How to save money

[pumpkinpam]

I'm currently spending more than I earn per month. I work part time. Dh works full time. But we have a massive mortgage and bills (dh covers most of this).

I pay for childcare which is roughly £350 a month and all food/household costs/things the kids need etc.

I had a little buffer from an inheritance but that is dwindling down now because I'm spending more than I earn and I really need to cut back. I can't work more at the moment as we have no help with the kids and I'm already spending more than I'd like on childcare.

I've recognised a few things I can do - don't buy lunch everyday, meal prep etc but other than that I can't see where I can make savings. My eldest eats like a horse and I spend a fortune on food. We hardly go out but do have takeaways maybe once a week/fortnight so that's another thing that could go I suppose.

Any other tips welcomed.

Your DH isn't pooling money and you're only working part time. Those are your problems, if your DH is benefitting from you working part time (ie you do more at home) he should value you and pool the money. If he won't do it, go full time and prepare yourself financially for when the relationship inevitably breaks down.

You said it better than I did!

Review the cost of everything and cut down where you can. Lots of small savings add up. Areas where the easiest savings to make could be broadband and mobiles and any food and drink out of the house and snacks/takeaways. A lower cost alternative to a takeaway could be a nice meal deal from a supermarket - M&S have a good range of 'dine in' options that still feel like a treat, or get nice pizzas or ready made curries etc.

Also second the recommendation about whether you're able to work when DH is at home to look after DC. What about baby sitting in the run up to Christmas?

Do you have anything you can sell to bring in more money?

Have a look at Moneysaving Expert's money makeover - a systematic guide to reviewing every cost to make your money go further.

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

It really isn't the only way. First, one needs to have a look at spending because you can work all hours in the world and still buy a new pair of Jimmy Choos every week. Then one can look at whether they are able to get a job with a better salary. One can also use existing assets to make money (like inheritance). My savings interest alone makes me nearly £100 a month and, I imagine, OP's inheritance could have been put to a better use.
And only if that fails, one can think of working more hours.

I think it's really really hard to spend less money simply by "trying to be careful". I agree with other posters that you need a proper budget, either in a spreadsheet or using an app, to keep track of where the money is going. Compare budget and actual spending each month for each category to see where you can cut back.

Always take lunch and a flask of coffee
Take away once a month
Never buy an item unless it needs replacing, this is everything
Never impulse buy

Eat less meat and more pulses, I do stuff like chick peas with some chorizo it’s much cheaper. We did it more for health reasons. I’m ok with vegetarian food, mine are not keen this seemed like a good compromise.

We did an exact budget for a year split in to every category to decide if we could retire in our fifties. There are essentials and then there are wants. We spent 28k last year, no mortgage or childcare and I get that these are the major expenses but we spent that without these two major expenses and it seems quite a lot. Some can’t afford essentials, I am guessing you give in to wants too much as well as just everything just being more expensive.

I don't agree she's not in debt she's just nearly used up her savings that's she's relying on.
There will be cut backs before working more. Sometimes extra spending is caused by extra working due to commuting coffee temptations and being too tired to cook so ordering in etc

I disagree about using cash completely as long as you are disciplined. I have used a credit card for almost every single purchase I have ever made as has DH, we do clear the balance every month and view it as a debit card.

Over 30 years due to the rewards offered we have had multiple days out, places such as Legoland, sea life centre and many others plus magazine subs with my Tesco credit card, to be fair the rewards are not as good now. With DH he had air miles and used to fly a lot with work, that was just luck but we used to use those for car hire and hotels.

We had the years of long hours and commutes, we were both FT, we got a slow cooker and just chucked everything in before work.

Just checking that you are using tax free child care scheme?

You need to write everything down for at least two months - every single penny BOTH of you spend. Even if you have two separate bank accounts you have to think of your money as 'pooled'.

