Help! Can a family of 4 live on £50 per week after all bills/food?

[Ellierose1989]

Hi everyone!

I would really like your help! I’m looking to become a SAHM. We have a 4 year old daughter and 10 month old son. We will live off my husbands wage (no benefits other than CB) after all the food and bills are paid we would have around £50 per week left for everything ie. groups, clothes, treats, to save for emergencies. I should add that I am unable to get our bills down any more and don’t have unnecessary outgoings they are just high due to mortgage/debt. Can I ask what you have left after all outgoings and if this is doable? I know everyone lives off different amounts but I would just like to hear your experiences. I would look to return to work in a couple of years so it wouldn’t be forever. Thanks everyone! Xx

Have you included everything?
Fuel, commuting, insurances for cars and anything else?
If so, then it is doable though may be hard some months.
Have enough saved in case fridge, washing machine or car etc breaks down.
You’ll have some big expenses for school uniform, winter coats, shoes and clothes as the seasons change.

I'm working off the presumtion that car insurance and maintenance and savings are covered in 'bills'. Fun low cost or free activities for the kids as you will have more spare time, picnics, park, walks etc. I would try Facebook marketplace and eBay for second hand kids items ditto charity shops and sales for clothes. It will be tight so try to minimise costs by batch cooking and buying in bulk/ on social when you can. Freeze discounted meat, buy value range basics etc. not sure what clubs you need to pay for but it may be possible. Could you working perhaps a weekend morning/ evening for a bit of extra pin money?

Yes. If bills and food are accounted for. Only issue is car. It costs £50 to fill my husbands car. Mine is more like £30. But I have not filled my car up in over a month.

It's doable but you will come unstuck if you have any emergencies (so, probable in 2 years plus). Boiler, washing machine, car...

Also, pretty miserable - how are you going to save for Christmas, birthdays, those endless little requests for money that come from school?

I would consider using food banks aswell as shopping frugally

It's doable, yes. And if you can pick up a bit of part time work as well (evenings or weekends) it will make it a lot easier.

No, I really don’t think this is realistic. What about when the kettle breaks, or the boiler needs to be looked at, or you have a child’s birthday party to go to.

It alos for howlong? Are we talking a few wks or longterm.

Doable, yes, but grim.

I'd be looking at either refinancing the mortgage or some form of insolvency for the debts.

It depends what you mean by "all bills and food covered". If that includes saving money towards Christmas, holidays, home repairs and replacement of white goods, car repairs, car replacement, birthday parties/gifts for the your children (and anyone else you'd spend a significant amount on), school shoes, school uniforms, school trips etc etc and the £50 a week is for incidentals, treats and activities, it would be absolutely fine. If £50 has to cover all the things in my list above, then no, it's probably not enough.

Not a chance how will you afford birthday Christmas during the holidays when you need to give them lunch too ? Can you get a nighttime job at the weekend or something just to give you extra ? What would happen if mortgage rates go up ? They can't go down anymore ? Taxes are for sure going to go up once this is all over! Do you want to be able to take the kids to cinema and out for dinner once in a while ? That costs more than £50 I think that's insane to leave yourself with so little suppose it would be doable but not much of a life is it ?

No I think that would be incredibly hard. Do you have savings for emergencies in the home, what about things like school uniform, new clothes/shoes.

Have you had a good look at your debt, apart from your mortgage could you look at interest free credit cards or any other way you could re arrange your debt?

Thank you for all your replies and suggestions. I agree I think £50 a week is very little and I haven’t included things like birthdays, emergency’s in this and we only have a little in savings.

I think I need to return to my job after my maternity leave! I can return on 3 days a week and after paying childcare and fuel to get to work I will have £100 extra a week (on top of the £50). Which obviously will help massively. I guess with everything that is going on I just want to be home with my kids! But I guess £50 a week may not cut it as we do like treats/days out with the kids and meals out etc.

Do you feel 3 days a week is a good work/life balance? I don’t want to miss out on my kids too much but I also want to be able to afford to live and not be miserable!

Thank you.

Hmm.

Like mrsm43s said. If everything you normally pay out, over the year is included in bills, then it is very doable.

