how do you all make ends meet?

[hazzabeanie]

im just wondering how you all make ends meet? me and my oh both work full time but every month something always comes up, we live in a 2 bed flat and this month our maintenance and ground rent is £163 and thats each month now till december plus our car needs tax, mot and insurance before the 1st oct i we have no money left and im scared tbh as my lo is growing out of his clothes. xx

 

[shazney22]

oh god and I want a car jst to please the parents it sucks to be 23 in scotland it really does

 

[Hopeful 4 #1]

im just wondering how you all make ends meet? me and my oh both work full time but every month something always comes up, we live in a 2 bed flat and this month our maintenance and ground rent is £163 and thats each month now till december plus our car needs tax, mot and insurance before the 1st oct i we have no money left and im scared tbh as my lo is growing out of his clothes. xx

Hun u just need to try your best to cut back on food by about £5 a week maybe and buy the odd cheaper brand perhaps.. as a starting point, that'll free up £20 a month extra. And if your LO is growing out of his clothes, why not sell them on BNB or on Ebay to free up some extra cash?? I know £5 a week saving doesn't sound a lot, but thats £240 a year on top of many more things you may find you might be able to do. As for car tax etc, theyre stuff u can't really get around and do just need to be paid. But see what u can cut down on, its the first step!

 

[PrincessJenna]

We've had to cut of oursky as it was £50+ a month also I walk anywhere to save petrol that saves a bit I've gone from 2-3 tanks a month to 1 1/2, also ebay anything you don't want/need xx

 

[pinkclaire]

Car boot sells are a good idea as well, stuff you think is tat always seems to get bought! I know its rubbish though, my mat money has just run out and our MOT and tax is due, and if that wasnt bad enough I hit someones van (just scrapped it down the side a bit) and he said £250 to start with now its gone up to £750!

 

[kanga]

If your money doesn't stretch far enough you are living beyond your means unfortunately. Can you move to a cheaper house? Get a cheaper car? Either that or persuade your employer to give you a pay rise!

 

[hazzabeanie]

ahh wish i could i only live in a 2 bed flat and not gonna get a payrise yet. but i will try cutting down on stuff, its hard tho isnt it as i get little money as it is and try extremly hard to not live beyond our means everything i buy is a must, i have to justify it all the time. xx

 

[lucy_x]

im just wondering how you all make ends meet? me and my oh both work full time but every month something always comes up, we live in a 2 bed flat and this month our maintenance and ground rent is £163 and thats each month now till december plus our car needs tax, mot and insurance before the 1st oct i we have no money left and im scared tbh as my lo is growing out of his clothes. xx

Making ends meet, well there is 4 adults and a baby in my household.
Every month when the CB comes in we do the shopping, we spend £20 a week roughly, We pplan all the meals ahead, and buy 3 £5 chickens to cover around 6 meals a month, we get £2 (800g)mince to cover a few meals too, and it does help to plan in advance.
Our bills add up to around 3-400 a month (including paying off the credit card) and this gets payed from the tax credits. and £475 in mortagage
Do you get tax credits?

I also find that having a calender and marking when payments will be and what goes out and when helps. try and make direct debits to go out when money comes in.
Unfortunatly to get-by things have to very regimented..And its not a life, were living to survive instead of living to live...

 

[hazzabeanie]

i no what u mean bout living to survive, my childcare costs are so high but i cant do anything about it, been feeling really down about it cause i dont wanna let my lil family down, but im doing my best xx

 

[Seity]

We budget and cut out most unnecessary expenses. No TV, monthly food budget, and prepay phone. My husband is a full time stay at home dad because it would have cost us more for child care than his salary brought in. Every single dollar that comes in is accounted for and there's nothing left over at the end of the month, but we're not spending more than I bring in either. He's looking at a part time job that would start near the end of the year and he'd still be able to watch our boy while I'm at work. I'm hoping it works out because even $100 more a month would make things easier. I also do freelance work on the side which brings in an extra $20 here and there.