Then look at all your regular payments. See if you need them (and by this I mean check your debit card because a lot of those wee sneaky subscriptions aren't going out by direct debit so they're harder to catch).

Stop what you don't need.

Then go through each necessary payment (utilities, phone, etc) and see if there's a better deal to be had elsewhere.

Meantime, get a second account, Starling or Monzo. Allocate a budget for food/lunches and transfer that amount onto the card each week. When it's gone, it's gone.

Meal plan, and use your freezer intelligently.

I invested in a really nice coffee cup and lunchbox, so I now feel like my packed lunch is quite a treat. You can easily make food at home.

Also, bulk out casseroles/chilli/, Bolognese with pulses. Buy them dried and soak overnight or tinned. Either way they'll help fill up your DCs and are cheap and healthy.

Could you sell old clothes on Vinted, then save that money for treats now and then?

Make a big cake/flapjacks as snacks.

Does childcare cost more than either wage? If not, that person needs to work full time. If it does, that person needs to give up work for a while.

I have a Hyperjar account. It's online and free and the equivalent of having lots of envelopes to save money in. For example, I have a 'jar' for Christmas, MOT, parking permit, pet...

I know that won't help with overspending as such, but if you allocate money such as the nursery, lunches, clothes, then once it's gone, it's gone. It certainly makes me far more aware of where my money is going and I'm prepared for any biggish bills.

I'd try to save money according to the useful advice above, but I'd also try to increase my working hours significantly.

Takeaways are astronomical! I couldn’t believe how much our last Chinese delivery cost! We don’t even have takeaways monthly nowadays.

Maybe go onto the Martin Lewis website to see if you could save on utility bills, mobile phone contracts etc.

This.

I have stopped buying meat. Not because I'm vegetarian (I'm not), but I am saving £££ by not buying meat. We do have meat occasionally, but usually something I can make more than one meal from.

You need to sit down with DH and add up all your collective family outgoings against all your family income.

If income is less than outgoings on a family basis, you then review the list and see what can be dropped (takeaways and subscriptions are usually main culprits!).

Wow that's quite the stretch 😂😂
Dh has nothing left over. He earns more but pays all of the household costs and mortgage. The mortgage alone is £1200 per month. Why would you take a simple money saving tips post and turn it into an 'inevitable relationship breakdown' thread? Absolutely bizarre.

He's suggested pooling money before fwiw but it's me who prefers it this way.

Yeah, just because you don't have a joint account, it doesn't mean that money isn't shared. DH and I don't have a joint account, but we have the same amount of personal spends every month, and we save the same amount every month as well.

You need to look at your bank statements and write down every single thing you spend.

Firstly write down everything that is fixed and unchangeable (childcare, bills etc.)

Then write down everything else in categories: supermarket shopping, takeaways, lunches, stuff for kids.

Do this sum: your income minus your fixed bills equals your available spending.

Then allocate a budget for the other categories: £600 a month for food, £100 for lunches/ takeaways etc.

If you don't have the money available then it needs to be cut out.

I had to do this during the pandemic when my income dried up - the amount I spent on food was a shocker!! Meal planning and packed lunches became my friend.

What is your job? Can you try and get a better paid one, or if its low paid, swap tp something where you work evenings and weekends to save on childcare (e.g care work).

If you earn more per hour than childcare costs you, the simple answer is to work more. You might not like it but it is the answer for most people.

350 a month doesn't sound like much childcare - have you just got one DS getting some funded hours? If so you may not have long to go until school, can you sell anything to boost finances short term

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/budget-planning/

Print out the budget planner on MSE, and work out your finances. Be Honest! Get your bank statements so you know how much your bills are, how much you’re spending on coffee, takeaways, etc. Then start a savings pot towards Christmas and holidays.

It’s a horrible, sobering (grown-up) thing to do, and you will feel broke and down immediately after doing it, but in the long run, it’ll be worthwhile, and somehow feels liberating as well, as you’ll know where you stand.