Please help me unfuck my finances

[JAMNoMore]

Just looking for someone to cast a critical eye over my finances as I'm really struggling to get out of debt and need to make some changes.

Backstory: I'm a single mum by choice; I used my savings to pay for IVF. Took out a loan to cover my mortgage during maternity leave, and to buy some of the bigger necessities. I then made the fatal mistake of getting a credit card. This was supposed to just be for the last Christmas as I'd only just restarted work, but as I'm only working 4 days a week I'm earning less than I used to, and kept adding little things to the card, and a few bigger emergency things, so it's now much higher than I ever intended it to get. I'm repaying over the minimal amount, and am currently still in the interest free purchases time - will be applying for a 0% interest on balance transfers card in the new year so I continue to pay 0% interest on the card debt.

I have namechanged for this, as it's going to be full of private/personal info. Apologies for the massive overshare.

My current monthly income is £2055.41, this is made up of £1972.61 in pay and £82.80 child benefit. I am not eligible for any tax credits because on paper my income is high and my childcare outgoings are low.

Regular monthly outgoings are as follows;
Mortgage; £828.03 (28 years left on this. Paying fixed repayments for another 2 years, then will need to see what my options are.)
Loan repayments; £172.01 (there are another 30 months until this is paid off)
Credit card repayments; £100 (there are 28 months until this is paid off, assuming continuing 0% interest level, and no further emergencies)
Dog insurance for 2 dogs; £21.89
House insurance; £10.39
Car insurance; £50.82
Gas and electricity; £108 (this will go down. I had been paying £70 per month which was too low, so they insisted I go up to this higher amount. I'm expecting to be able to go to £90 in the new year and it should average itself out.)
Council Tax; £94 (this includes 25% single person discount)
Groceries; £200 (including dog and cat food, and cleaning products, nappies, toiletries etc, and to be honest it's not enough - a lot of my recent CC purchases have been to make up for a shortfall on food/wipes)
TV license; £12.12
Internet & Phone; £36.19
Childcare; £50 (this is to a family member and is to cover nappies and wipes and activities, not a payment for services)
Childcare; £104 / £130 (this is for nursery one morning a week; variable amount due to 4 and 5 week months)
Car fuel; £50
Mobile Phone; £48.19 (this will decrease to £19ish in the new year after I've finished paying for the handset)

I make this £1885.64 per 4 week month and £1911.64 on a 5 week month

Irregular monthly outgoings;
Car tax; £126 every 6 months
Car service and MOT; £150ish once a year (assuming no failure)
Dog vaccinations; £40 each per year, two dogs
Next account; currently owe £60, would like to be paid off by the end of the year.

So, if you've got this far then huge thanks for sticking with me. If I average out the irregular payments this all works out to leave me in the vicinity of £90-£130 per month for overspill, emergencies. This doesn't seem to last, going on grocery top up shops, family birthdays, new clothes (kiddo is 18 months, so is just going up to the next size, plus has recently needed new wellies and wet weather gear for nursery), the odd day out. Obviously I'm not averaging these payments out over each month as I should be, so my MOT coming up next month means I'll be making heavy use of my overdraft for a few months, which will incur some fees. Starting January I will be putting money aside each month to cover the irregular payments, so I can at least make them a little less of a shock to the system when they come round.

Where do I start trying to make things easier? I can't go back to working 5 days a week because I couldn't afford the extra days in nursery, and my mum can't have my kid for another day each week. I'm trying to sell stuff on ebay, but that's a very finite resource, and I don't have a lot of fancy stuff worth selling! All advice will be gratefully received.

Disclaimer: This is 100% not a begging thread; I do not want any financial help, I am not at any immediate risk of starving or losing my house, I have local family who would help out if it got that bad. My son is young enough that he won't notice if Christmas is on the frugal side, so no one's festive season is at stake. I just need some hints and tips on how to get back in control of things. Thanks!

