It's all going to go wrong again

Floss

Wafoo wrote:

We have about £800 in the premium bonds,were going towards buying a house,.........,I'll have a sit down with the wife and try and explain better about the need for extra money,I thought I earned too much for extra tax credits,I'm on £26000 per annum before tax.

Look at https://www.entitledto.co.uk & see what you should be getting.

While your income is going to be tight, you reelly need to halt the premium bonds - anyway, you will get no interest on these, and they are not a guaranteed win (I've had mine for over 40 years & haven't won a penny). Open an ISA, First Direct's is a good one, internet access, start with a £1. Cash in the £800 & put it in there to earn some interest. Then when you are more able to (or when your wife is contributing) you can do a regular save again.

Show your wife the breakdown you posted - unless she puts something in, then there is nothing to take out for school trips, hairdressers, new clothes, etc. What has she done in the past? Can she get a job locally, or get a bus? I think that not being able to drive is a feeble excuse. If she's working, you'd have a higher income to enable the family to have holidays, newer or 2nd car etc. My partner earns quite a bit more than you, we don't have a huge house or mortgage, he doesn't have children & my kids have both left home (and I am saving for Uni fees) but even though we don't NEED me to work, I still do for my own self esteem & to contribute to the household income (so we can go skiing, buy new furniture, season tickets for the rugby etc).

Sorry if all that sounds harsh, but in this situation your wife needs to rethink her refusal to work & do her bit for the family.:o

rchddap1

Echo everything said.

Food can be easily cut down. Take a look at the Old Style boards for recipes, ideas and a bunch of people who make it their goal in life to eat as well as possible for pennies. Once you get started its very hard to stop.

Treats & clothes.....obviously can go, as can the premium bonds.

Appliance cover? Is that just in case the washing machine or cooker breaks down. Have a think as to whether this is really necessary.

As for the rest of the cash disappearing....start a spend diary. Every single penny that is spent gets written down. Then you'll know exactly where all the money is going. Once you know that its easier to cut out the bad bits.

As another comment re school. My school was over 12 miles away from where I lived. I had to get a bus to school every morning and evening that took about 30 mins. Yes it meant that I had to be up, ready and at the bus stop for 8.15am and I didn't get home until 5.30pm. But it was no problem at all.

And yes I did this through my GCSEs, and my A'Levels. Came out with good results and went to Uni. Many kids do such journeys and still go on to get good exam results. It just encourages you to value your personal time with your family ..... and to get up and out of bed in the mornings (good thing when it comes to starting work)