Feel like I can't complain about my financial situation but feel fed up

[Dandelion193]

I just find it all so monotonous. I'm not in dire straits financially but just feel fed up. I earn about £40k live on my own, no children to support.

But I have about £16k of debt from various things, car(not a new one), bathroom (needed to be redone it was old and leaking) new boiler (old one was dangerous) some stuff less urgent, replacing old carpets, redecorating etc that could've waited and I did as much as I could myself but the state of the house was getting me down. I should pay off my debt in about 2 years and should finish paying off the mortgage in around 10 years. Maybe a bit earlier if I overpayment once I've paid off the other debts
The last few years I've been going on holiday once a year spending about £700/£800 a year, which I know I could have skipped and paid more on my debt but in reality it would only knock an extra month off the debt

I don't feel like I live extravagantly, I don't pay into a pension at the moment which isn't great as I know I should really. I probably go out for a fairly cheap meal once or twice a month and if I paid into my pension that would have to stop
I know there are people really struggling and I can afford my bills, pay for food etc.

I just feel like I have no ability to save and feel pretty vulnerable if I lost my job, I have no savings cushion. If anything expensive breaks, I'll need to get out more debt.

I feel like alot of people would feel very lucky in my situation that I'm able to support myself financially but I just feel like living pay check to pay check for at least the next 2 years is pretty depressing

It is depressing, I completely agree.

Just try and big up what you are doing - youve mostly been maintaining your house not blowing it on the geegees, you have a solid financial plan, and in say 2 years 6 months you will have a savings cushion and should be more protected from further debt and looking forward to a holiday.

I can't say I'd want to do this myself now, but I have done it in the past - is it worth looking for a weekend job? A few hours' worth? Depends what difference it would make - if doing a few months or even weeks extra work would mean that you had a £1000 savings cushion now, that could be something short term that could make a real difference to your sense of security. Or if it seems OK and you can keep going, you could end up cutting months off your payback schedule.

I have thought about the problem is, I have to work some weekends for my current job and I have a student loan so if I managed to get a few hours weekend work, I'd be taxed 20% NI deducted and 9% student loan so if I managed to get minimum wage bar work or something I'd probably be on about £7 and hour, I'd have to work a fair chunk of hours for months to save up enough for it to be worth it. If I'm being honest I just don't think I have the energy for it on top of my full time job. I know that's my choice but it just seems like an exhausting option

I know the alternative to increasing my income is reducing my expenditure, but there's not a lot of things I could cut out or reduce
I have very cheap SIM only contract
I do have some streaming services like netflix but none I don't use, cancelled Disney+ when I wasn't watching anything on it recently
Claiming single council tax discount
On a water meter
Fixed on electric and gas and try not to put on heating where I can avoid it
Mortgage is fixed for next 4 years on a very good interest rate so I couldn't extend the term of the mortgage without losing the interest rate and paying for early redemption fee
I've even thought about downsizing but in reality if I bought a house with one less bedroom it'd probably be about £40k less than this house and by the time I'd paid for estate agents, solicitors and stamp duty I wouldn't be much better off
Don't spend huge amounts on takeaways and meals out, try to opt for fairly cheap places
I live on my own, so if I never went for meals/holiday I would basically have no social life, I think if I was living with someone else I might feel differently but I don't want to feel isolated

I feel like I'm missing something obvious to be in situation where I'm spending basically every penny each month

Yes you’re being extremely unreasonable if your looking to pay off your mortgage in ten years. Get a grip.

What an odd comment. It isn't a new mortgage, I have another 10 years remaining on my mortgage.
If I lose my job or need a new roof etc, I only have my own income to depend on and no savings. I could end up in a pretty bad financial situation if anything goes wrong in the next few years. This leaves me feeling somewhat vulnerable. Not quite sure why I should get a grip?

It sounds hard but (broadly) manageable, and I agree with you OP, I'm not sure taking a weekend job etc is going to make much odds. Renting out a spare room (I wasn't sure how many rooms you had in your home from your description) - feasible? Or doing a homeswap type holiday instead of paying for accommodation overseas when you travel?

@JustGoClickLikeALightSwitch I have thought about a lodger as I have a spare room, 3 bedroom house but other spare room is my office as I work from home. I did bounce the idea with offering a friend to move in who lives with her parents but she has a dog and I have a house cat so it wouldn't work really. I'm nervous about having a stranger in the house living here, but it is something to consider. Holiday house wouldn't work due to area tbh haha

Perhaps have a look on something like SpareRoom and see. You can specify what kind of person would be suitable, can offer Mon-Fri only, can seek out staff at a local hospital or uni if you're in that kind of area. I'd perhaps not do it forever but commit to 6-10 months and put all the rent money minus utilities against your debts, if you do it.

