We just aren’t earning enough money!!!!

[Livandletliv]

Up until thus last year I though we were doing ok and kind of comfortable in the sense that we were able to pay our bills, fill the fridge, go on one holiday per year and run 2 cars.

fast forward to 2023 and things feel very different! Utility bills, food and mortgage has increased and we just seem to haemorrhage Money.

we both work in full time jobs and together our monthly income is £3900. Thus just doesn’t feel like enough anymore. Our mortgage takes £900 of this!

last month we had about £250 left the day before payday so hardly enough to save for an emergency, a holiday or for kids uni etc

i just feel fed up with it all

I have said this before on other threads, it has always been the reality that a lot of people with mortgage/rent on average, slightly above average salaries are not flush with money. This can be in your 30s/40s/early 50s and exacerbated by children getting more expensive as they grow up.

The point is that for those with a mortgage and children in the long run you will reach a point where mortgage is paid off/much lower % of income and children are no longer financially dependent. You will also own an asset worth ££ and can start to really build your savings.

last month we had about £250 left the day before payday

There's no context to this at all. £250 left after watching every penny and really not spending anything you don't feel you have to? Or £250 left after being able to buy everything you need plus some luxuries/treats, and go on days out, have your hair done, buy new clothes if you need to etc?

Agreed , but having £250 a month left is a huge amount to some people

Second that! 😞

What the OP is highlighting is that everybody, bar a privileged few, are working harder for less. That is a shit situation and I, personally, am sick of living in a society were life is getting harder for the majority while the top priority seems to be making sure shareholders are getting a good return on their investment. We are being told by the Governor of the Bank of England to 'get used to being poorer' while energy companies pay out record dividends and CEO annual salaries are the equivalent of a lottery win. But no, we all have to be living under a hedge to be able to comment. God forbid we get angry about it. And as for saying Christmas isn't compulsory - no, it isn't, shall we give up doing anything but working for the betterment of the one per cent and tugging our fucking forelocks while we do it?!

@Chersfrozenface I think that sounds like a fairly normal amount - with all our joint outgoings we pay out almost £3k!! That does include 5 days of childcare though.

Your mortgage is a really low proportion of your take home pay. What is everything else going on...?

Our mortgage is over a third of our take home pay and we are comfortable. We have sky high bills too because it's a leaky house (I want to get loft insulation).

Are you spending a lot on eating out? Or paying off debts? Independent school fees? Where is the 2.5k going??

Also think having £250 left at the end of the month is loads - if I’m not dipping into my overdraft I feel flush!! Agree that things are just crap atm though.

How are you spending almost £3000 on bills and food shopping.

You need to work out all of your outgoings and then go from there.
It’s obviously being wasted in some way and a major part of this is probably because you’re not tracking it.

Sorry, it was a bit of a flippant post.

But my point is that too many people treat Christmas as something they have to spend loads of money on, like car insurance or council tax.

If you don’t have the money then it won’t kill anyone to not spend much. If your kids are tiny then they won’t notice and if they’re older then you just sit them down and say sorry, things are tight this year.

It’s not a household bill.

Hear hear.

You earn 3900 together

Mortgage is 900

So what do you spend the other 2750 on if saving /have 250 at end of month

I hate these sort of responses. The implication is the OP should be grateful they can afford to eat. Two adults working full time should have more than £250 bloody pounds a month left over.

Two adults working full time should have more than £250 bloody pounds a month left over.

Leftover after what though? OP hasn't told us what she's spending the rest of the money on. £250 leftover after scrimping all month is very different to £250 a month leftover after being able to buy what you need, plus some treats and luxuries.
After her mortgage she's got £3,000 left. If she's got two children in nursery, a decent chunk of that will go. But if not, a lot of people would find that amount after mortgage to be very doable. We've no idea of OP's expenses.

We have spent about £250 each month than we earn the past 2 months due to car repair bills, it's really worrying and I'm looking for a better paying job despite being really happy in my current job and it being convenient for the kids' schools. We both work full time and don't have an excessive mortgage though DC do uave music lessons and DD does performing arts, which she loves. I'm loathe to cut something they enjoy so much. Literally don't know how we will survive when DS1 starts uni next year and we have to top up his maintenance loan.

Agree, £250 if you’ve spent on everything you need and want (within reason) is amazing - £250 left after bills for the month is scary. But it doesn’t sound like that if that’s left on payday!

Yes they should but that’s what happens when you’re spending money on things you don’t need and not budgeting properly.

They obviously need to cut back somewhere.

@krustykittens I’m with you! Fed up of killing myself at work for what feels like no real tangible benefit other than the fact that we have a roof over our heads and won’t starve. Although I’m totally grateful for that it isn’t exactly thriving, just surviving, and I also feel frustrated that eg grocery prices have gone up so much while the supermarkets pocket ever bigger profits. Life in the U.K. feels pretty miserable right now.

I imagine you have a lot of outgoings - some of which can be pared back .

Similar position here - we earn enough, and the mortgage isn’t crazy but I am always lookinf for ways to spend less . It feels more beneficial to have a good chunk leftover .

check out your tv/broadband subscriptions . Do you need / use them all ? What about mobile phones ? We have nice phones but worked out that it’s more economical to buy sim free phones outright and use a cheap provider such as Giff gaff .
cars on a lease or so you own them? Do the figures and see how that is effecting your overall amount of outgoings versus assets?
aSomeone upthread said it’s easy to spot where the big money is gong but it’s the little items that add up

Exactly the same here! And whoever said Christmas isnt compulsory...try telling that to my six year old ffs.

Some folk entered the COL crisis with no car, no holidays and no chance of having £250 at the end if the month.

I'll save my pity for them.

£250 at the end of the month is plenty? You know most people have nothing at the end of the month. And a £900 mortgage with your income is low.

If your child is only 6 then YOU are in charge of Christmas and what you make it. At that age my children had absolutely no clue what things cost and I could easily have a pared-back Christmas without anyone noticing much.

I’m not suggesting people cancel it, but Christmas as we‘ve created it ISN’T compulsory. It’s how you design it. It doesn’t have to be a noose around people’s necks.

I go into the next month in debt so I'd say you're doing pretty well!

So get second jobs and stop whining.

Clearly you’ve no idea of your outgoings.