Please critique my budget - freaking out

[financialworrier]

I'm a single parent about to move house and I'm really worrying that I'm going to be over stretching myself with the new mortgage, and I'm considering pulling out and staying put.

Can you critique my budget please?

Mortgage payment will be £900. But I have no savings really, the house will need me to spend money on it - new curtains, new furniture.

Income from salary of circa £3750 pcm.

Other expenses:

DS bus pass £70 a month
DS club fees £25 a month
DS lunches £50 a month
DS pocket money £70 a month
Dog walker £140 a month
Cleaner/childcare £312 a month
Mobile phones £40 a month
Life insurance £23 a month
Fuel £400-500 a month
Groceries £400 a month
Council tax, gas, electric, water £350 a month (estimated)
Internet - £20 a month
TV Licence - £15 a month
House insurance £15 a month
Misc subs - £30 a month

Total bills = £3575 a month!

Leaving less than £200 a month for Christmas, savings, holidays, new clothes, shoes etc.

This isn't sensible is it?

Rehoming the dog would be a significant saving, not sure it's fair on a dog to be on its own all day when you're at work anyway.

Rehoming the dog would be a significant saving, not sure it's fair on a dog to be on its own all day when you're at work anyway

How helpful is this? The OP hasn’t asked about rehoming her dog!!

You don’t know the circumstances. I have got a nearly 15 year old lab, who, post divorce, is home alone during the day. She has two 23-35 minute walks a day and is happy sleeping when I am not at home.

Personally I think the OP’s budget is too tight to be happy with but some of these suggestions are daft.

Have you factored in
Child benefit
25% Council tax discount (tho the tax may be higher if it is a bigger house?)
Any maintenance payments?

If you're moving 5 miles nearer work you will save 50 miles a week plus associated time.

Personally I'd do it. You won't need the cleaner/childcare lady in a year or two - could your son go to a club at school Instead on your late nights so he's not at home as long?

Could you sign up to 'Borrow my dog' site so walking is free?

Op, have you looked at actually spending less time at work by working more at home? If you were at home by 5.30 every evening you could lose the cleaner/childcare. Just do the extra hours in the evening at home.
My DD has a dog walker but she only comes every other day. He's a big dog and needs the exercise, but this is plenty for him. So you can walk the dog in the morning and your DS can walk the dog when he gets in from school.
I think you'd be really annoyed at yourself if you didn't move. There are ways for it to happen, but you'd need to be prepared to make changes. You're used to spending quite readily, but this will have to change, no matter when you move house.

I bet most people don't hand out much less than that a month to their 12 year olds in pocket money, a couple of quid here and there for the bus/cinema etc.

Err no I don't have that kind of money to hand over to a teen!

all of you feeding a family on £50-£60 a week, HOW?!

It's pretty easy really if you look at what you are buying. I have 2 teens and myself and manage perfectly well on £40 - £60 a week including cleaning stuff etc. Sometimes with the odd small top up if I forgot something/run out. What on earth are you buying that costs £100 a week? 3 big bags of shopping in Aldi to 1 small bag in Morrison's for same price, it's a no brainer😀
Aldi or home bargains for toiletries and loo rolls etc are much cheaper than supermarkets or boots etc.

Check your adding up as a previous poster mentioned.... What you have listed here doesn't make the total you posted. Is something missing from the list? Or is the adding up not quite right? If the latter you may not have a problem.

Personally OP I would go with the move as a better long term investment and just work on cutting costs. Can you get your new mortgage down at all, maybe using a broker to find a new rate or lengthening the term? Definitely look into fuel efficient cars, but are you aware of the company car tax you will pay, it was a shock to me when I had a company vehicle! My KIA c'eed eco will do around 60 miles to the gallon, 7 year warranty is fab too, though 100,000 mild cap which you might reach sooner!

@ReasonedCamper OP probably doesn't get child benefit with her income.

I think you should go for the new house. Your son won't be 12 and needing someone at home with him forever.

Also as PP said- you're moving closer to work so surely that will shave off some of your commuting time?

I feed 6 people (2 adults 4 children) on £120 a week at Aldi. I used to feed my manual worker husband and I on less than £50. Meal planning is definitely something that will help.

Sounds like a great investment opportunity with only a couple of years of tightening your belts.

The dog is costing you £180 a month.

I don't think dogs should be left alone all day tbh,

Your cleanerr is costing £240 a month I am guessing..

Find the dog somewhere to live where is it not stressed and bored from being alone all day and get rid of the cleaner.

£420 saved.

Answering some questions...

