Need Advice

Judi101

Hi,

I am hoping some of you wonderful people can help. I am currently on maternity leave with my wonderful DD with just under 3 months left. The job I was doing is under threat of redundancy and well I would love to be a stay at home mum but money is the issue. Can any of you give me any hints etc as to what I can do?


Here are our monthly bills. My DH takes home £1100 per month plus child benefit and tax credits this brings it to £1260 per month.

£420 mortgage
£40 gas
£20 electric (have economy 7, does anyone out there know how this
works?)
£16 internet
£11 BT phone rental
£4 phone calls (have signed up for Talk Talk 'free' broadband so phone
and internet will be £21 in total)
£25 house insurance (always shop around and pay annually)
£35 car insurance (as above)
£5 national trust
£36 sky (its the sports channels that push it up but we rarely go out now
and my DH does love his football)
£11 TV licence
£47 Savings plan for DH retirement including life insurance
£39.41 life insurance (have shopped around, these are cheapest I could find)
£18.48 accident, sickness and redundancy cover for mortgage
£30 my pension
£2 DH football magazine
£3 My magazine
£103 council tax
£30 water rates
£12 estimated to cover road tax due in June
£5 estimated to cover MOT due in June
£5 AA membership
£35 estimated to cover car maintenance through the year
£90 to cover all birthdays, christmas, fathers and mothers day,
anniversary, etc etc (I have a large family and we mail presents to
Australia too)
£2 estimated mobile phone charges for 2 phones - dont use them much
£200 food budget
£85 DH bus fares to work (he cycles in summer so its just through winter)
£70 petrol
£12 estimated on 2 playgroups a week and 1 every fortnight
£15 my weekly yoga class
£125 annual 2 week holiday

Claudie

Hi Judi

Congratulations on DD - it is lovely being a Mum isn't it?

If your job is under threat is it worthwhile going back to work for a period to see if you would be entitled to a redundancy payment? Or have you thought about asking your employer now to make you redundant with a payout? That may help while you are thinking through your options.

I have gone back to work part time and it really suits us (although it doesn't suit our budget ...). The only thing I would say is if you do return to work, ask friends and family for childcare recommendations and go see lots of different places. Nursery vouchers through your employer are also quite helpful. I tried working from home but it didn't really work for me, I still needed childcare while working at home or else I ended up trying to meet deadlines by working till 2 or 3 in the morning - I guess it depends on your job.

If your husband's hours are regular, are you able to work around his hours? My friend does a cleaning job for 2 hours every evening when her OH returns from work, that helps them quite a bit.

If you don't return to work will you and your OH be entitled to claim Working Tax Credits? I believe there is a "What benefits are you entitled to" forum on here somewhere.

Your budget looks pretty well thought out.. The only thing that looked high was the bus travel...when your OH needs the bus is it possible to get a monthly pass or is that the going rate for monthly travel where you live?

It's a tough question. I will be interested in the replies myself.

Good luck

Lillibet_2

Hi

You are in a very similar boat to myself with very similar figures. By my maths you ned to trim £302 off your monthly expenditure. However, you haven't made any allowance for clothes, unexpected items or general personal spenidng money (can you really get by with NOTHING in your purse?)
Would you consider temporiarily stopping contributing to your pension whilst you are not working? You can always start it up again later.
Can you consider reducing your annual holiday expenditure? I know it seems like we should go on holiday at least once a year, but when money is tight it is a luxury. We have reduced our holiday budget to £25 a month and for the next few years we will be staying at various friends houses around the UK. A big difference when we are used to 3 holidays a year in very exotic locations but we look at what we have gained, not what we are missing out on. The world will (probably!) still be there when our Spud is old enough to appreciate it & we can't wait to show it to him. Until then, the UK is a wonderful place too!
£30 water rates sounds expensive to me, would you consider having a meter?
£90 a month for pressies:eek:Thats £1100 a year on OTHER PEOPLE when you are struggling!!!!!! I'm sorry, but you have to put your own necessities first. Look at sending nominal e-vouchers to those overseas or better still, suggest a mutual no-pressies except for the kids embargo for a few years, most people will understand & be more than happy to cross you off their lists too! Save loylaty points for pressies & be very strict. If you can't afford anything then a batch of home made biscuits & a "I love you" is never turned away, and to be honest people will understand to the point of expecting you to cut back if you have a little one & one less income to take into consideration.
£18.48 sickness/redundancy/accident insurance. Is this just for your hubby or you too? 'Cos if you aren't working then there's no point in insuring you against redundancy!
£200 per motnh for food for 2 of you plus a small person is steep but somehow, even using washable nappies & breast feeding for 8 months, I still get through near this amount when I take into account stationary, odds & sods etc that also get picked up at the supermarket. Have you had a look at the index thread for budget recipes, cheap clenaing solutions etc, you might be able to shave something off this.
Magazines? You have a 3 month old & find time to read magazines??? Lucky you!!! But personally, I'd cut this expense, I know it's only a fiver, but it all adds up. Lots of magazines put some of their content on their websites, or try your local libriary.

