Family of 3- How much to live on?

chatnoir

If you only have sky sports for the footy, the in the off season, cancel your subscription and then take it back up again once season starts....You will prob be offered a reduced rate so they get you to come back.

treetrunks

check out what your entitled to, myself and partner have a 10 month old baby. I earn around 40k per annum and my partner when working was taking home about 10k. We receive about £170 per month in child benefit and tax credits. On a lower salary you may be entitled to more. Ill be honest we also have started buying a lot more baby clothes from ebay, having to buy new clothes every 3 months started to take its toll and we often found that somethings had only been worn once or twice.

LabLover

I think your budget is do-able, like I say its pretty similar to mine. We have worked out monthly budget to include paying into savings accounts , etc. Okay , so we wont be able to just splash out on TV or jet out on a foreign holiday and order take away willy nilly but equally I wont need to check how many sheets of loo roll im getting for my pennies.My mum always says the more money you have the more you spend , Good luck with the baby !!!
LL X

ironman1

It hasn't been finalised yet and we need to look into it more but my gf thinks she has been told she'll get 6 weeks full pay (£225) and then a few months of £125 per week statutory paid by her work?!

She seems to be guessing to me and I keep asking her to sort it out. Does anyone know if that sounds about right?

Again until we get our laptop back on Sunday we can't do an SOA or even check that site which tells you what you're entitled to. Its a nightmare not knowing and I think my gf hasn't asked work too much incase they be !!!!!y!

judyp

Hi,

when is the baby due? The health in pregnancy grant is being phased out but as long as your gf is 25 weeks by 1st Jan you can still get it. £190 on off. Details can be found on the direct.gov.uk sorry but as a new poster I can't post links :mad:

ironman1

She will be about 23/24wks by then! Great..

Indie_Kid

Apricot wrote: »

There are always offers on nappies in the different supermarkets so shop around before you buy (maybe accumulate some in bigger sizes ready)

Boots are always doing their £1 deals on wet wipes, too. (Pampers and Huggies)

You may find for the first few months, baby just wears sleepsuits.

LilacPixie

it's doable. I'm on my 3rd and babies just cost what money you have.... just pull in belts where you can... look for nappy offers, boots and asda baby events tend to be good. Asda was doing 8 pack huggies wiped for £6 a few weeks back. Alot of the stuff you see in baby books isn't essential. Breast feeding is cheaper but not every woman can or wants to so support your partners attemps or choices. Formula is £7-8 a tub and lasts 6 ish days depending on baby age. Lidl own brand nappies are supposed to be decent but I have never personally tried them, I bulk buy huggies when on offer.

When is you GF due??

ironman1

Due between March and April. Some great help on here, thanks. Keep it coming!

clearingout

consider reusuable nappies if you're intending to have another child - the initial outlay is high, but you will recoup well before potty training kicks in. You won't pay for nappies for a second or third child if you take this route. It's not for everyone, but is a considerable weekly cost taken away.

All the usual money saving things kick in at this point - buy a slow cooker and use it (marvellous things when you have a baby 'cos you can prepare the meal at any time it suits you really and still have it ready for when you're hungry), buy 'value' goods in the supermarket at least once to try them and never buy branded goods as there is no need. Batch cook and use the freezer (ready meals without the expense!). Turn the lights off, don't overheat the house (put a jumper on before turning the heating up).

For baby, seriously get into the habit of buying their clothes during sales - there really is no need whatsoever to ever pay full price for anything for small people other than for shoes (and not even then if you can time it right!). Buy ahead the whole time - you know baby will need a winter coat this time next year , so get one in January at half price and stash it in a cupboard! You get the idea! Baby will never know (let alone care) that it's 'last season'!

babies don't need much - a few toys (not hundreds!), a bouncy chair, baby gros and a mummy and daddy to love them (or in the case of my third one, just a mummy!). It's only when they get to school that they become aware of what others have and therefore what they don't have....before that, you're 100% perfect in their eyes and can do no wrong so enjoy it!