One income family of four - can we get ahead even after pay cuts?

Bluegreen143

Thanks @Baileys_Babe! Culzean is only 45 minutes from here. I’ve not added it to my jar because it would be pricey for us as we aren’t members (looks like £30 a family) and my jar is just free places (or with just a parking charge). However I’ve got my eye on it next time we want to do a special occasion trip where we don’t mind spending! I’m considering asking my mum to get us NTS membership as a family Christmas present, probably next year rather this one - think we will get more out of it once the kids are slightly bigger and we don’t need to factor Bambi’s nap into trips. Plus Red is understandably reluctant to invest til after our current pandemic situation as who knows if we will get another travel ban etc.

We went to Troon Beach today, our first adventure from our jar, and it was fabulous! It was -1C when we were leaving so I was concerned it would be too cold but actually it really warmed up later on. The kids splashed and paddled endlessly (in waterproofs and wellies), built a sandcastle, we had a picnic and ice creams, we had a quick stroll and check out of the playpark but it was a bit too busy for staying in. Otherwise it was really, really lovely. Only cost was £10 for ice creams and we also had to put an extra £10 in the car. Budgeting fail as I was hoping the petrol would last til payday. 

Need to update spends on YNAB, Will then post on here. Payday on Wednesday so I get to play with all the pots then 🙂

Baileys_Babe

Even without the current situation, I would advise you delayed become NTS members for a couple of years so you could make the most of it. 

Sounds like a lovely day, glad to hear it warmed up -1C 🥶

Bluegreen143

October pay has arrived! Have received £1,600 from Red and hoping for a minimum £150 from UC. Here’s this month’s budget:

BILLS - £900
Mortgage £421
Council tax £153
Life ins £49
Gas & electric £93
Internet £23
TV license £13
Annual bills £80 (car tax, car insurance, MOT cost, breakdown cover & home insurance)
Nursery school fund £25
Mobile & spotify £44

HOUSEKEEPING £500
Food £300 

Clothing fund £40

Petrol £60
Household supplies & misc £100

FUN MONEY £100
Me £50
Family £50

Gifts, Christmas & special occasions - I now save the child benefit in a separate account for this and it’s working well. It’s good being able to pick up wee bargains towards Christmas without needing to take it from this month’s budget.

SAVINGS 
Hoping to be able to save a minimum of £250 on top which I will pay towards what we owe MIL. So that would leave us with just £300 owed (or less if I can make extra savings on the budget).

enthusiasticsaver

Great budgeting going on there. Love the jar idea for family trips out.  We get a lot of use out of our National Trust membership but obviously at the moment none of the indoor stuff is open so even if your children were not so young I would suggest leaving it until the Spring or Summer to join. 

ceremony

Glad you had a nice day out! I love "pots" too, although I haven't managed to fully embrace YNAB for budgeting yet.
I agree with waiting for NTS membership. A lot of outdoor stuff is accessible even if you aren't a member so you can always just wait for the free days and go for a walk around while the little ones are, well, little. Definitely worth the fee when they're older though!

Bluegreen143

Thanks for visiting @enthusiasticsaver and @ceremony! You are both right re waiting for NTS membership 🙂

Doing OK with the budget. I have had a spendy few days but mainly all planned - the big fortnightly Tesco shop, the monthly Lidl toiletries/cleaning stuff shop, filling the car up with petrol. So that should be us set for a couple of weeks minus picking up some milk etc this week.

Finished knitting Bambi’s mittens and now knitting a hat for Monkey. Need to do a second pair of mittens then I’m going to maybe try gloves with fingers for Monkey... may chicken out and do mittens for him too though 😂

Bluegreen143

Had a good week so far. Sunday afternoon we used another stick (this time the local park ones) and went to a nearby nature reserve/marshland which we have never explored despite it being under 10 mins drive. Was a really lovely walk, partially on the canal and partially on the path round the marshland (though we only went about 1/4 way round then came back) and the kids loved it, especially picking blackberries. They will be distraught when the blackberries are all gone, which I think will be soon.

Had a really productive day yesterday - took Bambi to the nursery playpark then children’s wood in the morning. Did downstairs housework yesterday (mainly hoovering/mopping floors, kitchen deep clean and downstairs toilet, plus sorted & tidied kids art/games/puzzle cupboard). Also got the kids to make cards to send to Red’s best friend’s baby for her first birthday. Also ordered her a personalised book - money comes out of my gifts/Christmas fund. 

Have ordered myself glasses today as I’ve been driving about with only one leg on my glasses for ages, and before that it only had two legs as they were taped up. Got a pair of glasses + prescription sunglasses for £30 inc delivery using a promo code which isn’t bad at all. Not sure where to take it from the budget. I’m currently trying to absorb small necessary spends (under £20ish) into my housekeeping budget and had decided if something was absolutely essential and over £20 I’d just take it from my emergency fund... will see what else I can move about before I do that as I’m reluctant to touch it. I know I need a separate fund for things like this but I’ve been trying to keep focused and simple with my budget categories.

MagicCat

Hi @Bluegreen143, just popping back on MSE glad you're all doing ok. I like your housekeeping budget for groceries and other bits - I keep getting caught out by those sort of household things that I get usually from the supermarket, splitting like that makes sense.
Definitely worth getting the glasses, so annoying only having one side!

joedenise

When you need new glasses and you haven't actually got a "pot" set up for them then it is definitely an emergency!  I set up a separate pot for Healthcare a few years ago as both DH and I wear glasses and because we have varifocals they are very expensive.  Had to get my eyes tested this morning and apparently my current glasses are no longer any good for driving!  They aren't even 2 years old yet.  Been advised to get a retest in a year's time so need to get saving in the Healthcare pot as DH is due new glasses in a couple of month's time too and my glasses have taken most of what I've already saved.  Will have to increase the monthly amount and cut back somewhere else - probably the Entertainment budget as we don't go out very often at the moment.

Baileys_Babe

We too have a healthcare pot which covers:
My prescriptions, OH are free because of a medical condition and the children's are free because of their ages
My eye tests, OH are free through work and the children's are free because of their ages
Glasses for OH and nominally me but I haven't needed them since I was about 20, I still put a tiny bit away for me as I am getting to an age where I am likely to need them in the next few years, again the children's are free because of their ages as well as not needing them.
Dental check-up, Both myself and OH, the children's are free because of their ages
Dental treatment, in theory, this is for both myself and OH but I haven't had any treatment for years whereas OH ends up with treatment of some sort once a year, the children's are free because of their ages.

How much we put into our healthcare pot will need a major overhaul as the children get older and lose their free entitlement.

OH has been buying his glasses and sunglasses online for quite a few years and it has saved us a fortune despite his awkward prescription.