Fed up of having no money

[Needablueskyholiday]

Just that really. I’m fed up of working my ass off (and DH) for what feels like nothing. I know I’m luckier than a lot of other people, food on the table, roof over my head, so please don’t bash me for that. It can’t just be me that is fed up of work, work, work, bills, bills and more bills. I see other families going swimming, going here there and everywhere and I just think “how do they afford it?”. Please tell me I’m not the only one that is so fed up and “robbing Peter to pay Paul constantly.”

@LadyBird1973 and it is entirely possibly that some people could cut down. When people list bills on here there's often things that could be shaved down. Simple things like a food bill I'm shocked at how much people spend per week. Without seeing a list we can't help. People do struggle to understand that someone on a high salary is struggling because people manage on far less. Quite often the more you earn the more you spend.

OP.. I hear you. Society is totally f - -ked up… you have people at the top, earning and unbelievable amount of money and people working hard, needing 2 incomes to barely survive.
There are an awful lot people, living way, way beyond their means,often on credit. I remind myself of this when I look at people’s expensive cars and houses with the latest furniture! I am a professional woman who’s house badly needs some work and most my furniture is second hand! I have been fortunate to replace my 10 year old fiesta with 200,000 km on clock for something newer.
OP …you are courageous and a wonderful Mum.
Take care

@Sweetheart7 yes I'm sure some people can cut some expenses. But the point is, they shouldn't have to. A household with a decent income shouldn't have to scrimp on their food bill or not have Netflix or anything 'luxurious', in order to get by. Life is more than just survival.

There's a basic standard of living to which everyone should be entitled - a decent home, good food, education, healthcare and enough money to enjoy a few things that aren't strictly 'necessary' to survival.
Now I get that people on very low incomes will have fewer luxuries, but honestly, in a society where both people are working or where there's a good amount of money coming in, it's outrageous that people can't afford to take their kids swimming or to have any discretionary spending.

Kicking leaves in the park is fine once or twice and if your kids are tiny, it's not so great if that's all you can do and once your kids are older. There is so much money sloshing around in this country that no one should be on the bones of their arse broke. Certainly not people who are working ft!

Well said. Better off than most, grateful survivors, not dead, government appreciators ALL TAKE NOTE. It’s not a race to the bottom. We get one life, should it just be about ‘scraping by’? Not very evolved if so.

@LadyBird1973 I absolutely agree. You missed the point though some people obviously are living beyond their means. What are people spending? 2 decent salaries and you can't afford a cinema trip? Perhaps they have taken on a huge mortgage.

Or it might be childcare, or commuting costs. You talk about taking on a huge mortgage as if that's entirely free choice, but if your work is in an expensive part of the country then your mortgage is likely to be high, even in a normal house. Rents can be even more expensive than a mortgage.

Yes, there are some people who have deliberately stretched themselves beyond what they can really manage on their income, but a lot of people are just living normal lives - they shouldn't need to be spending on credit to get by or have a few nice things.

I feel you. Same situation 1 child. We live in a housing association we pay 5 weeks rent some months til it covers payday, our rents gone up to nearly £900 (I know it’s still cheaper than private so are grateful)

boyfriend works a niche job, can’t work anywhere else like that for a year after. It’s close to childcare coming up in April , close to home.

combined income nearly 40k,
will pick up more hours once free childcare hours kick in. Had a hefty car bill - need it for work. It’s not paid off yet, no where even worth what I paid 2 years ago

currently a full time mum, boyfriend goes to work I have our son, I go to work as soon as boyfriends home, now applying for weekend work, potentially exchange that during childcare hours or have a 3rd job. Weekends, evenings and 3 mornings a week

Boyfriend works in a laboratory as a flavour technician I work as a cleaner, pre children I was robotics dispenser. Couldn’t afford to go back though and pay for childcare alongside makes me worse off than doing part time.

£900 for HA rent!!! That's outrageous! Where do you live?! My friend in Edinburgh pays £1,100 for a family home in the private sector, and Edinburgh is not cheap!
No way should you be paying that for a HA. Its meant to be affordable! That is not affordable rent for most people!

Oh wow, booking my one way ticket! Haha

it’s in Kent, a commuter town for London, 40 minutes away, So the demand for housing is becoming ridiculous!

Sorry, sleep deprived it’s £850. That’s 5 weeks though,

I know it’s still cheaper than private renting here, but I don’t know how the single parents in this block survive.
a studio flat around here is £800 and our home is a large 2 bed flat with a parking space so we are so appreciative.

neither of us are minimum wage workers so yeah it’s not really as affordable as made out to be.

'The bubble was always going to burst'.

Only it hasn't, has it, for the wealthiest sector in society? The very richest have seen their wealth increase exponentially to staggering levels while living standards have been relentlessly eroded for everyone else.

This government have presided over a vast and widening gulf between rich and poor; a massive inequality on a scale never seen before. That is down to political decisions. It's not a natural, inevitable pattern - it is a choice that has been made by those in power to bolster the wealthiest and make everyone else poorer.

Society has changed, and it's missing the point in the extreme to recommend growing cress for entertainment while the first trillionaires are on the horizon and child poverty keeps increasing.