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?

If you get UC and get even a penny help with council tax reduction you can usually get help with pet treatments from the PdSA / RSPCA

also if your kids get DLA / UC. You can get lots of free - low cost stuff
Example London eye pay for 1 carer goes free
same for longleat and zoos
London palaces inc Tower of London £1 per ticket up to six tickets

cheap train travel with a disabled rail card

Also if you get UC then you can get free prescription/ eye tests depending on how much you get / earn

it all adds up

@hahabahbag
@Viviennemary
@nixon1976

The OP has said that her DH is looking for some evening work and has an interview so 🤞

You're not being cheeky and should apply for everything that could help you financially.

Good luck to your husband, I hope he finds a job.
I have a friend who h as been looking for months for evenings/weekends & can't get anything.
If you have an airport nearby they use cleaners at weird times (she applied for a job that was something like 3am - 7am)

I think that’s a wise move at present.

You haven’t mentioned mobile phones, but if it’s any help, Lebara is cheap Sim only.

Apologies, missed that bit

@MrsMop2026

if you have a PDSA near you you could cancel the insurance you only have to give donations / or very low cost treatment
the RSPCA used to do similar

PDSA provides free or low-cost veterinary care for eligible pet owners receiving means-tested benefits, including Universal Credit (with housing element), Housing Benefit, and Council Tax Support/Reduction. Eligibility generally requires living within a PDSA catchment areaand receiving specific state support.
PDSA +3
Accepted Benefits for PDSA Services:

• Universal Credit (with or without housing element):
• Universal Credit with a housing element often grants free treatment, while without it, it qualifies you for low-cost services.
• Housing Benefit: Means-tested help with rent.
• Council Tax Support/Reduction Scheme: Means-tested support (excluding single-occupancy discount alone).

I think you need to change your mindset towards this, as there should not be any shame in claiming benefits to which you are entitled.

Although there is £3k a month that comes into the household, this is for 4 people. I think a lot of people would say you are being sensible with money and budgeting well.

Oh OP. I hear you about the cats! I was a struggling single parent when my mum died and ended up having to take on two of her cats. They were already poorly rescues, so rehoming wasn’t an option. And it was expensive but I couldn’t just dump them. Also I think a lot of people don’t understand the difficulties of raising children with disabilities/illness. My mum had to raise my disabled sister and she was exhausted. No way could she have done an evening job at the same time. It was already a demanding job!

I hope you can claim for some extra help. Would Cats Protection maybe help with cat costs, too?

Do not advertise your cats for free or on SM!!!

Apply for UC but also get DH to look for an evening job.
Even if he only earned £25 a day x 2 days a week - that’s £200 a month and almost double what you’ve got left with now.

Can people stop telling the OP to get rid of her cats. Rescues are already overflowing.

OP you need to apply for everything you're entitled to. There's probably loads missing from your budget so no wonder you're running out of money.

If you're struggling to repay your energy debt, talk to your supplier. With disabled DC you might be entitled to a special tariff and a reduction in the rate you pay back any debt.

If you're out of contract with your broadband, switch. We pay £23 a month with Vodafone for fast fibre and we got a £150 M&S voucher on switching - look on Moneysaving Expert for deals - also look at their budgeting section for signposting in cutting down all your other bills and access to help with energy costs etc.

You're paying off debts and you have a silly amount of pets no wonder you struggle 🤦🏻

Do factor in re your husband working evenings/weekends - he will lose his carers allowance if he earns over £196 (after deductions). If he gets a job earning significantly more than that, great, but not receiving carers allowance can close other doors too as its a 'gateway' benefit, despite him still providing that care during the day.

@topcat2026 ill say it louder for people at the back
"UC IS FOR WORKING FAMILIES" 🤦‍♀️

Absolutely apply for UC. I am a higher rate tax payer now, but I was once a 16yr old teen mum, on full benefits. Not for long, but to find my feet, before I went to uni, and got myself a good career. I feel zero guilt I claimed benefits for a time. I’m currently paying well over £1000 a month in tax, and have paid back what I once claimed 10 times over. That’s what benefits are there for, to help when times are tough. Definitely apply, and feel zero guilt for it. One day, you’ll both work again, but needs must right now.

I can guarantee if Op had posted and said i’m thinking of rehoming 4 cats, she would have had her arse handed to her. Keep the cats, claim what you’re entitled to OP.

Cats are members of the family!

do you get universal credit at all?

Ah would ya stop.
Have you any idea how rediculous this suggestion is?
I cant even with some people these days.

I get it. We have just managed to sell my late dad's house (he died in 2022) and we had a short term mortgage for him. Long boring story why. With double council tax on an empty property we were paying out 4K a month before paying anything on our own home. Plus improvements to sell his home. For context we are both in our 60s and had ds's wedding last year plus helping support youngest dc at university. Our main car is an ancient one someone gave us. DH still works hard (I work fewer hours but teaching full time in your 60s is a tough gig) and we were struggling so much but didn't want to worry the kids. On paper and salary wise we should be very comfortable. For us, things should get easier now but I have had so many sleepless nights.

Claim for everything you can - you deserve it and I'm sure your evenings/nights are tough with two SEN children. That's what it's there for. I'm certainly not complaining at paying my tax to support people like you

I’m sorry but no! If it was a choice between feeding/providing for my dc or homing cats I’m afraid my dc come first!!

But my dc are fed & provided for? I haven’t said anywhere that they aren’t?

Good luck to your Dh on his interview.

I sympathise, not easy when one of you can’t work.

What do you do job wise? Can you up your hours or look for a higher wage?

What did your Dh do before becoming a carer?

Any good? https://www.theworkfromhomehub.co.uk

Not helpful