Sick of it

[purplerobot]

The cost of living.

I earn £1865 after tax which sounds ok right? I also get £474 universal credit and £160 child benefit.

So can anyone explain how I simply cannot afford to live!!! I am sick of it!!!! I work full time and have 2 kids, never have any savings at all.

I don't go out ever. I don't drink. I don't smoke. I don't buy new clothes or anything at all. No nails or shoes or whatever. Nothing. I work and I stay home or visit friends.

I have credit cards maxed out that I pay the minimum on (£210 - will be paid off when I remortgage)

I have a mortgage £593 per month. Childcare £90 but that's included in universal credit.

My car is expensive at £175, I had no choice at the time as my old car blew its turbo and I had no money to fix it or replace it. I can't use public transport as I live semi-rurally so trains would cost more each month than the car to get to work and to get to the next city (I'm a carer for my sibling)

I spent fuck all on food. I try to stick to £50 per week. I don't eat lunch at work or buy coffees.

It's literally all bills. Nothing left over.

Never have any savings because I don't have anything left at the end of the month. Credit cards maxed out on things like school uniform, food, Xmas.

IM SICK OF IT.

How does anyone afford to live?

No child maintenance either as I'm widowed.

Sorry just needed to vent .

£150 each is a LOT to spend on birthdays! £30 max for me. Your kids need you to be happy and financially secure more than they need stuff

To be honest the gym is probably a luxury when you have so little spare money - I get it's good for health and mental health but there are lots of small gyms that are £9.99 a month etc or just cancel it for a year or two until you can pay the credit card off

Please take a look at Martin Lewis's budget planner.
It will remind you of the little bits that we forget about in our expenditure.

If you can get a day (perhaps a day's holiday) and sit down with no distractions, go through that budget, do a few comparison sites for utilities, and see if anything can be switched.
It's a pain, but it was the best day's work I did. Gave myself a £750 a year 'rise' tax free.
You can probably get a reduction on your water bill. Can you get a reduction on your council tax? Re the tax payment, can you negotiate to have it spread over longer?

Hi OP
You are in a really hard situation but it will get better. You need to hold on to the thought that it will be easier when you don't have the credit card payment. I have been there and have put a few suggestions below.
I opened a chase account a couple of years ago. You get 1% cashback on spending if you pay in over £600 a month. There are zero fees. I transfer money in and out all the time and it all seems to count towards the £600. The cashback is not much but I put it in a savings account and it goes towards my Christmas shop. I got over £100 last year. It was easy to open and helps me control my spending.
I'm sure there are probably better accounts for cashback but I like it.
Another thing I used to do was if I managed to spend under budget any month I would split the underspend in to 3. A third went to a "fun" pot, a third to a savings pot and a third I would use to buy extra staples, washing liquid, pasta, loo roll etc. I tried to build up a buffer so that when things went wrong it was easier to cope with. I still use the same principle now.
Don't forget top cashback etc. you can even get cashback on supermarkets if you get your shopping delivered. I also signed up for free samples. You sometimes get nice things but even the perfume samples can make you feel better.
My last suggestion is probably counterintuitive but I always tried to budget for tiny treats every week. Even if it was the cheapest pack of biscuits or sweets. It made me feel less "poor" when we put the treats in the treat tin.

I agree that wage stagnation and the OPs circumstances are making her finances difficult, but disagree that it's not worth trimming a few costs. The suggestions people are making will really add up, could easily be £50 pm or more.

Which means that there will be money available for one off/annual costs, so the OP will be able to cover them without getting into debt or going without so will be a big difference in easing her financial worries.

Op have you checked Smarty for your sim only deal. I currently pay £10 per month for 30gb of data. No contract

Gap insurance isn't a scam?? The issue has been that a lot of car finance companies have been selling it at massively inflated prices and you can get loads cheaper direct from a broker. £15 a month sounds a fairly good price.

I had a bad car accident in April and wrote off a 9 month old vehicle....there was a difference of 10k between the insurance settlement figure and what was owed on the finance - Gap insurance completely covered that 10k and also our excess figure - if we hadn't had gap in place, we'd have had to stump up the 10k! It's 100% worth having if you have a car on finance!

Edited for typos.

You’re already managing to save for annual expenses. See if you can pay some of those insurances annually as some will be charging you extra for monthly payments.

Looks like there is little to cut out of your budget.

As others have said shop for a better internet and phone provider.

Have you also checked that you have the best possible tariff for gas/electricity? worth checking on a comparison site.

I would get rid of Amazon.

Of course more broadly you try asking for a pay rise/promotion or looking at a better paid job if that's a possibility.

'@TwinklyRoseTurtle · Today 07:00
For a start, I’d cancel all insurance except the car'

That's really, really bad advice.

The OP needs home insurance as a condition or her mortgage and having pet insurance when vet bills are so high these days also makes good financial sense.

I get it OP. I understand. It’s relentless especially when you are on your own.

You feel on like you are on the treadmill and there is no end in sight. I am
constantly doing my finances, and feeling that I am failing ALL THE TIME.

I hope you find a way through it, many have.

