To struggle on this salary?

[Unfff]

Or more to the point… think it’s just not worth the hard work anymore?

Had enough. I earn 3,100 a month. My mortgage is 900 and car finance 300. Student loans 300. Nursery is 800 and I get 400 child maintenance. By the time I’ve paid bills… this months heating was 150! Water another 50. Phone bill and Netflix… I’m left with barely anything. My job is really full on and I work late or weekends often… I do t strictly have to but it’s the sort of job where you just do… otherwise things fall apart.

I don’t do expensive things. Can’t actually remember last time I went on holiday! AIBU to find it utterly miserable that taking home this much money means you still can’t just buy a coat or even new jumper etc without having to think twice?!

Seeing as the thread has been seriously derailed by talk of £500 bedding, I thought I'd share a tip.

We got ours from a hotel supplies company. It's good quality and fairly reasonable prices. It also saved the hassle of shopping around for bed linen.

https://www.outofeden.co.uk/products/2202_2205/luxury-cotton-micro-stripe-300-thread-count-duvet-cover

Could you link to where these stats come from? Not doubting you, would just like to review my own situation. Thanks!

Your £100 bedding set from 2008 will cost you £167.81 with inflation today, I purchased 2 sets plus fitted sheets.

Yes, that is one way of looking at it. It isn't the whole story though. 30 years ago when I bought my first house, I bought a bedding set for £25 for a king-size bed. I can still buy a bedding set for a king-size bed for £25 today in 2024. Bedding is one of those purchases which generally costs less in real terms today (of course, everyone is welcome to pay more if they choose).

Wow that’s £1,300 more a month in just wages than I get!

@StressedLP1

www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator

This is one possible source - it's great fun

@shuggles my car is not on finance (paid off a couple of years ago) if we were to buy another car it would be on finance.

Hence a jogger would cost more than my XC90.

As for driving 6 people around, going to school driving to work, you know everyday stuff, I can’t be late for work, and have to take the kids to school before hand. Weekends all going out together the kids have friends over, taking the dogs out means that a large car is what we need.

It’s nursery, but it won’t last forever.

You've got a weird obsession with this poster's car.

Surely you're capable of understanding why travelling in one car is preferable to two - e.g. parents taking it in turns to drive and have a drink.

If you drive to France on holiday, it would be pretty odd to pay for two cars on the ferry/tunnel. What about visiting family in another part of the country?

Thank you!

Ffs. Re-read her posts.

She says continually that she CAN afford it.

she’s making the point that stuff costs £££ these days. Yes, shes tone deaf about the way she’s doing it… but she’s not moaning about her financial situation.

@ThisOldThang Surely you're capable of understanding why travelling in one car is preferable to two - e.g. parents taking it in turns to drive and have a drink.

Weird comment. Taking it turns to drive? Unless you're driving to China, one driver should be enough. It's also possible for a driver to have a drink too.

If you drive to France on holiday, it would be pretty odd to pay for two cars on the ferry/tunnel. What about visiting family in another part of the country?

I would say it's odd to select my car on the basis of having a holiday in France, an event which would be no more frequent than once a year. Is that seriously what you think about when choosing a car? I take it you don't know about car rentals then?

Sorry but £1,000 disposable income a month is not “barely anything”. Thats £250 a week. Hardly on the poverty line

Not the OP, but some people on here don't know how to budget or spend money. Those with decent jobs generally splash the cash and think it's normal and the well will never run dry until they get ill and or get divorced. Then they are flabbergasted as to where the money went. I know people who earn £100k and haven't got a pot to piss in, but have a ridiculously massive land rover on drive, £100 takeaways and most goes in the bin and £30 bottles on wine. That's not normal or necessary. Never be in bondage to your work or career. It's fleeting at best, it's a short life. Work is to live, don't live to work to oil the machine.

I am sure this is hyperbole on the part of the OP. Same as I sometimes think “ what’s the point in tidying/cleaning as there is mess immediately after” of course I know that not cleaning would result in it being much worse, but sometimes the endless effort for little result makes you think “eff this s*#t,” and want to just give it up.

whe you are working really hard and eating decent money to just exist it is really really soul destroying.