@misscph1973 ah right, even though I read the post it didn't sink it she was single and did IVF, I thought she paid for it and then they split etc :) silly me lol

I'd second the lodger. We have a Monday to Friday four nights a week lodger, nets us 6.5k a year tax free and we literally don't see him as he works long hours. Even if you can't be faffed with the housework you could factor in a cleaner and still be in profit. We did it initially short term to finance some house renovations, but have carried it on.

All good advice here. Just posting here to say that you are doing amazingly. Good luck to you x

You sound very organised and determined, OP!

OK, first off do a Money Makeover on moneysaveingexpert.com. Literally, put an evening aside and go through all the bills (you have had some great suggestions on here, already). Downshifting to SIM for example - I now pay £6.50 instead of £20, whilst still with the same provider. Likewise, shifting your Bank Account can gain you another £100 loyalty bonus. If you are not already, do the downshifting challenge with your supermarket - drop down a brand (e.g. own-brand baked beans) for one week and see if you can taste the difference. It's also worth a look at Approved Food.com. As a clearance site, it will not have the same range as Morrisons but you can put a dent in your food bill, especially with bulk items.

Buy second-hand clothes and toys for DS. You can get some excellent (barely worn!) things for this age group at a fraction of the shop price on Ebay and Facebook. I would also join Freecycle - the stuff that is given away for free boggles the mind. Having said that, if there are items you want to purchase new, wait for the end-of-season sales and then buy the bigger size for the next year (e.g. coats).

You can make extra money through mystery shopping, renting your driveway, a lodger or ebaying your recycling. (Again, MoneySavingExpert. Yes, there are people out there that will pay for 10 clean cardboard loo roll inners. Yes, I may need to get a life).

Finally, pay yourself first. Even if it's only £10 a month in savings, make sure it leaves your account as soon as you get paid. It puts the power of compound interest on your side and (as you said), gives you that cushion.

It does get easier, when the subsidised nursery hours kick in.

Tatmas needs to go. Kid won't care. Stop all adult presents too. Do it now.

Dogs are of course a luxury but one you are probably stuck with.

Lose the brick phone when the contract is up, get a cheap talk and text job. Payg can be well under a tenner a month. ( I spend £20 a year but do all my talking on a landline for £8 a month). Internet and home phone should be £25 or so.

Dont pay the surcharges for monthly payments. Plan ahead , which you are good at.

Thanks all. I'm still reading and listing things to look into.

To the poster who asked what I do for a living - I work in IT, as systems support and development. I'm pretty good with computers and tech (hence the somewhat elaborate budget spreadsheet!) I'm looking around at crowdsourcing websites. Not sure honestly how much time I would have to dedicate to an extra job, but am getting more of an idea of what's out there, which is enlightening. If I can find something that seems doable then I can look into making time.

I have signed up to quidco, just need to delve in and see what offers they have that I'm likely to want to take advantage of (but not letting myself get carried away and start buying things I normally wouldn't.)

I've also had a furtle around the MSE website and am looking in to some of the things in there. Starting with surveys as they seem like something I can do of an evening, and even if I'm only making a couple of quid a month, it's better than nothing!

Try mintvine for surveys. I cash out around 40 a month in Amazon vouchers.

I think you are doing well.
life can be tough with finances.
I was going to suggest a lodger but that is not on for now .
Try going to CAB and they can go through things. You never know what you could be entitled to.
Am sure things will improve soon .

Your mortgage is very high in proportion to your income. Could you take in a lodger. I know it's not ideal. I can't see many ways of substantially reducing your other outgoings. And £272 repayments on credit cards is also a lot of money every month. And £50 for a mobile is also a lot. Could this be cut but it wouldn't save much.

You dont need to vaccinate your dogs ever again!

www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjcgObPzbTWAhVqDcAKHdhjDrsQFggrMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dogsnaturallymagazine.com%2Fwhy-i-dont-vaccinate-my-dogs-at-all%2F&usg=AFQjCNFdrOzH3JTc-NYmPD6MsSTgpBaaiA