Is there a way out of this?

kimwp

It's great that you are taking steps to sort this out. I think it would be good (if you're not doing it already), to reward the child that wants to contribute in some way that recognises her maturity eg with privileges or being part of some of the financial/budgeting discussions.

katsu

as you'd put things in your budget you didn't save for like Christmas and holiday, how about you take a look through the last 6 months of bank statements (or at least 3) to see what has been spent?

It will help you work out a realistic list of changes to make and you might find a few more ways you can save cash by realising you've got a random subscription or finding something else you realise you regularly spend money on.

It will help you prepare for the discussion with your family.  

With a large family you've a challenge to cut all your costs but there are amazing diaries and so much experience here. I know you can do this! You'll get the help you need here

katsu

I would suggest you have either the children's activities or a holiday. They can be involved in the decisions on which the family does. It will help you to reduce your costs and I promise they'll be OK staying home all summer if that's what you all decide to do. 

katsu

Lastly I agree with (I think) tealady about white goods insurance. Cancel it. 

Most of them last years and there are often deals or options or cheap places. My fridge broke well over 5 years ago and I got given a second hand one from some friend who got it from someone else. It cost me nothing and is still running. 

You need to find places to cut back so that kind of saving is a great place to start.

I would also cancel all the subscription TV etc. 

Familyofseven

Thanks for all the replies. 

I’m making time to read them all and take on board suggestions! 

I’m just about to go through all the statements to see what we have been spending on. 

Decision made not to have a holiday - we had one booked for Feb but thankfully can cancel and receive a refund on the deposit. 

Our eldest daughter is only 15 but has a little part time job as pocket money for herself and to contribute towards her phone contract - I think that contribution is enough for now given her age - thankfully she seems pretty savvy with money already and is building her own savings!  

Whilst i’d been toying with cancelling the white good insurance our dishwasher had to be repaired 3 times this year which was all covered by the insurance. But something to think about going forward. 

I think someone mentioned about the children making their own way to school but unfortunately the bus is too expensive - 3 are in secondary school but the bus is around £800 per year per child for a student ticket so I take them on my way to work and pick them up when I finish - so it works for now. 

MrFrugalFever

Something you may find useful...Set up a diary in the DFW Diaries section (top of the DFW board), keep us all updated as little or often as you like throughout each month. 

Generating motivation to do this will make it so, so much easier.

Martico

On small (but meaningful) gains to look at:
Check out the old style board as mentioned for meal planning and groceries savings.
Check out the Boost Your Income subforum for ideas on doing surveys, etc (I recommend Prolific Academic)
And for taking advantage of bank account switching bonuses of £150-200 each, check out the Banking subforum. (You can set up a "burner" account to switch from without affecting your main bank account.) 

RAS

Thanks for the updates. A few thoughts.

Can you transport other children whose parent contributes to petrol? 
Any chance of sharing transport for hobbies?

Do work through the last 6 months statements to work out what the money has gone on, as until you have a clear idea of that, you don't know if that SOA is remotely accurate.

And head over to the Money Saving Old Style. Take stock of what's in the fridge, freezer and cupboards, list it and ask for help with a menu plan for this month. If you can stash a couple of hundred quid towards an emergency fund, it's a good idea.

And given the size of your family, look at bulk buying some items. A sack of potatoes, onions and another of horse (oversize) carrots could be worth it now, maybe not in March. Also look at buying joints that are yellow stickered if you can get into the supermarkets at the right time. Portion and freeze.

strawb_shortcake

Familyofseven said:

Thanks for all the replies. 

I’m making time to read them all and take on board suggestions! 

I’m just about to go through all the statements to see what we have been spending on. 

Decision made not to have a holiday - we had one booked for Feb but thankfully can cancel and receive a refund on the deposit. 

Our eldest daughter is only 15 but has a little part time job as pocket money for herself and to contribute towards her phone contract - I think that contribution is enough for now given her age - thankfully she seems pretty savvy with money already and is building her own savings!  

Whilst i’d been toying with cancelling the white good insurance our dishwasher had to be repaired 3 times this year which was all covered by the insurance. But something to think about going forward. 

I think someone mentioned about the children making their own way to school but unfortunately the bus is too expensive - 3 are in secondary school but the bus is around £800 per year per child for a student ticket so I take them on my way to work and pick them up when I finish - so it works for now. 

I appreciate you've got a big family and time is limited, but you can do without a dishwasher if yours were to break again. We are a family of 5 and never owned a dishwasher. 

MrFrugalFever

annabanana82 said:

Familyofseven said:

Thanks for all the replies. 

I’m making time to read them all and take on board suggestions! 

I’m just about to go through all the statements to see what we have been spending on. 

Decision made not to have a holiday - we had one booked for Feb but thankfully can cancel and receive a refund on the deposit. 

Our eldest daughter is only 15 but has a little part time job as pocket money for herself and to contribute towards her phone contract - I think that contribution is enough for now given her age - thankfully she seems pretty savvy with money already and is building her own savings!  

Whilst i’d been toying with cancelling the white good insurance our dishwasher had to be repaired 3 times this year which was all covered by the insurance. But something to think about going forward. 

I think someone mentioned about the children making their own way to school but unfortunately the bus is too expensive - 3 are in secondary school but the bus is around £800 per year per child for a student ticket so I take them on my way to work and pick them up when I finish - so it works for now. 

I appreciate you've got a big family and time is limited, but you can do without a dishwasher if yours were to break again. We are a family of 5 and never owned a dishwasher. 

Interestingly enough I was going to respond back to the OP regarding the dishwasher as I was convinced that doing manual washing up would be far more cost effective....until I started googling and researching. It appears that actually dishwashers are more cost effective! Who knew?

I do know, from experience, that dishwashers require maintenance if large food deposits are consistently put in to the machine, so quickly rinsing off prior is best practice to reduce the amount of food waste being put in to the dishwasher.