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.

Your outgoings are about £1250 a month with your updates about cutting back. Plus £40 a week for food brings it to about £1410.

If you're bringing in nearly 2k a month, then you should have about £590 left over after everything is paid. Have a couple of no spend/low spend months and pay your loan off. Then aim to save some money for emergencies like the boiler breaking, unexpected bills etc.

OP put the cat as an expense. It’s a realistic option, not cruel. Cats find themselves new homes all the time, and can be happily re homed.
Cruel is entirely different situation.

It's probably very easy to say to someone 'just get rid of your cat' when you don't live alone and have no close friends or local family. The cat is my companion and I won't be rehoming her. I can cancel the pet plan to save money.

The OP isn't in a position where she needs to rehome her cat. Her money problems will ease significantly before too long, and it does look like she could do with a budget review - there seems to be money unaccounted for that could be leaking away somewhere.

Therefore rehoming the cat is not a realistic option - shelters are currently overwhelmed and have long waiting lists. They're not going to be able to help someone who can afford to keep her cat any time soon, even if she did want to give it up.

If anyone else suggests rehoming my cat, then just don't bother. I will not be rehoming under any circumstances.
Also, where do you suggest rehoming to? As the previous poster mentioned, shelters are overrun.

Shocking people suggesting that i love my pets they bring me great joy and comfort. I lost one of my cats before xmas at 17, was and still heartbroken. Still have one cat, he a little fecker but i still love him. Please ignore anyone suggesting you rehome your cat

Just to note i wouldn't get rid of the insurance or pet plan either. I have had to spend a very large amount on pets health in past few years you never know what's around the corner
Your doing good so far, you have another couple of months that are tight but then it will be better there is light at the end of the tunnel and its getting brighter,

Enjoy your cat, your netflix, your gym. Protect your well being and mental health.

Ignore anyone who says give up your cat, or anything else. You've got more coming in than you've got going out for the essentials.

You probably need to change your mindset a bit about having money put aside for unexpected things. Ideally you should have at least 3 months worth of living costs, so £1410 × 3 = £4230 for you, but obviously that's not doable for lots of people (myself included). Aim to put £1000 aside as an "emergency fund", as in, only to be used for actual emergencies.

I have cancelled YouTube premium, halved the price of my netflix. When I get paid next month I will go for a cheaper boiler cover (£17 instead of £31)

Have written a food shopping budget that totals £30 per week including cat food.
It feels miserable but hoping I'll get there. Once I get these refunds I can fortunately pay off the card more or less it's just a case of when.
But I'm not giving up any form of television, I'm not spending my evenings writing letters by candlelight 😂

Don't be miserable and don't have cheap dollops of horrible food.
We have to have some kind of life.

Single/sole parent and my rent is double and my utility bills are hugely more:( urgh

Op from my personal experience I would keep the boiler cover but go for a different provider, usually the manufacturer themselves offer cover which is cheaper than BG and includes an annual service. We have a Vaillant boiler and they offer this. Our boiler is 8years old and the cover costs 50% less than yours.

I bought all the dog flea and worm stuff in violvet was so much cheaper than pets a home subscription
also never had boiler insurance. Have had to replace an old boiler £3k but large 3 bed detached house, get it serviced yearly and you should get an idea from the engineer when it might need replaced and put that money in a little repairs account so you can use for any house repairs.
dint worry it all be ok and you nearly cleared your debt.
Also cancel Netflix get a cheap deal on now or whatever and just wait your get new cheaper promos from Netflix to get you back

Can’t you just be paid cash

My mum had cats for years and none of them ever had a flu jab. She never had vaccinations ever either. None of the cats got cat flu.
the pet instance for dogs covers nothing. I’ve had 1 claim over £1k and after excess and different clauses got £450. It’s now £42 a month now he’s nearly 8 so Yiu remind me I’m going ti cancel it. Waste of money. That said we could afford a bill or two but everything he needed dental and leg cut wasn’t covered or less than excess.
he’s a rescue and if needed extensive treatment I wouldn’t put him through anyways although he really sad. There always another healthy rescue waiting.

