about my 8 millionth thread but things changed again.

LilacPixie

Sorry about this. I have been a member here for years well since 2008 ish and this is what seems like my 8millionth thread regarding budgets and affordability. Things have been ticking along nicely fo rthe last few months but as this is my life things have changed.

I have found out i'm pregnant. Actual due date yet to be determined but early 2011 covers it all. Obviously our income is away to take a hit and our expenses will rise.

probem number 1 - We have 2 cars, neither of which will hold 3 car seats plus 2 adults at the weekend. OH starts work at silly o'clock in the back of beyond so needs a car. I do the nursery/childcare run and work 20 miles from home so I need a car too. Plan is to sell one car and then buy another car in maybe 5 months time with cash. That means savings

Problem number 2 Our home is for sale so hopefully we will be moving shortly. moving means bigger mortgage and a possible shortfall when i go on to SMP.

Problem number 3 - OH has debt, lots of debt and at the moment he pays that and I pay the HH bills. A £400 a month income will not pay the household bills.

Positive points. Part of my maternity leave I will get contractual maternity pay so its not a huge about of time I need to be able to bridge, OH got a small wage rise, its only £100 a month but its £100 a month we never had. The houses in the area I want are only 1.5x our joint annual income and 3x OH's alone so doable.

For a rough comparison we will be down £1100 a month when i'm on SMP.

I will do an SOA as things stand now and another imagianing everything the same except i'm on SMP. :eek::eek: I sway from thinknig its do able to thinking OMG we will default/starve/give up on a move.

LilacPixie

OK SOA as things stand now, my comments in blue this is what i need to use to save from, buy the baby needed stuff and sort out debt

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1430
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1500
Benefits................................ 174
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3104
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 417
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 107
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 45 include tv and internet
Mobile phone............................ 50 two mobiles
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 350
Clothing................................ 40
Petrol/diesel........................... 150
Road tax................................ 20 two cars
Car Insurance........................... 44 two cars
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 8
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 11
Contents insurance...................... 9
Life assurance ......................... 16
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 15
Entertainment........................... 30
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 50
Total monthly expenses.................. 1504

Assets
Cash.................................... 300
House value (Gross)..................... 68000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 6000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 74300

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 51000....(417)......3.35
Total secured & HP debts...... 51000.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Zopa...........................12000.....475.......14.9
GE MOney.......................8000......147.......12.7
Santander CC...................900.......30........6.9
OH overdraft...................2200......30........0 zero until summer 2011
Next...........................1300......130.......26.49 argh
Capital one....................400.......20........20
Total unsecured debts..........24800.....832.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,104
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,504
Available for debt repayments........... 1,600
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 832
Amount left after debt repayments....... 768
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 74,300
Total HP & Secured debt................. -51,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -24,800
Net Assets.............................. -1,500
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.


This is the same SOA but based on maternity pay. It proves that we need to shift a considerable amount of debt or build up savings in the next 9-10 months.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 430
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1500
Benefits................................ 200
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2130
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 417
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 107
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 45
Mobile phone............................ 50
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 350
Clothing................................ 40
Petrol/diesel........................... 150
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 44
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 8
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 11
Contents insurance...................... 9
Life assurance ......................... 16
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 15
Entertainment........................... 30
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 50
Total monthly expenses.................. 1504

Assets
Cash.................................... 300
House value (Gross)..................... 68000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 6000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 74300

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 51000....(417)......3.35
Total secured & HP debts...... 51000.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Zopa...........................12000.....475.......14.9
GE MOney.......................8000......147.......12.7
Santander CC...................900.......30........6.9
OH overdraft...................2200......30........0
Next...........................1300......130.......26.49
Capital one....................400.......20........20
Total unsecured debts..........24800.....832.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,130
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,504
Available for debt repayments........... 626
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 832
Amount short for making debt repayments. -206
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 74,300
Total HP & Secured debt................. -51,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -24,800
Net Assets.............................. -1,500
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

nanna58

HI LP:j
first of all congrats on the new baby after all money comes way down the list till he/she arrives safley.i am struggling myself at the moment so wont be of much help but a new life AWWWW:):)

t4mof

Hi

Congratulations on your news :T

How's your credit rating - are 0% cards an option??

You have what appears to be quite a high surplus each month (spending diary needed if you don't have £700 a month left over), so would it be possible to move the Next and Cap1 debt onto a 0% and hit it at say £400 a month while you are still earning. You'd then have that cleared in 5 months. That would then free up another £150 a month off your minimums. You might also have time before your wage drops to then use that £150 to knock down some other debt and reduce the minimums - can you overpay the Zopa one by £150 for example??

Of course there'll also be extra child benefit and possibly extra tax credits once the baby is here which may just bridge that gap.

Good luck!

LilacPixie

Thanks Nanna and T4mof.

No increase in tax credits i'm afraid, income too high child benefit increases by about £12 a week. surpus has usually gone because we have been heavily overpaying existing commitments. credit ratings fine but trying to avoid a credit check because of impending mortgage application. ZOpa we can overpay but only to shorted the term not to facilitate a lower payment. My pay will drop in end or may 2011 based on me going on maternity end of jan 2011.

