My embarrassing SOA...

MrsExhausted

Thanks for these. useful eye-opener

- We have 2 mobile phones between at £45 but sometimes have to send international texts or call 0845 numbers
- we have always had high bills for waste water. i have never quite understood those bills
- One of the kids is on a restricted diet with special food but I have already seen some interesting suggestions that I am keen to implement
- The kids are under 6 years old and keep outgrowing their clothes. We will consider cheaper options
- Car sharing is not an option for us as I leave home at 6.45 am and the dh does the school run later.
- the road tax figure is wrong. (should be £165 + £225 annually)
- insurance is high because my licence was less than a year old at the time. I'll definitely be shopping around. forgot about that
- Car maintenance was based on the last 12 months spend. the older car cost us £850 fix last month because it wouldn't start and I do about 15000 miles a year and included the cost of new tyres in the figures
- I didn't realise that the car figures were that high. I'll have to take a closer look.
- ds1 can only be picked up and dropped off at home by LA transport so we have a live-in nanny. she's not registered and can't be paid with vouchers.
- can't stop professional fees. It's essential for the job. I'll ask to see if they can pick up the tab then
- black hair is very expensive to maintain I'm afraid. I worked in further education and they couldn't handle the hair
- will discuss with dh and get rid of meals at work in favour of cereal and uht milk. would love to see the look on his face when I mention that
- The share are linked to some staff share scheme. the value is quite low and we were advised to wait 5 years due to tax and NI implications of sale

This is fantastic feedback especially about the cost of motoring and insurance products. thank you so much.

I'm desperate to reduce to cost of childcare as well and would love some suggestions

WASHER

You seem to be paying more for childcare each month than the lower income person earns.

Would you be entitled to more help from the state if the lower income person became the carer?

WASHER

Sky package needs to be lowered, contents insurance is really high. Your gas and electricity seem very low, is this correct? Your water is the same each month as mine, I have a water meter and we are not in much during the day, its been tested, nothing wrong with it, so your doesn't seem too high compared to mine.

slummymummyof3

Live in nanny needs to be added to number of adults in household. She gets paid very well for a live in basis! Perhaps shop around to get someone who you can use vouchers for? You are not a charity case. Does board and lodgings get deducxted from her pay?

Take a look at Aldi/Lidl for staple foods - you will find them significantly cheaper than the major supermarkets; although I appreciate it is difficult to do a complete shop there.

pandora205

Your biggest cost is the live in nanny, which is a huge expense. Can you investigate other ways of providing childcare? Even a live out nanny would work out much cheaper, as over half your wages are going on this expense. If both your children are school aged then you don't need someone full time (are they?)

bouncydog1

Why can't the lower paid person become the carer of the child rather than having a nanny? Presumably the amount shown for childcare costs is what the nanny is paid, plus her board and lodgings - you would save on food, fuel etc if you could get rid.

The other thing is that surely your tax cost would go down if your overall income reduced, together with social insurance costs. If your income was lower would your benefits increase - worth investigating as you might be better off financially.

barbarawright

Am I misunderstanding or are you paying a nanny £1500 a month yet she doesn't do the morning school run? Roughly the same amount as your partner earns but presumably he doesn't get free accommodation. This seems to make no financial sense at all.

MrsSmith93

Do you have a live in nanny because of your child's disability? If so, can't the local authority help with the costs? I work in adult social care, and if someone needs live-in care, the authority pays towards it (and sometimes all of it) unless the person has over a certain level of savings - I'm not sure how it works in child care, but it might be worth investigating?

Verbatim

If you need the live in nanny just to be there for the LA pick-ups and drop-offs you would probably be able to get a local Mum with primary age kids to be there for this at a much lower cost. Or even an agency worker for a couple of hours a day, or just advertize for what you need. I guess they'd need child protection clearance (can't remember the acronym for this) but I expect the LA could advise. Or perhaps an au-pair rather than nanny if you need a live in person. You can find UK au-pairs, they don't have to be from abroad. Try "The Lady" magazine for ads.

Totally agree on taking packed lunches and reducing "luxuries" like high mobile costs, sky and high-end car costs. You have a high income but need to find another £263 a month just to break even and stop getting further into debt each month.

whiteguineapig

don't forget that if you switch anything, utility or insurance etc to got thro quidco