Big drop in income - enough left over?

[PinkTrainToy]

Hi all,

I've recently had to come out of work due to my DD having additional needs and needing to go on a reduced time table at nursery.

After all bills including food and petrol are paid we have £702 for four of us (2 adults, 3 and 1 year old) four cats and a dog (but their food is paid for in food shop) and it's for everything else such as has days out, birthday presents, haircuts etc

I'm just wondering how long I can physically be out of work for - DD does go to school next year but no idea if that'll also be on a reduced time table and I'm pretty stressed out it.

We're up north if that helps.

Thanks

Have you applied for disability benefits for your DC, do you think she’d be eligible?

I would find it tight to manage on 175 a week after all food, petrol and bills, but your kids are young so I reckon you'd be able to get away with it.

I think that with careful budgeting youd be ok for a year.

Put money into
pots each months, for example have one for birthdays. So you could put £10 per month in the pot if you have that left over then ditch all presents apart from for your DC. Do the same for Christmas.

Yes thank you, that's will all benefits considered and husbands wage. Nursery fees are the killer really as they are over £1000 (for two children and the free hours eek) but DD needs to be in nursery for the EHCP and my other child really enjoys it so they both go three days a week now.

And carers allowance for yourself?

Do you have any savings incase the car breaks down or your roof starts leaking?

I would split it between different pots so maybe
£50pm savings birthdays and Christmas, £75pm clothes and haircuts, £100pm children's activities, £100pm adult socialising etc.

So it will get easier when she’s at school and the nursery fees are less?

I think your figures sound ok, £700 after food and bills is not too bad.

But I would just put your daughter in for the free hours and take out your youngest or only keep him in for two mornings, to drastically reduce your childcare bill.

Having £700 left over is surely fine? It's a good amount of disposable income and you can save a lot of it.

We save a lot more but I still wouldn't spend more than £200 on days and meals out per month, and £300 a year maximum on presents for Christmas and birthdays, so for me that sounds comfortable. When your DD is in school you'll have a lot more even if you didn't return to work as nursery cost will go down.

Sorry just going through the comments. Yes, that should free up another £372 for DD and the little one should be entitled to 15 free hours by then so hopefully that's another £200ish as well which will put us in a much better position.

I am hoping DD copes better at school (likely a special school) and I can get a job around those hours.

Can you do anything to bring in some
pocket money? Take in ironing, feed pets etc? Sell bits on Vinted/marketplace?

Do you have children yourself and if so, what are their ages?

Thank you for the comments so far, I'll look at Vinted and eBay, I have loads of old clothes that could do with a new home and every little helps.

It's a massive drop for us and I've been panicking a little bit but as PP mentioned I'm lucky my little ones are so young because most places they are free or reduced price and honestly they're happy at soft play or out for a walk so days out don't need to be too expensive.

A baby and a 4 year old.

I think you will be eligible for a free adult ticket to a lot of places as you are a carer for your DD. This will help a bit with days out.

I forgot about this, thank you. I'll make sure to take her DLA letter with me on days out.

Definitely look into local schemes for cheaper days out. My city council does a card for about £20 per year that means you can use council leisure centres, council run city parks, animal attractions etc either free or very cheap for the qualifying child and a carer.

Whether the £700 is enough depends on how comprehensive your budget is, for example have you accounted for Christmas, car repairs, White goods replacement, vet fees etc, or would these come out of the £700?

Could you stop nursery for your 1yr old if you are no longer working? That sounds like it would have the biggest impact on your disposable money! It can’t be cheap for 3 days a week with no funded hours at this age. There are plenty of cheap activities/playgroups you can do if you are worried about socialisation.

Drop your other child to 2 days a week at nursery at a minimum (although dropping completely would be the best move financially). Three days is definitely a luxury if you’re effectively a SAHP now. Spend the extra day your eldest is in nursery 1-1 with the younger one.

£700 a month spending money, is this a joke?
How long could you live off that? Well indefinitely like half the population in Britain I should think
In what world is £700 monthly spends not enough?!

Your baby does not need to be in nursery. It's a luxury you can't afford.
I understand the older one being there but not the baby.
Take him out and to be honest you have enough money anyway.
I'm not sure I have more than that AFTER food and petrol.
You obviously have been used to a better lifestyle but you need to change.

I think I would probably take the younger dc out of nursery and just use the free hours for older dc. I was a sahm when mine were little so I understand how relentless it can be and wouldn’t judge anyone using some nursery for a break, but if money is tight then it’s a luxury you can’t necessarily afford. If you need to keep the place then keep them in for minimum hours.

Otherwise you do have some time when both kids are at nursery, so if you can’t make money in that time, then you can use it to save money. So cooking all meals from scratch, buy clothes on vinted, sell on eBay, go through all your bills etc.

Also I think £700 after food and bills is ok. Especially with kids those ages as they are happy with a trip to the playground and feed the ducks, and don’t know any different about second hand clothes or lidl food. Make sure you have a decent emergency fund though!

Exactly this. The responses to this were baffling. I take mine to the park and for walks, sometimes softplay. Clothes are awful for the planet, so we buy what we need and not in excess.

OP has £8400 a year to spend on fun, presents, etc. I really don't see the problem.

Thank you for all the helpful responses.

At the moment I'm gonna plan on having £500 to spend and £200 to save for emergencies and see how we get on with it and if it's too much of a struggle I will take the little one out for a day which gives us another £200.

I'm reluctant to take him out as he absolutely loves nursery and is coming on leaps and bounds there plus it gives me chance to do everything I need to do as you can imagine it's hard to get things done in the days my DD is home.

Thank you for all the advice so far, we need to make a lot of changes but hopefully can make it work.