Money makes the world go around.

In the words of Liza Minelli, 'Money makes the world go around'. Since signing a contract committing to buy my own home, I've found myself more concerned than ever about the amount in my bank account. I used to have a healthy couple of thousand saved, steady income and outgoings and enough money at the end of the month for an outfit or night out. Now, I can cover the mortgage, but I'm worried I won't have enough cash to cover the work needed for the property. 

That famous song from Cabaret

My boyfriend and I consider ourselves to have fairly decent jobs. He's a social worker and I'm a teacher. Yet in our quest to get on the property ladder we have had to resort to handouts and loans from family members. We bought a cheap house in a good area in order to keep costs down, but the house is unliveable without having a certain amount spent on it.

It makes me wonder how others cope. Gone are the days of a 100% mortgage, and people are starting to learn the dangers of signing up to numerous credit cards. How do others manage to afford to live? Particularly single parents or those on lower incomes.

 

There are so many things that I have to pay for each month.

• Rent
• Food
• Petrol (£200 a month just to go to work and back each day and my Mum's now and then!)
• Dog walker
• Travel to London for foot treatment
• Foot treatment
• Car insurance
• Contents insurance
• Car servicing/MOT/upkeep
• Electric and gas

I was sitting at home a few days ago, and the phone rang. I answered and it was the gas company asking for £200 to cover gas bills at my previous rental property! It seems that there is no rest from people asking for money.

 

In order to help the house renovations I'm planning to advertise my services as an English tutor. It's around £20 an hour and would be something that would be fairly easy to do on the side of work without extra stress. I was thinking of doing some bar work in the evenings but with the Master's and full-time teaching I just wouldn't be able to cope.

How do you make ends meet at the end of each month?