus little bits of washing up during the day. Don't have it on when not necessary.
Room heating - during the day, bedroom radiators are off. I only heat the sitting room and my office.
Insulation - You should aim for 20cm depth of insulation in the loft. Double up if you have less. It is easy to lay yourself.
Clothes - Wear warm clothes - I wear hiking base layer, jeans, flannel shirt, thick wool sweater, and ski socks. I can get too hot.
Furnishings - You will retain more heat if you have lined floor length curtains and carpets. Hard floors may be trendy but they can be cold. Check charity shops for s/hand curtains. I made mine to keep costs down.
Windows and exterior doors - Are they double glazed (windows) and insulated (doors)? Have you checked for draughts? Do you have any open chimneys? During the winter you can block them with a chimney balloon (very inexpensive).
Maintenance - Have you bled your radiators? Are there any problems with damp? Have you had your boiler serviced?
Food bills - What is your food bill like? Ours, for two adult appetites is about £50 a week.

Stop being frightened and get practical. There are a lot of things you can do.

Yes, he makes very lovely ukuleles and also adds wood burned designs to wooden musical instruments - like tattooing for guitars basically!

One of the attractions of this house was a big double garage which we’ve turned into a wood shop - once DS is older, this is what DH wants to do full time. He currently has more demand than time to fulfil orders but again the problem is the income isnt steady enough to afford childcare and he can’t have a toddler in the wood shop!

What is your annual useage in KWh hours?

Your income is greater than our joint income and I'm paying £975 on mortgage (this includes an overpayment but pay it every month).

Otherwise sound very similar. We are okay. Not wealthy but not on breadline.

You need to do a proper statement of affairs (use the mse website) and work out where your money is going. Assuming things were tight before your uplift.

Unless you charge your car an awful lot I don't see how that figure can be right. And if it is right you have to work out why your useage is astronomical. Do you have an immersion for water, storage heaters anything eating energy? Time to start tracking your metre and investigating but start with the accuracy of the bill

Also - I’m with Bulb on the regular tariff with an electric car (different reason why we can’t get the smart electric car tariff at the moment!) in a 4-bed house that’s not well insulated. Our tariff isn’t going up by as much as you are saying, particularly with the £400 fuel payment. So do look very closely at those figures as it doesn’t sound right to me.

No you can still share your spouses tax allowance if one of you isn’t using it. I do T k ow what it’s called as I don’t fall into that category but I’m sure a quick google will turn it up.

On what planet is a three storey, four bedroom house a basic family home?

That was to @Rotherweird

Why is your dh not working? Why will he only be on minimum wage?

Log into your Bulb account. They can recommend a direct debit but they can't force you to pay that much. There will be an option to bring the figure right down.

I am currently battling Bulb to get a smart meter as we run two EVs and need an off-peak night tariff. In your case I would get onto Zap Map and find the cheap / free chargers in your area. Try Lidl, Aldi and Tesco - they often have free 8kw chargers.

You answered some of my questions (to other posters) whilst I was still typing.

£60K take home is £3600 though that’s not allowing for pension, so let’s say £3000. Then there’s £350 coming from him.

Your mortgage is £800 and no childcare costs.

What are you spending £2550 on each month?!

At 31 owning a 4 bed Victorian semi is a massive luxury only the wealthy can afford.

At 31 having a SAHP (esp for just one DC) is a massive luxury only the wealthy can afford. (Although you have backtracked on this)

At 31 owning a hybrid car is a massive luxury only the wealthy can afford.

These aren't typical expenses.

With a big house (which is far too big for 3 people) everything costs more. Heating, council tax, insurance, repairs, more furniture, decoration, probably transport as likely not close to a lot of amenities?

Ditch the car first.

Increase DH's earnings.

Advertise the room.

4 bedrooms is a lot. You could get a lodger or downsize?

The fact that the OP is answering only selected questions and none of the ones about other outgoings implies there is more to this that she admits.

But does this actually make money?

His side hustle isn't going to bring home the bacon op.

Is he one of those artistic types that can't fathom why he should work a different type of job to earn real money to pay his way? What is his plan for future earnings? Does that match with what can be realistically achieved?

OP what are your thoughts about suggestions relating to your actual energy usage in kWh?
Plus as a Pp mentioned Bulb not offering cheaper tariffs for electric cars if not on a smart meter?
How come you’ve cut costs everywhere bar the car which would seem an obvious one?

Why could your husband only get a nmw job if he also has a student loan? Even grad schemes will pay more than that. What has he been doing for the 8 years pre-baby?

And definitely do your own electricity calculations. Work out average usage over winter times current prices.