Sick of having plenty of money on paper but not enough to actually live!

[MrsMop2026]

We get around £3,000 a month on paper that is loads.
Shouldn’t be struggling at all but why am I always struggling to put clubcard vouchers & pennies together at the end of the month.

Rent - £1,200
gas & elec - £300 (paying back some debt)
council tax - £150
water - £35 (on a special tarfif)
petrol - £200 (but obviously that’s now going up and god knows what that will come too - and yes I use my free bus pass where I can and no I can’t use less)
cats - £200 (i have four so it’s expensive Im trailing the cheaper supermarkets litter at £2.99 for 10 litres atm so hoping to get this down and next I will try cheaper cat food)
Food - £600 (cant get this cheaper ones diabetic other has AFRID)

leaving me with £260 a month but that just seems to go so quickly with school uniform, school trips, the occasional day out. :(

I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t do expensive days out, takeaways are a luxury in this house.
It is so stressful isn’t it? How does everyone else manage?

That's good 😊

Also, I know people mean well by saying get rid of the cats but for most of us with hearts our pets are our family. I would rather live on beans on toast for months on end and get rid of my car, TV and phone than look to rehome my dogs!

I mean, kids are even more expensive but people don't ever suggest just rehoming them do they?! 😐

He could look into working from home surely? Or doing some work at weekends.

If you claim UC you should also be entitled to child element for your children.

I’m not sure where you live but £1200 a month rent isn’t extortionate for what I assume is a house with three bedrooms. In my whole county (south west) there are only seven three bedroom houses for rent for £1200 or less.

So your husband could get an evening job?

This line of thought really baffles me. These cats have already been rehomed once - they will be bonded to this family. And it seems like there are many reasons why this family are struggling. It's not just the cost of cats. The husband isn't working - they aren't claiming benefits they are entitled to - but the first thought is - shove the cats on social media

(for clarification I have cats and Im on a low income).

Uc is means tested. Getting dla won't necessarily mean that you'll get UC. By the looks of things it's your rent costs that would qualify you for some UC. You make the application online.

You do seem to have lost the plot a bit.
People being judged for applying for benefits they are entitled to. Being told sod your disabled child, go work fulltime. Your cats? Fuck them out of a speeding car sure.
Anything other than empathy.
Lost the fucking plot some of ye have.

I know my mortgage is less than £300 a month on a 3 bed semi (I overpay on this though) so yes rent at 4x is extortionate to me!
I've just looked up rental in my area (central Scotland) and there are not many available, but a 3 bed would be £900-£1200 I am shocked by this! We would barely be able to live if we had to pay that. I don't think that many people private rent in this area, most are mortgaged or local authority rent on 3 bed here is £125 per week.

Absolutely. The welfare Bill is not out of control because of working families claiming benefits that they are entitled to. I bet you some people spend more than 200 pounds a month on other things

And as for the "taxpayers money" comments. The OP works full time - so presumably she pays tax too.

I live in Scotland as well. People do pay private rents around where I am - they aren't quite as expensive as down south. There are 14000 people on the waiting list for council accommodation in the town I live in so many people are forced into paying a private landlord - they don't have much option

I pay myself around that and I’m a single parent with my little one being type 1 diabetic also.
Its tough, agree you won’t get much time to work in between appointments and with another child with needs you’re likely wondering what spare time is.

We get dla so definitely apply, if you haven’t got your T1D, it’s round the clock.
Batch cooking is a great idea, also batch cook brownies or whatever for lunch boxes. It saves a lot of money - I don’t get time to batch cook anymore and my food is around £500 per month for two of us and two dogs! I could be more conscientious with money but I’m not, also my rent is less.

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To be honest, with only one wage earner and so many pets, it’s not surprising.

The pets cost 200 pounds a month. There are other issues here - the rent. Which would probably be mostly paid if the OP claimed Uc.

I have disabled children too and I am a lone parent. I still work full time because I have to, to provide for them financially. It’s not ideal and it’s not easy but the OP is saying she doesn’t have enough money to live so the solution has to be that either she works more or her husband works more/ they secure higher paid employment. That’s reality, unfortunately.

Did you not see about that sad case of the autistic child who drowned because it sounds like she wasn't in childcare appropriate for her needs? There is a scarcity of this appropriate care. I can see why some parents don't work.

Completely irrelvant. You are a sole parent. She isnt.

I don’t think that £3k between 4 is an awful lot if I’m honest. We’ve got £6.5k a month and it’s just the two of us. Our mortgage is £1200, the same as your rent. I’m not surprised you’re struggling. This isn’t a bragging post (I know it probably sounds like it is) but I feel like it’s factual. Your housing bill is around 40% of your take home! You need to earn more.

These days £3k a month for a family of four is quite a low income & 4 cats at £200 a month is definitely a luxury on a low income.

My cousin got T1d as a child, it didnt stop my auntie & uncle both working? He went to breakfast club & wraparound with other kids. In secondary he had to learn to monitor & manage, and he got an insulin pump at some point.

I don't see why you can't do this? Most families with only one low earner will be fairly poor.

You know I wanted to say this… my friend who I have known since she was 4 has T1D and her parents worked! She was doing her own injections with supervision in school by age 10. I did ask @MrsMop2026 what age their child is but there was no answer on that! Is there no TA for your child who has had training? Do they go to school?

You're getting ratty with people pointing out that you have to increase your income, and hopefully with the interview, you will a bit.
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The not fancying a pump and not being independent needs addressing quickly. It absolutely sucks for a child to have to deal with diabetes but it isn't going away.

You can get cat litter and food much cheaper per kilo on Amazon using subscribe and save and buying bigger bags.

Speaking of buying in bigger quantities, do you have the freezer space to batch cook? With a PT working or SAHP, that's a way to use time to reduce costs a bit.

They are entitled to benefit they aren't claiming. Don't see why this has to be about the cats

I'm appalled at your reply when you obviously haven't read all OPs replies before your own. OP does work, their husband doesn't, husband is diabetic and is the main carer for the kids. It is almost infeasible for him to work too. UC is there for people in this sort of situation! 🙄