Budget

[Glitterybee]

I have £3100 per month income after taxes, etc but as a single parent with 3 kids, it really doesn’t go far.

To be honest it did until the COL rises. I know a lot are in this boat…

I have found myself £800 pm short in my budget so something has to give.

I cannot reduce any of my outgoings at all - for context I wasn’t always earning this great money, I have worked my way up from minimum wage and therefore am frugal already. I need to work on increasing my income again but no room for further promotion in my career currently.

The kids are teenagers so I suppose I could look at part time bar/retail work, etc for evenings and weekends but honestly I am struggling for work/life balance with my full time job as it is.

AIBU to ask what would you do if you needed to find an extra £800 per month? Or if you have been in a similar situation, what have you done?

I’ve switched our mortgage to interest only for six months under the government charter (so no impact on credit score) and save £650 a month. I planning on doing online surveys, games etc to earn £150 seem people easily earning £500+

I’d look seriously at which bills could be reduced. There will absolutely be things you’re classing or thinking of as essentials which absolutely aren’t.

What are you outgoings?

thank you, I’ll definitely look into online surveys, etc

@BLT24

Seriously?

Please provide a creditable link to anyone who earns £150 by doing surveys or playing games.

You'll be lucky to get £10 a month playing games and doing surveys.

The only way to get another £800 a month is a massive pay rise or another, part-time job. But you've recognised it isn't sustainable for one person to work that many hours, unless it's very short term.

How long have you been with this company? If it's been several years you might be able to get a big raise by jumping ship.

Do you have particularly high mortgage or rent ?

Your outgoings are high.
What is that makes this the case?

What's your job? (I'm thinking along the lines here of tutoring/exam marking etc)

We moved house to reduce our expenses, a while ago now. It wasn't possible for us to earn more so thats what we did instead, but we rented then so it was easier to do that. Do you rent or own? It seems like a lot of money to 'need', almost £4,000 a month, although if in London it is probably about right!

Can the DC do any part-time work to pay for their own treats at least? Thinking baby-sitting, dog walking, shelf stacking, kids clubs, or seasonal summer work.

Could you change to an interest only mortgage for a while to give you some breathing space? Or extend the length of your mortgage?

What are you good at; music, languages etc Can you do online tutoring in the evening? Could you tutor in your professional role? Could you increase your hours at work, or ask for a pay rise? Can you work towards a professional qualification to support your request for a rise?

If children are teens then can they work pt to pay for their phones etc. They don’t pay tax. Some places pay way above teen minimum wage even unskilled like McDonald’s is £8.40 an hr for 16 yr olds. Teen babysitter is £10 an hour going rate here.

If you have space a lodger can bring in income.

My brother got in 2 lodgers. Renting out spare bedroom and living room. Gets in £1500 pm. It’s not ideal but needs must at the moment.

I earn £800 / month hosting foreign students. If you live in a city and have / can create a spare room it's easy money and they always need host families

I follow the fun money club on Instagram or FB

Money is surely one of the biggest stressors we all face so I do appreciate you're in a bind - I instinctively feel the costs are the answer here, not the income. Most families do not have this level of expenditure, so something in there can change.

Are you willing to share how your monthly outgoings are made up? I wonder if we can help spot anomalies that have crept in under your radar.

I'd be sitting down with the teenagers to explain the situation. Life lesson in budgeting and they'll see how hard you work. Hopefully they can help suggest how to cut back and get part time jobs to help them be more self sufficient and save you money.

I've always been open with my DCs about money, they need to learn it doesn't grow on trees!

Is there any possibility of moving somewhere cheaper to reduce your housing costs?

If you have a mortgage and equity, you could hugely reduce your mortgage. Or if you rent, have you checked if you're eligible to housing benefit, which you could be even on your salary if you live in a high cost area.

Otherwise, unless you have a lot of 'essentials' that really are luxuries, it's going to be hard to balance a budget with an £800 pm shortfall.

How much is your mortgage/rent?
How much do you spend on food each month?
Do you have any debts?

Just trying to get a picture of where your money is going.

But you could have a look at Moneysaving Expert and see if you can make your budget work.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/money-help/

Thanks all. I’ll pop on in the next hour and write down my budget - I have a spreadsheet saved on the laptop

I think it's possible to earn a fair amount from surveys etc I normally get around 200 per month plus do match betting (not as lucrative as it was but still easy to make £££) other options are the usual vinted etc but would need to be in bulk or buying and selling on stockx - needs to be researched and a market knowledge but perfectly possible to earn a lot.

Okay so bracing myself, here goes….

mortgage & utilities - 1198
car loan - 216
loan repayment - 175
credit card - 100
kids sports/hobbies - 415
car insurance - 90
car tax - 14
sky tv - 10
Netflix - 10.99
mobile phones (tesco family sim only deal) 50
savings - 70
groceries - 500
Car fuel - 400
iphone storage 2.99
nails & eyebrows - 30
spending money - 400
birthdays & Christmas savings - 200

I know people will say that the spending money is too much, but this is to cover all clothes, school uniforms, socialising, hair cuts, car maintenance, mots, etc…

Over £400 for kids hobbies seems excessive. What on earth do they do ?

One does dance, one does football and the other plays a musical instrument.

The bulk of the cost comes from the one child who does dance but I couldn’t take it off her, she wants to pursue dance as a career and works so, so hard training for hours everyday.

How old are the teens? Is there anyway of monetising any of it eg working at kids dance club in school hols to part find hobby.