More rises… help with making ends meet.

[Notamillionaire]

We received notification today that our council tax bill is increasing by £26 a month, water bills are going up, energy is going up, food keeps rising in cost and we are due to remortgage in June which comparison sites are telling me will cost us £200+ a month more.

I’m not sure how much water, energy and food increases will cost but I’m assuming I’m going to have to find an additional £300 plus a month going forward (to soak up all the rises inc. mortgage) .

I’m already struggling.

I’m already on Prolific (get about £100/ month) and JamD (about £20/ month) and Shoppix (about £45/ year).

Does anyone have any other magic solutions, please? I already work full time and do a bit extra in the side.

I use TopCashBack and withdraw money in vouchers at Xmas. I also do the YouGov surveys and only gain one £50 per annum.

Can you switch your bank account? First Direct have a £175 switch bonus ATM.

Can you post a breakdown of earnings and outgoings?

Exactly @Wildflowers99 without numbers it's impossible to advise.

People have very different definitions of 'struggling' so can't make any meaningful suggestions about balancing your budget without seeing what you're spending and how tight things are income vs expenses.

You also talk about 'we' and I so need to know how many people in the household and who's earning what.

But Moneysavingexpert.com will walk you through maximising income, reviewing expenses and being honest about essentials vs extras. If you can cut a few pounds here and there, this can add up to a big difference in extra money available

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

How long is your mortgage term? If you are not too concerned about it being longer then for example you have 19 years to go and you renew with a 25 year term then that can reduce your payments in the meantime. You can always increase your payments when things feel a little easier and over pay your mortgage and get back on track that way.
Is your council tax paid over ten months? Increase to twelve months and reduce your payments there.
Are your water rates on a meter or fixed on rateable value? It maybe cheaper to switch to a meter rather than pay a fixed rated amount. But that may not work if you have a houseful of teenagers who are in the shower every 10 minutes.
Do you have a community grocery near you? For a small annual fee - you can shop for food and for say a fiver shop with 12 points plus free foods to make your money go further that way.
Watch Martin Lewis's programmes on catch up - he did a very good one on energy around three weeks ago. Giving tips on comparisons and so on.

Check on the entitledto website to check you are getting all your benefit entitlements.

We’re waiting to find out how much our tax council will be.

If you are able, take 0% Money Transfer or 0% on spending offers on Credit Cards & put cash in high interest accounts till it's time to pay them off.

Use any employer discount etc schemes to the full. Plus utilise all loyalty cards etc fully. Cashback on purchases, insurance etc. Negotiate when contracts are up for renewal.

Know the cheapest prices for your foodstuffs etc, buy in bulk when cheap. Batch cook. Yellow stickers. Very little meat (but still healthy meals). Use Home Bargains / Farmfoods / Heron Foods etc.