Older lady here and I’ve owned and run a home completely on my own for the last 48 years so have experience of several things that have gone wrong over the years. If I was you I’d definitely keep the pet insurance as it’s Sod’s Law something will go wrong with your cat if you have no insurance for it, it did with me and taught me a huge lesson! Boiler insurance I’m sure you can get cheaper elsewhere but you might have to wait until your contract has run out. We had a new boiler 2 years ago and got the cheapest at £2.500 so depends on whether you have that cash in savings, if you haven’t my advice would be to either keep an insurance as a call out alone with an engineer in the South East of UK is at least £80 just to look. Personally I’d advise against using your credit card as there will always be a month where you think it’s ok but then don’t pay it off and that is the start of a slippery slope of being forever in debt. If you’re stuck with too much debt I’d advise calling Stepchange charity to see what your options are.
there may be other ways for you to make extra money for holidays, clothes etc by buying clothes from a car boot/ charity shop and selling for a profit on Vinted, Depop etc or advertising babysitting one or 2 nights a week locally for money etc try thinking outside of the box.
finally remember, your doing good by yourself, you don’t necessarily need a man moving in when you, enjoy your flat, enjoy your space by yourself and be proud of yourself for buying a place on your own. Good luck

So long as you have your boiler serviced every year I think insurance could be unnecessary.

@Behaveyourself88 older lady speaks sense.

Manipulate all the deals that you can e.g. take advantage of financial incentives to change bank, register with Quidco etc. With Quidco, I get paid cashback for using websites that I would use anyway. Every time I need to renew car, house and pet insurance, I go via Quidco (either their service or choose from a selection of suppliers e.g. Confused.com) I earn £35 or more each time and it soon adds up!

It sounds like you're doing really well OP. You have struck a good balance. The orthodontist won't go on for ever and then you'll be that little bit better off. I don't have boiler cover and I pay £65 a year for a full service and gas certificate combined. It would only be £50 for just a service. Boilers can go on for 20 years. I'd keep your cat insurance because your cat is important to you. I'd keep the gym and Netflix because we all have to have something. I'm not sure why you pay for YouTube though. I thought it was free. £30 internet is pretty standard. Your phone is expensive though. Could you not get a Smarty card unlimited is £16 per month and a rolling contract you can cancel at anytime. You are being sensible and prioritising your debt. Living alone is expensive. I know my DS who is 30 lives alone tends to only go out once a week to eat and once for a drink with friends. He budgets well too. Do you not have life insurance? I pay him to move back into my home and look after my cats and dogs when we are on holiday. I fill up freezer and fridge before I go so he doesn't have to buy any food too. Could you pet sit at all?

Personally, I’d keep the boiler cover or change to a new provider. I’ve had 2 condemned boilers in 12 years and managed to get a replacement without a £3k bill. There was a news article recently that said that those living on their own spend £10k a year more than those in a couple on their bills. No wonder we always feel skint. Sounds like you’re doing a great job. Keep those things that are important. Not going out but having Netflix is a great way to keep the spends down but have some decent leisure time. If the gym makes you feel good then keep it. Mental and physical health is important so the gym is probably a good thing. Just because you live on your own doesn’t mean you have to live like a nun. Choose what is right for you. Everyone will always have an opinion but you know what feels right for you. Good luck OP.

I get my boiler cover from a local gas engineer who I have used for many years. It costs £225 a year and that includes the annual service. Might be worth you shopping around for a better deal.

Find a good reliable gas engineer and cancel boiler cover, you still have to pay for a call out anyway.

If you have good wifi at home, why are you paying so much for 100gb on your phone? Do you really use that much outside of home? I have 5gb and unlimited calls/texts plus some international on a SIM-only deal for less than £5 per month. I save and buy a decent second-hand handset when I need one. Can you look at something like that to save a bit? YT premium is also probably not really needed, just suck up a few adverts. If you're on HD for Netflix you could go down to the standard which will also save a bit, and if you can bear the adverts the basic plan is only £5.99 (£12.99 without adverts).

It actually sounds like you are doing really well with a decent income and not overly high outgoings, plenty of non-essentials, and once the (quite small, relatively) debt is cleared, you'll have the extra £300 back too. Nearly there, you'll be fine soon :-)