Skint_chick turns things around

Jesthar

Hi chick! Well done on posting!

Just wanted to encourage you a little - looking at your wage, you will lose about £800 of income when you go to half pay? As you already have a £700+ surplus (unless you've missed anything significant, or I'm not reading this correctly!), that's not an overly huge amount to have to find, even if your mortgage doesn't come down as you hope.

I would suggest that you and your OH sit down together and do a full SOA, though, and include absolutely everything - your buy to let money, OH's car costs etc.. You need to have the fullest picture possible to plan properly, and leaving anything off could potentially lead to a nasty surprise further down the line.

Most of my suggestion shave been made already, but I do agree you can definitely get your food bill down if you are careful - check out the Old Style Moneysaving section of the board for many a thrifty way of making food go further!

Keep an eye on your heating oil bill too - will this go down in the summer months, or is that a yearly average? You may be able to lower costs here too with care, and maybe an extra jumper and pair of socks

Is there any chance you can get another 0% balance transfer for your credit card once the current one runs out, or at least a lower APR one? You definitely need to save, save, save over the next few months so you can pay most or all of this off in April if necessary.

If you're at home all day, have you checked the 'Boost Your Income' section of the boards? There are lots of threads there for things like paid internet surveys etc. which can earn you a little extra cash. There's also a thread in this section of the board about making money for free clicks through caskback sites, and, of course, the competition forum. Might be something worthwhile to do with your spare time!

Anyway, hope this helps,

~Jes

halight

Hi Just wont to say good luck,
Keep us all updated on how you get on

skint_chick

too much info

mizzy2

If your going to be at home on the internet a lot get on dooyoo.co.uk and write some reviews. When you get to £50 you can get a cheque and maybe this will help with a few of those repayments. I got to £50 in about a month writing and reading and rating other peoples reviews. theres loads of info about it on the up your income board x

CAFCGirl

Hello

Must admit Ive not gpt much advice regarding your financial situation that hasnt been said already.
Are you paying a letting agent to manage your let properties for you? Could you possibly manage them yourself and therefore keep more of the "rent" for yourself? Are the properties due an increase in rates?

Invest in some thermals if you'reou're going to be home a lot, you will probably find bills like electric/heating increase because you around. Some thermals might save you from putting the heating on. That and if you can stand it, stay in one room with the doors closed to retain the heat you produce I think I read that on the OS board), get some blankets/fleeces ready to wear.

As for how to fill your time, why dont you take up knitting? You could always sell what you make on Ebay etc, or make little hats/cardis/booties and donate them to your local pre-baby unit. My nan does this to keep herself occupied during the days.

Dooyoo is another good suggestion already made to earn a little bit of cash.

I do think you and your OH need to sit down and work out your money together, it doesnt seem v.joint at the moment and I would worry that you are overstretching yourself trying to cover everything from your wage.

Hope you get a plan together and can relax and concentrate on your recovery xx

dancingfairy

o.k - you might be able to chop a bit off the food bill - with carfeul planning - head over to oldstyle -but obviously you need to concentrate on your recovery as well.
Car - can you SORN it for 3/6 months and get your OH to give you lifts where necessary /use the bus? this would free up quite a chunk.
Mortgage - find out what is happening with that.
CT - will you be entitled to any benefits while on 1/2 pay - do check as you pay get ct benefit or something.
Would keep any eye out for all competitions/freebies/money making opportunities on here as well.
Reduce the holiday fund as well for the next few months.

It look like things might be a little tight for a while - but definiately doable.
Good Luck
df x

skint_chick

way too much info

skint_chick

too much info

chunkytfg

Am i right in saying the mortgage of 345k is for all 3 properties?

neas

How did you get 2 BTL properties and a home foryourself?

Have you included the rental income on those properties in your total income?

Have you factored in other things that a landlord might need? White Goods breaking down, Roofs flying off? Tenants leaving your tenancy?