Making the money last

[samsunzo]

Evening,

I have recently found myself single again at 41. I have two teens and work as a school teacher in a senior role. I am trying to get to grips with being a single income household.
I was paid last week and all of my bills have gone out. This includes my mortgage and all of the things that I have to pay.

I have £1400 left of my wages. This has to cover - food, savings, birthdays/christmas savings etc etc.

I am trying to be sensible with the food shop and aim for £120 per week.

Do you think this is going be tight?

mylovedoesitgood

Give over, your first comment on this thread was bitchy and unnecessary , and when you got called out for it you instantly tried to play the victim.

Agreed. They will help a lot.

To answer your question: £1400 leftover after fixed bills isn’t bad at all, especially considering today’s cost of living. But yes, with teenagers in the house (read: walking, talking snack cupboards), things can feel a bit tight depending on your spending habits, the cost of living in your area, and what those “etc etc” expenses tend to include.
Let’s break it down a bit:
Food (£120/week) → ~£480/month
That’s realistic for three people—especially with teens—though there might be room to shave off a little if needed (batch cooking, own-brand items, discount stores, etc.).
Birthdays/Christmas savings → Maybe £50–£100/month depending on your goals?
Consider spreading this more gradually—some months you might not need to save as much, or you could build up a small buffer now while it's still June.
Emergency fund/savings → If you can put aside even £100–£200/month, that’s great. But don’t feel pressured to hit a certain number right now—this is a transitional period. Flexibility is more helpful than fixed rules.
That might leave you with about £600–£700 of "wriggle room" (ish), depending on your exact targets and spending. That could cover:
Clothes (inevitable with growing teens)
Haircuts, toiletries, small home repairs
School-related expenses
A bit of fun or self-care—which you definitely deserve
Some thoughts to help stretch it further:
Cashback sites or apps for your shopping
Second-hand or Vinted for clothing (especially teens!)
Meal planning—yes it’s a faff, but it really helps reduce waste and impulsive top-up shops
NHS prepayment certificate if you have any repeat prescriptions
Council tax single person discount—you probably already have this but worth a check

You need a budgeting app or spreadsheet.
Will help enormously.

I agree with this. It isn't AIBU. She has posted on the money board quite sensibly asking about her budget. It's not OPs fault that some of you have less income and have to budget accordingly. People should be able to ask a question on the money board without getting the idiotic sarky replies.

People should be able to ask a question on the money board without getting the idiotic sarky replies.

Such as this one? Somewhat ironically and weirdly, you (and a few others) have not given any help to the OP! Why? Just because you were bored this Sunday and felt like trying to point score? Also weird that you’re pretending to mind read about my income.

What help did you provide to the OP?

My monthly pay is £1400 before bills! I think you will be fine!

Really?

£1400 net a month and you solely support yourself and two children on that? No UC or other top ups?

If not then whilst your monthly pay may be less than £1400, that's entirely irrelevant to the op as your circumstances are very different.

If you spend £150 per week that’s £600. What’s the other £800 going on?

This was my thought too!

Oh the irony of you asking someone if they have anything worthwhile to contribute or if they just want to stir 😂

That's really made my day! 😂

Again the irony 😂😂😂

Helpful 🙄

You should be fine, it would be helpful for you to track your spending.

You need to know how much you spend on groceries exactly including all top-up shops. How much you spend on petrol/bus tickets etc. You need to account for things that you have previously paid for annually and start saving up for them like car insurance and house insurance.
Then there are all the little spends that add up like the money you give your kids to have snacks or meals at school. School supplies like paper and pens. Can of course get cheap options for all of these, but if you're time poor you'll end up just grabbing them in Tesco.
How much you pay for them to do clubs like football etc. Haircuts and clothes, gifts, birthday and Christmas and any charity donations, school events etc.

You should be completely fine but you will have to keep an eye on stuff unless you have savings to back you up for more expensive months. And you'll want to put a bit away each month if you have spare to save for a holiday or big school trip or driving lessons etc.

Tracking expenditure will be your friend. It will definitely let you know where you have room in the budget and where you might be spending too much.

Look at getting a water meter if you're not already on one. They are generally cheaper than water rates.
Look at Single Adult Discount on your council tax.