Is anyone else just stuck in debt and fed up?

[Catsarekings123]

I am actually owed a refund of £1500 from something which will be wonderful, but it's just a waiting game and could be another 2 months yet, however I know I will be getting it.

I'm not the worst with money but I'm not the best either. Every month before my wage comes in I calculate everything that's going out that month, and what ill have left.

I live alone. To give a rundown:
Mortgage- £440, boiler cover- £31.50, gas- £35, electric- £35, water not yet been billed as moved in last few months, ongoing orthodontic treatment- £54, petplan and insurance- £43, phone contract and handset- £32, gym- £14, YouTube/netflix- £22, wifi- £24, £300 on clearing debt atm across x2 credit cards and one loan.
Student loan- £30, then it's food, public transport etc.

I know i could cancel the gym but it's working out at around £3.50 a week and benefits me hugely. I don't have any Sky or anything like that and only have netflix so watch a lot of films etc on it.

If anyone sees any areas I could cut back on I'd be willing to take suggestions..I paid £300 alone on my credit card this month but then had an unexpected £190 repair bill.
It's living alone with a mortgage which is stressful as you have to plan for these unexpected emergencies.

I don't get expensive clothes, make up, hair etc. Everything is as cheap as I can make it.
I'm changing jobs next week and will be on 28k base salary and have got an evening job which will be £300 extra a month.
I don't drive, mainly use public transport but occasionally take an Uber, as waiting outside in blistering wind and rain is depressing a lot of the time.
I don't buy expensive food either, do what I can in terms of cheap or free hobbies. Used to do a dance class but now I just do one on YouTube. Will restart running once it warms up next week.

Re: boiler cover. We have home repair included with our home insurance so that if there is an issue, they come out to it (also includes electrics, drains etc). Works out at about 30.00 per year. Might be worth considering if you're worried about a breakdown and then just pay for a service each year.

Same here the past three years between 2 dogs we have spent close to 10k. we forgo certain things to pay for it and also sold some valuables we had. ours were old when we got them so no insurance covers them but they are so loved and still going strong. before that never had ti spend so much on pets in nearly 20 years

Sounds like you’re doing alright to me OP. Doesn’t seem like you have any extravagances.

As a long term plan would you want a partner as clearly another income would help massively.

Could you look to develop your career into something more lucrative? I know this is not an overnight thing but some form of long term plan would be good.

Yeah the vet plan is a total rip off - mine also offers fekn reiki for my cats! You can flea/worm treatment them yourself every month. They don’t need their claws done - just a good scratch post (mine prefer a scratch mat). Mine hardly ever go out despite me throwing them out into the garden so I don’t bother with vaccinations - and I only flea treat over the summer months when the little beggars will go outside - they are 8 years old and never had any bother. My pet insurance is £15 a month for both of them (doesn’t cover dental) but as PPs have said - anything terribly debilitating or pain causing, I’d get them PTS rather than have them
live with a poor quality of life.

Go to the Netflix with ads and free YouTube.

But you are doing well living on your own with not a brilliant wage so don’t be too hard on yourself.

Oh and I forgot to ask the MN classic suggestion could you take in ironing 😜

Even adding in council tax that still should be around £700 a month left - is it that the second job is a bit ad hoc? If it's regular I'm not sure why it's struggle as that's a fair bit for food/transport/clothes/toiletries etc on your own -

Have a good look at your statement and see where the 'bits' are going ? Do you smoke, nights out, coffees etc ??

I don’t think that this is going to make much of a difference financially and will hugely decrease OPs enjoyment of her life.

Gym and youtube/ netflix is literally only £36…

£23 less for a mobile and reducing but not necessarily cancelling streaming services - downgrade Netflix and use the free version of youtube will add up to around £40 extra in her pocket every month and there might be other savings too, which all add up to a noticeable amount of extra disposable income. We only ever pay for one streaming service at a time and the lack of a contract means that you can chop and change as often as you like.

@Bjorkdidit I guess so but then again OP doesn’t seem to have an extravagant life. And I really don’t think £36 is massive in the scheme of things.

