I'm useless with money.

[OnlyGodKnowsWhy]

As the title states. Since last Christmas I've basically lived pay check to pay check, with a monthly payday loan of £200 that I pay £240 to clear then reborrow each month. Christmas this year is terrifying me.

Long story short, I have four children aged between 7 and 12. I've been a lone parent for 7 years though I have reconciled with DH (not kids dad) 2 months ago. He is currently job hunting.

I work as a manager of a shop, 4 week days, one day and weekends off. Monthly wage is roughly a grand. However we receive £300 of our wage half way through the month, the rest is given on pay day so £700.

Universal credit varies as my hours can vary slightly depending on holiday cover, staff sick etc, so I'd average it out at £900 monthly.

I also receive 61.00 child benefit weekly and £81 child maintenance weekly.

Summary monthly income:

Wage: 1000
UC: 900
CB: 244
CM: 324
Payday loan: 200
Total: 2668

Outgoings:

Rent: 360
Council tax: 75
Payday loan: 240
Mobile (three contracts) 66
Internet: 40
Debt: 50
School dinners: 160
Electric: 120
Gas: 20 a month (will increase to same as electric in winter due to gas heating, single glazing and highlands of Scotland!)
TV licence: 24
Spotify family: 14.99
Netflix: 7.99
Pet insurance: 25
Pocket money: 80
Ejuice/coils: 50
Xbox live: 5.99
Gardener: 40 (big gardens)
Window cleaner: 8.00
Food: I don't know. I'd say 450 a month?
Argos card: 100-150

Total: 1980.

I know this doesn't take into account haircuts, clothes, childcare when needed. Basically I don't really know my income and outgoings because it varies each month.

I need a budgeting for dummies guide, how to work out what's being spent where each month and any other advice. Please!

[mydogisthebest]

graceyg, people do still listen to cd's and not just older people. My nieces and nephews range in age from 13 to 30 and they ALL still buy and listen to cd's

[OnlyGodKnowsWhy]

Thank you everyone, even the more direct responses, it's been an eye opener.

With coffee and lunch for work every day I easily waste £400. Which is actually quite shameful.

SN wise my dd is mild aspergers, ds is still undergoing diagnosis though it's agreed with school and education psychologist that we are looking at autism. I haven't thought of applying for anything for them as they don't have any physical issues as such.

We are nearly at the end of the month so once pay day arrives, I am going to start with ridding the coffees and lunches and tracking every penny spent so I can get a better idea of what is going on.

Much appreciated

[OnlyGodKnowsWhy]

Backie, thank you. I definitely am very soft with my children in financial ways. I was one of 5 and things were very tight. The children have also been through a lot and I do think parental guilt means I want them to have everything, which is a great way to teach them how to be bad with money, like me, isn't it!

[redthunder123]

Hii

do you still have your payday loans your rolling over?

ive just got a refund of like 400 pound for a payday loan I rolled over a few times as I made a complaint regarding affordability.

I can try and help you with yours?

[OnlyGodKnowsWhy]

Hi red thunder,

I borrowed it so I will pay it off, then I will not borrow again as I don't need to, just getting rid of coffees and buying lunch frees up what I borrow anyways.

Last Christmas was the first time I borrowed and since then, it's been a cycle but one I could have broken earlier by looking at my finances.


Thank you though, I don't want to seem ungrateful!

[redthunder123]

Ok that's good to hear. It was a refund of interest I got I still had to pay the original loan back.

But they are deadly so please pay it back and don't re borrow.

Good luck x

[Dadddi]

You're paying loads for your juice and coils.

I spend £35 on coils and juice, I get 3 good quality bottles for £10.00

[OnlyGodKnowsWhy]

Rule of the workplace, only using our own products and ejuice. I used to make my own which was pennies and build my own coils.

[Dadddi]

Fair play, I always wanted to do that.

Surely you've watched everything that's even half decent on Netflix by now?

[BackieJerkhart]

Rule of the workplace, only using our own products and ejuice

They can't enforce what you use in your own time. If you are using during work or on work premises in uniform/representing the company then yes they can insist you use theirs but outside of work you can use what you like.

[OnlyGodKnowsWhy]

It's not me that watches Netflix, it's the children, Netflix for kids. I have four of them at different ages so I have multi screen Netflix allowing them to watch different things on their tablets.

