Melissa Kerrighen thinks the cost of living in the UK is too expensive and can’t imagine getting on the property ladder
In our How I Manage My Money series we aim to find out how people in the UK are spending, saving and investing money to meet their costs and achieve their goals.
This week we speak to Melissa Kerrighen, 28, who lives in Kent with her partner, David, 41, and their daughter, Isla, five. Melissa, a saddler by day, is working hard to get her credit card debt paid off and recently started putting money in a workplace pension. She would love to buy a home, but isn’t sure this will ever be possible. Melissa thinks the cost of living in the UK is absurd.
Monthly budget
My monthly income: I earn about £1,700 a month after deductions from my work at a saddlery. I also receive £102.60 in child benefit every four weeks. My husband works as a self-employed plant engineer.
Our monthly outgoings: Rent, £1,100; council tax, £125; childcare, £160; groceries, around £320; gas, electric and water, £200; broadband, £37.92; mobile phones, £30; car fuel, £180; credit card payment, around £150. I tend to give myself an allowance for expenses like day trips, takeaways and hobbies, but for things like holidays, school uniform and birthdays, I save and put money in a sinking fund with interest. I make contributions to a work pension, but I’m not sure how much is added each month.
I left home when I was 16 and grew up in quite a toxic environment. My dad left the family home when I was 13 and mum had problems with alcohol, drugs and her mental health. We lived in social housing and relied on benefits. I didn’t finish my A-Levels at school or go to university, but ended up doing a course in business administration instead.
I’ve always been quite creative and am now working 39 hours a week spread over four days at a saddlery, designing and making their products. After deductions, my pay is about £1,700 a month.
I talk about money, budgeting, family life and debt on my TikTok and Instagram channels, but don’t make any money from these. I started my TikTok account to make myself more accountable when it comes to getting my credit card debt paid off.
I’d never got into debt on my credit card until a couple of years ago. I began making purchases on the card, forgot about them and then started doing minimum repayments. It soon mounted up and I found myself in over £3,000 of credit card debt. I’m now paying off about £150 a month, but this is variable. I’m hoping to get it all paid off by the end of May 2026. I’d like to get it paid off sooner and am making as many repayments as I can without leaving myself short.
I think the cost of living in the UK is insane. My rent has doubled in seven years, but my income hasn’t kept up. We live in a two-bedroom cottage in rural Kent and in the last year alone the rent has increased from £950 to £1,100 a month.
To my mind, the standard personal allowance for income tax is, at £12,570, ridiculous and needs to be increased to enable people to actually live. Groceries are expensive and I just feel like I’m throwing money away all the time. I also pay about £160 a month in childcare costs. Our daughter goes to after-school clubs, which enables me to work later. If I couldn’t work the hours I do now, I’d be earning less.
I’ve got about £1,200 in a savings account, but I often need to use the money in it for short-term spending. As I’m still paying off my debt, I don’t want to have to go back to using my credit card if my washing machine breaks down, for example.
If I’m honest, I haven’t given pensions much thought. I’m just trying to live now, but since starting my job at the saddlery in 2023 I have been putting money in a work pension. I can see myself working for ever and am very much a workaholic. I think it’s too difficult to predict how much money I might need in later life. I look at what has changed in the past 40 years and just think who could preempt all that? You can’t.
For me, money is about being able to provide for my family. When I was a child, I knew my family relied on benefits and I want our daughter to see how hard we work for what we want and know that you can do anything if you want it enough. It would be nice not to have to worry about money at all and I’d be willing to work more hours to earn more as I always want to better myself.
I hope David and I can buy our own home one day. This is something none of my siblings or cousins have been able to do. I’m willing to work hard, but as my partner is self-employed I just don’t think it will be possible for us to get on the housing ladder.
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