£35k+ in debt and not coping please help!

butterfly_in_debt

thats a really good idea, thank you, i will start doing that now.
can you give me an idea of what i actually need for a new baby? i dont want to buy lots of things i dont need. thank you x

supersavershal

First money saving thing to do for a new baby is breastfeed, it costs nothing at all and is so good for your baby.
Dont buy too many clothes in newborn and first size as you will be given lots as presents.
You need a crib/moses basket.A pram and car seat.A baby bath.You will need 7 white vests, 7 white sleepsuits, some cardigans and a couple of hats.
You need some small sheets and blankets and some bibs/muslim cloths.
Most of these will be available on freecycle or can be asked for as presents.
You could try cloth nappies as you will save in the long run but if you prefer disposable think about using supermarket brands, I used tesco or boots (not the value but the next step up).You dont need expensive wipes try using cotton wool balls and water.
When weaning time comes make your own food dont buy expensive jars and packets.You will need a blender for this a good hand one can be bought for less than £10.
Dont be too proud to accept offers of second hand clothes and equipment from friends and family.Babies grow so quickly that clothes are still like new.
Hope this helps, my baby is 22 months old and we have managed very well, sometimes he wears 3rd hand clothes and then I sell them on ebay they are still in fantastic condition.
Good luck.

jackieb

And if you're going to stock up on disposable nappies, I wouldn't buy in newborn size. They never fitted any of my 4. Last thing you need is to have packets of nappies you can't use.

butterfly_in_debt

Thank you for the info on what i need for the baby, not buying newborn nappys is a good tip.
i hadnt mentioned that i only get state maternity pay so will only get 6 weeks of 90% of my wage then it will drop to £114 (i think) a week.
does any one know what other benefits i may be entitled to?
went for a san today, all is fine, baby due approx 11th july x

bonsibabe

Hi butterfly - first CONGRATS!!!

As for benefits, you can claim Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit, and i would claim for working tax credits too. They may say that your DH earns too much for WTC but it is worth trying for anyway.

Even if you decide to use disposable nappies, its worth buying a few terry ones as well. I used them when i was burping DD1 and DD2 and they were great for cleaning up spills and things!

My biggest tip would be to try and get as much as you can now, I still buy asda own brand baby wipes, my kids are 6 and 4 now and they are great for keeping faces and hands clean. They are also great for cleaning leather sofas lol. When I was pregnant with DD1 I bought £10-£15 of baby stuff every week, and to be honest I was still using some of it when DD2 came along 2 and a bit years later!

A lot of my kids clothes are hand me downs from friends. My DD2 is in clothes that were passed through 4 kids before her and they still look fab! When she does eventually outgrow them I will either pass them on or stick them on ebay.

Good luck!

bonsibabe

Hi butterfly - first CONGRATS!!!

As for benefits, you can claim Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit, and i would claim for working tax credits too. They may say that your DH earns too much for WTC but it is worth trying for anyway.

Even if you decide to use disposable nappies, its worth buying a few terry ones as well. I used them when i was burping DD1 and DD2 and they were great for cleaning up spills and things!

My biggest tip would be to try and get as much as you can now, I still buy asda own brand baby wipes, my kids are 6 and 4 now and they are great for keeping faces and hands clean. They are also great for cleaning leather sofas lol. When I was pregnant with DD1 I bought £10-£15 of baby stuff every week, and to be honest I was still using some of it when DD2 came along 2 and a bit years later!

A lot of my kids clothes are hand me downs from friends. My DD2 is in clothes that were passed through 4 kids before her and they still look fab! When she does eventually outgrow them I will either pass them on or stick them on ebay.

Good luck!

bonsibabe

I have no idea why my post has gone on twice! Mmm gremlins I think lol x

RAS

Hi

You can get a lot of the baby stuff you need from www.freecycle.org - it is like e-bay but the stuff is free. As you only need a lot of it for a few months, it is great. use that for mat clothes as well.

Considee joining the NCT, they have good breast feeding advisors and often do clothes swaps/sales for their mums.

butterfly_in_debt

thank you for all your posts, i really do appreciate it.
i feel so worried and upset about everything and really cant see a way out so any help is so gratefully recieved.
i called a CCCS today but they said we were't classed as 'desperate' so they cant help us yet. i just dont know how we are going to bring down the intrest rates on our credit cards enough to be able to start paying them.

firesidemaid

please don't get worried and upset x

you have had some lovely news and you will manage.

the best thing is you have already realised you need to do something before even CCCS will describe you as desperate.

i don't have kids so i cannot give you any advice there, but even i have joined up to all the nappy etc sites and registered my pets as children to get the money-off coupons!

tescos will actually take any coupons in payment off your shopping - you don't have to buy the item as long as they sell it. i cut out all the coupons in the mags at work and look out for bits and bobs to apply for on the freebie section on this forum.

also, look out every day or few on the site www.hotukdeals.co.uk - its another great site for letting you know about any deal that anyone has found - including lots of baby etc deals