Bills and downsizing

[Raver84]

Wondering if someone could advise me currently going through a divorce and will be selling our home and buying a smaller house for me and 4 children. I'm looking at terraced 3 or 4 beds and wondered if you could help me get an idea for bills.
Gas
Electric
Water, I undedsand this is capped if you have 3 or more children and on uc?
Home insurance
Phone braodband
I understand council tax will be reduced by 25 per cent.
Food 1 adut 4 under 10s I was thinking maybe 70, per week? Has to include packed lunches
Also I was hoping to save 25 per month for Xmas and birthdays, only buy for kids.
I'd likely have a mortgage of around 60k over 20 years.

Have I missed anything? I have a mobile contract which is mine and my daughters phone which is 25 per month.
Thanks for any help

Water, food, phone, broadband will all be roughly the same as now, they won’t change much for size of house but on the fact there’s still one adult and 4 children using the same. I guess your one adult less so maybe 20% less that you pay now.

We live in a 4 bed terraced house in Scotland
Elec/Gas combined £113
Water- incl in community charge
Broadband £23.99 Vodafone (fastest one available in area)
Home insurance / can't recall as pay monthly

We bought cheap phones and pay £11 a month for SIM card contract. Lots of mobile data.
Meal plan will help keep costs down.
You can keep heating costs down by only having heating on in the morning before school. Then on until kids have a bath. Thick pjs dressing gowns. Blankets on the couch to snuggle under. Hot water bottles to warm beds.
There are lots of cheap nutritious meals to cook to fill up hungry children.
Home made soup containing beans or pulses with lots of veg. Served with crusty bread. If you have a bread maker you could make your own.
When we downsized we saved £80 a month on council tax but we are in Scotland so that includes water rates.
Your electric and heating bills can really be cut if you are careful. Depends how much you need to cut them by. Good luck.

£70 pw food shopping for five people is going to be very tight, especially as DC get older. Will you be entitled to free school meals and/or healthy start vouchers if on UC?

You can check council tax on website of council where you will be buying. You might have to apply for the single adult discount, I don't know if you get this automatically.

Have you had independent legal and financial advice about a fair settlement on divorce if you're going to be the resident parent for 4 DC?

If you have a look at the Moneysavingexpert money makeover, you'll get help with putting together a comprehensive budget and signposting to increasing income and/or reducing expenses.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/money-help/

Thanks for all the advise.

And I will look into the mse link.

I know 70 per weeks food isn't ideal at all but I can cook and bake and as poster above suggested I have a breadmaker. Though haven't used it in a while....

Regarding being the resident parent I have just agreed a split of 50 50 equity of the family home. It's again not ideal but I don't want to fight I just don't have it in me anymore x