To be so sick of being broke?

[PrincessC0nsuelaBananaHammock]

This is pretty much just a moan really. I'm already doing everything I can to try and improve our situation financially. Although nothing's working atm. 😑

Both DH and I work full-time, on minimum wage. Me 45 hours per week, him between 40-50 depending on the week. And we still can't make ends meet. I'm talking having about £50 left in the bank 2 days after payday because all the bills have come out.

Not entitled to any benefits as earn too much for UC (on MW? 😐). Kids are grown up (22 and 18) but still living at home. DD1 is in college and on UC and waiting to see if she's entitled to PIP for her autism. DD2 is starting uni next month and works part-time herself.

I'm just so fucking sick of the cost of everything. To the point I'm questioning whether I can afford to buy a £6 pack of Benadryl for my fucking hayfever! 😡

Applying for multiple better-paying jobs every week and getting bloody nowhere! Urgh.

You don’t need Benadryl just get the generic tablets for hayfever.

No one can comment unless you give us a breakdown of your budget.

You’ve done brilliantly helping your children get to college and Uni.

Things will get better.

Totally not the point of the thread but there is no like for like with Benadryl. It's different to piriton etc. Benadryl is the only tablet that works for me.

@HoskinsChoice

Benadryl is just the brand name for Diphenhydramine. There are plenty of generics. It’s literally the same thing, any idea of “this is the only one which works for me” is just placebo because you know it’s brand name so think it’s better.

I sympathise, it's a terrible grind, I've been struggling for months now to find a proper job.

All the same, with two full time 40+ hour wages coming in, as well as a part time wage, I think there must be some serious spending going on if you're down to the wire two days after pay day. Is your mortgage/rent taking it all?

What’s the breakdown of income and outgoings?

If the kids are adults and living at home, given your circumstances, I think it’s fair to ask them to contribute financially.

I think the working DC should contribute a little, OP. And what are your earnings and outgoings? I'm sorry, it sounds really tough and wearing.

Sounds like the "kids" need to start contributing.
And yeh .the only other way is to get higher paying jobs.

I think it might be helpful to post a rough breakdown of your outgoings.
A lot of people are on a lot less and manage. Do you have a big mortgage, or a lot of debt that you are repaying?

Can you post a breakdown of your expenses?

As others have said we really need a breakdown but first things to cull are unnecessary subscriptions (Prime, Netflix etc) and a revisit of your bills to see if you can go cheaper if you shop around. I know they're the basics but we all have to start somewhere.

Also moving any credit card debt to 0% cards.

No, it's not. Benadryl is acrivastine. Unless it has come off licence very recently, there are currently and very unusually no generics on the market. I am sure Benadryl users will throw a collective party when generics can legally be made. But thanks for the rather condescending post telling me how I think.

Even on NMW you should have close to £4k pm coming in with those hours, you'd only get UC with dependent DC and higher rental costs.

Have you honestly reviewed your finances? Do you have debts?

Have a look at:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/money-help/

Shaving a few quid off here and there should make things feel a bit easier.

On the hayfever tablets, does it have to be Benedryl - there are loads of alternatives that are much cheaper (not generic Benedryl, which doesn't exist, but a different medication, eg Piriton).

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/cheap-hayfever-remedies/

If you're paying for things like clothes, phones, more than basic toiletries for DDs, they need to start paying for their own, plus if they have an income, even if it's UC, they need to contribute towards food and other household expenses like utilities.

Depends where you live. This is true in Canada and the US, but not true in the UK (in the UK, the active ingredient is acrivastine or cetirizine).

Without knowing your outgoings and how much you spend on food etc it’s impossible to make suggestions. For example do you have 4 mobile phones that you pay for or are you all on SIM only? What do the kids contribute?

Surprising thread. When OPs post that they feel poor on £60k + posters run to agree with them. So of course someone on less than £24k is asked to review their spending.
For people without children, which means no benefit top-ups, financially things are tough, on lower wages.

When I had hay fever I used to buy a six-month supply of a generic remedy for £6 on Amazon. They were called Allicon or something.

Totally with you, the cost of everything is sickening, it all just adds up so much. I never used to think about what to buy at the supermarket, just got whatever I fancied, but now shop at Aldi and still do the maths adding it all up and deciding whether or not we really need things or could do without. When my kids were tiny sometimes we’d go out to a coffee shop for a treat, but at £4 a coffee and £4 a cake now, just can’t justify it any more. As for family days out..! My earnings are about the same as 20 years ago (on an unpredictable zero hours contract) but life costs twice as much. Also failing to get a better job, feeling past it and invisible as a knackered middle-aged woman. It’s pretty depressing. It’s easy for people to say ‘just get a better job’ - not that easy in practice at the moment.

look at your spending habits on your banking app its called insights on some. then grab a piece of paper and note it all down, do the same with your partner. look to see if there are any bills you can cut down, shopping budget to get more in hand with packed lunches and meal plans, cutting down on takeaways, subscriptions etc. also you can have a clear out in your house with things like vinted (keep that cash in a savings account for the months you struggle)

Have you both always worked? Did you have a long period as sahm?

Its relatively unusual to have worked for 20+ years and never managed to gain enough experience or training to progress up a bit through promotions etc.

What jobs are you in? Can you retrain in something better paid/access some qualifications?

No, it's not. Benadryl is acrivastine. Unless it has come off licence very recently, there are currently and very unusually no generics on the market.

Benadryl is a brand name covering a range of products. In many markets including US & Australia its diphenhydramine. The once a day version is cetirizine which you can get generic.

Jesus crist stop arguing about Benadryl, it's got nothing to do with the thread, it's 7.51 on a Sunday morning and you're already out for an argument!

@PrincessC0nsuelaBananaHammock what is your income vs outgoings? Maybe we can help with a budget?

Your joint annual income is around 57k, what are your housing costs?

I suspect the OP won't clarify what her incomings and outgoings are because it will show that they're not broke and either need to manage their money more effectively and/or ask their adult DC to contribute to their living costs. Or that they've been topping up their lifestyle with debt and they're at the point where the payments have become unaffordable.

Two people working an average of 90 hours pw at NMW and paying 5% into a pension will be bringing in around £3800 pm. Which should be sufficient to cover housing, bills, food, transport and some leisure without skimping too much. Unless we're using the MN definition of 'broke' which appears to mean that they can't buy what they want, when they want, without their money running out.