SOA, ummm

Pitlanepiglet

I have to say in my view with only one of you getting any income, two cars is a luxury that you don't appear to be able to afford.

I appreciate that you need to get to your placements and that's clearly a priority and IMV you need to work back from there to a way of managing with only one car. You just don't have enough income to run two cars.

kindofagilr

How old are your children? Can your partner not get a part time job while they are at school if they are school age?

Yes he does all the housework but that will just have to fit in after work and after studying.

Also £500 is too high for groceries (I think) thats the only thing I can think of at the minute.

ETA deffo agree you cant afford to run two cars

nuttylou

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

I have to say in my view with only one of you getting any income, two cars is a luxury that you don't appear to be able to afford.

I appreciate that you need to get to your placements and that's clearly a priority and IMV you need to work back from there to a way of managing with only one car. You just don't have enough income to run two cars.

Well I do not see having the 2 cars as a luxury, it is a necessity.

As I have said I need to get to placement and other half needs to get kids to/from school etc etc. The timings of our lives mean this is not possible by walking/cycling etc etc.
I do walk to uni when I am there as I am able to do so - It takes me an hour either way but as I am doing 9-4 when there is is doable.
Doing a 13 hour shift plus 30 mins of cycling/an hour and 15 mins of walking in the dark is not.
The bus route would mean getting 2 buses and would take an hour and 15 mins also, they do not run as early as required for me or in the middle of the night when I am on call.
If I could feasibly do it with 1 car of course I would but I would rather not end up making myself ill along the way.
I have to study etc in the evenings after I am home from work.
We have a 3000 word essay, a practical exam, a 3 hour written exam,& a portfolio presentation in Feb/March so I actually need to be able to have time to study & prepare which is what I do once I come home, leaving little time to do my own paperwork etc hence why I was up at silly o clock this morning doing mine!

If it would work sensibly and our work/schools were closer then yes I could loose a car.

nuttylou

ald65 wrote: »

cancel the midwifery journal and read it free in college library, also have to agree that car ins really high. might be worth re-checking to see what is available.
Pop over to old style forum for great ideas on cheap recipes etc which may help cut your groceries a wee bit,.
good luck

I use the journals for up to date evidence in my essays as they are the most up to date, books are not really as they take 4-5 yrs to get published etc by which time are outdated for my profession.

If I had time to visit the library & sit there to do essays etc I would but often it is in the late evening I do written work which would mean coming straight from work & paying car parking anyway.

Car ins is up for renewal May so hopefully can shave some money off those then.

I am looking into groceries but these do include all groceries plus toiletries etc etc ....hoping to save some money here by doing a daily shop rather than weekly. I do take lunch to work/uni etc already which bumps it up a bit.

nuttylou

kindofagilr wrote: »

How old are your children? Can your partner not get a part time job while they are at school if they are school age?

Yes he does all the housework but that will just have to fit in after work and after studying.

Also £500 is too high for groceries (I think) thats the only thing I can think of at the minute.

ETA deffo agree you cant afford to run two cars

Because my course is 45 weeks per year and often the 7 weeks off you still have to do essays/revision etc and I have to do shifts on placement it would mean using childcare even for part tim work.

We do get some housing benefit also, hence we are paying £200 towards rent plus £100 arrears at the moment. If my partner works the money will just go towards the rent payments as the housing benefit amount will lower & childcare expenses.

We looked into childcare before I started the course and I phoned every single childminder on the list within 10 miles of my home, none of them could take all 4 together as was the case with breakfast and afterschool clubs.
For breakfast and afterschool club it was over £300 per week and school holidays it was over £600 we worked out. They wanted over £2000 just for deposit and couldnt fit all of them in.
My partner was earning around £400 a week so even with his earnings it wouldnt have covered the childcare, hence why he has stayed at home with them.
We did explore the option of nannys but again same probs as we only have a small 3 bed house so no room, and it is finding someone you can trust with 4 kids.

asp746

£500 on good shopping is cheap for 2 adults and 4 children. There's one adult and 2 teenagers in my house and i spend £400 a month. Aswell as tesco/asda i also shop at heron and places like that so i'm as careful as much as i can. Kids just seem to eat me out of house and home and you can't deny them food

lemoncheesecake

hi,

agree about the 2 cars - especially as you have to pay a premium for insurances. Why is school 40mins away? could you move kids to nearby school so they could walk there?

also £60 a mth for clothes is a lot - this could easily be halved


also agree the groceries could be halved with alot of effort but you could eat well on £300 a mth

good luck"!

nuttylou

lemoncheesecake wrote: »

hi,

agree about the 2 cars - especially as you have to pay a premium for insurances. Why is school 40mins away? could you move kids to nearby school so they could walk there?

also £60 a mth for clothes is a lot - this could easily be halved


also agree the groceries could be halved with alot of effort but you could eat well on £300 a mth

good luck"!

Their school is the closest one to here. It is about 10 mins in the car, 40 mins walk.
The £60 per month is £720 per year which too be honest very small amount is mine & other halfs.
School jumpers are £14 a piece so even 2 of those each is £112, then taking into account trousers, shirts, shoes, skirts, for all of them which are usually bought at ASDA etc a uniform shop can easily be £300. Shoes are usually needed at least twice per year for both school and casual due to wear & growth. School shoes are £14 in asda each so that is £112 , I usually budget £10 for casuals= £40 I need shoes for work which I usually spend around £40 on and they do last the year, cheaper ones wouldnt this is tried & tested in the hospitals lol. That is £500 odd then that would leave £220 for clothes for 6 people for a year, is that bad then?

Pitlanepiglet

The problem with being in debt is that nobody ever finds solving the problems easy.

Some of the decisions you have to take will be difficult and will leave you walking places etc. What other choices do you have to solve the problems?

Am I missing the info, how much are your debts overall?

Pitlanepiglet

nuttylou wrote: »

Their school is the closest one to here. It is about 10 mins in the car, 40 mins walk.
The £60 per month is £720 per year which too be honest very small amount is mine & other halfs.
School jumpers are £14 a piece so even 2 of those each is £112, then taking into account trousers, shirts, shoes, skirts, for all of them which are usually bought at ASDA etc a uniform shop can easily be £300. Shoes are usually needed at least twice per year for both school and casual due to wear & growth. School shoes are £14 in asda each so that is £112 , I usually budget £10 for casuals= £40 I need shoes for work which I usually spend around £40 on and they do last the year, cheaper ones wouldnt this is tried & tested in the hospitals lol. That is £500 odd then that would leave £220 for clothes for 6 people for a year, is that bad then?

Are you not able to hand down clothes between the kids?