Empty fridge

[Jas5mum]

It's so depressing opening the fridge and seeing 1 tub of stork and some milk and nothing else. Why does everything have to be such a struggle?
I have £20 until friday for food for 7people. Then £50 for food for the month as my husband got paid 3 times in the last assessment period meaning £1k deductions so it only just covers bills. His wages have already gone on his bills so we're screwed for the month. I hate getting paid monthly. Weekly was much better for budgeting. I feel like I'm always gonna be skint and struggling. If I get a job we won't be better off as that leads to more costs and then deductions.

Is it five kids or other dependents?

You need to work.

@Jas5mum

Foodbank - nothing to be ashamed of, you can usually self refer

Get a debt charity involved - try step change!

Contact citizens advice about being paid twice (or more) in the period. Or ask here, there are people who know how that works and what you can do.

I think with five children I can understand you not working. That must be a full time job in itself. A job will help in the future though.

You do really need to get a job I think. It's not a good idea to rely on benefits as you've now found out with the deductions you've had. At least if you work you will know exactly what you have coming in even if you don't feel much better off.

How old are the DCs? Can you look to cut any childcare costs if older ones are able to watch younger ones?

In the short term you don't really have any option other than to visit the food bank or community pantry if you have one. But start looking for jobs asap.

You do really need to get a job I think. It's not a good idea to rely on benefits as you've now found out with the deductions you've had. At least if you work you will know exactly what you have coming in even if you don't feel much better off.

I do agree.

UC always sounds like a mess to me, the more I read about it. Not something reliable, and the flimsiest, most inadequate of safety nets. For that reason I'd look into some sort of employment for future. I know it won't help right now.

I've just applied for a loan from my credit union to get me back on track. If you pay off early there's less interest, potentially no interest.

I keep a running Excel sheet of my bank balance and can plot income and outgoings over an infinite period to ensure I'm never out of money.

I'm using the loan to forward pay rent, pay off some debts, and get a buffer in the bank for emergencies.

I'm budgeting tightly and also increasing my earnings in my freelance work.

I don't have good credit so a credit union has been a life saver. I also use them to save.

If someone is paid fortnightly which it sounds like op's dh is then there will be months where 3 paydays fall in the Uc assessment and there is nothing that can be done about it. They will be receiving more UC on the months where two pay days fall in the Uc assessment period.
Op why are there seven people to feed, are some of them adults, are they contributing. With Uc unless you have high childcare costs ( which you can claim UC for anyway) it will always be beneficial to work due to the Uc taper rate. can you work evenings/ weekends if your dh works days ?

Uc is totally reliable unless you don't adhere to the rules and get sanctioned. Someone earning the same amount monthly and paid monthly will reliably get UC the same amount each month. It is when people are paid more frequently than monthly that you would receive a variable amount but it should be relatively easy to work out when these months are going to happen and plan accordingly. You only need to look on a calender and see when 3 paydays will fall in your assessment period. Unfortunately it's a matter of putting a bit aside on the months you get more Uc to cover the three months a year when you get less. I appreciate op may not know this though if she's new to Uc and also appreciate that people are struggling with the cost of living even with Uc top ups.

Thanks for the explanation @Babyroobs

A shame though as I thought and hoped something could be done. I don't know enough about it other than threads here, where it does sound unreliable and certainly a pittance as a safety net.

I wage for 7 people isn't ideal

Not sure what age your 5 kids are but you need to look for work whether evening/weekends so no childcare costs as dad looking after them

You can usually ask for a wage to be moved to the next assessment period however the same thing would then happen next month instead so seems pointless.
At the moment 2yo nursery closed down for good so she's home until September then my 8yo is on a part time timetable so finishes school at 12.30. OH works 48hrs and only has thursdays off.
Yeah there's 2 adults and 5 children.
Pretty sure we had our 3 food bank vouchers in the winter when OH wasn't working! There's a community larder 2morrow so we'll get loads of bread and have soup for afew days.

He's a chef so isn't home in the evenings and does 8-5 on a sunday!

I do know this as used to advise people on claiming UC but there is never anything left to "put aside" as what we're getting isn't enough to live off.

Then the only way forward is to try and find a job that ultimately fits your available hours.

When it comes down to it you’ve chosen to have a large family, and need to find a way to support it more financially - universal credit isn’t there to fund an unlimited number of kids.

@Jas5mum well he's a chef so he can get creative with the community pantry food. Can he not order some food cheaply through work?

as he's home in the day, why can't he look after the 2 yo while you get back into work & start reclimbing the ladder?

how old are the other kids?

I’m not benefits bashing but realistically looking where the country is going, if you want to get yourself out of the cycle you need to improve your and/or your husbands earning potential.

Your daughter is just a year away from her free hours (she’ll just miss the new law won’t she?) so I would be thinking of how you can get back into the workforce when those hours kick in.

I wish you all the best. Unfortunately it’s becoming harder and harder the earn a wage that can maintain a ok standard of life.

How much does he earn as a chef? It used to be woefully underpaid especially as hours are unsociable and often long. I thought salaries might have improved but googling suggests this is not the case at all and pay is only slightly above NMW which is not enough for the hours required.

If he can't get a better paid job in catering or one with better hours can he retrain?

But if he's working in the evenings that means you can work in the mornings or around lunchtime?

But I suppose the issue is that UC disregards children born after a certain date so your UC entitlement be based on fewer people than your household.

You are in a very good position to get hours around your husband as he's around in the day . Maybe go back to being a benefits advisor you might be able to WFH .

Can any family help? As others have said, the apps for cheaper foods, some supermarkets do boxes of veg near the use by dates cheap. I think Morrisons and Lidl do this from memory. Too Good To Go app is good too.

I hope things improve.

If hubby is a chef and works evenings
. I assume he is about during the day

So you need to look for a job that is day hours - cafe - sains etx - ta - cleaning etx

im not sure how universal credit works but does this mean you have had an overpayment in the past? And now you are suffering?

i don’t know what your outgoings are but surely if your dp works 48 hours per week he brings home at least 1800

5 kids, child benefit?

why not list your incomings and outgoings to see if people can help you budget better?

I think it would be exhausting working and managing 5 children but I am assuming you looked into how you would manage financially before having a family of this size?

OP you'll have to be really careful with meal planning this month then. Pasta and tinned tomatoes with herbs over the top. Sausages and chips with peas. Baked bean toasties with salad leaves on the side. Egg and chips, veg stir fry. Home made veg soup with french stick. For lunches salad wraps.

And a big bag of apples from Lidl.

Op hasn't been back since 12th June.

I totally appreciate it can't be easy, OP, but you do need to think of a long term plan. You've got five DC and so always needed a plan on how you could support yourselves no matter what life throws at you longterm. I think you'll find shop or bar work, or cleaning around his hours if nothing else.

My BIL used to work 48 hours a week, evenings/night shifts. His wife worked four shifts a week in supermarket. Very tiring, but he had to dose on the settee during those shifts so he was aware if DC needed him.

My DH worked standard day hours, but at one point was working two bar shifts, I worked school lunchtimes, one evening and weekends.

So unhelpful.

I volunteer at a food bank. This is not the advice people need. Many of users can barely afford to use their cookers.

And who wants soup in the summer (or for breakfast, lunch & dinner!)