What I think is so sad about a lot of these type of posts, including this one, is that the majority of the comments are saying get cheaper broadband (usually reduced speed/service) cancel Amazon (free delivery, Prime Video for her and the kids to have something to watch!) cancel Ring Doorbell (security for WHO is at the door when you are alone with children in a semi-rural location) etc. cancel gym etc (gets her out of the house in a fun and personal care way) etc. ALL good advice when struggling to make ends meet, so I'm not knocking any of the advice but .... isn't it damn sad that that has to be the advice, give up everything that makes life enjoyable, bearable and worth living.

It's not right that household bills are so high, the rich creaming off every penny (shares in all major companies/industries) virtually that people earn.

Like hey, just work to pay them all your money right? Give up any form of life as you don't deserve it, serf. Sounds like an agenda at play here ... anyone else disgusted that the best, soundest advice given here and on other posts is just so wrong in so many ways because what's happening, all of it, just isn't right ... xx

The advice to cut costs does make sense but as a PP has mentioned, it means the OP has nothing left to make life just that little bit more bearable. So every bill paid..and that’s it. No treats, gym, decent internet speed (probably important as OP is in a rural location plus kids likely need it for homework) etc because all the money set aside in the budget for these things is now diverted to saving for bills.

I was going to write that is no way to live but tbh it’s not really living…just existing.

I think £19 for the gym is great. They’re £35-£59 here for a non fancy, average gym. Plus it’s good for your physical and mental health. I wish I could afford the gym.

I’m sorry OP, it sucks.

Don’t cancel house and contents.

We had a massive house fire 10 years ago. We really needed out insurance then.

No it means exactly the same or comparable services for less money.

Fibre broadband on an introductory deal instead of full price.

The same mobile service from a cheaper provider.

Use offers to get Prime cheaper when you need it, but don't pay for it constantly when you don't. The OP says she has no money so it's not like she's going to be buying stuff from amazon regularly anyway.

Now TV is likely cheaper than Prime because there's always a deal. When we have it, we pay a fiver a month or less.

A few little savings can add up to a noticeable increase in disposable income.

OP wasn't asking for ways to make her life even worse so she can save fifty quid a month. She was asking if anyone else is also sick of it.

Yes, OP, I am also sick of it. Hoping for a Labour govt. And idk how anyone affords to live because we can't.

£200 per month on diesel- that seems a huge amount to me? How big is your car?

I have zero savings. Unfortunately I don't think I'll ever be in a position to pay insurances annually, even home insurance would be over £100. I don't have that spare sadly.

Not big at all, but I live quite rurally. So I commute to work and I commute to another city to care for my brother. So I easily do probably 1500 miles a month.

Same reason why my internet costs so much, it's due to being rural.

Unfortunately moving is not an option either as I don't earn enough to get a big mortgage (my mortgage is 70k, that's the max they could lend on my income).

It's just shit isn't it. I have cancelled Amazon prime. I can't cancel the doorbell, or insurance. The risks just aren't worth it.

No chance of a higher salary or new job either. I'm actually well paid for what I do, easily 5k more than average.

I am just sick of having nothing. No savings, no treats, no days out in the school holidays. Every single spare penny goes on bills or things like school uniforms (not new). It's shit.

I've changed tariffs, checked benefits, I've done everything I can

Ironically 8 years ago my husband earned slightly more than I do now. We had a much more comfortable life when when I wasn't working.

It really is shit.

Just hoping it gets better.

I don’t know I’m not sure I believe this, you have accounted for about £800 of expenses so far but you’re income is over 2k so where is the rest going

'No it means exactly the same or comparable services for less money.

Fibre broadband on an introductory deal instead of full price.

The same mobile service from a cheaper provider.

Use offers to get Prime cheaper when you need it, but don't pay for it constantly when you don't. The OP says she has no money so it's not like she's going to be buying stuff from amazon regularly anyway.

Now TV is likely cheaper than Prime because there's always a deal. When we have it, we pay a fiver a month or less.

A few little savings can add up to a noticeable increase in disposable income'

Quite.
It's not all about giving up things, it's about paying as little as possible for the services you require or have to have, in order to have more money to spend on the ' nice to haves'.
I have just saved £39 per month by switching broadband and home phone.

Same service £468 more to spend per year. That's just one thing.

Some people, and I'm not calling out the OP, just want to vent, but won't do anything about it.

Sorry but please don't ditch the Union membership. If there's a problem, unions are really important. Amazon gives you a firestick, so access to a massive range of programmes. This doesn't help, I know.
As for broadband, landlines are important (or were) in areas with dodgy coverage. I live in a village and can't access the cheaper deals that are offered as coverage isn't great.
OP hang on in there.

Your food bill is impressively low. Well done. But do extra top ups or take-aways go on the credit card or off the food budget? I did personally find a few years ago that I was polishing my halo for low grocery spends while buying additional bits and bobs (and then some) outside of my main weekly shop. I found (for us!) that upping my food shopping budget reduced my other spending significantly. Buy the treats and more than enough milk.

We don't have takeaways ever. Can't afford to. I do one £40 shop a week, and allow £10 for any top ups. It's a struggle. Lots of pasta and veg basically and no treats