Big change in home finances coming our way

[Mumof3teenagers]

Ok, so there is going to be a very sudden drop in our income. DH is changing jobs due to burn out. It involves a big drop in wages but has to be done. We don’t have a choice. I’m working but not on great money. We have found a way to clear some debts. We have no savings left after that.
So, we will be on a very tight budget from next month. Hit me with your best budgeting, money saving tips please. we have to make this work. He can’t stay working where he is and putting in the hours he has been, it’s too much. He is off sick at the moment and getting help. I can see his mood lifting already, so that’s the most important thing right now.
I really want to make our finances balance so this will not be another thing to stress him out.

Start by writing down how you currently spend your money - I find it easiest to average it over three months. Then it's easier to see where your can cut down or change things!

There were some great tips on another thread. I can only remember bits but changing your shower head to a slow flow one saves on electric/hot water. That was one that I had never thought of.

Good luck it sounds like you are facing the issues head on an and it's great to have a plan. Look after yourself as well 😊

Hi OP, my budgeting tip is to write down EVERYTHING, and to break your needs down to all essentials (good budgeting tool here www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/budgeting/budgeting/work-out-your-budget/ ) : but I really wanted to say well done and good luck. When health means you have to change your lifestyle it can be really hard as you've got the practical issues, plus the emotional side of being ill too. Really hope your DH feels better soon, and that things get better for you too 👍

Use a spreadsheet.

All incomings.

Essential outgoings.

Then realistic budget for food, some out by for emergencies and if there's any left over money for non essentials.

I've found that purchasing a decent flask has saved me and a large water bottle. The money saved on buying coffees and drinks alone is more than you think.

Parking further away and walking. Bus/ train passes.

Online shopping also saves me because I buy what I need and not just "ooh that looks nice!". I pay £6.50 a month for an Asda pass.

Batch cook. Investing in a slow cooker and clip lock microwaveable tubs saves in the end.

But can I say how refreshing it is to see a couple overcoming difficulties and working this out together. I wish your DH well and despite the changes to finances a happier future together.

Find out where your local pantry is, they are not means tested and you can get a basket full of foods for £5

Bank statements + excel spread sheet

look at your spending and be realistic about the worth as well as the cost.

For some people sky sports is the most economical way to watch their favourite kind of tv, for many it’s an add on to their sky package they barely use. There is no right or wrong here but do your family really get use out of tv license, sky package and Netflix and Spotify and and and

Do you need two cars or would one car and a bus pass/ rail card and an occasional taxi work out cheaper? No one can tell you that because we don’t know if you both work jobs that require cars.

If you like to do days out swapping to taking a picnic instead of blowing £50+ on lunch out could make a massive difference but we don’t know if you do that already

Im on a very low income but i prioritise spending on a magazines for my dd.
They’re often one of the first things to be suggested on these threads to cancel the subscriptions for but their WORTH to us makes them non-negotiable, we home educate and don’t watch tv/ the news but I want her to be influenced by opinions from outside the home that aren’t just on YouTube!
The puzzles, competitions, seasonal craft projects and up to date science news make the £24 every 3 months for the week junior and £39pa to the rspb money well spent in our home where it might be wasted in many.

When you have looked at your spending then take a look at the Martin Lewis site.
If you could be on cheaper energy tariffs, phone or broadband etc that’s where you’ll find unbiased information that’s actually trying to help you

You need to know where you money is going.
If you post your current spending on here please can advise. Generic advice is difficult because people have such different start points.

Agree with this.

💕

Biggest bills are usually housing and childcare. Look at if there's any way to bring those down.

Depending on where you live the Too Good To Go app can be brilliant. If you prioritise the places with high ratings you can make big savings. For example a really lovely pizza restaurant near us does boxes of mixed pizza slices for £4 which are enough for six delicious meals (I add a salad and a microwaved sweet potato that I chuck in the oven while I reheat the pizza).

If you are eating a lot of chick pea and potato curry and chilli etc made with inexpensive pulses, it can be a very welcome change to eat something a bit more decadent!

Hi OP. I work out my finances with an excel spreadsheet if you are computer literate. Best thing I ever did. I work out what I've got to pay each month and what's left over, then I split it into 4 so we have that money to spend each week

Yes we do this too, take it a week at a time. All bills accounted for, some in savings at the start of the month if you can then split by week. Then even if it's tight, you only have to wait until Friday or whenever to get 'paid' again.

Meal planning really helps me save, as done online shopping. No coffee when out and about unless that is the actual activity. Saves a lot more than you think. Also I’ve started choosing friends and family a book from a bookstore that offers the service on Amazon (instead of a card and present) and including a heartfelt gift message and I follow it up with a phonecall on their birthday. The cost of cards and postage was becoming prohibitive coupled with even a small gift, so this saves a lot as does buying items in the sale. This January I bought beautiful John Lewis Christmas candles reduced from £40 to £5 and I now have teacher’s gifts for next Christmas. I wish you all the best. Prioritising health over finances is so important and will also allow you a mindset of a free walk in the park with a flask of coffee and a biscuit enjoying watching the ducks in the pond - or whatever - is so much more meaningful when you are in a place to truly appreciate it. Good luck OP.

Agree with others. A budget spreadsheet. Meal plan. Move for 'branded' to 'non branded' food.

Work out how often you can afford a 'treat day'. We do once a month - kids pick a day out and we have dinner out, go to the movies, a zoo etc. other weekends are spent doing free/cheap things like walks/picnics/seaside trips.

We also chose an annual pass for a year and get it for Xmas. National trust this year but have done local farms, adventure play etc. then those days are 'free' days out.

Change your expectations on holidays - try renting a caravan, camping etc.