I think a better bet is to look for progression opportunities in your current job if you can? Or a similar role elsewhere on higher pay?
Is there any additional training you could do to give you more scope to progress?

It's all a bit shit isn't it. I've just clawed myself out of debt.

Similar position, earn less, no debt, 25 years left on mortgage. House needs fully renovating. No holidays for me but do have savings. Nothing to cut, it’s all essential.

I do have unemployment insurance for my security if I lost my job maybe lookin into that?

re holidays, you can look at it 2 ways, you only live once and it’s a break or if security is important you could sacrifice the holidays for a couple of years and have savings instead.

maybe sell your car, get something outright and use any equity to chip away the debt?

I basically would love to go away but I think rather than spending £500 on a holiday, I could buy carpet or furniture etc.

we all have choices to make. Seems you do have options available to you, just depends what’s more important to you.

You’re perfectly reasonable to have your current feelings. According to Forbes, the average UK salary is £37,430. At a few grand above that, it’s not a huge surprise that you’re not feeling particularly wealthy. Do you give every £ a job on payday? This helps me to plan out what I’ll be spending/saving each month, rather than making impulse decisions. YNAB and The Budget Mom are two good options.

Ahhhh OP Come now

You have a 3 bed House???

And all this chat about 20% NI and 9% student loan... the answer is CLEARLY a lodger it requires you to do close to nothing.

You can get £7,500 per year TAX FREE.

I was renting out my spare room for £700pm 10 years ago...

Get off mumsnet and get on spareroom.com... then start looking up nice holidays with all the extra £££ 😎

Ps yanbu though to feel the pinch on your current salary

It does sound like an Mon to Fri lodger could work really well (certainly better than a weekend job! Though I do also think weekend jobs can equal a bit of social life too.) I'm sure you've thought about the taxes due on this but the tax-free amount isn't at all bad and for a single room of that sort you'd probably stay under the limit.

I have to say that in order of priorities I'd say - an 'unexpected bills' fund of £1k, then a pension, and only then would I start speeding up debt payment. But that's easy to say nd harder to do when life feels drab.

In your situation years ago I rented my spare room to someone via work , he arrived after work on a Monday and left when he went to work on the Friday - he went to gym etc at night and was very tidy when he cooked etc - it was a great arrangement

Yes my lodger was full time but was like this.

Mon - Friday he was out 7-8/9 or travelling for work. He spent almost every weekend with his girlfriend at hers or out and about.

Once every few months we'd bump into each other and share a bottle of wine.

What you really really really need to do is pay into your pension. It's more important than your mortgage in the longer term.

Especially as you have a house bigger than you need.

But you do get to do sone fun things - holidays and meals out - and you have had a lot of big expenses making your home lovely - it really is sometimes a case of failing to fully appreciate what you have

you are caught in the rat trap of wanting ever more - that is never satisfied- if you had 100k in a couple of years you would still say you feel it’s not enough

Definitely think about a lodger. And then pay into your pension too.

Without knowing how long the mortgage has gone on for, your comment is completely unreasonable

Do you have the sorts of professional skills you can offer freelance in the side? I do a bit of governance and CoSec work on the side for school Trustees, community groups, tiny charities etc who don’t need full time resource, for example.

You can complain quietly to yourself or online. Nobody can begrudge you that. Beyond that, the circumstances of the people you’re complaining to is going to impact how they respond. Complaining because you have debt after purchasing a car, a new bathroom, decorating your house, and going on some holidays to somebody who has debt because they can’t make ends meet just paying for their housing and day to day costs isn’t going to elicit a lot of sympathy.

You are going on holidays and have prioritized a huge amount of household spending over having a savings pot and pension. You need to get these things sorted first and then do the nice to haves.

To be honest large chunks of the debt just weren't optional, bathroom was leaking, no cheap fix, it needed doing, I did it as cheaply as possible but still a few grand. My car was about £3k. Flooring I fitted myself, the carpet was torn in some places and pretty grim in others. Boiler was dangerous.
The last 4 years I'd have spent less than £2k on holidays. So even if I hadn't gone on them I'd be down to £14k
If I never spent any money at all on socialising I would literally be at home on my own for years. Which seems even more depressing

I guess the obvious answer is that if you lived in a one bedroom flat you could presumably go on holiday a lot more and have more disposable income. I’d say that you are doing v well to own a three bedroom house as a single person on an average income OP.

There's basically lots of 3 bedroom properties in this town. Not a lot of flats and with flats usually there are service charges which aren't cheap. I have considered a 2 bed house, but like I said, downsizing means stamp duty, moving costs, estate agent fees, solicitors fees and for the price difference between a 2 bed house and a 3 bed house in this area, I would end up spending the difference on the fees for moving
My house isn't hugely expensive so it's not like I'd be releasing loads of equity if I downsized