[anotherbloodycyclist]

Definitely get rid of the payday loan, one month of no gardener and window cleaner and lunches and it will be gone, and next month you will be £240 better off. Put that immediately into a separate account. Don't have a pin, or freeze the bank card - anything to stop you using it. In 4 months you will have an emergency fund of a £1000, rather than the loan company having fleeced another £160 in interest off you.
I think it's not worth cutting out the entertainment (spotify and netflix) if you all use it. Get a notebook and as others have said write down ever penny you spend for a month so you can see where it's going, it's the only way to properly manage as we all tend to underestimate spending. Then you can see your spending pattern and make a proper plan going forward.

[MyDcAreMarvel]

Dla is not just for physical issues. Have a look at the cerebra guide.

[MyDcAreMarvel]

w3.cerebra.org.uk/?ddownload=2322

[RupertsMum2]

Join freecycle (Inverness and the Highlands group). Also your local Facebook free pages there's Highland freebies and Inverness city freebies, Highland fee and recycle. There are often toys, games books etc being given away also children's clothes and great furniture although I do realise big things are more difficult if you don't have transport. You can always pass things on again when you're finished with them.

[antimatter]

not many people can afford to spend £400 for work which pays £1000
but you know that

stop redecorating, gardener and window cleaner and that plus every day you bring your own food and have just one coffee a day as a treat will save you enough over one month to pay your loan and not to borrow next month and more!

some people get into a habit of only ever paying by cash whenever they go shopping, it helps them to feel the weight of their expenses

some people I know have separate cash transactions only card where they get text every time they spend sent to them

what helps me is to keep a diary of each penny where it goes

[Rosegardensandgin]

Get a monzo card (pre paid MasterCard) leave enough in your account to cover all bills and an emergency bit and top up card with what's left. It will show straight away what you have spent- im a nightmare for contactless payments taking a few days to show, forgetting about them and thinking I have more money than I do. It also categorises your spending so you can see you have spent x amount on eating out for etc. Keeps you more mindful of exactly what money you have left to work with

[Ploppie4]

Your children ha e everything they need. Love. Food. Shelter. Warmth. Your time. Anything extra is just extra and non essential.

I was bought up one of five and on little money but Im sensible with cash. Don't do debt

[funkyup]

Try a comparison web site for cheaper utility bills.

Sell any unwanted items in the house

Try building your own business from buying and re selling goods. If you watch some facebook groups they give stuff away for free.

Find a higher paying job

£40 for internet seems steep... shop about for a better deal

Where do you food shop? Look at good budget meals

Good luck x

[AnnaFiveTowns]

OP, firstly, you're not bad with money. You have a very tight budget and you are holding together a family on that. You're actually doing quite a good job with what you have - better than most people would do in your circumstances.

For the posters saying that £450 a month is high for food for a family of 6, I don't know what planet you live on. I shop at Aldi, as cheaply as possible, and we are only 4, and I spend more than that, without being in any way extravagant.

And I know people like to get sanctimonious about things like Netflix and Spotify but these things are actually good value for money, for the whole family to enjoy, life would be pretty miserable without them.

There are things you could cut back on though; the gardener, the window cleaner and the vaping would be the obvious ones. Maybe consider packed lunches too, just until Christmas.

I think it would be a bit harsh to stop all pocket money though. £5 a week is hardly excessive.

But overall, the problem is not that you are crap with money - you're not at all. You are living on a small wage and you have 4 kids to feed and look after. It's not easy and you are doing a good job.

[AnnaFiveTowns]

Also, Xbox live is much cheaper if you pay for an annual pass - About 30 quid for the year, I think. Although I appreciate it might not be easy for you to pay it up front.

[FinallyDecidedOnUserName]

Move away from the big 6 energy companies

[ScrubbyGarden]

Yes, what finally said- try ebico for utilities, they charge the same rate to people with prepay metres as to everyone else, so you are not being fleeced. £120 a month for electric is eye watering though! We are on prepay and spend 30 (smaller family, but still). Have you had a scoot round the house looking for ways to save energy? (Sealing up drafts, changing light bulbs to more efficient ones, not leaving everything on standby etc etc)

[specialsubject]

Do a proper energy comparison - martin lewis cheap energy club allows you to compare properly, not the faked figures of the official model.

No one company will be cheaper for everyone! Watch the backroom ones with advance payment and two men and a dog manning the phones.

[OnlyGodKnowsWhy]

I wouldn't get a better job. I might get a higher paid one yes, but my boss is superb. He paid my childcare for me so I could continue working throughout the summer holidays and it was not a small bill. I would not get that anywhere else.

Thanks again for the advice, I've signed up for the monvo card, really like the sound of it. I will look at energy suppliers and all other suggestions.