I feel like we are the only one's struggling like this. My family and I live in a rented three bed house.

We rent because we lived out of the country for a long time, we have two young children and at the moment we can't raise enough capital for a deposit on a house. We run two cars, we do a weekly shop, we have Sky TV, we don't go out much. Once we have paid all our monthly bills, we have nothing left and the whole cycle starts again the next month. Are other people struggling?I feel like we are the only one's struggling like this. My family and I live in a rented three bed house.
We are struggling too. i don't run a car or have a tv. we haven't had a holiday for years. all of our clothes are from charity shops or cast offs from friends. i don't have a social life and haven't been out in the evening for a couple of years. sometimes we run out of food and i don't eat so that the kids can. i dn't drink or smoke. every single day is a real struggle.I feel like we are the only one's struggling like this. My family and I live in a rented three bed house.
Sounds like you are doing better than the majority of people in the world.





I am stuggling too but I don't have sky and I don't run 2 cars. Find other sources of entertainment. Eg. WH Smith do a 10 quid a month deal where you get DVD's sent to you at home as quickly as you send the last one back. Maybe lose the sky and get something like that - have a family night in with popcorn etc. Do you really need 2 cars? I know you have kids, but what about a liftshare (google it there is a liftshare website) to sort out getting to work. Or even keep both cars but use it anyway to save fuel. As long as your debts are going down then you have a light at the end of the tunnel.
Yes, I'm sorry to say that most of us live month to month, and will never be able to do much better,


For all those do gooders, who commented on:


why have 2 cars


why have sky t.v


my answer is this: sometimes you have to have 2 cars, whilst your husband works and is using one, how do you do your weekly shop (supermarkets are usually situated on the outskirts) and how do you run your kids to after school activities - get a bus??? Most buses cost more that running a car! (where we come from anyway)


Yeah, I know about the planet and cutting back on emisions etc, but be practical!!





I'm with you on this one, sky t.v is not a necessity like some said, but hey if you can't afford to go out much you have to have some entertainment right?





Lets hope one of us wins the lottery soon! Yeah, I ';waste'; money on the lottery but I also may win too!! Good luck from the rest of us struggling to exist.
Frankly, other people are struggling a lot more than you.





At least at the end of the month you have a balance of 拢0- which is better than having a debt that grows every month which you'll never escape from.





You don't *need* Sky, you don't *need* a second car. How much petrol do you use? You can afford to eat- do you always buy the cheapest brands? Do you smoke? You don't go out ';much'; but you do go out, how much does that cost?
hi, i have to sympathsise with you. i have to rent a house as i do not earn enough to be able to get a mortgage.


i have a 6 year old daughter and pay for childcare, my rent, run a car etc. we only just have enough money coming in to cover our outgoings (we don't waste money or have many luxuries) - and i can't see it ever getting any better if i stay on my own - even if i managed to get a full time job paying 拢30k a year i would be no better off than i am now with more tax and NI to pay, losing my tax credits and having more childcare and traveling expenses to pay out for!





i work hard and love helping others but feel like doing things 'right' doesn't get you anywhere in life!
Yep most people and things just getting worse - my partner works I have 15 month old and thanks to kind relatives work part time with no child care cost but we still have no money left for nices after pay bills/mortgage. And things are getting worse I'm afraid I work in the mortgage industry and we are slowing down to a practical halt with no one lending and ridiculas fees and having a knock on affect everywhere.





Plus food, electric, gas,PETROL all increased this year, I hope things improve but just see it getting worse.
hi


i sympathise with you. Alot of people are struggling at the moment, with debts they cannot pay, stuggling to get through till next payday.


I have debts of 拢22.000 that i have no hope of paying in this lifetime. I dont have a car as its unaffordable. I shop at the cheapest foodstores and yet my money does not go far.


Maybe you should consider getting rid of one of the cars? would public transport be cheaper? I dont really know how to help, but all I can say is it looks like it will get worse.
well try to reduce the number of cars if you can. It helps the planet as well!


You don't need Sky T.V. get rid of it! Freeview has many channels and it's... free!


Try and cut down on food shopping. Buy from markets.


Anyway to get another job?


Look at houses in other areas - perhaps there will be cheaper prices (not London!)


Don't worry, a three bedroom house isn't bad going when you only have two kids!


xxxx
Everyone struggles. But you need to look at necessity vs. need. Do you really need two cars can you guys manage with one? How much are you spending on weekly food can you start using generic. All the little things do add up and can help free up your money. I have never heard of sky t.v. but if its cable get rid of it and either start reading more or try and rent movies for free at your local library. Just remember necessity vs. want. Oh and try and downsize on the rental that would help I'm sure too.
Yup. I live in a 3 bed house and I have to share a bedroom with my sister. My parents will never be able to buy a house. We only have 1 car but walk most of the time to save petrol for emergencies. We don't have sky, but do have digital. We get buy because all we need is love


Good luck


xxx
Yes - time's are tough now. For lots of people.





