To use the kids Christmas money to get me through January?

[darkmorning]

In a way I don’t know why I’m asking as I don’t have a choice really, but if the overall consensus is absolutely not I suppose I can use a credit card or something.

PIL gave both children £50 for their savings accounts. I’d have to put the cash in my bank account and transfer to their savings accounts: plan is to do this after I’ve been paid in January. Should I? Or is this just horrible?

change your car😂 It's clearly very uneconomical.

Not sure why you have to be rude when I was stating a fact about fuel consumption even allowing for 40 mpg.

This is not a situation of "borrowing a few quid". OP is up to her eyes in debt across 3 credit cards (and it was 4!). She is spending twice as much just in petrol cost in the car as the public transport equivalent. She's then commenting about not having enough food in the house either. The car is an asset that can be easily sold to clear possibly all, or at least most of, the credit card debt. Meanwhile no insurance cost, breakdown service cost, "x has happened and now I need to spend £500 on the car" etc.

Clearly you can't imagine life without a car, but thinking creatively may help dig OP out of this financial mess.

It isn’t actually my car to sell. But lol that I could get to work on the train.

I don’t actually understand why you’ve posted, if every person on here said don’t do it would you not spend it? Not fill your car up or buy food? You either really need it or you don’t and only you know that. Not a bunch of strangers

Oh god, the car is on lease too? You really have got to have a reduce some of this debt, it must be so stressful for you. At least think about swapping down to a car that's more fuel efficient. What's the plan to clear the other debts?

Not a problem. As long as you pay it back it's all good!

I'm not sure about this idea that there could be a DH who has his "own" money while OP is drowning in debt and expected to fund the petrol to visit his family. More likely he has his own debt or isn't working. OP was hiding her own credit cards debt at the start of the thread...

I wondered what the consensus was. About to look at the votes.

Please don’t oh god me. I am not posting for financial advice. I know what I am doing and am happy with this.

Don't steal your kids' money. Tell DH or his parents that you can't afford the drive over. They may decide to help, or forgo the pleasure of your company. You can't use your IL's money to pay for your visit to them, without discussing that with them!

I don’t really see the issue. PIL gave you cash to lodge to your account, and to transfer to your kids’ accounts?

You will do this, just once you get paid.

If you’re absolutely certain that you will do this, then needs must. It’s not as if you’re blowing it on a night out or getting your nails done

I wouldn’t have an issue with this if you were my DIL.

You saved £100 for the kids this month, now you’re so short of available cash that you’re contemplating taking the £100 they got from their grandparents…. . This is nuts.
You seem to have major credit card debt, you can’t afford to save for your kids whilst servicing cc debt, it’s ludicrous.

Happy? You're happy with being so low that you're borrowing the kids' Christmas money??? Ok!

Next time you know you're right and are so delighted with how clever you are to be in debt, don't go asking for advice. People hold back a bit more at Christmas.

Ok I’ve skipped posts. Please stop saving for your kids. It is imo a total waste of effort. DH insisted on trusts for our four dgc . I love them as life itself but the times he said no you can’t have a new fridge at £800 but have to buy a rubbish one at £300 because money must go into the trusts. 20 years later one child has taken £10000 out to buy luxuries while at uni. Parents are extremely high earners and are funding her. Another dgs has said he hoped he would love to be able to do this for his GC one day but is going to use it for travelling the world . Save and spend for the quality of your own life. Give your children education and common sense not money.

@GRex im happy with the plan I have; I’m not posting here for financial advice.

If you need it you need it. Don't feel guilty. Even if you cannot pay it back straight away you may be able to when things are a little more steady.

It is much more important that your DC have a roof and food than savings in their bank account at the moment.

I used to give my DGodson a small gift and the rest as cash for his DM to use as she saw fit. He never went without so if she needed it for the light bill then so be it. My DS does the same with his friend.

You might be happy, but it’s not working 🤷🏻‍♀️

I don’t want to be argumentative, but it is. I am in control and I know what’s going out and what’s going in. So I feel confident about that.

You can’t afford the petrol to get yourself to work, op.
You are completely deluded.

I filled the car with diesel earlier and hopefully that will last until mid January. As I say, I feel fine about finances, I don’t have a lot but that’s fine. Life is just expensive, it just is. That’s true for many people.

Don't the people on here who are telling the OP that she should be saving the equivalent of several months of salary and should be cutting back on everything to get debt free understand that many many people aren't in the fortunate position where they can do that? Most people I know owe money on credit cards, overdrafts, loans etc and can't clear everything at the end of the month because they don't earn Mumsnet six figure salaries! Being in debt to a smaller or greater amount is a way of life for a significant proportion of the population, and they have to juggle things around every month to make ends meet.

£100 isn’t going to go far and if you need such a small amount then you’ll probably struggle to pay it back.

Thanks, yeah, I still have a backlog from my maternity leave I’m trying to clear, and I am confident I’ll have done so by Easter, may by the latest.

January’s always a tough month and I’m happy with where I am at the moment, although wouldn’t object to a lottery win!