I had a vision of clearing next and cap one then saving up for a bigger car, i will need to research options but thinking an 8 year old galaxy or zafira or something. Then maybe I would have 4 months to save a cushion of maybe 2k to plug the gap in income while overpaying some bits and pieces.

NorthernLas

Hi LP - Do you need to add childcare to your SOA, do your children go to nursery?

Do you have the extra cash spare? Could you batch cook / freeze more to shave something off the shopping?

Could you do yet another SOA with increased mortgage payments on it and have you got any funds stashed for the move?

(Oh and congrats on the impending arrival!)

LilacPixie

No childcare. Lucky that way. I do batch cook etc but some things just cost cash, mostly fruit and veg. I have an allotment so i hope to shave some veg costs off then but not alot. Increased mortgage payment would be around £700 a month with C tax increasing by about £20 a month. I have v little tucked away for a move

LilacPixie

any further ideas?

Triggles

Council tax - is this over 10 months or 12? If 10, can you switch to 12 to lower it slightly?

Mobiles - is this for 2 contract or PAYG phones? Can you lower the amount or go to PAYG? Ideally, you should be able to get this down to £20 per month.

Groceries - you mention 3 carseats, so I would think that means your first 2 children are still fairly young (under 8yrs). Check the Old Style board for tips and tricks to lower your grocery budget. You could probably cut this down to about £200 per month, saving you £150 per month.

Ok, for the second SOA, this is while you're on maternity leave, correct?

So you wouldn't be working, which means your petrol expenses should be lower as you're not driving that 20 miles to work, so that should help.

The council tax, mobiles, and groceries comments from above still apply.

Realistically speaking, prior to maternity leave, you have £768 left clear after paying all your bills each month that you could be using for both savings to help out during maternity leave and to help pay off your debts. If you used even half of that £768 over the next 6 months, you could wipe out the Santander CC, the Capital one, and possibly the Next card as well. That clears you up £180 per month right there. Combine that with the £150 savings on groceries if you can do that, that's well over the £206 you're short during maternity leave.

If you're not sitting with that £768 per month after paying all your bills, you need to get a spending diary going and see where all that money is going. Because that is ALOT of money just to be leaking from your account with nothing to show for it.

I'm a bit puzzled on your increased mortgage of £700. Are you paying extra ££ currently on your mortgage? Or are you anticipating a higher mortgage if you buy a bigger house? Is it necessary for you to move right now? If not, can it be delayed for say a year or two? That will allow you to put aside more money for a higher mortgage without leaving you on maternity leave with a higher mortgage. If you move, will you be moving closer to your work, thereby possibly cutting your petrol bill? How old are your children? Are they in school yet? I don't know your school/work/nursery setup (you said nursery run, so assuming they go there), but once your older ones are in school, if you're working, the school they go to will obviously be a major influence on what childcare/nursery options are available for the younger one due to transport reasons. Just a thought.

Oh, and on your second SOA for during maternity leave.... you need to change the number of children in household to THREE! LOL Congratulations!!

LilacPixie

hehe. House is already on market. TBH it is small for us 4, 5 would be impossible. Kids are 3 and 1. The oldest will start school August 2011 so we ideally need moved for Feb 2011 for the whole applying for schools thing.

To move we will need to increase mortgage to 75k ish.

Only at easter we had 3700 more debt than we do now because our excess has been plowed straight into that.

C tax already over 12months. mobiles are contracts, decent deals for our usages as we both need for work purposes. We both get a mobile allowence to cover these bills, I feel PAYG would cost more due to usage than contract is. My renewal was in Feb so not again for 18 months OH's is in December so we can try trim it but he uses 1000 minutes a month so ouch.

We will move about 6 miles closer my work but not that close. I work in a different town to oh and my family who do free childcare so if i moved to my work town OH would have to drive a similar distance.

Triggles

Are your family going to continue to provide free childcare (say before and afterschool and for the youngest) once the older child is in school? If so, I'm assuming that means you'll need to have them in a school close to your family. If you have them going to a school 20miles from your family, that's going to be near to impossible to coordinate, I would think.

So your grocery bill can still be cut, right? Browsing the OS section will help a lot!

House is too small? is it 2 bedroom? just curious. House on the market can always be taken off. If 3 bedroom, you might want to think about whether you can wait or not. If you're planning on moving within the same school area, it wouldn't affect where your kids go to school anyway. If I thought delaying moving (even though crowded for maybe a year or two) would allow us to be in a much better financial situation, I'd do it, as the long term benefits would be more than worth it. Ideally, yes, if I was in that position it would nice to move to a bigger house, but if you are concerned that financially you are already on rocky ground, taking on a larger mortgage is not a good idea, IMO, even if you are a bit crowded for awhile. A 3yo and a 1yo (and even another infant) don't take up THAT much room! LOL (believe me... we've crowded a few kids in our house here and there - and up until recently our 23yo DD and her 4yo son were living with us as well!As it was only for a year or so until she got on her feet again, we figured being crowded was a small price to pay.)

Still haven't gotten straight forward answer re the mortgage though. SOA shows £417 for mortgage. Is that what you are actually paying? Are you putting that £768 extra each month into debt or mortgage or what?? I'm honestly trying to figure when it shows you £208 short a month to pay bills during your maternity leave, you're saying you're actually short about £1100.... something not on your SOA or we're missing part of this...