Would u describe me as poor?

[dingdongmer]

As the title suggests and here's some info. I don't work as looking after toddler and pregnant also. Hubby works. Household income is approx £1600 after tax. £1,340 is rent and bills and we try to save £100 then the rest is weekly money so approx £50 a week Altho I do get weekly child benefit of £20

Would u class this as poor and could u live like that with a family of 3 soon to be 4

We are careful with money and buy own brand stuff like toilet rolls and food etc and toiletries I always get on offer.

Yes. My partner earns a bit more than that and our house cost a third what you pay for yours, and we could live off that with 2 kids.
You should move. You could rent a 2 bed property for £450 where I live, that would give you an extra 500 a month. Might come in handy.

Why do you ask OP? Do you think you are poor? You seemed angered by the responses saying that yes, they did think you were poor.
As Bluntness said, ‘poor’ is an emotive word and not a particularly helpful one. Your income is low enough that the government believes you are entitled to some extra help, which suggests that many would find it a struggle to live on comfortably. On top of that you have high housing costs. While I could manage to live on £10 a day with one toddler, it is certainly not a financial situation I would choose to be in, and would it a pretty hard slog I imagine.
Once your child/children are at school, expenses will increase significantly.

It's appaulling that your DH gets paid so little

It's around the median wage. You must live in a bubble.

We did move in the end... we tried a similar income in zone 6 with a tiny second bedroom. Honestly moving was the ebst thing we did.

Your definitely not poor op just a normal family on a budget
People telling you to move definitely aren't helpful

Were these the sort of responses you expected ?
If you're proud of your budgeting skills, that's certainly justified , is that what you wanted to discuss ?
I hope you aren't offended at people answering ' yes'. It is tight , but you know that , it isn't an insult .
Look into your benefits entitlement.

That is about what we have all in (wages, tax credits, carers allowance) for 2 adults, a 17 year old and a 5 year old. I don't think we are poor, poor as in we don't need to use food banks, but we cant afford holidays (we do run a 15 year old car though).

I think that poor is living paycheck to paycheck, poverty stricken is food banks?

We're a family of 4, household income of around £4.5k per month as we both work (we are in London though). In your situation I wouldn't see being a SAHP as being an option tbh - I would get a job as soon as poss after having the baby. If you aren't in debt though and are happy then fair enough.

Fgs just claim the UC you are entitled to !!

Would u class this as poor and could u live like that with a family of 3 soon to be 4

This is not a boast OP. You did ask.

I earn double a month what you do after tax and I'm single with no children.

Half that amount for a family of 4, I can't imagine it goes very far.

You are not 'poor' cos you can save even if only a small amount. But you easily could be if a big expense came up or if your partner was sick.
Claim the UC even if you save it, start a small pension for yourself with it, use if for a cheap holiday.

It is wonderful to be at home with your kids when they are small. But if you are going to be on this budget for the next 20 years while they grow up too. I think it will be very hard

My shampoo is £1 and lasts 2 weeks really? Mine lasts four months.

I'm impressed that you manage to save at all.

My household income is similar (with just me and DD living here) with lower bills as my mortgage is only £500 but I've racked up debt that I'm going to really struggle to pay off.

I wish I'd been more frugal sooner but it took a while for me to accept how much my financial circumstances had changed and to adjust my spending accordingly. All it then took was having to buy a new boiler and it all went to pot...

How do you afford transport OP? Bus fairs and Underground? Or car petrol?

We're going to be in a similarish position shortly. I'm expecting my third baby with fiancé (his first). We currently both work ft - I earn around £1000 pm, he earns around £1,400. No other income at all. We get by pretty well.

However, obviously when I'm on MAT leave our income will be a lot lower. I will definitely have no choice financially but to return to work at least pt after my leave is over - no way I can afford not to work - but unsure how this is going to work with childcare.

Our rent alone is £900 pm and we can't afford to buy.

@dingdongmer Not quite sure how having a toddler and being pregnant means you don't/can't work? Lots of women in the same position (including myself) have/currently do work, either pt or ft.

Would I describe YOU as poor ?

You currently don't have a job
You may have small savings
Do you have a private pension ?
You don't spend much

On a positive, you are married

On a negative, you are relying on a male to fund your lifestyle

It's your lifestyle choice

I would not want to reply on someone else for all money

Why was your mum 'appalled"? I wouldn't say you were poor, but that largely seems down to your budgeting skills so kudos. And please do see what you are entitled to, that's what it's there for.

Forget the budget restrictions. To me this all sounds fine as you chose to rely on one income so should expect that your lifestyle won’t be comfortable in the financial sense but comfortable in other aspects such as division of labour.

However I would concentrate on the fact that the biggest chunk of your income is going down the drain and not contributing towards your future

Whenever said you have food, shelter and health covered so you are not poor... they’re half correct and half not.

Your shelter isn’t secure if you are renting and don’t have savings to cover even few months ahead. That’s stressful for your DH, too stressful? And puts you in a vulnerable position.

If you are entitled to benefits take them and out more towards savings for deposit. Or if you can borrow money from someone to be able to afford a deposit so that you pay mortgage instead of rent then that would make you less vulnerable financially once you start working.

Why not increase income before having a third child @RainMinusBow?
I can’t imagine having another child knowing I would struggle financially. The feeling of not having enough money for all the things I want

@16AmbitiouslyFit We're renting because we simply can't get a mortgage!

Both fiancé and I currently working ft but only on £2500 joint pm. And I'm pregnant so won't be working whilst on MAT leave. Nobody will lend to us with such a low income, even though I do have savings for a good deposit from my divorce!

Laughable thing is, our rent is £900 pm which we have never defaulted on to this day!! Reality is that monthly mortgage repayments would be lower - if only we could get a bloody mortgage in the first place!!!

@Strawberryorangess Increase income how? We both work ft but our wages are low. If only it was that simple. Please don't say retrain - I'm 39 now so biological clock almost knackered as it is!!!

RainMinusBow you considered shared ownership or help to buy schemes?