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?

Your DH claiming Carer's Allowance is insane. By the time his wage is taken into account he gets nothing. Who does he receive it for? Can't you claim instead?

Are yiu able to claim UC?

I've always had dogs, never insured them. They don't need it when they are young and it goes up when they are old- it is a scam. All have lived to a healthy old age. Cancel it.

I would think very carefully before knocking the pet insurance on the head (law of sod one of them will get sick) but do shop around each year as the insurance companies are cf's if you just renew each year. Do claim those benefits, they're there to help families like yours op.

Please don’t re home your cats. As you are cancelling pet insurance that should like it will half costs. We have rescue cat and they are struggling to get people to adopt, so unless is a tiny kitten 🐈‍⬛.
Jobs where you can choose your hours even part time are like hens teeth. Most want full availability for like 10 hours a week. Unless maybe working in a pub.

In an ideal world, 3k would be enough for a family of four to live on.
But it isn't because prices keep going up and wages don't.
I would say the only answer is for your dp/dh to get a job that works round yours eg if you work Monday to Friday 9-5 he does evenings/ weekends.
Hopefully his upcoming interview will go well.

Spending £200 on cats is a luxury that you cannot afford.

I think you might get universal credit if you apply

Great that you're trying to reduce cat costs. What I would recommend is when you cancel the insurance, put a similar amount each month into a regular savings account that is just for vet stuff. It soon builds up and is there if the worse happens.

My other idea won't give you any more money but might help it feel more manageable. It's called piggybanking. You put your bills money aside as soon as you're paid so it's always there in the account ready and then you split your spending money into weekly chunks and automatically pay it into a spending account each week. You could do it just for food, or for all spending, or you could put aside some money in the bills account for regular clubs, transport, school uniform etc. This way you can budget for each week and not be scrabbling around at the end of the month. It's far easier to wait 2 days for something, or just put £10 of petrol in the car to tide you over until monday than to wonder when it'll run out this month. You know every monday (or saturday, or whatever) you'll get some money and can do a bigger shop then.

What makes you think it’s OP’s DH that works? I’m pretty sure she is the one working iirc.

You’re not a high earner at all- 3k a month is a very low salary. Apply for UC and get the help you need.

Surely with a rent that high you should be getting some UC or is that included?

A cat is not in any way the same a a child. Nobody is putting their child to sleep when treatment gets too expensive.

With dog food that costs only £10 a month and no insurance costs at some point things are going to get VERY expensive for you. Cheap pet food is not a sensible long term saving plan.

People are still going to claim benefits if they can whether they have four cats or not !

The benefits system is there for people exactly like you OP.

You're doing your best in difficult circumstances. Anything could happen to any of us at any time which means we need state support.

Ignore any judgmental comments from anyone, on this thread or in real life. Let them walk a mile in your shoes first. Do not feel ashamed or guilty for claiming.

Please make sure you claim:

• Universal Credit
• DLA for both children (I know this is underway)
• Make sure you have the Disabled Child and Carer elements on UC, both backdated to the date DLA was awarded for each child
• Council tax support - apply via your local authority's website - to reduce your council tax bill
• Check if your water company offers a reduced tariff for people on UC or who have a disabled family member in the household
• You may be eligible for a Warm Homes Discount in winter towards your gas and electricity

All of this support is there for people like you. Apply for it all. Your children need and deserve it.

All the best.

Your problem is thinking 3000/mth is “loads”. It certainly isn’t not for a family of
4.

Keep the cats. Cancel the insurance. If anything significant happens medically, then just have them put them to sleep.

Your husband can try to find hours around your work schedule. Driving, cleaning, bar work, whatever he can find.

If you're entitled to UC then claim it.

The reality is you have about 1500 quid a month after housing costs. It's really not much for a family of 4 anymore. 10 years ago you would have been ok, but sadly not now.

@MrsMop2026what area are you? I would home one of your cats if you would genuinely like to rehome them.

Children are expensive, it confuses me when people are surprised at this.

Wtf

Do the cats go outside? That would get rid of the need for cat litter. Then I’d work out the cheapest way to feed them, ideally though they need to be rehomed.

@MrsMop2026
if you head over to the benefit section on Reddit you have mods there that work for the dwp / UC
they are really really helpful land non judgmental
if you give them your circumstances they will be able to give you a pretty accurate idea of what you can get down to the penny

if you start your UC claim tomorrow your payment date will be I think middle of the following month after 5 weeks

claim everything your entitled to and take all the little extras - we are a rich country - despite what the the government would like us to think

on your wages with one disabled child it’s several hundred quid your missing out on

and if you get the same DLA for your second child it’s even more

you could actually both be carers for your kids and be able to earn and probably go part time

honestly don’t feel guilty it’s a wasted emotion and UC and the way it’s set up will actually be really beneficial for you and your family

It isn’t a very low salary,it's more than the average wage, even though it’s not enough to cover OP’s expenses. That would be £46k a year before tax!

And if they sleep inside? They’ll still need litter.