Good luck OP. On day that nursery money will be yours for something more fun. There is an end in sight. Even is a way off

I've worked just 3 months this tax year - I'm self employed and things have come to a standstill, hopefully now recession fears are a little alleviated with Trumps election, interim jobs will start appearing again 🙏. I need to net £4.5k pcm before I pay any food/utilities etc such is the size of my mortgage (Im a single parent widow). So shake hands with me. I am brassic. And before anyone says anything, the self employed earn less than the employed with no safety net - do the maths.

The point is, whenever any of us get into choppy water, we have choices to make. Decide what you want to do and do it. If that means get a better paid job, do that. If it means retiring, do that. If you're considering jacking up work with no safety net, there's no way youll get £3.1k benefits inc your mortgage being paid, so think again. Take action, don't moan. I wish you luck.

She didn't say she was on the poverty line, just that there was nothing left over for extras, even a cheap holiday or a new coat.

A lot of people are in the same boat - always have been - and it's no fun.

Wow. You really don't get it.

When couples attend events, it is quite common for them to alternate the driving so that one person can drink as much as they want and the other person stays sober. This negates the need for taxis. If a family didn't have a car large enough to transport everybody, it would mean never drinking at social events or having to pay for taxis.

I very much chose our family car on the basis of it being suitable for 100% of our requirements. It is large enough for all weekends away and holidays. We occasionally fit a roof box if required.

I'd never dream of buying a car that then required us to start renting a different vehicle just to visit family or go away somewhere. What a bizarre and financially incontinent decision that would be.

Given our annual mileage there's (hopefully) no reason why we'd need to replace our car until the kids have left home in 15+ years time.

Oversized SUVs for the win. 😉

Assuming you're single parent and covering everything yourself, yes it's a struggle. A combined income of that much would be pretty low.

@StressedLP1 yes an inflation calculator like @midgetastic linked.

I used a tone deaf way of doing it, as there is countless posters on here saying that 1k is a huge amount when in fact that does not cover all of the OPs bills. This makes the OP question themselves when they are in the thick of it.

As I have said countless times we are lucky enough to be able to afford “luxury items” I had no idea that M&S was considered luxury.

As for questioning my car choice, if we all went on holiday taking 2 cars would be crazy, 2 lots of parking at the airport, 2 lots of ferry tickets, just going to family for the day would cost more in 2 cars than 1, honestly people like some of the posters on here are batshit.

As I have shown £1000 does not go far.

How long until your DC finished nursery? Count down until you have another £800 each month which will be lovely.

😂

So if £500 is a drop in the ocean 'in your circles' (snort), of what relevance was your post to the op?

Op: 'I'm struggling to make ends meet'.

TheSpoonyNavyKnobber: 'Oh well op, I just spent 500 quid on M&S bedding but that's a drop in the ocean to me and my kind'.

Just...why? What goes through your mind whilst typing that bollocks out? 😂

Also the impact of fiscal drag. They froze the bands in 2022 and we have another 4 years of it I think.

@HildaHosmedeknobber

I gave my examples as there are loads of knobs on here saying that 1k is a fortune when in fact it’s not with petrol, food, insurance etc

We paid £500 on 2 sets of bedding from M&S not Selfridges, which just goes to show the cost of things now. It’s an example which you seem blinkered to.

Me and my kind are just ordinary middle earners living in the South East.

@ThisOldThang When couples attend events, it is quite common for them to alternate the driving so that one person can drink as much as they want and the other person stays sober. This negates the need for taxis. If a family didn't have a car large enough to transport everybody, it would mean never drinking at social events or having to pay for taxis.

Bringing all 4 children to a drinking event? Are these drinking events happening so frequently that this dictates the choice of car?

I'd never dream of buying a car that then required us to start renting a different vehicle just to visit family or go away somewhere. What a bizarre and financially incontinent decision that would be.

Obviously, people do rent cars, otherwise car rental businesses wouldn't exist. Calling car rental "bizarre" shows that you must live on a different planet. You might be very young, but I'm old enough to remember a time when almost no one owned an SUV. And yet, there were no issues with getting everyone from A to B back then.

It's not "financially incontinent" either, because it works out cheaper to own a small car and just rent a larger car when needed.

Oversized SUVs for the win. 😉

Cringe. Sorry, I didn't realise I was talking to a right wing American hill billy.