To help with budgeting in this situation?

[Pinecone1]

I left my job yesterday and start a new job in September when the new term starts. I will receive my final pay on Monday. After bills I have worked out that I have around £1300 left on Monday and then a £287 UC top up on the 11th August and then no other income until 11th September (UC) and then when my wages from new job start coming in at the end of September.

So around £1587 roughly, to last 6 weeks. This includes my DD birthday who is 6 in the holidays and need to get her presents. This also includes food, petrol and some days out throughout the holidays. I have already paid for her day out and my parents are paying to take out for a birthday meal with us all.

is this manageable? Any tips to help budget and make it last through to the 11th September?

single parent also, with one child. Also some child benefit coming in weekly at £26.01 through the 6 weeks.

Thank you.

Sorry, my title should say *to ask for help with budgeting.

That’s loads! Shop at Aldi / Lidl. Look for all the free / cheap days out in the summer hols. Lots of picnics and parks. Vinted or charity shops for presents. You’ll be fine - people manage on way less!

You've £264 a week for just food, petrol and your disposable spends? For you and 1 child? Yeah I think youll be fine.

And if you did worry you could take her to the beach, the park, the library, use coupons from the paper for cheap access to things like English Heritage. You could take snacks from home, you could play in the house, visit relatives, local museums.

The only bit that might be challenging is how you manage your daughters birthday.

It’s totally feasible to do a really good birthday for a 6 year old for less than £30. It’s also very easy to spend >£300 without planning to.

Planning is your friend here. As is using stuff you’ve already got in the cupboard (wrapping paper?).

I’d suggest:
Meal planning and shopping to a list. Online orders actually work well for managing a budget better for many than Lidl / aldi. Although the actual items on your list might be more, you only buy what’s on your list whereas the middle aisles can blow some people’s budgets totally.

Birthday - again, get a plan. If wrapped stuff is a lot of the excitement, then home bargains, a roll
of wrapping paper and wrapping stuff you’d be buying anyway. Shampoo, conditioner (the unicorn version not the normal boring one), tooth brush etc.

Sit down and work out the bills, take that off the total and put it aside.

Then give yourself £70 a week for groceries.

Then an amount for birthday.

Then a contingency chunk. Then you can track against that.

No rent, utilities, council tax, bills or anything? Surely that's pretty easy if purely for discretional spending?

This was my question.

If ALL bills are taken care of until next time you’re paid you’ll be fine.

If you have to pay rent and utilities etc it’ll be more challenging.

Budget £250 a week for food and petrol and spending. Leaves £80 for dd birthday

Assuming thats after bills

Do you need to pay bills/rent from that amount?
If not, that is a very generous amount

After bills you have over £1300 left, then also get UC? You are better off than a lot.

Are you currently a teacher/TA leaving one job and starting into another school?
If so you should get paid over the summer as usual

That's a lot you will be fine. I can definitely give you tips on being poor but you're not even close to that

I worked in a nursery and going into a TA role in September. I have done a school year but they said I won’t get any pay in August, just a final pay with anything owed end of July.

It is after bills. Just worried with it being the holidays and also DD birthday. She doesn’t like relaxing at home, thinking of things to do that could be free/low cost. I also need to buy some new clothes for starting my new job, as I wore a uniform at the nursery and I’d like some new clothes for my new job

Google is your friend look up free activities in your area also I could be wrong but isnt their a way to get discounts on days out if your on universal credit if you look it up. But also focus on other free or cheap activities like the park, beach, baking, arts and crafts, going for a walk. Go to the library, look for any local events happening. Like today we had some chalk and decorated the pavement did a hopscotch which passers by have been using its been really funny to watch but didn't cost a penny

@Pinecone1 do you have national trust membership? It’s around 8 a month and there’s loads of summer of fun things on. Obviously you’d be committed to the year payments (I think) but it could be a good cheap interim option too.

That’s more than we have for 5 of us in that period and I wasn’t worried about it not being enough! I’m sure you will be fine with just 2 of you.

Lots of places are offering very cheap tickets for people on UC, so have a google.

Below is an example of a website where someone has collected up the information, but do your own research and check for the places you're interested in. Also don't forget to take your own refreshments and keep ice creams in the freezer to have at home afterwards, as the saving is significant.

https://museummum.com/universal-credit-days-out/#anchor-1

Also have a look at what's on in local towns and cities. There are many walking trails and fun sculptures to find, plus activity sessions.

Possibly also think about how your budget will work going forward while you have some time off. The fact you're panicking about managing on what is quite a reasonable amount of money might suggest that you could make your money go a bit further with a few tweaks in how you spend.

1587 for 6 weeks would make me uneasy…do you have savings also in case the car breaks down or something else happens?

If you have a car, or good public transport you could break a long walk into reasonable distances for a day and consider the whole distance as a summer project, walking along a canal for example.

You don’t need to buy new clothes.

You’d like to.

To manage a budget you need to get tight on distinguishing between like and need. You can usually make room in the budget for a bit of what you like, but not everything.

Come on OP, you're a childcare professional!
You can entertain a 6 yr old for 6 weeks and plan a party standing on your head. You are overthinking things.

Here's some of the stuff I used to do to survive over summer for free/nearly free 😊.
Swimming (our council has some free sessions)
Mini golf in local park is 50p
Picnics and daisy chain making.
Nature walk (take a bug net and catch insects to identify, go pond dipping).
Bike riding.
Book tennis court (our local municipal court is £2 per hour).

Do a project on the stars, visit local museum, stay up really late and stargaze, do pictures of the stars and planets and stuck on her bedroom ceiling.
Or dinosaurs etc.

Make a band, and play her fav songs with whatever instruments you can find in the charity shop. Make a stage from cardboard, film the show. Or do a musical show...like the greatest showman.

Baking
Sewing
Shopping...let her choose a meal, write the ingredients on her list and go and let her buy them.
Get to know every local park.
Visit local farm, some have ice cream Parlours, farm shops etc, and you can view the milking for free.
Gymnastics or Yoga, download a few videos and have a go.
Beach.
Catch a bus, mine loved this as they never usually went on buses so it was a big adventure.
Long tiring walks.

Lunch out, loads of places are doing free meals for kids over summer if an adult buys a meal.

None of it costs much.
I used to take them out in the morning and then in the heat of the afternoon they could chill in their paddling pool etc.

I honestly wouldn't spend a fortune on her birthday present. Memories are more important. You can pick up second hand bikes and skateboards really cheaply.
Maybe put some money in a savings account for her in lieu of her birthday gift, when you next get paid.

search for free activities.
playground
beach
woods
cooking
painting
have friends round
have you organised her birthday already?

put money aside for her uniform

That works out as ~37 a day which is fine in theory until you purchase something big or you need money in an emergency.

you just need a couple of outfits to last in your new job though