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

Baileys_Babe

Spendless said:

You've done a better job of decluttering the plastic dinnerware than me. I still own 2 SpongeBob trays and my son is 20 -lol

And me we have a zip-up cool bag with 20+ plastic plates, 20 + plastic bowls, 30+ plastic beakers, which we take camping but also use (when the situation allows) when hosting HE groups and birthday parties.

Bluegreen143

Haha unexpectedly controversial!! I think at the moment I’m really needing the calm and decluttered atmosphere from purging rather than wanting to keep stuff just in case. I’m ok with having garden picnics with our normal plates but I also own a vintage picnic basket my papa has decluttered from his loft, which he and my nana owned since the 60s or 70s and is filled with proper plates etc so maybe we will start to use that 😆 (in reality unlikely we would cart a heavy basket filled with china out as we just take picnic stuff in lunchboxes and eat out of the box but I don’t feel I can get rid of it!). 

Baileys_Babe

You could use your picnic basket for garden picnics to make them special, without the need to carry the heavy basket on a long walk.

fiwen30

Indoor picnics on dreary winter nights and rainy summer days, or for fancying up an afternoon tea, maybe? Or how about reusing the basket for something - blanket/toy box?

Bluegreen143

Have tweaked budget a bit. I remembered that the payday is mid month but Red’s is the very end of the month. So I’ve sorted it out in a way that some things will come out of his pay and some mine, rather than budgeting it as one lump of money in case we then get confused and forget to transfer something.

Red’s salary - £1,950-2,000
Should hopefully be at least this even when furloughed as he’s got on call bonus half the time now.

Home bills - £800
Car bills & replacement fund - £200
Housekeeping - £500
Gifts/Christmas 2021 - £150
Red’s spending & phone - £300
Will take the last £50 or whatever is left of his salary each month to add towards our “wants” savings as he really wants a conservatory.

Child benefit - £140
Kept separate for kids clothes, school fund, activities and pocket money, will save any excess towards school trips etc when they are bigger.

My salary - £900-1,000
Hoping for in this region after pension & childcare, could be a bit less as I haven’t sorted a childminder yet - in which case I’ll reduce down the savings amount accordingly. Also a possibility I’ll sign up to the buying extra holiday scheme which will then reduce my pay but an extra week off might just help us cover the summer.

My spends & phone - £150
Holiday - £100
Help to save + ISA - £150
Wants - £150 (possibly adding a small conservatory in a couple of years but at the moment this is a flexible goal, will add some of Red’s salary to this goal each month if he has enough)
Emergency fund - £350-450

Aim is to sweep any extra from housekeeping or spending pots into the emergency fund too. Once that’s at £2k then move to mortgage overpayment 🤞🏼

This month has been a bit tight so thank goodness we had no debt after Christmas as I can’t wait for payday as it is 😆 I’ll post up what I managed to save towards the E fund once the month is over as I may need to dip into it a little for this week’s groceries.

Spendless

Your new budget looking good. Your inherited hamper sounds fab. Over the years we've certainly had to picnic near the car before on trips, so don't think it won't get any use - you'll be surprised.

missymoo81

Hey Bluegreen how are you? Just caught up. Love your budgeting, always makes me feel like I should do mine! Hope you’re all ok.

Bluegreen143

Morning all! Hello @missymoo81, hope you’re all good - will go catch up with your diary. I’ve been trying to spend less time on my phone/internet and a bit more time reading etc.

Red finished my wee desk and I picked up a chair and some computer equipment from work - still waiting for laptop and phone to be delivered though. 

Been trying to sort out childcare for Bambi as I don’t know how long Red will be on furlough. It’s tricky though. As childminders (my first preference) are still allowed to work they are all full with extra kids who’d normally be in nursery or school. Although I’d prefer a childminder we could go for a private nursery (Monkey’s nursery is a preschool for ages 3+ only so can’t take her) but they are all shut just now in Scotland. I’ve only found one local childminder so far with space but she’s newly registered which is putting me off (though is a qualified and experienced nurse which is good) and I feel really nervous at the thought of leaving Bambi with her because we can’t visit her house etc due to covid (though we can arrange video calls). I really wish I could use our old childminder who I trust completely but she hasn’t space just now (she is also the opposite direction to Monkey’s nursery and not especially close but I’d be ok with that because I’d feel so much more comfortable using her). I have emailed a local private nursery today which is literally on the way to Monkey’s nursery (his nursery is a 5 minute drive so this one is like 3 mins!). My friend is starting her baby there after they reopen and said she didn’t have any issue getting a space short notice so maybe that will work out. I just prefer a childminder for under 3s because I like that it’s a homey setting and just one caregiver they can get a really strong bond with.

Bluegreen143

Meant to share a photo of the desk! Excuse my grubby skirting, need to do a deep clean at some point... it was hidden behind the drawers before 😆

Four_Seasons

that looks brilliant x