Anyone want to look over my budget?

[workingoutmoney]

So my incomings are

salary - £1948 (after tax)
rental income - £611 (also after tax)

so 2559

Outgoings are

Childcare - £1100
Swimming - £132
Gym - £52
insurance (home and car) £35
Service charges £188
Savings £200
Phone £40

Total £1747

This then gives me £812

I am trying to pay back credit card debt too so have allocated £500 a month to this, leaving me £312 ‘spends.’

This is realistic, isn’t it? Out of that I have to pay for children’s food and entertainment, fuel for car, clothes and toys (but they should be set for a while after Christmas.)

Budget Mom’s videos are free and there are free resources on her website, but I’ve been doing it for over 18 months and I do buy her workbook. YNAB averages out to about £8/month, bit it’s what I use for my Budget Mom cash envelopes—I don’t use cash, so I use YNAB as my tool to have “virtual” cash envelopes. They do give you a month free, and any customer can give you a second month free before you sign up for your trial.

I got paid my final 2024 payroll today, and I did my numbers for 2024 this morning. My exact net worth increase this year from January to today was +£25,499 (and I earn really close to the UK national average salary). It’s all down to The Budget Mom’s methodology—I can’t sing her praises enough. So the cost of her workbook plus the YNAB subscription as a tracker for my virtual cash envelopes is a drop in the ocean when I consider the value I get.

You live somewhere busy enough to have gridlocked traffic but quiet/rural enough to have no childminders nearby at all? My Mum calls this type of thinking “every solution has a problem” 🙈.

Look, let’s not make the thread stupid quibbling and bickering about everything I say. It’s a long, long road. If I parked on it (illegally) and walked I’d still be late. Let’s assume I’m not completely stupid

Look, I hate it when threads do this.

I don’t live in the same place I work in. I live about fifteen minutes away on a clear run. However, that’s more like forty five minutes with a school run and a nursery run in peak traffic. OK?

I don’t think the thread has done anything other than try to offer constructive solutions, which you clearly don’t want! People are obviously confused about your insistence that there is zero wraparound care, zero childminders in either your work or home area, and that your DH can’t help at all, as this is a highly unusual situation. But if that’s genuinely the case then my advice would be that savings can wait until you are in a position to work more - pay off the debt for now.

I don't think you can afford to pay off £500 a month debt AND save £200. I would focus on clearing the debt and worry about savings after.

I didn't mean a childminder near you, I meant one near the school but not in the vicinity of where the parking issues are, then you could drop off there...but I mean logistically I don't know where the nursery/school/work/home are in relation to each other

I think we’re talking at cross purposes, it is my school (that I work at) which is difficult to get to. I don’t need a childminder. There aren’t any for DS’s school.

@adviceneeded1990 i have agreed that the savings probably don’t take priority just now - there isn’t much else I can say. People are offering solutions but if these solutions just aren’t possible I can say so.

Problem here is everyone knows (including OP) that we have half a story.

If the full income and expenditure of the dh were included, we would be giving very different advice.

I am going to preempt and say LTB.

What do you currently have in savings? Could you put the savings on hold to do more the debt? Get rid quicker? X

They are in my children’s ISAs, not mine unfortunately! Or fortunately I suppose.

@BalladOfBarry no. I’m not asking about my relationship, I’m asking about money. If I did want to LTB I would need money anyway. But I’m not posting about my marriage.

But if you’re interested DHs is

Mortgage 1500
cars 760
Electricity 125
Other loans 700
Insurance 300
Fuel 259
council tax 220
internet 35

His income is around 4500 after tax

Well £760 on cars is obscene when you owe over £4000 in credit card and loan debt combined for a start! Half that and put it to the debts!

Also what insurance is costing £300?! We are £110 a month for car home building home contents 2x life and 4x pet.

If the savings is your kids isas I would put that on hold for now and concentrate on the debt and living expenses and once the debt is cleared you can restart the savings.

So he has around £600pm left? That seems fair and reasonable to me in these circumstances.

Maybe look at the other loans at £700 pm?

Obviously depending on Interest rates and early payment charges, but would it be worth a bank loan to pay off all debts at a better monthly amount, and give you both some breathing space?

It is hard while children are young and you have so many expenses, but it does get better.

Clothes
medication
insurance
presents
gardening
trips out
etc

760 on cars wtf? Pay back your loans

This is not mine, it’s not in my name. That is all DH. This is why I didn’t originally include it as people will tell me what to do but I can’t - it’s up to him what he decides to do.

I don’t need any clothes and thanks to Christmas the children don’t either. I’ve included insurance above. I don’t need to buy any presents, don’t do any gardening, not in any medication and not really planning any big trips.

Don't you have to pay council tax? I thought everyone had to pay that, no life insurance, gas/electric, water rates? How come you don't have to pay for any of these?

DH pays those

Incidentally though council tax isn’t paid in NI I believe.

Get rid of the swimming and savings and put towards debt and food/emergency spend.

Have you looked into managing the debt down by shifting to 0% credit card?
Go to money savings expert for info and more ideas
Otherwise yes savings on hold until debt paid off