AIBU to worry that £1000 a month after bills is not enough?

[OhFuckety]

We have had a sudden drop in income. We didn't have loads to begin with but now we have even less and I'm panicking a bit.

After all bills but without food, we will have very slightly £1000 left. There's just me and DH. Is this doable? I've budgeted to within an inch of my life and cut ALL necessary crap but I'm thinking food/toiletries/household stuff is going to eat away about £150 a week of that at least.

We have no way of earning more for the time being but DH hopes to change jobs in the new year which will hopefully bump up our income by about £150pm.

Tell me I'm being a twat and this is completely possible and we'll still have enough for the occasional nice thing!

For 2 adults yes no problem. Most of my food shop is for the kids, if it was just us I could easily cut back.

If you spend £150 a week on food you'll have £400 left in a 4 week month. How much more than that do you need? I know opticians and dentists can be expensive but surely not £400 a month.

People with children cope on less than this. How on earth would two adults need more than this to eat for a month?

It's not just food though, it's absolutely everything other than basic bills (so food, toiletries, cleaning stuff, my dentist, opticians, unexpected expenses, Christmas, clothes, trips...)

If it were just food as pp said I'd be on lobster every night 😂

2 Adults? £80-100 a week for food etc is more than enough 🙄

OP I've just bought two pairs of glasses from glasses direct, £50. You are entitled to a copy of your prescription. You don't have to buy the opticians range.
Teeth can be expensive so I'd be putting away £100 a month. Are you paying for crowns etc? A crown should be no more than £500. I've got three and mine were £400 each a couple of years ago. Filings £100. I'm quoting you private prices.
In difficult times I've fed two of us on £50 per week. I use whatever is on offer, ditto clean products. We have three freezers so we pick up things on offer (my husband loves a yellow label).
You'll be okay.

If you are not working, are you receiving UC? If so, you will be entitled to free prescriptions, dental work and opticians.

family of 4 here 2 adults 2 kids 2&5 with nursery fees and after school club to pay for - we live off way less than this a month

super frugl with food - im lit so boring - luckily both kids have breakfsast at school and nursery - husband and I just eat porridge sachets from aldi at our desks so use the milk at the office

Lunch again kids taken care of midweek

We bring packed lunch of left overs usually

dinner super boring 5 meals on loop bit batch cooking done at the weekend mix it up every few weeks or dig deep in the freezer (2 year old has dinner at nursery in the week phew)

we are managing to feed us all for about 550ish a month - we are really good at doing all the shops for diff things - we are lucky to be beside a massive sainsbury,tesco and then an aldi and an asda

we use the nectar card and get good deals and sometimes an online shop one will come in with great discounts so we are just on it with any sort of saving

if it was just the 2 of us wed spend fuck all

just had to pick up the kids some clothes and got 2 bundles on vinted for less than 25£ and a pair of doc marten boots for the 5 year old on there for £20 !

Couldnt' tell you the last time either adult had new clothes unfortunately but i don't care

I've saved myself a heap of money by cycling to work daily so thats like 80 a month on train fares saved

we have fuck all in savings at the moment unfortunately but we are managing just about - but the mortgage is high and i do hope one day that comes down and i guess nursery fees go away in 2 years so things look a bit clearer one day

Surely you would want to save out of the £1000 i.e. £250 a month / 25%
as 2 adults are not going to eat £750 of food a month are they.

Get yourself a NHS dentist if you haven't already, and one month's savings will almost do the highest charge ! Get on the waiting list if you don't have a NHS dentist.

Hoping you are actually in England, this is cut and pasted from our friend Google

NHS Dental Charge Bands

• Band 1 (£27.90): Covers routine examinations, diagnosis, advice, X-rays, and a scale and polish if clinically needed.
• Band 2 (£76.60): Covers everything in Band 1, plus clinical work like fillings, root canal treatments, and tooth extractions.
• Band 3 (£332.10): Covers everything in Bands 1 and 2, plus complex laboratory work like crowns, dentures, and bridges.
• Urgent Dental Treatment (£27.90): Covers emergency or short-notice appointments for immediate pain relief or urgent care.

You only pay one charge per complete course of treatment, even if you need to visit the dentist more than once to finish the work.

It's amazing that these options exist but they are not always feasible. I have complex prescription and even with the cheapest frames, my lenses alone cost in excess of £700. I wish I could just grab a pair of glasses online but they won't be suitable or comfortable (I tried!). Alas, some of us don't have a cheaper alternative.

If you are in receipt of UC or ESA you get an optical voucher. The range isn't wide but at least it's there.
Clothes can be bought second hand. I buy nothing new other than pants and bras.
There are enough clothes in circulation to clothe us for the rest of our lives twice over. Fashion clothes are mainly plastic!
You don't say where you live but an allotment can be helpful and plot holders swap surplus so you get lots of free stuff. Cities usually have city gardens where for a couple of hours weeding etc you get a free veg box.

According to mumsnet a state pension is masses to live on and for many older people who dont get the new pension that's about £1000 a month to include all bills. So you must be having a laugh.

Put away £150 a month to cover dental and optician bills if your dentist doesnt have a dental plan you can join and remember you can put new lenses in old frames if necessary.

If you are struggling money wise then you can get clothes second hand. Vinted. eBay. Charity shops.

Social housing and no car so those biggies are not an issue. Most of the rest is luxuries not necessities

You have indicated that this “crisis” in salary is short term ish. There are some really short term ways of saving money. I do this by cutting down on alcohol, cooking some lentils and chickpea recipes from scratch and cutting those expensive snacks from your trolley. When my daughters left for uni I saved loads because they were not throwing chocolate and hair products in my trolley. When I retired I decided to stop buying new clothes. My wardrobe was a bit too full of work clothes that I knew I could wear at home. Three years on I still buy very few new clothes. I have saved a lot of money that way.

Once the dust has settled and you have built up your dental/optical fund you can go back to having more fun.

Hugs.

i never understand why Christmas stresses people out -my husband and i will just get each other something like a night out or concert tickets or somehting - and we don't necessariliy need to buy it for christmas we will get this gift another time of year but we know its our xmas pressie

even with the kids we keep costs low - its not that hard - ive already gotten my daughter a lego set off vinted and the younger one is super into sylvanian families so started getting stuff on vinted again for much cheaper for xmas

who else are you buying for?

i only buy for 1 friend and my parents - even me and my sister dont get each other anything - we go out together another time when we have money

Specsavers are doing 15 pounds frames just now. I'll be going there to get glasses soon.

Too good to go is a bit hit and miss but if you find the good ones then it can save money. Olio. Look for community tables or fridges.

Haircuts -many colleges have very cheap rates so that trainees can practice

Use sites like quidco and top cashback. I use an app called cheddar where you buy gift cards for certain shops and you get some cash back

I don't go overboard on Christmas. There's 3 of us in my family and we spend around 50 quid on one another

lol after bills I’m usually left with 100 quid and that usually does a tank of fuel!

So? A grand a month for two adults is hardly slumming it 🙄

I used to use a site called approved food when I was struggling money wise, still am but haven't used it in a while. Look and see if there are any shops near you that sell short dated food. There's one in my home town and it's brilliant

Grow some vegies.

Plan your menu each week and bulk buy some things like canned tuna, canned beans, wholemeal rice.
Eat seasonal fruit, rolled oats, eggs. Basically cook fresh food from scratch.
Powdered milk is one way we save.

Skim powdered milk tastes fine.

She doesn’t need to do any of that 😂

There's only one of me but I have nowhere near a grand a month left after bills and I manage

Meal planning might help

But being mindful of the food spend could afford other luxuries, while managing to eat healthily.