need advice with financial web i'm tangled in

[kaiki]

oh dear.

had a chat with dp the other night about our finances - i've always been very much a 'bury your head in the sand' person when it comes to money so to have to sit down (gripping the edges of the table with clenched fists) as we worked out exactly what we have going in each month and what is coming out is, for me, about as comfortable as sitting on a pine cone.

brief background - dp works in a low paid job - he is full time with no opportunity for overtime. however his weekly wage can fluctuate as it is a sales role so we can have good weeks and bad but can never be prepared for which it will be ifyswim. we've had some pretty bad ones recently so money has been tight. i left my job (it was a temporary role) when i had dd and because we live in quite an expensive area childcare wise we would be worse off if i were to return to work. dd is 11months.
we have seperate accounts - after i have paid rent, council tax and bought food and baby bits (nappies etc) for month i am left with twelve pound spending money. this is not good.

dp pays all other bills and gives me some money per week for food, swimming, buses etc.

am sure there are others in a similar situation - other than reducing all our expenses to the bare essentials is there anything else i can do ?
is working from home really viable unless you own your own business ? i was a p.a in my former employed life, have good administrative skills and have published short stories so have an eye for editing or spotting errors - would that be something i could do from home ?
i have a credit card debt but am struggling to pay the minimum each month - can i transfer to a 0% card if i am not in employment ? seems unlikely.

any other tips ? we shop cheaply food-wise and pick up neccessary bits with our savings (few hundred pounds for emergencies - just had massive energy bill which has nearly wiped it

i don't mind tightening our belts i just feel that we're being naive living to within an inch of our income each month and wondered if anybody else is in a similar position and how you are helping yoursleves if so ?

First of all, make sure you're claiming all the help to which you are entitled. Check out this site Turn2Us to see what's available. Then understand fully what your core income actually is. If it fluctuates, is there a minimum you can rely upon?

Next step is to look at your outgoings. An afternoon spent on comparison sites is a good way to make sure you're not paying over the odds for utilities, insurance and other regular bills - and if you save £20 or £30/month, it's worth it. Direct Debit arrangements help avoid 'massive energy bills' and are usually offered at an incentive. Since grocery shopping accounts for a big % of most household's spend, anything you can do to menu plan with cheaper ingredients will help.

Be brutal with the incidental expenses for both you and DP. Limit your cash withdrawals. Buying a sandwich from a shop rather than taking a pack-up to work.. a coffee here or a newspaper there... can all add up if you're not careful.

Then to boost income. You seem to have written off childcare but have you checked all the options? Nurseries and nannies are expensive but childminders are often much more affordable. There are jobs you can do from home but looking after a baby and work can often be a difficult mix to get right.

Finally, even if you only have £12/month left - or £5.. save it in an account. It's a good habit to get into

chill, thanks for your response! there is a minimum we can rely on each week yes, so i suppose what we need to do is take that as our starting point and then anything else earned is a bonus. i think one of the contributing factors is that it means we are not eigble for things like council tax benefit as his wages are so variable.

thanks for that link - while i was pregnant i spoke with someone at the cab to get some benefits info but that calculator tells me i may be overlooking one or two things so may have a sit down with dp this eve and do it properly.

i figured it would be pretty hard to work at home - if i'm honest i'm not sure it would be the right environment for me to be anywhere near as productive as i could be - i may look into childminders - i've a few friends who work so will get their recommendations as well.

many thanks!

Rather than working from home is it worth seeing if there's any jobs you could do to fit around dp's hours eg evenings/weekends? This is what I'm gunna have to do when I finish my maternity leave - not ideal but it'll be the only way for me and dh to manage, he earns slightly too much for us to get any help, but not enough really to live on! Regarding credit card, can your dp get a credit card with 0% offer? He can then take over your balance!