to think the amount of money im left with by the end of the month is ridiculous?

[yellowcheesepie]

I recently went back to work after mat leave and am sat here wondering how on earth this is worth it ?! after paying all my bills of food, rent, electricity, water, internet, netflix, phone, commute and childcare etc i'm only left with £200 a month to save? i'm not a big spender either, all my income goes on the mentioned above plus £100 spending allowance for myself.

I'm not trying to rant, but i'd like to understand how other working mums do it? is this a reasonable amount to save per month or is there something very wrong in my finances? I live with my DH and we split all bills / expenses if anyone is wondering

As a single parent I had £10 more going from being on benefits to working full time and paying full time childcare.

It shouldn't be like this.

Why are so many people justifying this and acting like this is normal and ok? People give off about others claiming benefits but what is the point in working if you still struggle financially and are missing out on time with your children? Work should pay for a better lifestyle than benefits but at the moment it isn’t for way too many people. The system sucks so much.

I pay £450 a month to our joint account for household bills and another £88 a week for childcare. Commuting costs another £40 per week and I probably average the same for food. My phone only costs £10 per month as well. I take home £360 per week from my main job. I have a second job to give me a bit of wriggle room but I am so worried about the future.

You only have 200 a month to save?

There are plenty of people who are struggling to pay for the basics right now. If you are in a position to save 200 quid a month, you are doing fine!

I feel so sorry for you. You can pay your rent, bills and unnecessary extras like Netflix, have money for yourself and hundreds to save. What an awful position to be in.

This is quite common sadly. Many people find themselves better off financially on benefits than when they're working.

The OP is doing all right though, and it's a joke, and an insult to claim she is 'struggling' because she 'only' has £300 a month spare!

Put it this way OP. You're paying to have a career.

I stopped working because after childcare we had £150 left over. It was my biggest regret. My mental health went to pieces and I struggled getting a job with the gap on my CV (3 years)

I wish I just worked for the £150 left each month. My salary would have increased faster if I had and I wouldn't have needed therapy.

It's £300 actually, as she has £100 just for 'spends.' (On top of the £200 savings!)

£100 really isn’t much. It’s a meal out. Some clothes from a high street shop.

Saving £200 a month isn’t a lot either, it is a necessary contingency fund for if things go wrong. A car breakdown, having to call a plumber out etc can easily wipe these out.

The bar for living standards on this thread is very low. I get that people are having a hard time right now, but the OP is hardly rolling in it!

@Tangled123

The op isn't struggling

I'm due to go back to work after 6 months off, is it worth it.... Of course it is... Think long term... Career, opportunities, sanity, childcare fees won't last forever

When you've gone back to work after a baby you need to look beyond the end of your nose. It's not about the money you get that month (although if it's £200 more a month than if you stayed home that's not to be sniffed at in my opinion) but it's about the pension contributions, the progress you can make. I tripled my salary from the time I went back with my first and by the time my youngest started school.

Also important to not look at your salary in isolation, assuming you have a partner.

@ReturnOfTheMacdonalds SHAME on you for that post. ^

Sounds great especially after a spending allowance, I don’t have any extra at all after bills unless I pick up overtime. This thread is not going to go well, OP.

Currently able to save a grand total of £0.

I am not denying the importance of saving some money but YABU. Some people are struggling to eat and pay the bills - admittedly I'm not struggling to pay my bills (yet) but it's leaving me with nothing to save and no disposable income! Any more increases and I am gonna be screwed.

@ReturnOfTheMacdonalds Might not be “rolling in it”, but also isn’t choosing between heating and eating like so many families are right now.
I’ve been an anxious mess all week because I finally caved and put my heating on for an hour in the morning and an hour before DCs’ bedtime. I’ve been watching my Smart meter, seeing it go “over budget” and wondering how the hell I'm going to afford it. Having £200 spare to put into savings and £100 a month spare just for “spends” is worlds apart from the reality a lot of people are facing.

You are very lucky to have anything left at the end of the month. I think that's a luxury to be honest. And £200 to save each month seems a lot. Especially in the current climate.

There are people out there struggling and having to choose between food and heating, and you are moaning about 300 extra pounds a month? Have a word with yourself.

We currently have less than £5 at the end of each month to save thanks to the price hikes on everything. £200 is perfectly reasonable and was what we were saving before the increases.

OP are you saving for a house deposit or for general savings and how much does your DH left over. If he has a much higher number for himself then your budget needs tweaking.

I have 3 children and work full time. Very little left over at the end of the month. However is it worth it? Absolutely! I love having a career and my own independence. The days of childcare fees won’t last forever and then you still have your career at the end of it! So yes, yabu.

Actually OP didn't say she has a career. Maybe she does and maybe she just has a job.

@yellowcheesepie yep, it’s tricky. Those first few years in childcare are expensive. When they reach three you may be able to get a minimum of 15 hours or 30, depending on your circumstances.

I notice the OP hasn't come back.
Must be busy counting her giant money stash 🤣

I don’t have anything left to save.
And I’m not sure what you mean by ‘is it worth it?’. How else would you pay your bills/put food on the table/save £200 a month etc if you didn’t have a job? It’s worth it because it pays your bills.