How to cut down my outgoings/spending

[NoveltyFunsies]

My monthly take home pay is £1351
My outgoings come to £997 each month
This includes -
Rent/bills - £332
Car insurance - £46
Car tax - £27
Payment to Stepchange - £448
Premium bonds - £50. DP and I pay in each month, we currently have around £3000 so far but this is to pay for our wedding next year
Phone bill - £93

This leaves me £353. I budget £80 per month for fuel, £100 per month for food/eating out, and £40 for spending money on things I want. This leaves me £133 per month, which I feel like isn't very much if something were to happen, or if I had any unexpected expenses.

My rent is cheap because we currently rent an annexe from family. We are allowed to stay here as long as we want, but we would like to buy somewhere in the not too distant future, and need more money each month to be able to do that

The Stepchange payment is to pay off old debts on a no interest plan. The current finish date for this is September 2023, but I can bring that date forward by upping the payment

My phone bill also covers my smart watch and was taken out when we moved into a property with no internet, so I took out a contract with unlimited internet so DP could hotspot from it. This contract ends in Feb 2022 and will then come down to around £30 per month

Can anyone see any ways this can be cut back, or any tips for saving more and spending less on food etc?

I guess I don't really understand why you are still saving for a wedding that should have been last June.

Surely that is all sorted already

How much are you spending on you R wedding in total?

Until you get rid of the wedding payment, phone and debt you don't have much wriggle room.

Well done on keeping up with the step change payments. Once that is paid things will be much better.
I don’t think there’s much you can cut back on. Focus on keeping up with the budget you have set and look into ways of increasing your earnings.
Don’t beat yourself up over past financial mistakes, lots of us get ourselves into debt when young and those that criticise often have not had to endure financial hardship so don’t understand .
Check out Martin Lewis website just in case you can make any claims for mis sold loans, accounts etc.

When you're back in the market for sim only check out voxi. They have some great sim only monthly contracts (so you're not tied in for long).

Prices start from £8 pm, but for £12 pm you get 12GB of data, plus unlimited social media use and video streaming Inc Netflix, etc.

Just thought it might help when you get out of the other contract. Good luck. I think you're doing well and don't cancel your wedding!

Keep the wedding, don’t sell the car for a cheaper older smaller model it will only end up costing you in repairs. Sell the car when you can buy something newer and more efficient.
If you have cut all you can/want to from the budget look at increasing your income. There’s the earn £10 a day thread on here. If you can I would get a second job. I had one for years pre children at the weekends.
Sell things you no longer want. If you can post them I find eBay more profitable than Facebook
I do surveys and make £50-£80 a month, I use the vouchers I earn (M&S and Amazon mainly) for things for the DC and to pay for Xmas presents.

@Shehasadiamondinthesky your food bill has really shocked me! That seems impossible to me to do a whole month on £10. Wow! You are the queen of frugal. My DH currently does our shop (more time than me) but when I am on maternity leave I will be taking it over & deffo use your advice on freezer stuff. I think we have about 4 things in our freezer 🤣 I do try and batch cook a bit.

OP I think you’re doing well and don’t think you should cancel your wedding. It’s a very reasonable budget for a wedding I think. Deffo see if you can get our of the phone contract, and I think generally the best thing to do is increase your income- this helps you long term in every way, without adding misery! First port of call I would see if you can get a pay rise. You could be honest and tell your employer you are looking for more money as you are planning on buying a house etc in the near future, if they can offer it to you that would be ideal but if they can’t ‘ok but I will be looking for a new role in the near future in that case.’ You might be surprised! You could suggest a gradual rise over two years or similar if they are not able to offer more immediately. Depends on what sector, how valuable your role is to them & what other options you have; if you can improve your leverage over say the next three months I would do that then approach for a rise. Maybe a new role same company? You might find options if you really think about it; if you have a good relationship with your boss I would be brave and suggest ideas to them maybe new role, more responsibility, extra hours or additional project etc. You could also do the second job thing but I would be inclined to see if you can get a pay rise first & second job as a plan B. Good luck & keep going I think you have a sensible mindset xo