I am on a similar income to you, but mortgage more and goes up next month!. CT is more too. I run a car too.

I DO get child benefit for son and tiny UC amount. No debt /credit cards!

Your bills are all low (fuel, CT and mortgage) .
You need to get rid of the non essentials (sorry)

But she'd really notice the difference as she currently has little disposable income - it would be a significant extra amount for little noticeable change in lifestyle.

Or if she saved it for a year, she'd have savings of around £450 including interest. Enough to replace something like a washing machine or pay for a holiday without worrying. Look after the pennies and the pounds look after themselves.

We used to have pet plan do our cats. Once they hit 8 premiums hit the roof, had to pay at least 20% of bill (which went up each year) and excess also went up each year as they got older. Cancelled it and didn’t bother for the next cat. However I do think insuring cats depends if you can afford a vets bill or not. Even if you decide to PTS it can cost a bit to find out what is wrong with them before you make that decision. Over the lifetime of the cat usually costs less than what you’ve spent on insurance. Also rarely flea treat the cat so don’t have the vet plan. You can buy worming tablets cheaply. Never cut their claws either. The dog on the other hand ….eats stuff he shouldn’t, they are more inbreed so more likely to have health problems and mixes with other animals more so fleas and ticks more likely.

Get rid of the boiler cover, pet insurance, YouTube and Netflix subscription. Treat yourself to Netflix when your ortho treatment is done.

Re-home cat, food. And insurance & maintenance costs ££
cancel boiler cover or find something cheaper you are basically buying another boiler over few years … not insuring it
cancel YouTube and other app charges

Sorry but I will not just be re homing the cat to save a bit of money.

Thank you for all suggestions. I don't drink alcohol, coffee or smoke. Don't have live TV or pay for a licence so netflix is the only thing I have.
I do evening tutoring but it's not always reliable, someone's just cancelled last minute so that's £40 gone.

I have luckily just been offered a bank care home role which I can do the odd weekend and holiday, it will be more reliable than tutoring.

I have about 100K of debt. Paying off as much as I can each month and set up all my own payment plans rather than go through stepchange or similar

Have you contacted the Council for reduced ct. Not sure of different Councils but if you live alone you should get a discount. Speak to citizens advice they may be able to give you advice, they are very good. Can to change your credit cards to a 0% interest?

There maybe other discounts from utilities it's definitely worth checking. If you can manage to keep petplan as it's only when pets get old they cost alot at vets, I'm speaking from experience on that. Hope you're not having problems with different opinions on here as we all have same/different ideas. Good luck

Awful pro/con risk with pet insurance. If an animal gets a low grade but long term illness like diabetes, it can cost a fortune.

Not an immediate thing by any means, but when your current cat dies (hopefully of old age, many years down the line), if you’re still financially stretched you could look at fostering for the Blue Cross instead of adopting another.

I have a goddaughter who does this - it means she gets to have cats around the house but isn’t on the hook at all financially. The Blue Cross covers all the medical bills and pays for food/litter supplies. She travels a lot so it’s also more convenient for her than having a permanent cat she needs to arrange a sitter for - she times taking on new fosters around her travel plans.

Poor cat. What a miserable thought.

Definitely look at your statements OP - print off and highlighter pen all the regular bills you pay and then look again at anything non highlighted - it's going somewhere unless you are bringing in less than we think due to large pension payments/student loans etc

Your bills by the way are modest - it's not that

Good luck with the care home work.

If you do more tutoring, put together some simple T&Cs that include the requirement to still pay if someone cancels with less than 48 hours notice or whatever and make sure everyone you agree to tutor has been emailed a copy of the T&Cs and replied to say they accept them. Then if they do cancel and don't pay you can take them to the small claims court to get your money (most people will pay up when formally notified that you're doing this because then they'll be liable for costs on top of what they owe you).

If your boiler broke do you have the means for a new one? I speak as someone who had to live with no boiler for two years. I might be a good idea just to look for cheaper insurance.

There is something wrong when a decent hard working person is paying out like this and worrying. Its bloody outrageous.
The only " luxury " I can see is the pets. This the reason we don't have one.