How much housekeeping should I receive?

Question

For a family of four in the UK, and to cover food, clothes, petrol, birthday presents and cards, house maintenance and any little extras... pretty much everything except the mortgage and insurance. I have just had my allowance cut by £100 and I can't argue my case unless I have an idea of how much others get paid!

Answer 1

Are you the wife, daughter or actual housekeeper?

If you are the wife, find out about your financial situation. Maybe he is having trouble.

If you are the daughter, ditto. Or see if they aren't satisified with your work.

If you are the housekeeper, why the bloody hell are you paying for gas and birthday presents?

Answer 2

Maybe your husband is worried about your finances or his future job security? In any case, its difficult these days for one person to be the sole breadwinner and bring in enough to meet all the bills for a family.
It would be better if you could talk this over with your husband and make a financial plan together.
Write down a list of all the must haves;
Mortgage/rent
Council tax
Buildings insurance
Contents insurance
TV licence
Water
Gas
Electricity
Car tax
These are the essentials you have to pay, and you need to work out how much it costs each week and month. Then there's
loans
credit cards

These are interest bearing loans that need to be paid.
After that there's

Food
Toiletries & household
Clothes
Petrol
Birthday and Xmas
It would help if you made a record for a whole month of what you spend and where it goes, every single purchase. It sounds nitpicking but its the only way you'll figure it out.

There are only two ways to maximise your income; earn more or spend less. One puts pressure on your partner, the other puts pressure on you and you can both end up feeling resentful and unappreciated. He'll feel he works all the time but doesn't get anything for himself, and you'll feel he just doesn't understand how expensive everything is.
You've both got to realise that you're not on opposite sides, and start to work out an agreement so you can work as a team.

The third way to fix this problem is to work out how you can get more for your money. Taking this kind of problem solving attitude to your finances can be a constructive way to deal with them.
For starters, if you buy your gas and electricity from the same company and pay by direct debit each month, its easier to budget for the bills plus you get a discount.
If your washing machine has a manual on/off switch (like a light switch) rather than an electronic switch you can use a timer, get economy 7 and run it at night. Economy 7 electricity is a third of the proce of daytime electricity, so you get three loads of washing for the price of one.
Energy saving light bulbs could cut your electricity bills by £4 or £5 a week.
Supermarket own brand fabric conditioner, loo roll, washing powder, frozen vegetables, bread, shampoo and so on are as good as branded products but a lot less.
If you're buying brand name childrens clothing for them to play in, switch to Tesco or Asda brand instead.

And as a last resort, sign up with a temp agency. Say you only want to work during school hours so you don't have to pay childcare. You've only got to earn £25 a week, plus the tax you'll pay, plus travel plus a small clothing allowance to make it worth your while. So an extra £60 to £80 from you and the problem's sorted. Plus your husband would probably appreciate the effort.

If you were a single parent with two kids you'd have all the bills except rent and council tax and you'd get about £90 a week. Try to work out how you'd manage on that.

Answer 3

You did not say how much you get in the first place. to cut £100 from £5,000 is not bad but to cut £100 from £150 is dire, then you show the cost of everything you have to buy and tell him you cant manage.

Answer 4

depends whether you are working or not. If you have your own income then you should mainly contribute what you can after allowing for savings for a rainy day, If you are not working I suggest your partner should pay all household expenses and negotiate a budget for weekly shopping and other unforseen expenses!

Answer 5

i suggest u go and talk to someone at the Citizens Advice Bureau. they know all about this kind of stuff and are very helpful. good luck.

Answer 6

Doesn't matter how much others get.
You know how much you actually need.
That's the bottom line.
That's the case you have to argue.

Answer 7

have no idea but as full time carrer get approx 46£ per week but sure yoiu due more i hope ..social work dept take note sure you care NOT

Answer 8

take the allance cut. if you need more money get a job.