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.

I usually have sympathy for people who say they're broke but you lost my sympathy when you said weight loss injections, Prime and Netflix were no negotiable. May be less binging on crap American tv and get off your arse you may not need weight loss injections.

You're in debt. They should be the first things to go. Seriously have a word with yourself.

P.S I work from home full time and don't need a vpn.

Just RTFT. Here’s a breakdown on your outgoings:

Rent - £600 - Probably as cheap as you can get unless you’re living in a house much bigger than you need. Also much cheaper than the majority of mortgages.

Gas/Electric - £450 (paying off debt) - Continue to pay this down then look to switch to a cheaper energy supplier.
Water - £100 (paying off debt) - Not much you can do.
Council Tax - £165 - Check your house is in the correct band, read MSE for this.
Council Tax debt - £230 (paying off bailiffs) - Not much you can do.
Mobiles - £100 (2 on contract, paying off devices, 2 PAYG) - Don’t upgrade at the end of contracts, buy outright, if you can’t afford the latest model, you don’t get it.
Car Insurance - £45 - Decent price.
Diesel/car maintenance - £100 (DH needs the car to get to work as does permanent nights) - Avoid using the car unless essential, drive as efficiently as you can to save diesel, no heavy acceleration or breaking, drive the car in eco mode if it has one.
Internet - £65 (need top speed as WFH FT). - See if you can find a cheaper one.
Subscriptions/VPN - £66 - Cut these down, that’s a lot of money going out for someone who is in debt and struggling financially.
Gym - £25 - See if there is a cheaper gym in your area and if so, switch.
Mounjaro - £99 - Not an essential, cut it out whilst you pay down your debt and get a better paid job, continue to eat healthily and exercise more.
Debt - £112 - Continue paying this down, with the most expensive debt taking priority (Highest interest rate).

Groceries (including toiletries etc) - £850 (ish). - This is a ridiculous amount for 4 adults. Have a look at meal planning and cut it down. Also look into intermittent fasting, you’ll eat less, lose weight and be generally healthier.

Moan away OP, but MN can be quite quick to jump on partly self-inflicted moaning. Do what you choose with your money, but I would still try to reduce food a bit and/or get a contribution from adult kids, as those are doable without too much sacrifice. There's also the cheaper Netflix, with ads, which is actually OK.

we have Netflix only. no Amazon, no TV licence (i.e. no live TV at all), no Disney etc. I don't see the issue with only having Netflix. you clearly haven't got the priorities right if you can't afford to live and prioritize weight loss drugs and Amazon over affording in essentials

Moan away OP, the CoL is bonkers and you work long hours..

Although £850 a month on groceries and pet food is pretty generous - I know because I spend that much and shop at Ocado and Waitrose (family of 4) and whilst I don’t go mad, I am not scrimping either. My shops also include toiletries / household stuff etc, although I don’t have pets as I don’t want the additional responsibility or effort😅

Anyway, the groceries bill seems like the only potential moveable cost, but that’s only possible if you batch cook / meal plan, blah blah..

But what has he done to progress? Applied for promotions? Upskilled? Gained qualifications?

Does your eldest pay anything towards food OP? I think they should in your case. You sound like things are very tight.

OP to me the £850 per month on food and household essentials seems really high. We are a family of 5 and I set food budget at £110 per week. I will occasionally visit Costco and bulk buy but I don't have pets so I'm not sure if how much of that is for your pets. Maybe spend a month with a daily spend diary and review to see if you can identify any obvious areas for cutback. Good luck, everything is so expensive at the moment

£850 for groceries seems an awful lot, where are you shopping? We spend what I’d consider a lot on our family food shop and it’s still nowhere near that amount. We buy decent ingredients but cook from scratch most days, this definitely keeps the cost down. We eat a lot of vegetarian dishes too which lowers costs as meat can be expensive.

I think the gym membership is actually really cheap, I’ve not seen one for £25 before. And your husband is making use of it and it’s contributing to his health☀️, fitness and mental wellbeing then it’s a good thing to spend money on. The same as the mounjaro, whilst £99 is a lot, if it’s the difference between you being unhealthy and healthy then it’s a good use of money I’d say.

Do your kids contribute a small amount for rent? I think that would be reasonable expectation and also a good lesson to them/preparation for adult life about budgeting.

With Amazon, you can share the account with other households and split the cost. Do you have family or friends that use Amazon that you could share an account with?

Another tip: I recently made some money selling my child’s clothes as bundles on Vinted. Kids grow out of clothes so fast and they were in really good condition. Maybe have a clear out and try doing some selling.

Are you mid contract with your Internet package? £65 is a lot even for high speed and you shouldn't need the absolute fastest for WFH. We're with plusnet on their full fibre 500 package, costs me £32 a month and we got a £75 prepaid card on signing up. We can have all 4 people streaming, gaming or downloading stuff with no lag

If you could swap to that and get the joining reward (if they're still doing it), would OH be open to owning his own set of weights and running around the local area instead of the gym? Mine has his own set of weights as we can't afford a gym membership at the moment

Combined you'd save about £50 there, not much but a little bit of extra spending money

Do you need to pay for the VPN? There's free ones (on mobile at least, I think there's a browser that has a free one built in for desktop?)

It is shit, we're in a similar position with little to no extra left after bills and food, I would be carless if it wasn't for my mum being able to cover the £700 needed for MOT (I pay her back over time), COL is kicking our ass and we just about keep our head above water, but it's not where I expected to be in my mid 30s

Then you are buying things you both want. That is fine. It does mean you can’t buy other things you might want.

I pay less for Internet and have top speed and 3 gamers. Might be worth a shop about

I'm a bit during at the comments about expecting the older DC to contribute, particularly the one who's going to university next month.

The eldest is disabled, attending college and gets UC. PIP claim has been made, previously refused
The youngest works part-time and going to university next month.

What would people expect, contribution-wise? Isn't it more typical for parents to still be expected to contribute towards university as the maintenance loans don't cover everything? Am I missing something

You should get hay-fever tablets from pondland. They work very well . £1 for 30

I work from home full time and pay £30 a month for broadband with Vodafone. Have you tried other providers?

Good for you, obviously you're a much better person than me! Would you like an award?

Why on earth didn't I think of getting off my arse and moving more to lose weight? OMG you've just solved the global obesity crisis! Really the UN should be giving you a Nobel Prize.

I do sympathise - people who got into lots of debt during the pandemic will definitely be struggling more now.

Sorry it’s tough @PrincessC0nsuelaBananaHammock . Everything has just got so expensive now and wages don’t keep up.
I know you didn’t ask for advice, however just in case it’s useful… I joined the staff bank as a healthcare assistant at a local hospice. The hourly rate isn’t great, but if I pick up a weekend shift the pay is enhanced to time and a half, or nights are double pay. Just picking up a shift here and there on my days off does give a bit extra. Could be worth looking into maybe.

people trying to be helpful, OP. You just post snotty and snide responses. You aren't going to get much sympathy with your arsy attitude.

Yes! He was offered a supervisor promotion last year, an extra £15 per week with all the added responsibility of a manager, plus longer hours. He said no thanks.

Oh well carry on being in debt and struggling, one day you'll open your eyes, next time the bailiffs may not be quite so understanding.

Why?

I'm glad they work for you, but that doesn't mean they will for the OP? DS2 has terrible hayfever and only fexofenadine makes any difference to him. Plus not everyone lives near a poundshop, I don't

I suggest changing GP pronto. Some are clueless.

OP, does your BMI qualify you for weight loss help on NHS?

It's not lot extra but it can be a stepping stone to someone better elsewhere. Why would you not take this opportunity??