Thats all I can think of for now but others will be along soon & will be able to come up with loads more.

Good luck;)

Dobie

Hi Judi101
I can certainly help you with your Economy 7 question. It means you get cheaper electricity between 1am &8am, unless you've got a very old fashioned meter & then it will be midnight - 7am during the winter & 1am - 8am in the summer. You can tell if your meter is old if it doesn't show the time & change automatically when we change the clocks.

miaxmia

Are you unable to claim SMP - £100 a week. I assume you are in a private pension scheme? I am a little confused. You haven't been made redundant yet - are you anticipating that this will happen before you are due to return to work and you will be down to just your husband's wage, child credit etc?

moggins

There are quite a few things you could cut out to get that £300 extra but it really all depends on what you are prepared to sacrifice.

I've been a SAHM for the last 5 years and our income seems very similar to yours. Our only holiday was 2 years ago and it was a week in a caravan in Wales. I don't have magazines except for Prima which was paid for with Tesco Deals. We only buy presents for parents and very small value presents for others children. There are 4 of us, 2 cats, 2 guinea pigs and 5 fish and our shopping budget is £200, this includes all toiletries cleaning products and laundry stuff. Our car is 8 years old and I thought myself extremely lucky when I got an £8 skirt from Primark instead of from a charity shop Those are the sacrifices, however the benefits are numerous and I can't even contemplate going back to work now. We have very little stress, plenty of time to spend as a family. I can enjoy my hobbies (although those very hobbies produce things for the house).

It can be done, and in fact your real quality of life will probably go up as you start walking with the children for entertainment (you won't need the gym) cook from scratch (it tastes better, is better for the family and costs a lot less) try out new hobbies (lots of those christmas and birthday presents for pennies). I use Tesco online shopping to get extra codes and am saving my vouchers for new bedroom furniture although these can be used for holidays, I use Boots for Advantage points and then use the points on my advantage card to pay for christmas presents. I use Pigsback for clickthroughs, and get my Boots vouchers for these.

But it's really down to you and how much you want this?

Spendless

Hi

May I ask what the car is used for since you have put travelling expenses in for your husband to work. Could this go?
At 3 months your child doesn't yet need mums and tots, though you might;) My own HV had a once a week coffee morning for babies till they could walk and it was free-just paid for drinks (and after I'd fund-raised for them they didn't have to pay for that either cos it gave them a kitty that lasted a year). What about asking your own if there is anything similar in area.
I'm also a magazine junkie. I buy one and my neighbour buys another then we swop. There's also a thread on this form about 3 mags for £1.

Dr.Lou

Here are my thoughts, hope it helps...

Could your husband give up SKY at all? We had sky for several years and thought we would struggle without it, but really since getting rid of it in January I have not missed it one little bit (p.s. my hubby loves footie too, but looks at all the scores etc online).

As Moggins says, Pigsback is very good for getting free high street vouchers, there is a thread on this on the Freebies forum. Again I get my magazine subscription from Tesco clubcard points.

The yoga, can you do this with a DVD in the house, or pair up with a friend to exercise outdoors?

