Budgeting shortfall

P2white1972

Hi,

First time poster here!
Got made redundant back in Spetember...although I got a small package I was out of work for 3 months and the redundancy was just enough to get by on..Since the start of the year I have had a new job but with 2 major differences...first it pays about 4k less than the previous and 2nd it doesnt come with a company car ( the old job did ). But it does require a lot of mileage.
My problem is ( I can provide and I&E ) my take home pay is now £1900 a month but my outgoings are £2100 am month..That is made of normal living expenses...just the start my rent is £850 and I pay child maintenance of £369..the only 'debt' repayment on this is the car which is £144 amonth..( I do about 30k business milage ). The balance is made up of normal living expenses. £260 utilities council tax is £147. phone/bb/mobiles/tv license is £95 and car insurance is £56...
As you can see this is my entire income gone before we have bought food or any other normal expenses...my wife has been looking for work for past 6 months but nothing nearby that is available..
I realise you guys cant make magic happen but any suggestions would be welcome!!

[Deleted User]

£260 on utilities per month!?

What’s the breakdown of that?

Terry_Towelling

Well, you clearly need to spend £200 per month less - somehow or other.

Can you cut your food bill, shop around for cheaper utilities, keep your foot off the accelerator pedal when driving to use less fuel. Can you change your mobile phone contract/calling habits.

Have you thought about taking some of your wife's Income Tax Personal Allowance to reduce your tax bill?

Do you pay into a works pension? I know it is not ideal, but could you reduce your contributions for a period until you get yourselves sorted?

Willing2Learn

Hi P2white1972 and welcome to the forum

You may find it helpful to post on the Debt-Free Wannabe board. Over there you can post up your SOA (Statement of Affairs) for advice, guidance and support so that you can hopefully we can help you to make your budget balance.

P2white1972

£90 electric plus £20 debt payment
£50 Gas plus £20 debt payment
£80 water however, this will reduce in 4 months to £50 as includes debt repayment

[Deleted User]

£90 on electric?
Are you powering a small village?

Even £50 on gas is extortionately high.

Are you on a PAYG meter or credit account?

Terry_Towelling

Definitely some scope to cut the utilities consumption, although if you are in arrears on them, the suppliers may be unwilling to let you drop your (non-debt) direct debit payments until the arrears are gone. However, it is still worth cutting consumption because that will mean the arrears disappear even more quickly.

Use the vacuum cleaner, hair drier and washing machine a little less often, take shorter, cooler showers, only boil as much water in the kettle as you need to use, don't wash the car so often, close the curtains at dusk in the winter, tuck the curtains behind the radiators (if possible) turn the heater thermostat down a little, wear a jumper, watch less TV, switch off lights, cook your spuds, carrots and greens in the same pan (not all for the same length of time obviously). The scope for cost cutting is endless if you really want to.

Don't forget (as mentioned above) you can transfer up to £1250 of your wife's personal allowance into your name (as long as she isn't using it) - that will save you £250 per year in tax.

Driving 30k business miles per year should give you a lot of scope to reduce the cost of the fuel you are burning. Drive more slowly (but don't miss appointments, obviously). I don't know what sort of mpg you are getting (or exactly how much scope there is to improve it) but, if you can increase your MPG from, say 40mpg to 50mpg (might be a tall order) you'd save around £75 per month.

I imagine you get paid a mileage allowance on top of your salary but you haven't said how much that is. Frankly, it doesn't really matter because if you are the one paying for the fuel, keeping your foot off the throttle will mean you get to keep more of the mileage allowance.

As an example, I drive one of those eco-boost fiestas. If I drive it normally, I get around 45mpg. If I drive it carefully (which takes a bit of learning and discipline) I can get between 60 and 69mpg (depending on the weather/time of year/traffic etc). That is a big cash saving.

Zero_Sum

!!! wrote: »

£90 on electric?
Are you powering a small village?

Even £50 on gas is extortionately high.

Are you on a PAYG meter or credit account?

I wouldnt say £50 on gas is extortionate. Especially if you live in an old house.
Mines about £40 in a newbuild, but then the missus is always twisting about being cold & wanting heating on. If i was still single my gas probably would be about £25-£30

£90 on electric is shocking though (excuse the pun)

sal_III

As others have stated there is some scope for reduction in electricity cost and phone/bb/mobile bills, but it's just a part of the solution.

Has your wife (or you as a second job) looked at tele-work or something in the so called "gig economy" like Uber/Deliveroo to supplement your income until she can get a "proper" job? The condition/pay is not ideal usually, but IMHO a much better alternative to amassing debt.

18cc

£90 per month at say 20p per kilowatt hour is approximately 450 kilowatt hours per month let's say 15 kilowatt hours per day

As a first approximation let's say you are awake for 15 hours a day so you are using 1 kilowatt per hour

so in your house you have the equivalent of 1 bar of an electric fire on all day for 15 hours every day all year

You can of course refine this by deducting things that are always on such as your fridge wifi router etc but even so it does sound strange