To ask how people afford plumbers or new fridges?

[coldinside]

I need a plumber to look at a drain blockage in my bathroom (have already tried to clear it myself to no avail) and my fridge has broken so needs replaced. But I’m wondering how I can even afford these things. I earn £1979 per month and my bills are as follows:

Mortgage £620.48
Council tax £125
Income protection insurance £17.48
Car tax £16.62
Gas £20
Electricity £40
Broadband £23.99
Mobile phone £10.50
TV licence £29.08
Counselling £100
Petrol £150
Parking £80
Dentist £20
House management fee £20
Car insurance £45
Home insurance £43.25
Credit card £200

This leaves me with a total of £417 per month to feed myself and a dog, to buy clothes, shoes and toiletries. I can’t save any money each month and I have no idea how I will pay for a fridge (£530) and plumber. AIBU?

I’ll be honest - it’s not a very high salary to run a house, a car and a dog. It’s no wonder there’s not much wiggle room but agree the debt is where the problem lies - how much longer untol you pay that off? It sounds like you need a side hussle. Good luck.

I got a lovely Swan fridge from AO for half of what you expect to pay, and paid it off monthly.

Also, could you forgo therapy for a month or 2?

Secondhand?

Why so much on credit card? Don’t buy what you can’t afford.

I’d be getting a second hand fridge from Facebook or our local charity shop. I earn more than you but would never pay that much for a fridge.

Me neither.

Income protection insurance is a con.

You seem to be managing well. Well done! Although no room for emergencies or big ticket items when they arise.
Not to add in an expense but you mention a dog but no insurance. Given your situation I would try and get some. It would be awful not to be able to pay vet bill. I'd lose the TV licence but pay this.

As for your current situation I would do the following...
£50 on dog food monthly (basing that on my bigger dog on expensive food.could reduce but in my opinion not worth it for health of animal).
£200pcm on food. I can at a squeeze still feed 5 on £100pw although my stock cupboard is full
Put £30 aside for toiletries and clothing per month. Let it sit there if you can. I buy clothing maybe 1/2 a year.

That leaves £137. I'm not sure how much a plumber is for this job but if it was £200 for example I think I would go into an overdraft if I could just to get it sorted. In three months you'll have cleared that.

For the fridge, if you're on your own you don't need a massive one and as others have said get a secondhand one.

Without the credit card payment your outgoings are manageable although tight.

Don't cancel the counselling.

That sounds hard to manage OP. I’d get one second hand on marketplace and save for the plumber if you can do without the toilet for a while

I have a similar income and outgoings.
Join a credit union. Put in a minimal amount each month. Take out a loan.
Repeat every 6 months.

I get 1k every 6 months and save my child benefit and 100 a month. I've build savings and use these to get my loans and with that big loan I get all my large purchases.

I also have a nest egg that I'm building and will put into JISAs for my 2 children as they get bigger.

Fair points but I don’t know how you can possibly say the OPs mortgage is high without knowing the size of the outstanding debt and the term!

£620/month implies the debt under £100k which is actually pretty low considering house prices (it’s far lower than mine for instance).

However, the mortgage and debt restructuring is probably the biggest thing the OP could do to improve her situation if there’s scope to do so. Depending on age, debt to house value, and remaining term, one possible option would be to consolidate finances and remortgage, incorporating her credit card debt and extending the term…. and doing so on a cheaper rate whilst she’s at it!

For instance, if the OP is 40 and has paid off, say, 60% of the mortgage and has another 10 years left, then she could remortgage; consolidate the CC debt so that there’s, say, 50% left and extend the period for 15-20 years could make a massive difference to her monthly finances, without being reckless.

She could then use even some of the difference to pay into a pension…

What insurance is not a con?

What do you do for a job? It’s coming up to Xmas, two months of weekend shop work could help you pay off the credit card. Do that and get an emergency fund built up and you’d be in a much stronger position for when problems crop up.

Definitely get a cheaper fridge. Ask around for a plumber - if it’s an easy job a mate might do it for £50 on a Saturday morning rather than a full on ring someone new, come and look at the job and charge a fortune just to look at it.

I meant the mortgage seemed relatively high for her income. That’s why I just suggested she look at it. I once changed a mortgages from £800 a month to below £500 a month by extending term as a single mum and it made world of difference. Only trying to help!

You can't alter the mortgage, depending on if you are buying a phone,card only Smartie around £5 a month, sometimes less. Get rid of the TV licence.. your household insurance is high,I pay around £350 for a detached bungalow in the SE UK (expensive) corner. Is the credit card zero % interest. Reduce parking somehow,park further,walk. Basic retailers,Aldi, Lidl. Charity shop, Freecycle or similar for the fridge. No clothes,or none essentials, for 3 months minimum. When you are able,check out local colleges,do a basic plumbing course.

£530 for a fridge?
I bought one for about £120 a couple of months ago. What does this super fridge do for that price???
Shop around for your insurance. Going by your mortgage and council tax I'd guess is not a big house.

Sorry, I see what you mean… Yes, your example is exactly what I was getting at.

2nd hand fridge. We got ours in really good condition for £80 of Facebook Marketplace.

As PP said, the TV licence front-loading payment system is a con. They treat it like you 'should' be paying them upfront for a whole year, so they're somehow being 'generous' in giving you 6 months' advance credit. That said, at least after 6 months, it goes down to half of that each month for as long as you keep it.

To be honest, I'm surprised that gas and electricity is so low.

The credit cards and counselling could be anything, as far as strangers on the Internet are concerned.

Is it old debt that you're slowly clearing once and for all, or is it just extra spending each month that you use and then pay off each month? If so, for better clarity and self-awareness, it should be properly categorised in your budget - otherwise it's just like having another category labelled 'miscellaneous', which is no help in trying to budget at £200 a month. £10 or £20, maybe.

Similarly with the counselling: it could be absolutely essential for your mental health or just a nice luxury that makes you feel special and listened-to - or anywhere in between.

How do you know she can’t change her mortgage? People do it all the time! I’ve done it a few times over my life.

Do you live alone? If so no need for broadband. Get a 200GB data deal on your mobile and hotspot for your internet. I WFH and do zoom calls, watch videos etc and my mobile contract of £14 pcm covers all of that.

I don't bother with TV license as I don't watch TV live or iPlayer.

To be honest, I'm surprised that gas and electricity is so low.

Yes, didn’t notice that! That seems more like a summertime cost… Would be surprised if you pay £60 a month on average over the year unless you are ok living in an icebox over winter! Or perhaps you live in a small and well insulated flat, and I’m just basing this from my bills!

That mortgage is less than my social housing rent was in 2012 when my net salary was £1123.

What's wrong with the £119 or £129 fridges on AO that make it essential to spend nearly 5 times that amount?

I presume you’re on a dental pl an if you pay £20 per month. How often do you go, and do you have a lot of work done? Ie. Are you getting £240 treatment each year. Two check ups with no treatment would cost less than this.

More your credit card debt to a balance transfer card with no interest.

Start getting into the habit of putting £20 a month away every month for emergencies.

Join a credit union, save regularly. Even £10 a month. You can then take a low interest loan when you have large purchases. Its what I've done for years.