Lodger could be a good idea, my concern would be about find someone I trust as I will be out so much that it needs to be someone I can trust to be in the house with dog and son alone. But one to think about definitely.

25% discount is included in council tax, it's band E.

@ThisIsNotMyRealName1 Thanks for spotting. I have done via spreadsheet and listed everything, I think. I've left blank the rows where I would like to be budgeting but would not be if going for the new house, eg school trips and saving.

The car expenses are hard to call. At the moment I have a car which evidently is a diesel guzzler and for which I'm paying off a loan. I can opt to have a company car, which I had been planning to do, thus losing the loan payment, but I think BIK tax could work out equivalent to my current loan payment, tax and insurance combined anyway.

@Apolloanddaphne Thank you for being a voice of understanding 

£70 a month bus pass = £15 for an unlimited weekly rider. Alternative is a daily return child ticket at £4 per day.

Pet insurance is paid for by my ex.

Dog is a 37kg dog with allergies, hence £40 a month on the food. This is after switching from a brand that was £70 a month (AATU) and is as low as I can get it.

The dog walking cost is actually £280 a month. £12 a day, 5 days per week. My ex pays half, hence only £140 per month.

I do get child maintenance but DS' dad (different ex!) is unreliable with paying this so I try not to count on it. It is £170 pcm.

@whattodo2019 Curious why you want to know what I do for a job?

@Soontobe60 I would love to work more at home but sadly employer is totally backwards in this regard and doesn't really allow it. Household name huge company too, so I'm hoping for improvement on this front in the future!

Thanks all.

I'd make the move (says someone who has done two new builds in 30 months; anyone a bit more risk averse maybe shouldn't listen to me haha).

It looks like you've got a pretty good handle on where your money goes, and the months when maintenance for DS does come in you can count as a bonus and build up a bit of a buffer.

I hear you on the dog food; our 30kg dog has sensitive stomach and the food he's on costs a bomb, half again as much as what he was on before for a smaller bag but it's still cheaper than making regular trips to the vet. Our dog goes to doggy day care a couple of days a week - possibly that could be cheaper than a walker plus it gives him play/socialisation with other dogs?

So glad DH's company pay the tax/insurance/everything on his company car!

Have you included your car loan and insurance and road tax in your figures as i can't see them itemised?

Your 12 yo should have his mobile / lunches deducted from pocket money surely?

Lunches from pocket money 😳. No way would I do that.

My DS is 13, I pay his school lunches via parent pay. £10 per week for buses and pocket money (bus pass cost £8.50 for a weekly rider). So really his pocket money only £1.50 per week.

@wangxiaosara so how does your son pay when he wants to go and do things with friends? Or wants to buy a new computer game etc?

If he wants to go out with his friends, obviously I will give him money for that. And he doesn’t have allowances towards computer games. We don’t have a play station at home, he only plays free games on iPad.

@wangxiaosara what on earth can your teen do with £1.50 pocket money. Honestly this place is not like the real world.

I think it’s a good plan to stay where you are and reassess in a year or two, maybe save save save to give a buffer if you do
Move.

Bloody ridiculous ‘advice’ to get rid of dog walker/company for ds. The OP has reiterated these are rightly non negotiable, but people still go on. They are essential in her life. Therefore she has decided it’s not feasible to move yet.

Good luck op, hope the neighbours stay quiet.

@ThroughThickAndThin01 thank you - I think I agree with the stay put and save save save strategy.

I feel terrible for my buyer though, who will have already spent money on searches etc. But I can't really dwell on that too much, this decision is too huge for me.

My ds doesn't get a computer game every month. £70 a month is crazy. Sorry op but you have some unnecessary expenses and I wouldn't be sacrificing a new home so my kid could fritter pocket money.

Most has been said already and you really don't seem to want to listen, you have some mad spending in your budget but it must suit you.

Pocket Money -that's nuts for a 12 y/o
Dog Walker/Cleaner/Childcare - should go - if you're leaving the poor dog all day every day may it'd be fairer for him to live elsewhere.
Food - we are a family of 4 and spend around 250-300 per month including cleaning and pets - menu planning is key.
Fuel - that's the nuts amount I have a large 2ltr diesel which gets 50mpg which would put fuel at about £60.00 a week - you've got a 1.6 so should be much higher mpg - does it get serviced regularly?.

For context, we are a family of 4 have rent of £900.00 per month and earn a combined income lower than yours - but live happily and have just had two weeks in Canada. Our kids are now slightly older but have never had pocket money to the level or your son and computer games would be a Christmas or birthday present. they also both have had a Saturday job since 13 and spent plenty of money on themselves.