I have pots of money for everything so the £50 would be doable for me. That would be to cover incidentals like an afternoon out.

And contrary to what someone else said, of course you can go cinema for that. Meerkat movies and sat morn cinema are very cheap and you can buy treats at supermarket before you go. You could also eat at a beefeater type place within your budget as 2 adults and 1 child, your baby would not be paying anything. Even in 2 years time as baby grows, you can still have treats if you truly have included all bills and regular amounts over the year.

Buy a one day travel policy for around £2 every year on compare the market and gain access to Meerkat movies bogof at cinemas and Meerkat meals which is bogof at thousands of restaurants.

Most people should include these amounts anyway, as they know that Xmas, birthdays and school uniform are once a year. It's also always worth it to have an home fund for applicances and maintenance and a car fund for Mot, service and repairs.

It's also not miserable if you truly want the outcome. Ask yourself what is more important to you? To look after your children full time on one income or to go outside the home to work for more income but having to outsource childcare. Bottom line is being a sahm worth it to you? Is it worth it to your husband?

For me it was more than worth it. Being frugal can be fun if it want it to be.

Your post above answered my questions.

If 3 day a week at work is doable and gives you enough extra income, then that should probably be your decision.

Also as your savings are low and not everything was included in your budget then you would find it extremely tough.

@flirtygirl thank you for your reply. I agree that it is doable but yea it’s the little things that crop up that would catch us out I think.

It’s such a shame as staying at home with my kids is what is most important and I don’t think I’d ever regret doing that. However, the mental strain it could put on us if we were financially struggling could create a worse outcome. We don’t have loads of debts etc it’s just we have a mortgage and any credit cards are on 0%. I used to work in a bank so I am good with managing money and getting the best deals. I would just love to stay home with my baby and support my daughter though her first year or two of school. I just can’t seem to make my mind up! Haha. X

If you need to, you might be able to reduce your food budget a bit more by becoming vegetarian - use pulses for protein. Dried pulses are a bit of a pain to use as you have to soak them overnight, but they are very cheap. I know I lived on meals made with pulses for 6m when I hit a particularly impecunious period, but pulses and fresh fruit and veg kept me healthy, and within budget. (This was way way back when the Dole was £42 a week.)

Of course it’s doable, millions live on less.
And for the poster saying use foodbank’s, you can’t just ‘use’ them to save money!!
I volunteer at one and although you can self refer, there is a qualifying criteria.

I think working three days is perfect and I wish more people could do it. If you have a break from work now you may find it harder to get a part time job in the future. Plus it looks like there's going to be a lot more unemployment in the very near future.

I'd keep your job, it's a very uncertain world and £50 per week is very tight.

3 days a week and you’ll have £150 a week extra?
That is a good balance and your lifestyle will be much better.
You’ll still have 4 days a week with dc and you won’t be struggling financially. You’ll be able to afford all the extras like day trips, swimming lessons and even a holiday that can make such a difference.
Birthdays and Christmas can still be enjoyable while being low key but obviously nicer if you can afford a little party for school age dc if they want one.

Op, you are right to think about any strain it may put on you. And also on your relationship. You both have to be completely on the same page as committing to a small budget is very tough.

It does sound very important to you but 3 days a week at work sounds like a good compromise.

You stand to gain so much from that.
Look at it as 4 days at home per week and our family can afford some treats and we are not under too much financial strain.

What hours would the 3 days per week be? I'm currently on maternity leave and due to go back end of July when she is a year old.
I have to go back as with my job you need to pay yearly to go on the register and need to work a certain number of hours/ and undertake training. If I let that lapse I would have to do a full years course to go back to my role. I'm going back 2 days or 2 night shifts which equate to 24 hours. I think that's the best balance I'm going to get and not miss out.
My sister works Monday, Wednesday and Friday and feels this works well as she finishes early on a Friday. £50 per week is doable, but doesn't give you much to fall back on if you have little savings xx

It would be a pretty miserable existence, constantly counting the pennies and praying nothing in the house breaks!
I would suggest working PT, I work two long days a week and don’t feel like I miss out at all, I actually enjoy going to work as it’s a fulfilling job and I enjoy being around other adults and using my brain to do something other than sing nursery times haha!