If you had £200/300 per month extra

[Dragontooth]

I'm finally going up a couple of pay grades and I'm looking forward to being able to do more than just pay bills for the first time!
Single parent of two, full time working out of the house, commute is up to an hour and a half each way per day. I'm overweight (size 16) and exhausted. Diet is terrible.
New job will make me shorter of time and so I'm looking for ways to improve my life using the extra ££.
What do you think will help most? Not all obvs!

• cleaner
• gardener (we have a huge garden which I can't keep on top off) all grass and borders
• overpay mortgage? Shorten length
• weight loss injections
• personal trainer
• meal plan boxes
• nice gym membership with pool
• add extra to savings account
• cut one day a week at work
• declutterring service (house is messy!)

Any other suggestions welcome!

No to nice gym, realistically you won't have time.

Decluttering service for you can keep on top if house. Definitely gardener. Yes to meal boxes if it helps with healthy eating. Yes to cleaner and use saved time to walk/exercise at home.

Good luck!!

I would overpay mortgage, but maybe after a few months of treats first

Sounds like the weight and diet is bothering you so perhaps combo of trainer and gym membership as long as you'll use it. It'll probably help other areas of your life so might be the best place to start. Enjoy and well done on the pay rise :)

I'd build a savings cushion first. You don't have to pay more to eat healthy food. Just do simple salads and jacket potatoes etc.

I would look for a job closer to home, that commute is killing your health. Settle into the promotion then hunt around?

As a lone parent myself I'd strongly recommend cutting a day a week at work first and foremost. Even if you don't then have money to spend on anything else, the break will keep you sane. You can use the day to batch cook, declutter the house and exercise (it's only once a week, but every little helps).

Cleaning and gardening is reasonable exercise, boring as it is it would make sense to do that yourself surely and get some extra exercise that way?

@SweetSakura well I've been doing all my own gardening and cleaning for the last ten years and the weight hasn't dropped off so far.

I’d get a cleaner and overpay the mortgage. Anything spare after that you could treat yourself .

If I had the cash spare I’d have a cleaner!
I‘m out of the house from 7:45 til 6:30 during the week for work and due to low B12 and menopause I’m too knackered for housework when I get in. Saturdays are devoted to DM since DF passed away, so that leaves me with Sunday to catch up on everything house related! It pisses me off! I want to sit on my arse eating toast and watching tv on a Sunday 😂

£100 into a savings account/research best way to pay to pay off mortgage in the future and up pension payments.

Fancy trainers, get out for walks at lunch break.

Fortnightly cleaner.

Monthly gardener in summer months.

Meal plan boxes.

Love this - the possibilities are all so hopeful, congratulations on your rise.

How old are your children?

I think I'd do a combination.... Gym, cleaner overpayment and savings.

I think I'd go for the gym with nice pool assuming you could take the children AND also assuming you'd actually have time to go and would do so?

Meal boxes for me are more aggro, I never fancy what I'm meant to be eating or something happens that makes me late home and I don't want to or cannot cook so it ends up wasted.

I do have a cleaner, she is worth her weight in gold in the time it frees up. I don't work all week to clean my house all weekend, I want to enjoy my family then. She only comes once a fortnight so not too costly each month but makes such a difference and encouraged me to tidy/organise. Id do this too.

Id also do a small overpayment and small savings top up - one extra .monthly payment per year makes a huge difference (there's a calculator on MSE) os one payment divided by 12 so little extra each month.

After the gym, cleaner, overpayments what is left? I'd either I'd do a monthly takeaway/movie night style treat or if a bit more I'd do savings top up.

First though, id spend the first increase on a few nice treats for you and the kids - something you couldn't do before that would be appreciated by you all. Enjoy!!!

Congrats!!

I would cut one day at work and use the time to do some walking and keep on top of cleaning, both of which will improve fitness and wellbeing. Check the impact on your pension, though.

I'd cut a day, assuming you wouldn't just end up squeezing all the extra hours/work into 4 days. Time either to do the school run, catch up on housework or batch cooking, or even just to chill, is worth much more than weight loss injections or meal plan boxes imo.

Cleaner once a week for a couple of hours is a game changer, you're time poor so anything that will require your time is a no, gardener once a month to stop it getting out of control, and meal boxes.

If you can buy yourself a bit of headspace with the above you might be able to feel less overwhelmed and therefore likely to do a bit of excercise here and there/shop and cook differently.

Honestly, I would overpay my mortgage or increase pension conts. As a single person, you are even more vulnerable to an unlucky roll of the dice and the more you can financially buffer your future, the better.

I am also single - and this is what I'd do.

I'd first of all build a cushion of savings. £5K minimum.

Then I'd start to split it. £100 savings, £100 mortgage overpayment, £100 for a service that will help you e.g. once a month gardener/ cleaner. Though that's making some assumptions. If you're still on low interest mortgage and coming to end of that you may find that extra money disappearing fast.

Look into compression of hours if possible. Work an hour extra a day 4 days, so on that 5th day you finish early. Time to do some cleaning/ gardening etc.

20% invested
20% pension
20% on mortgage
40% disposable

Yay! Congratulations OP!
I'd save £1000 and put it away first and foremost for absolute emergencies.
Hello Fresh meal boxes are great - we use them a lot. I don't think it costs way more than shopping and cooking from home tbh and the food is always so yummy and you don't have to meal plan at all.
Cleaner once a month for a good clean.
Overpay your mortgage even £50 - £100 a month will make a difference long term.
Or save it up each month for a holiday!

My worry with the saving/ mortgage overpayment is that I won't feel any better for it. I've only got through the last two years of studying, working, exams due to the thought that it will get easier.

Best option would be to cut one day at work so you have more time for all the other things.

If this isn't an option, meal boxes and saving up for a lovely holiday as a reward xx

£80 cleaner for 3 hours every other week
£100 nice gym membership with pool
Other build a buffer.

You haven't got enough for PT but I find swimming in a spa club type pool both relaxes me and is good for keeping healthy. And if you are overweight it's easier on joints etc

Children’s savings

Get a cleaner and go to the gym.

I bloody love my cleaner and I pay for an expensive gym membership not because its fancy (its not) but because its so near my house that it makes it incredibly easy to fit in going. And the trainers there are top class and paying for PT makes me much more motivated to work out. Health is important and worth investing in

I'd love a gardener but realistically my garden being wild doesn't affect my day to day happiness anywhere near as much as the above

Peace of mind is valuable, this is also why I'd do a mix so you get the best of everything.

1. Cleaner
2. Ozempic / mounjaro (but it will take most of your extra)
3. Gardener.

The rest will wait.