The Martin Lewis website has a budgeting spreadsheet which is really useful and tips for reducing costs . When we went through ours recently because of reduced income there were lots of apps or monthly subscriptions we got rid of such as Spotify etc . I do my own spreadsheet but colour code for necessities and then a section could reduce and work on that . If you want hints it depends where your spends are ?

Can you tell us more about your life? How much to you need to reduce by?

Do you need to take a big decision like downsizing your house / mortgage?

In the long run that might be less stressful than years of frugal scrimping.

Run one car and cycle? Or ditch expensive tube journeys for a bike? People in London routinely cycle 5 or 6 miles to work but I see people ‘needing’ a car to do similar journeys.

Will the salary drop help in terms of making you eligible for child benefit again?

As pp have said, the key is to understand what you're spending at the moment. Then look at absolutely everything and decide if it you don't need it, need it but could do it cheaper, or need it and can't change it.

I've been in a similar position, and we found that for us meal planning and only shopping once a week stopped us from spending £££ on snacks and impulse buys in the supermarket (and cut down on wasted food). We also swapped our mobile phone contracts for £10 paid monthly SIM only Voxi deals which come with unlimited calls so we never use the landline. Another thing that worked for us was thinking more about timing trips out (even just to the park/shops) so that we would not be out at mealtimes unless we specifically planned to eat out.

We actually found that we naturally spent less once one of us was not working silly hours as we didn't feel we needed to be 'making the most' of any time we had together by going out, had time to cook nice meals together/make a picnic instead of buying takeaways etc and didn't feel like we constantly wanted to buy 'stuff' to make us feel happier.

Spreadsheet with all bills by date, and when money comes in. Separate cash card for each of you (we use a joint starling account) and on a Friday transfer money for the week to cover food, fuel and any extras. We are a family of 3 and for us this is £125, but my DH uses the car a lot for work. Be realistic about this number and add a round up function on the account so you can save bits here and there. Then check the spreadsheet weekly to make sure there's always enough in the bank for bills, and that your weekly 'cash' is affordable. This is how we do ours (after cutting all non essential direct debits eg streaming services) and it works really well, but you do have to be realistic about the weekly shop budget.

In your spreadsheet, remember to account for yearly things like car and house insurance. Go through banks, topcashback or similar as you can often get money back from this. Last year, my car insurance was £300 and I got £50 back through a Lloyd's Bank offer.

Another vote for Moneysaving Expert. You need to know what your exact situation is. Start with the Money Makeover to go through everything to see where you stand and how to reduce costs where possible. Make sure you save for annual and irregular costs before you spend on non essentials. Look at the suggestions to reduce the cost of things like mobiles, broadband, pay TV etc. If you have any debt remaining, make sure it is on a 0% deal and switch it every time this runs out to keep it interest free.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/money-help/

Also get the weekly email for ongoing tips. For example, I have a second bank account with a couple of direct debits that I shift every so often for the introductory incentive. I've probably made over £1000 over the years doing this for a very small amount of admin.

If up to now, you've been quite free with your spending, it's probably not as daunting as you may fear. Shop around for everything, you can save a huge amount of money doing this, this is what they mean when they say 'look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves'.

Look in cheaper shops for essentials like cleaning products, they can be well under half the price of the main supermarkets. Eg I bought wool wash liquid in Home Bargains yesterday for £1.09. The Persil equivalent in Asda is £3.75. We also get the proper Spanish alioli in the yellow tub - 89 p in Home Bargains, £1.50 everywhere else. The BBE date is months away so I always get a couple of tubs.

This is good advice. If you have more than you 'need' in terms of housing and cars, you could free up a lot of money by reducing some of either, or both.

Everyone's personal circumstances are different but for me a sinking fund with a set of pots that I save into every month has been a bit of security. I have Monzo pots for:
Car repairs
Christmas and birthdays
Dentist
Home and garden
Clothes
Days out
Food/fuel/fun
Home emergencies
Haircuts and electrolysis (I have a PCOS beard :-( )

I pad these out when I'm on my two council-tax-free months as a bit of a buffer. It may not pay for all your costs, but it's helpful - if I have a surprise puncture or boiler breakdown it's great to have something set aside that will cover part or all of it.

This isn't feasible for everyone but I fill my petrol tank on payday and it has to last the month - it really makes me think about walking or cycling instead of driving on short journeys. If I need to make a long journey (e.g. a day out further afield like the Lakes, petrol comes from the Days Out fund.

Meal plan and batch cook
spread sheet as suggested or write down everything and go through bank statements.
Turn everything other than fridge/freezer at the plug socket when not in use.
Own brand instead of branded items
Switch from shower gel to solid soap bars
If family won’t accept the change in soap then put an elastic band on the liquid soap, it cuts down to half a pump when washing hands.

Everything you buy and pay for, decide if it’s necessary or a frippery, as my late DF used to say, just buying because

I’m glad that you’re husband feels he can make this change. I’m sure there’s loads you can do. Check absolutely everything you’re paying out. For us, we found out that EE hadn’t removed our roaming passes so we’d overpaid on our phone bills to the tune of £140. They repaid £120 of it which is better than nothing and with reducing our contracts we’ve gone from £70 a month for two phones to £30.

We’ve set ourselves a challenge to not eat out this month and are going to carry that on as it’s already saved loads. Then you can do all the usuals like use the library go to one car, assuming you have two. See if you’re eligible for any benefits. Is anyone in your household eligible for anything like DLA or PIP?

It you’ve got credit cards, move everything onto 0%. Try eating veggie twice a week (assuming you’re not already veggie) Maybe even three times a week. Check Martin Lewis MSE for vouchers. If you work for the NHS (or many other organisations) then get a blue light card (£4.99 for 2 years) and you’ll get loads of discounts.