Can you get by on one car? Although most of the money goes when you buy rather than running - but it's cheaper to use public transport if not much fun. And Sky is a luxury - there's free-to-view digital soon, and Freesat as well - fewer channels but if you need to economise. Try shopping less frequently but buy in bulk from wholesalers.





Have a look at this site:





http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/





He has lots of little tips that can help a bit.





My roof's in dire need of repair but the insurance company will only pay 拢500 for recent damage in high wind, and it's about 拢8k for a new roof, so I just have to leave it, which is a worry. I can't afford to get it fixed. You're not alone!
yes and rose is right about the cars. we are struggling too. up to 15 months ago I had a job. losing it cut our income in two. however I still need a car to look for work and if I find it, to go to work. All our savings went to pay for our son 1st year at university. We have cable TV because it is part of our rent.
you call running two cars struggling,get rid of them to start with (use the bus) get rid off sky its all repeats anyhow ,start buying your shopping from cheaper stores. if you want to know what struggling is try working and bringing up 4 children on less than 15k a year ..2 cars-----luxury
you live in a 3 bedroom Rented house,you have two young children whose future you have to look out for, youve lived abroard for a Long time,you run two cars, you have SKY T.V and you ask why ??--DUMB??


come to your senses!!
You call THAT struggling? When my dad left my mom had to pay for the house, buy all the food and look after 4 kids while trying to hold down a job and we never even had one car and you call that struggling?


I call it pathetic
The economy is in stagflation..slow economy with rising inflation. It is not easy out there now. Renting maybe better now than owning with the falling home prices. If I had more info , maybe I could advise you better...Hang in there !
Do you need to run 2 cars? Everyone is struggling at the moment, you've just got to try and cut down on the things you don't really need.
You are not alone. Visit ...





http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/





... for help, advice and - if necessary - a shoulder to lean on.
Try and cut on the sky and try with 1 car. Thats all my advice.
Yes
Yes!! It is just me and my partner, we live in a 1 bed flat and i can only work part time because of illness. You are not alone in your struggles.


EDIT - People say ';do you need two cars';, these are probably people that drive around in gas guzzling Land Rovers, if you have two small cars, then whats the problem? As for sky tv, it is not a necessity, but cancelling the contract would probably incur a fee equal to 2 monthly payments, why not just continue the contract and get your use out of it!! We only have 1 car and i walk to work, my mum takes me to my hospital appointments and my overdraft pays for our grocery shopping, but thats how it is at the minute.





Keep your head up! :)
oh my god you call that struggling? god, i know im gonna get loads of thumbs down but i dont give a ****





you dont need sky at all, my wife died three years ago (God bless her soul) and my children and I struggled for years. i have four children (three girls and a boy) and we manage to survive. I didn't have sky, but it costs 拢50 a month, imagine what you could do with that. i used to walk everywhere, or take a bus, until i got a job outside of the city, when i NEEDED a car.





shop at aldi, or a cheap shop. why do you need a three bedroom house for two young children? share a room





god you fail at life
Well, you have the answer-lots pf people struggling!





There are interesting comparisons to draw. In the 50s there were not the consumer choices to buy, so people gotr by with less as a matter of course





Last week(?) a report came out proposing certain levels of provision that were a minimum for comfort. Sky (or equivalent was one, smoking, not. http://www.jrf.org.uk/pressroom/releases鈥?/a>


is the link
I can see your problems and am myself in the same position with 5 daughters to raise and a private rental, Husband works but its never enough. We only have a 5 seater car so everyone walks everywhere, the car is only used to go to work as its 30 miles for the hubby each way.


i think all you can do is nip in the belt for while and i mean really tightly, i am starting work full time and all my children are under 9 so life will be interesting, lol. I do think its a bad situation when i cant be with and provide for my children at the same time. But its children that matter, try explaining to them the situation and make sure they understand, this helps you in many ways least of all the I WANT syndrome.


I think the situation is only going to get worse so the quicker you can start to do it the better.


I would also suggest if school is under a mile each way fresh air is good. mine have been known to walk 4 miles to see a friend, if you can distract them they dont get so bored and it gives you more quality time. Although you might end up with lots of pebbles/leaves/pinecones or the other latest collectable
some good answers here.


definately check out moneysavingexpert.com as they have some great suggestions from using ecoballs when washing (拢30 but last for over 300 washes), to swapping utility providers and comparison websites for everything you want to buy.


look at the food inyour trolley - are you buying lots of processed food and ready meals? try to find cheaper alternatives - you can do amazing meals with mince or pasta relatively cheaply. look for special offers such as bogof.


I really do think you can manage without SKy tv, and do you have a mobile phone contract that you can manage without? My husband goes to a working mans club to watch the football rather than paying a monthly subscription to SKytv., and you can hire DVDs cheap from the library.


check that you are getting all the benefits, tax credits etc that you are entitlted to , and maybe change your job to something closed to home so you dont need two cars?


sit down and make a budget and try to stick to it........and in answer to your question........yes we are all struggling!!!