We are in a mess! and don't know what to do.

BringtheStoneshome

As I am new here can somone please explain what a dmp is.

Denis_UK

If your wife is unable to work would it be possible to employ her as a PA, pay her a proportion of your income. This will swap some of your taxable income for her tax free allowance.

Horace

A dmp is a debt management plan and you can enter into one with one of the debt charities.

OP - I am finding it impossible to read your budget so could you use the standard MSE one instead as it is much easier https://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html - follow the instructions on there to copy and paste it to MSE.

Keeping_Positive

Family

Nappies/Baby Extras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Laundry/Dry Cleaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Children's Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Baby Sitting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00
Childcare/Play Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.00

Similar to JoRs post are ther no child colst such as nappies,playgroups etc?

vandanfc

Energy costs seem really high, do these include arrears ?

Scope to cut grocery spend by a decent amount.

No child benefit mentioned - what is this spent on ?

foxgloves

Agree that energy costs are extremely high. Last summer, our payments were put up to £80 a month for gas & £70 for electricity and I was appalled about that so have cut right back since then and just had them reduced by £55 a month plus had a rebate for both of them, so there has got to be a reduction here as you are paying even more than we were. I think you have to take the approach that every little helps. It might be difficult at first because you haven't had to live thriftily in the past, but if you want to clear your debts, it looks as though this is what you need to do for a while. It hopefully won't be for ever. Spend only what you absolutely HAVE to spend & chuck every spare fiver into paying off.

RAS

Ediths wrote: »

I am self employed in the medical profession (so relatively stable) But my business can't sustain the level of income we were taking out of it.

I had a tough sit down and look at the business and realised I would have to cut my salary so to speak. Compounding the problem is my wife has just had our 2nd child and family members who were going to help us with childcare when my wife goes back to work are now unavailable to do so. Child care will cost more than my wifes salary. So she can't go back to work.

Have you checked what benefits you might be able to get: www.entitledto.com

Is you wife getting any maternity pay?

Childcare for under 1 year olds is very expensive. What would happen if she went back in a year's time? Can she do this?

Emma285

Hi there - I'm in a very similar situation to you in some ways - I've got a 10wk old DD and a 20month old DS, I'm self employed (when i'm working) and my free family childcare is no longer available, as it was with my 1st.

There's lots of useful feedback so far, but just wanted to re-iterate the bits about maternity pay for your wife and benefits etc... Don't know whether you're above the threshold for child tax credits, but that could be worth looking at too -(greater amounts for children under 1 and may help with childcare costs if you go down that route). And the energy costs... I used to think my mother in law was 'tight' as she would always encourage people to put on an extra layer rather than turn the heating on - but sometimes she has a point. (My husband likes to walk round in Tshirts in the middle of winter!!) THere's a fine balance, especially with kids around. Also, do you leave things on standby when not in use - like tv's, pc's etc. Our bills changed quite a bit when we started to take more notice (stopped leaving the computer & tv on when not in use, leaving chargers plugged in, turning off lights etc etc...)

Is there any flexibilty in your working week - or your wife's to allow you both to work without childcare? I'm able to juggle this a little, but it's not always possible.

The other things i'd recommend are looking at selling stuff you no longer want or need - ebay or equivalent. Some baby stuff sells really well once you no longer need it. Also look into cashback websites for stuff you already buy. I got £80 back for taking out a new home insurance policy, and will do the same when my car ins. is due for renewal next month. Every little extra bit helps, especially when things aren't adding up each month. Doing a budget and realising your situation is half the battle! Good luck with everything.

Ediths

Hi All

Thank you for all your advice.

I have taken a lot of it on board and I am going to do the new budgets as mentioned by a few of you.

I will post again soon.

Just wanted to say thanks for your help and that I was not ignoring it I just have been working an awfull lot and have not had chance to post back.


Ediths

DVardysShadow

I see a loan to spread the repayments out has been suggested, but this is generally not recommended. The Statement of Affairs is good as far as your expenses go. But you should also post a statement of your debts [Amount outstanding, monthly repayment and APR and for loans, the end date], to see whether there is a way to navigate through.