Too much!

naomi123

Hello this is my first post on here so please bear with me.

I finished uni this year in June and managed to get a good job from which i bring home about £1200 per month.
My partner and I bought our first house together soon after- he brings home about £1500 per month so our combined income is aprox £2700 per month.
However, now I am pregnant, the baby is due in April and will be taking maternity leave for my job and returning after 6 months leave. I have done the budget spreadsheet and all our figures balance at the moment except for as soon as we start paying childcare etc we just cant afford it!!
Our mortgage is 700pcm
We pay back £200 pcm on a joint loan and my partner pays back another £100 on a seperate loan.
My overdraft from uni is £1500- the account has turned into a graduate account so its interest free but its still £1500 to pay back!
I have £100 savings (so !!!!!! all really) which will be needed towards things like a cot etc.

How the hell are we going to be able to afford to have this baby Im so scared of getting into huge pits of debt and never being able to climb out!

I cant help thinking Ive done too much in this year Ive only just finished uni 6 months ago and here I am now with a mortgage and a baby on the way!

naomi123

Also I have to start paying off my student loan in April which will be about £80 pcm so my take home income is going to decrease- I have rung student loans company and they wont defer payments even though Im having a baby

skintchick

Hi - can you please post all your outgoings in detail, and any other debts than the mortgage, so we can advise? At the moment it's hard to see what the problem is, with £2,700 coming in and £1,000 on mortgage and loans, that leaves £1,700 at the moment and £500 when you are on mat leave, plus whatever you get for mat leave.

And do tell us what maternity pay you get too.

jcr16

congrats on being preg ,and for planning ahead already. but u can apply for a £500 a grant when baby born, and child tax credit , working tax credit , child benefit. u may not be enitited to all of them , but still apply. as for baby item's. u don't need to buy brand new. although it is a luxury it not important. the only furniture i bought brand new for my daugther was a cot. it cost £65 including a brand new matress from ebay. check ebay for quality second hand baby items. if you have friends with children as them if u can buy items from them if they have finished with it. i bought my daugther a special outfit for coming home in and for xmas but other than that she generally has second hand , as children grow so quickly. don't feel u have to spend a fortune. u really don't .

HTH

dinkylou

It may be a small thing but your student loan repayment wont be as high as that.

I take home a little more than you and I pay back £55 per month so yours wont be any higher than that (9% of anything over 15k).

Otherwise, have you looked into any government help you can get when you have your baby? ie benefits, tax credits etc. This will all help.

Take a deep breath and relax.

Then post on here your SOA. You still have a few months to put things in place.

in*the*red_6

You will automatically be entitled to child benefit from the babys birth date (£68 every 4 weeks) and you should also receive a baby allowance from tax credits (something like £550-600 for having a child under one). When you talk to the tax credits helpline they should pro rata your income for the year to take into account your maternity leave and then when you return to work, provided you are using an approved childcare provider, you should also qualify for some help.

naomi123

Thanks for your replies.
Expenditure:
Mortgage £700
Council Tax £135
Water £40
Gas and leccy £40
Home phone £15
Internet £25
Mobiles £60
Life Assurance £25
Food Shopping £40
Loan for deposit for house £200
DP car loan £100
TV License £10
We also have 2 cars we need one each to get to work etc, and insurance is quite expensive as we have both had a few crashes.
It just it seems that full time childcare will be about £600pcm which is a huge figure- almost like another mortgage! We earn too much to get lots of benefits but not enough to not need them. Obv we will get child benefit etc though.
My mat pay is statutory only £400 pcm which isnt enough to keep paying mortgage etc.
We are lucky in that we have been given big items such as buggy etc but even just buying the little things such as new mattress or clothes although you can get them cheaply it still all adds up. Even things like maternity clothes for me are starting to cost! I have got some stuff off Ebay luckily though.

Bestthingsinlifearefree

Hi Naomi,

£60 month on mobiles seems a lot.

My wife has a pay as you go mobile (just for emergencies really) spend less than £15 every 3 months on it in calls so it costs us £5 per month.

Myself I don't either bother with a mobile I am contactable at work or at home on home tel or I am out with the wife and contactable via her mobile !!!!

2 cars to get to work ??

If you are not going to be working after the baby could you get rid of one car. Is it there no way possible for one of you to use public transport, car share , cycle ?????


Again I cycle to work. My wife drives to work.

Having just one car can occasionally be inconvenient but saves us thousands.

We could comfortably afford 2 cars and pay £60 per month on mobiles but prefer to save this money and put it to towards other things.

naomi123

We need 2 cars unfortuantly as we both work in different places and I will be going back to work after the baby. Also my partner is a flying instructor at weekends (he dosnt get paid for this- its volunteer work) and the drive there is about an hour each way. As we live in the middle of nowhere I need my car to get out and about at weekends eg to visit family etc.
£60 on mobiles is about £30 on each mobile. I suppose we could think about sharing a mobile but we do like to talk to each other! I will definatly look into it though- as we dont seem to use them that much.

in*the*red_6

It just it seems that full time childcare will be about £600pcm which is a huge figure- almost like another mortgage! We earn too much to get lots of benefits but not enough to not need them.

I know how you feel, this is exactly how I felt when I was paying out for childcare, you feel as if you're paying for the privelege of having to work!!

Are you sure you'll want to go back to work full time? - perspectives often change once the baby arrives. Is there any opportunity for flexible working with either yours or your partner's job?

:xmastree:

Penny-Pincher!!

Is £40 on food per month correct? Seems very low.

PP
xx