Family Planning

J.Bye

Yeah we know all the stories. We do try hard especially the OH.

esio_trot

Hi. Couldn't run off after reading - I'm in exactly the same place (due mid June).

The main places I can see you could cut down are:

Mobile bills - £60 each is a lot! Try harassing your service provider - usually you can drop your contract after 3-6 months. Once your contracts are up, try getting on to your provider for cheaper contracts/go sim only/switch network. Try going through Quidco et al too - I managed to get £50 back on my current mobile contract through them.

Food - £60 a week isn't terrible, but it can come down - maybe even by half, depends on how much you're happy to compromise really. I can feed myself and OH for £30 a week if I really sit down and think about it. Pop over to the Old Style board for loads of tips (they've really helped me cut my spending by a long way)

smoking - obviously you've mentioned you want to quit - go for it! You've got nothing to lose and a lot of cash to gain! Good Luck! Try liaising with your GP/practice nurse - if need be, there are very effective medications/aids which can help if you're struggling alone.

Contents insurance - OK, it's not cutting expense but it's really worth having. You can get it from about £10 a month and it'll save you in the long run should anything happen (especially since you'll have a wee one on the way). Again, go through Quidco et al to get some cashback on it - some places do up to £80 cash back per policy - well worth it!

I think you probably need to keep a spending diary, see where some of that excess cash goes. Can you pay any leftover to your loan to clear it early, or at least reduce the payments for when you need to rely on SMP?

Sorry if that's a bit of a waffle - but hope it helped some. The folk round here have some great ideas so it's well worth taking the advice and popping round the forums picking up tips!

amilotte

I found morning sickness the best remedy for staying off the fags when I had my first :rotfl:. Seriously though, as you know, she need to give up and it'll benefit your pocket!

I'm assuming you also meant SMP at £100 a week as its much more than that a month (can't think of the figure atm). Technically, with Child benefit and tax credits on top of that her maternity income wouldn't be too different unless I am missing something??

The thing is when having kids you manage because you have to, I'm on my third and still have moments of wondering how we will manage (I'd like the year off work). You just do and by being wise and using the advice on these forums then you can learn to be savvy!

Good luck

J.Bye

amilotte wrote: »

I found morning sickness the best remedy for staying off the fags when I had my first :rotfl:. Seriously though, as you know, she need to give up and it'll benefit your pocket!

I'm assuming you also meant SMP at £100 a week as its much more than that a month (can't think of the figure atm). Technically, with Child benefit and tax credits on top of that her maternity income wouldn't be too different unless I am missing something??

The thing is when having kids you manage because you have to, I'm on my third and still have moments of wondering how we will manage (I'd like the year off work). You just do and by being wise and using the advice on these forums then you can learn to be savvy!

Good luck

I'm going on SMP of £123 (which is taxable apparently) and £20 Child Benefit once the childs born, so i' saying £100 as I don't know exactlly how much she'll be taxed on SMP.

mumslave

you should also be able to put in for tax credits when your baby arrives, how much that will work out at, i dont know, you can try entitledto.co.uk to work that out.

amilotte

J.Bye wrote: »

I'm going on SMP of £123 (which is taxable apparently) and £20 Child Benefit once the childs born, so i' saying £100 as I don't know exactlly how much she'll be taxed on SMP.

Oh crikey, I didn't think it was taxable :eek: I'm to tired to look into it atm hopefully someone can advise further?

May also be worth trying the entitled to calculator https://www.entitledto.co.uk to see what you may get.

amilotte

Sorry mumslave - just posted over you!

kingkano

J.Bye wrote: »

I'm going on SMP of £123 (which is taxable apparently) and £20 Child Benefit once the childs born, so i' saying £100 as I don't know exactlly how much she'll be taxed on SMP.

Although it is taxable dont forget your tax free allowance (roughly 100 per week). So it'll only be about £5 tax and NI. Also don't write off tax credits. I reckon you'd be entitled to atleast the £545+545 per year to begin with. (thats another £100 a month).

You'll need to make allowances in your 'post baby budget' for nappies, wipes, formula if used, etc. Defo cut down/out the fags for a quick easy saving. And you might need to take a better look at where your spending. grab the last few months statements and sit down for half an hour see what your really spending everything on for a proper SOA.

DOing a trial run is a good idea :T BUT do remember to make allowances for the fact that you are still both working while attempting it. You will need to allow for lunches/travel/work related costs on top of your future budget.

Hopefully you are planning to hit up ebay/freecycle for all your future baby needs too :rotfl:Since I am in the same position I can assure you its well worth it. Have got half what I need already for about £150. Saving hundreds if not thousands off new price! (just get the car seat and cot mattress new).

HTH

daska

The breakdown that you posted earlier actually gives you a really good starting point - it's got things like haircuts in it. Work through it line by line. I used to work out my budget on a basis of 5 weeks per month (there are 13 weeks in 3 months) which left money for emergencies and unexpected bills. Keeping a spending diary is a really good idea. Your quick hits are Sky, mobiles, fags (less easy I know), ready meals etc. That'll make a huge difference. I would add in a 'luxury/pampering' allowance, when she gets to late pregnancy she'll be really grateful for things like a massage People understand that budgets can go haywire with new babies so put a cap on spending when it comes to presents of say £5max. Put the word around and you will be inundated with baby clothes and toys, Freecycle/ebay are good places for basics (you can boilwash/disinfect most things ) but don't skimp on mattresses or car seats unless you are very sure of the provenance.