Feel like I'm stuck in a hole that I can't get out of!

[BellaBoo0512]

Last night I was working out all the bills to see what I can cut down as we are struggling at the moment. The only thing I can cut back on is food but we hardly spend much on the food shop as it is. My maternity pay ends in November and I'm not returning to work (impossible to go back there). I rang tax credits and that should be going up to £59 a week if the HMRC calculator is right, then child benefit on top of that and OH's wages are £240 take home per week.

I just don't know what to do. I'm not planning on being a SAHM forever, I start college in January and the course finishes in June and then ill try to get a job. I just don't know how we're going to cope in the meantime.

We don't have any luxuries, all our money literally pays bills and food. I don't think OH realises how skint we actually are and I've constantly got numbers going round in my head. Things with work haven't turned out how I'd planned when I first found out I was pregnant and now I feel like such a failure!! What can I do??

 

[Pandora11]

Go over to the forums on money saving expert (if you haven't already). They're some dedicated board on there for saving money on food and in general. There always seems to be helpful advice/ideas on there. The 'old style board' is for savings and ppl on really tight budgets, there's a family one and food one, plenty of others too.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/

 

[BellaBoo0512]

Thank you I haven't heard of that forum so I will go and have a look now.

 

[tinkerbelle93]

I know how you feel. I'm in the same situation- I can't really work because I'm studying a degree from home and OH's wages aren't great and it seems to be a struggle getting by each month. It's frustrating looking at monthly out-goings and wondering where to save money.. we don't have anything on credit or finance, even our phones aren't on contracts or anything like that and I scrimp on everything so there seems to be little ways to save :/ I'm also not looking forward to the temperature drops because I have no idea how we'll afford extra heating ugh.

One thing we did that has saved us a little bit is switching supermarkets to Audi, where I buy food, toiletries, cleaning products, nappies, wipes (literally most essentials) and it does make a difference. My OH is also doing up a bicycle so hopefully soon he will be cycling to and from work which will half our petrol usage

Like PP said, check out the moneysavingexpert forums xx

 

[BellaBoo0512]

It sucks doesn't it? The only thing we have on credit is my mobile phone but I'm tied in to a contract until June and it will be getting cancelled as soon as it is up. Getting a bike would be a great money saver for us... I don't drive but it costs OH £40-50 per week in petrol but he works a 40 minute drive away so it would take him forever on a push bike and the public transport doesn't start early enough to get him there on time.

I might give aldi a try, we currently spend around £80 a week on the food shop at asda and ideally need to get it down to about £50-60 if possible.

I had a look on the money saving forum earlier and went on the benefit calculator, have you ever used it? It said were entitled to a reduction in our council tax, housing benefit, working tax credit and child tax credit but on all the other benefit calculators it says we're only entitled to claim child tax credit :/ xx

 

[catty]

I was going to say money saving expert , best thing to do is write everything you spend and your income and see if there is any way of reducing anything.
I reduced my phone bill by £15 by reducing my minutes
We reduced our sky from £70 to £50 and if neccessary we will cancel it completely.

Its so hard though as all my friends are still single and buying new clothes etc all the time, going out and going on holidays so its hard when going for a coffee is pricey.

 

[catty]

Also I give myself a food budget of £200 pm about £70 is formula and nappies. I spend £50 on heaps and heaps of meat from aldi and then with the other £80 we spend £20 per week on milk, bread, snacks, cheese and fruit.

 

[BellaBoo0512]

That's what I did last night... Wrote everything down to see if there is anything we can cut back on. There isn't anything. We don't have sky or virgin or anything like that. I've already rang O2 about my phone and then have cut it down as low as they can (which I was quite shocked about)

I'm definitely going to give aldi a try and see if it works out any cheaper. It's so annoying, I have friends who are couples and neither of them work yet they manage to go on holiday (abroad) at least once a year, are always buying new clothes, spoil their son rotten. Another friend who is a single parent and is going on nights out almost every weekend and is forever going shopping yet I can't even afford a bloody hair cut never mind new clothes! I could really do with some new clothes too seeing as I can't shift this baby belly

 

[catty]

do you get maternity pay/ allowance?

 

[BellaBoo0512]

Yeah but it ends in November

 

[Rachel_C]

How much do you spend on nappies? It might be worth looking into cloth nappies as most people can save that way. Washing costs tend to be about £1/week and if you get some really basic (but functional) nappies you could do day time cloth nappies for around £50 for enough nappies to last more or less till potty training (3 packs of 6 Tesco terry nappies @ £7.99 each, 3 Kawaii nappy covers @ £5.50 each, probably £2 for a nappy nippa and £2 for a cheap fleece blanket to make liners. Buying preloved would get you 'better' brand names for less money too). Using cloth wipes saves a load too, just get some cheap wash cloths from the pound shop and wet them as and when you need them. They clean better than disposable wipes too

 

[BellaBoo0512]

I spend about five pounds a week on nappies. Don't think I could be doing with cloth nappies it sounds like a lot of effort tbh. I've nothing against them. They just aren't something for me.