If you own your house

[rainbowbaby2]

If you owned your house outright but struggled with daily cash flow, what would you do?

But it’s not going well
Could your DH get a job and run the business as a side hustle
You say it was doing well until COVID
I think it’s unrealistic to expect to support a family of 5 for 5/6 years with you not working and your DH’s business not bringing in much cash

I’m self employed but it just doesn’t make sense to pay for childcare as I wouldn’t end up making any money I’d just be affording to pay nursery/childminder

Lots of people do this to try and build a career, not just to bring in money. It’s about preparing for the future when kids are teens then want to go to uni.

Yeah that’s fair, I get what you’re saying. This is why I’m asking for advice.
That feels silly to me but I can see why that makes sense in terms of future.

If you are really that destitute and the business does not have any money to sustain itself then it can’t pay your husband a wage/dividend? If that’s the case, and you don’t work then you must have a very low income. Either that or it does pay him a wage but you’re living beyond your means.

Is the business a limited company? Could he look at winding the company up if it’s in debt?

Op if you have been struggling since COVID, are you sure it's a temporary situation?

Then you to get another job. Evening /nights so no childcare needed tho age dependant you will get 30hrs

mortgage free is a big thing. As means you have a forever roof over your heads and obv not paying that every month

once business rent has finished next year sounds like you will be in a better position so see if can get an early release from it - prob won’t - but def check

If your income is that low that you can’t cover basic bills outside of a mortgage or rent payment then it’s worth a UC application. You don’t state your income as far as I can see but there’s every chance you could still be eligible for benefits.
Not sure why some posters are so horrified at that though, this seems like exactly what the state safety net is there for. I’m not sure why they would prefer to pay someone’s rent via housing benefit and UC rather than a temporary stint on UC for someone that doesn’t need their housing propped up while they look for alternative income.

There is 5 of you. There is no way that you can live off £1000 a month, that's £50/week per person, especially since you are not used to being frugal. I think you will need at least twice that and even that will be tight.

Sorry, the business he had before was doing well until Covid. This is a different business.
My husband is amazing at lots of things in terms of work. He could do anything to be honest. I guess we’re just feeling a bit stuck and unsure of which route to go. Sometimes it just helps having some outside advice and opinions.

Get another job or downsize. No cash flow with a property to maintain is a hard line. We’ve spent £5,000 on our roof this year, boiler needs servicing every year, we needed insulation last year, windows need doing next year then there’s a room needs decorating after a leak. Never ending costs.

This is why I say I’m rubbish with money. I haven’t included food in that so I guess you’re right it would be much more. I think one of the posts is right in saying to do a spreadsheet and work out everything. I find it super overwhelming and confusing.

The first Covid lockdown was over 6 years ago. Almost a decade now. I was 24 when it started in my first job after being an apprentice… now I’m 31 and a deputy.

It’s time to let go and change something.

Could you perhaps spend some time at home doing marketing for your husband's business alongside looking after the children?

I agree, you can’t simply say you didn’t need to worry about money until Covid, you were 24!! How many of your children have been born since then? Surely the biggest thing as far as your finances have been having 3 children and you not working since then?

You can buy a budget book and get a monzo account. Monzo separates everything by vendor and category to help you track your spending. I go through our joint account every month and write in the book what weve spent on what. Takes about an hour. Our budget for everything except DH medical needs is about £1900 for two adults.

By your own admission, you’ve been careless with managing money. This poster is giving you very good advice for longer term stability so hopefully you won’t dismiss it. Yes, if you get a job, most of your salary will go towards child care in the short term, but you’ll be able to claim Universal Credit and will get help with child care costs (you might be able to do that now). They’ll soon be at school and your financial situation will then improve. You’ll also be building a pension in your own name which is really important as the earlier you start it, the more valuable it will become.

Better to do this than start defaulting on loans , scrabble around for bills money surely?

Thank you

When is your husband closing the business? After that surely he’ll have time for a job. Even if he wants to open a new business, it might be a good idea to be employed for a while to get yourselves on an even keel. I really wouldn’t mortgage your house. The relentlessness of having to pay a mortgage every month will probably make you regret it

List your expenses we can make recommendations.

Can your husband work part time in his business whilst getting a part time salaried job. Same for you - evenings.

There is far too much missing info here to give proper specific advice OP.

re husband. Do I understand that he had a business that closed due to COVID and now has another business that isn’t working?

re the business, if you can’t pay the rent/bills/loan you need to speak to the providers and explain this. Get the business closed down/wound up. Have payment plans and walk away. If LTD then slightly different but similar principle. I’d suggest an URGENT meeting with his accountants for best way out.

He needs to focus on getting a fulfilling and rewarding job and deal with his own businesses wind up on weekends and evenings, if He hasn’t closed it in full by the time he starts a new role.

what industry? What does he do? What could he do?

Downsize

You need to be very very organised about this so you can gather a true picture of your finances.

A spreadsheet is good but you will have to include absolutely everything.

Council tax
House and contents insurance
Life insurance
Car finance if you have
Car insurance
Fuel costs if you have a car with an ICE
Energy direct debit
Water bill
Broadband
Tv licence and streaming services
Mobile phones
Food and other groceries
Clothes for everyone
Money set aside for dentist and optician
Money set aside for school uniforms and shoes
School lunches if have

There will be other things specific to you I haven’t thought of so you’ll need to go through everyone’s spending forensically. There are only two of us and taking out our mortgage we need about £2,700 a month to cover our regular costs, so your £1,000 sounds wildly unrealistic even if it excludes food.

One or both of you needs to get a hold on your finances now. It sounds like you’d both be better off in PAYE jobs where you have consistent incomes and less financial management to do, given you struggle with it.

Of course you can get benefits if you own your own home! You wouldn't get the housing costs element of UC, but the other elements are unchanged.

The value of the home you live in is disregarded in the assessment.

It sounds like a short term difficulty until the business is folded up. As long as your husband has some sort of plan. Is he going to get a job while the business folds? Is he planning on working in the business while it winds up? If so he'll need to move quickly and sort a job out for after.

You're in a strong position owning your own home so young so as long as you make careful decisions this should be a temporary blip.

Thanks for all helpful comments. It’s hard to explain properly without going into great detail.
The advice about budgeting is great, that’ll give us a head start on just where we’re at and things we need to spend less on.