Why if we brought in 40k last year can we not afford a holiday ?

[Lonelybunny]

I can't believe after looking at p60's we brought in 40k where does the money go exactly? We have 3 dc under 8 no child care costs we rent but seriously I can't afford to save ? I must b doing something wrong seriously !?

[Mintyy]

However, you are very lucky to have no childcare costs! Who looks after the children for you?

[smokinaces]

Do you have a joint account? Online banking? Download your last three months of statements and go through them with a fine tooth comb! Stop using debit cards and set a weekly budget in cash - when its gone its gone and you can see what you are physically spending.

[smokinaces]

But with the bills and rent the op has described, they shouldn't be overdrawn every month by any means. Especially with no debt or childcare cost.

[Arisbottle]

If two of you are bringing in 40k between you, that is two below average salaries. Most people would struggle to afford a holiday beyond camping in the UK.

[Lonelybunny]

I work at night so DP has kids .

[LittleBearPad]

You need to get your bank statements for the last three months and work out where the cash is going.

[Casmama]

From the info you have given:
After tax income dp:approx £1594
You: approx £1141

Total income-£2735

Outgoings bills dp £300
Bills you £450
Rent. £675

Total outgoings £1425

Income- outgoings = £1310 which I imagine needs to pay for food, fuel and all extras.

Does that look right?
I agree with others that you need to look carefully at what you are spending and see what you can reduce.

[IAgreeCompletely]

I agree that MoneySavingExpert is the way to go.

You can post a statement of affairs on the forums and lots of helpful posters will suggest ways to cut your spending. They are usually very supportive.

[Lonelybunny]

Yea I will look into it , thank you .

[TwasBrillig]

I'm amazed at everyone saying 40 grand isn't enough to bring a family up on. I feel like I'm from a different planet sometimes (lots of graduate friends, teachers etc earning way less than that)

Op - have you heard of CAP? They run budgeting advice and some of my friends (earning more than 40 k combined as it happens) have used them and found it helpful. Despite the name they aren't freaky religious or only concerned with lack-of-food level poverty but help people with debt, budgeting skills across the board.

[ShadeofViolet]

I am so glad we live in the Midlands, some of these totals are eye watering!

[Lonelybunny]

Thanks I will have a look online. It's not like we are extravagant , only go out for meals on special occasions maybe a take away once every 6 weeks if that , we don't buy many luxuries I don't think , yes we have wifi and sky movies but we can't afford to go to cinema/go out so we need something we can do as a family indoors :(

[Lonelybunny]

And I cycle kids to school to cut feel costs !

[Soditall]

Bunny have you sat down and worked out what you have coming in and what your paying out each month yet?

You might be really surprised at where some of the money is going.I know I was when I worked out what we were wasting money on each month.

[Lavenderloves]

You need to get a handle on your spending to understand where it goes.

A clean sheet of paper and write down all of the outgoings then go through your statement to see what you spend on your card. This gives you a vague idea ( lots of cash spending you won't be able to account for)

After pay day i would suggest you go cash only for a month and jot it all down in a note book. ( then you know exactly)

It's a very simple way to work out what you fritter money on. Sky, phones, coffee, school and activities all add up.

Once you know how much you have to spend and roughly what you spend now, you can budget properly. If you only have £100 a week for food, take that in cash to the supermarket. It will focus your spending. Get to aldi, food is one of the biggest expenses after rent.

Alvin halls book is excellent, see if you can get it in the library.
Working out spending as a % of your earnings is often shocking. £600 a year on sky is a big chunk of your money.

I don't think it's a lot of money for a family with three children in SE.

[Lonelybunny]

I did do that a while a go but I think I've lost it again. No I don't think it's a lot to be honest , the cost of loving is ridiculous , school dinners for 2 kids are £4 per day , they won't eat a packed lunch and after buying packed lunch stuff we prob wouldn't save much any way . I haven't bought the kids clothes in ages , only on eBay for baby and my elder 2 were given 2 black sacks full so haven't needed to buy them any only the odd dress here and there for party/occasions etc . It's depressing it really is :(

[FruitSaladIsNotPudding]

40k really isn't much for a family of three kids in the se. We budget religiously, definitely no frittering money on coffee or newspapers and can't always afford a camping holiday, let alone ai in Spain! And our income is quite a lot more. It's the cost of housing mostly, our very modest 3 bed takes a huge chunk of income. And commuting as well, but that's an unavoidable expense for many.

Op, as others have said, there's a great budget planner on money saving expert. It probably won't enable you to go on holidays every year but at least might keep you out of the overdraft.

And I second suggestions to buy a second hand car. For the amount you spend on car finance in a year you could buy outright a reasonable car. We just got a pretty decent Ford estate for £2500, hopefully it will last us a few years ( although obviously no guarantees of that!)

[FruitSaladIsNotPudding]

Oh, and Netflix is excellent. Loads of really good dramas on at the moment and it's something like £6 a month.

[specialsubject]

I concur that £300 a month on a car (i.e. £3600 a year) is bonkers. Especially in the south-east, you can buy a decent second-hand car for less than that and the fixes will NOT cost £200 a month as someone said.

lose the Sky movies. Go to the library and rent DVDs, or buy them at charity shops. Or get a recorder box and record what is on the free channels. It is summer so you shouldn't be indoors watching TV anyway. Outside is free.

why won't the kids eat a packed lunch? Why is 'won't' an option?

a relative went shopping in Aldi recently and the bill was HALF what it was at Asda.

have you shopped around for insurance? Boring way to spend time but each year I find that I save about £70 on my renewals.

[PatPig]

Car finance is not necessarily that bad, if you are aware of it in your finances, but often the interest rates are very poor, and worse, if you are buying a new car, then the depreciation will hit you again.

We have only ever paid cash for our cars, starting at £1k and going up when we had more savings.

We earn a lot more than you do but we have never had Sky Movies, because it is ridiculously expensive. How much is your total Sky bill? You can easily spend £1k/year.

Also how much are you spending on mobiles?

[Fluffycloudland77]

I don't think Asda cheap, they just tell you they are and throw you a few crumbs by way of the price check vouchers.

Sainsburys do the same, as do tesco.

This thread was good.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/credit_crunch/1571738-Aldi-comparison. Very interesting.

[PatPig]

You need far more control over your finances.

Example: cars - how many do you have, how many do you need (not more than one, surely?). How many miles do you do per year? Figure out cost of fuel, car tax (can be very expensive with certain models, which also consume a lot of fuel), insurance for different car options.

Credit/interest - are you paying any? Why? Overdrafts very expensive, you shouldn't need any loans, get your credit cars on direct debit, paid in full each month, car loans are not suitable for you either because you don't have enough awareness of the total cost.

You are leaking money all over the place - you could have the same or better lifestyle but save money/go on holiday.

[Yonihadtoask]

You would think you would be able to OP. A few years back it would have been more than enough.

Unfortunately costs of living have risen crazily recently - everyone is feeling it.

All I can suggest is the same as previous posters. Have a good look at your spending.

Make up a spreadsheet of absolutely every penny that goes out. You may be surprised where you can make savings


Then once you have cut backs you can set aside a savings column - for summer holiday 2014. It is worth sacrificing some luxuries throughout the year if you have an even to look forward to.

[Lonelybunny]

We have 1 car , nearest aldi is 10 miles away .

[PatPig]

Yoni, £40k was not enough a few years back if you had no control over your budget/spending.