Is anyone else just living in permanent dread of the next financial disaster?

[MerlinsHairyBeard]

Every week it feels like there's more bad news - something else has gone up, whether that's petrol or mortgage rates or bills or food. DH and I are hanging on by our fingernails at this point, just about able to meet all the huge price hikes... but all it would take is one big disaster like one of us losing our job for us to go over the edge. We have nothing much in savings to fall back on and no way to save more now that we're right up the the wire. It's very depressing, and Mumsnet seems full of people with lots of spare cash behind them for a rainy day. Is anyone else teetering on the brink too who could use a space to have a vent with someone who gets it??

I get it. I don't know how I can manage much more without getting into debt. We both work,.I work evenings and weekends to avoid childcare costs, I have an old car, I penny pinch at the supermarket etc etc. we don't smoke, don't drink, don't have takeaways, I only buy necessary clothes when they're on sale etc, but between the bills and mortgage were close to not being able to manage and it's through no fault of our own. It sucks.

Oh gosh, I hear you. It really does suck! Something's got to give soon, surely?! I keep thinking how much better off than this we ought to be. We earn more than we ever have, our childcare expenses have gone down now the kids are older, but everything is just getting devoured by expenses going up. It's ridiculous! It feels like one step forward, two back. I'd like to think the October Budget will help a bit but I'm not holding out much hope.

Im lucky enough to be comfortable now but ive beenin your position op and i just did anything i could to bring in extra money - offered to do unpopular shifts in the local pub eg new years eve where they often need extra staff, did some babysitting, signed up for random surveys & medical testing. I spent evenings studying for a qualification to access a better paid job.

Any room in your house? Could you take in a lodger, be a host family for an overseas kid at a uk boarding school, or even just do some airbnb rent a rooms to travelling workers? An old colleague of mine did this.

Most people around me in real life are definitely feeling the pinch. I think there is more of us here on Mumsnet than you first imagine.

We live really rurally, so the cost of petrol is hitting very hard plus food hikes in our limited and small supermarket (20 mile drive away) make me just want to cry when I do the weekly shop tbh. I can’t up my hours as there is no commercial childcare here at all…and I have no family left to help either sadly. I have a term-time job with some mileage on top, and try to be grateful for it, and run my small business at night which brings in a little.

I keep thinking that I was being careful with shopping and cooking etc thirty years ago when my eldest was a baby and I’m still doing it now…it’s hard to feel optimistic financially!!

It’s a challenge for almost everyone I know at the moment. My best (only!) advice is to get ahead as far as you can, while you can.

Budget, proper budget…track every single penny you have coming in and going out. Increase your income if possible, decrease your outgoings-get rid (or reduce cost) of everything non essential. Get your emergency fund underway…tackle debts…boost your emergency fund further…plan for upcoming/unavoidable spending.

Lets be honest…life isn’t going to get any cheaper any time soon. So make life as financially pain free as possible.

This. If you're 'earning more than you ever had, and childcare has gone down' yet you're still struggling, there's likely to be an element of lifestyle creep as well as increased CoL at work, or you're paying over the odds in some areas, eg phones, broadband, subscriptions etc - there is always a deal available so you should always be on one - if not, you're throwing money away for nothing and you can't afford to do that.

So might be a good time to systematically review all your expenses because if you can shave a few quid off here and there, that all adds up to spare money to boost your savings.

Have a look at

Do a money makeover and potentially save £1,000s - Money Saving Expert

No. No point in worrying every day. Nothing anyone can do about anything, so why put yourself through unnecessary stress by worrying about the what-ifs?

The problem is that a lot of the worry is not about 'what-ifs'. Food is going up, so is petrol, gas, and electricity. This is happening, and it is getting harder to cope with, for lots of people. They cannot just magic money out of the sky, to keep up with ever increasing price rises. People can only cut back so much, and then what?

Yup, my finances are ok but precariously balanced - wouldn’t take much to tip over into real difficulty. I’ve got a very low mortgage rate ending next year and that alone is a huge source of anxiety. Add job insecurity and the general state of the world at the moment - not good.

I also track every penny - I do it on paper. I manage to claw back money on food & petrol spending in the following ways.

Find your cheapest petrol via petrol prices app. Use Blue Light card to get a free Esso card for 3-6p off a litre. On top of this I use a Chase account for 2% cashback on Petrol / Travel / Groceries. It all adds up.

Maximise the supermarket apps - have accounts in both your & OH name & alternate using them. We get good deals on both. Nectar is great for prices AND points on items. I just buy the things I need on offer. I use ALL the apps tho.

If you have an employee discount scheme use it to buy discounted gift cards for all essential purchases. Or use other schemes. Plus cashback on things like insurance through Quidco or similar. Bank account switching also.

All this adds up to £100-£150 per month via the above.

Plus meal plan, batch cook, eat mainly veggie. Bulk out dishes with grated carrots / oats / lentils / beans.

Shop at Farmfoods/ Heron / Home Bargains. Great quality finds at bargain prices on so much. Yellow-stickered reductions & freeze.

Plus use MoneySavingExpert, Hotukdeals, Trolley App etc. This is how I spend less than £40 per to feed two people.