As for holidays, my sister has recently returned from the 'SUN (newspaper) holidays for £9.50 each' she went to a chalet in Cornwall and had a great time...could you cope with a couple of these (or similar) a year instead?

Can you find a free mother and toddler group, or just meet with any of your friends with babies and do a sort of rota at each others houses?

Your AA, you can get car recovery using tesco clubcard vouchers quite cheaply too. Or try getting car insurance which gives you this cover too. I am with Zurich and it provides this service with green flag.

Also if you have any savings, make sure they are getting you the best rate of interest they can, also if you don't go back to work, get you hubby to transfer his savings into your name, so that you don't have to pay tax.

Good Luck!

Katgoddess

£200 food budget for 2 adults and baby could be trimmed down. Join the Grocery challenge.

Does OH really need Sky? Can't you compromise and send him to the pub to watch matches?

AA membership. There is another company that does roadside cover for £32 a year. Read here. Or pay with tesco points.

House insurance - check out the barclays £50 offer if they can't beat your quote.

National trust. Will you be using this with a new born baby? You can also pay with tesco points.

I agree with the £90 for presents. You have a new child and no job. People will understand about the lack of presents. Or encourage your families to do a secret santa thing for christmas and pick a name out of the hat. Check out the Boots threads. Buy stuff in the sales.

Do you really need a car? Or would it work out cheaper petrol wise if hubby used your car in winter as you will already be paying for the tax and insurance?

You are paying nearly £105 in different types of life insurance and savings plans. Can this be reduced. Do you need it? Check out the insurance board, I'm sure they can help.

Think about some SAHM work. People on here sell stuff in ebay and Amazon and have own businesses. A part time job in a shop could help you find extra money or even temporay work at christmas.

Hope this gets you thinking. Good luck! Hopefully soon you will having extra money and joining the mortgage free wannabe board.

culpepper

Ive been an SAHM for 17 years.I did a couple of part time jobs just to help with big emergency expenses but found I was actually starting to spend more as a result(no time to bake,walk kids to school,shop around etc).
If your OH cycled to work all year,it would be a help.
I used to cycle to work in all weathers and you just get used to it.You come in to work glowing while everyone else is shivering
Unless you live way out in the sticks,it doesnt sound as though you would really need a car.We have a small car and use it for only 2 trips a week,one to the big supermarket and one to the Kids Karate classes.The only other time is if we are holidaying or very occassional seaside days out.I think we put about £20 petrol in ,a month and because the mileage is so low,so is the maintainance.Also,small car,small insurance and lower road tax.
We are two adults and two big teens and my food and cleaning cost is around £35 a week with about another £10 for anything else that comes up(presents,books,clothes,hobby supplies).Hopefully this year that will be further reduced as I have started growing fruit and veg at home.
Cant think of anything else to add really so hope that is usefull.

Icemaiden

Hi judi, welcome to O/S

I too am a SAHM, for about 5 years now, and can highly recommend it. Yes its hard to adjust at the begining with less money but as others have said the positives soon outway the negatives. If like me you really wanted to stay at home cut backs are inevitable.
Do you really need to spend £70 per month on petrol when your O/H cycles to work? Can this be cut down? I walk or bus everywhere as O/H needs ours for work.
I gather you go aboard for your hols, I budget £50 a month and for this we go self catering in the UK in a nice cottage, what matters most to us is that we are spending quality time together as my O/H works long hour being self employed.
Our house insurance is £13 per month from direct line and that includes extras like garden shed, bikes, freezer breakdown etc...so yours could be reduced slightly.
Maybe after the World cup you could tackle (no pun intended) your O/H about reducing the sky package? Your a woman, use yours powers of persuasion;)
£200 food budget could be cut down. We spend the same and their are 2 adults, 1x14yr old boy & 1x4 yr old girl in our family. We never go without anything, eat loads of meat, fresh veg and it includes a bottle of wine per week which we have on a friday night when I cook something special for just the two of us.

It might all seem a bit daunting at the moment but with a few cut backs here and there you could manage it.
Good luck!