Moving in with my boyfriend - advice please

krustylouise

Hi,

I didn't know which thread would be best for this question but my boyfriend and I are moving in together on the 9th october. I have a 4 year old daughter from a previous relationship. I work 16hours but it will increase to 30hours in November. My rate of pay is £6.76ph. My boyfriend will be working 39hours and his rate of pay approx will be £8.70. Do you think we will manage financially?

I know this seems a very silly and vague question and the outcome either way won't impede on whether we move in or not, but I would rather know so I can brace myself as best I can.

Is there any other families in a similar situation who could tell me how you are coping financially, whether it a struggle or not?

It's been 3 years since I lived with someone and so I have been on benefits and working 16hours, so I can't actually remember what it's like!

Sorry for the ramble and thanks in advance.

Kirsty

pbmatt

It all depends on what your outgoing expenditure is.

speeddial

Obviously it depends on your personal circumstances.

I think the first thing to do is work out how much you have coming in each month between the two of you. Income from work plus any benefits you are entitled to.

Then list all your outgoings -

Rent
Council Tax
Electric
Gas
Water Rates
TV Licence
Food
Telephone/Internet/Mobile
Debt Repayments
Insurance

Do you have a car between you? If so you need to allow for fuel, insurance, Service/MOT & Tax.

Then you have haircuts, clothing etc etc.

After you have added that all up and deducted it from your income you will see what is left for the nicer things in life. If there isn't much left you may struggle to live within your means unless you keep a tight reign on spending.

Good luck with everything anyway, hope it works out for you :-)

krustylouise

Thank you for both your replies.

I knew it was a very vague question and would require more input for a more tailored reply, I have used the budget planner and have accounted for saving, and extra and have an underspend of £82. This is a complete approximation though as we're not living together yet.

Thank you again

Kirsty

DS4215

Work out your SOA - that will help you to remember all the possible places where you are spending. Then, once you move in use a spending diary to keep track of your actual spending against your predicted spending. Don't forget to put something aside for an emergency...

NeverAgain_2

If I read your post correctly, you will have a joint income of about £2,000 a month.

Your main expenditure will be rent and council tax.

If you can keep this down to not much more than a quarter of your monthly income, the rest of your budget should fall into place.

krustylouise

Thank you for your replies.

Our rent and council tax is likely to be atleast £650 per month.

I am quite good with money, but this is just myself and my daughter and because I'm working 16hours a week and get some benefits I know exactly where I am each money, it's just the uncertainty of everything changing that's worrying me.

I've written a list of meals in the hope that, by meal planning, having a man in the house won't be such a "dent" on the financial side of things! lol bless him, he's not a dent {I feel awful now but ya know what I mean?!}

Thanks again.

Kirsty

thegoodman

You should be ok.
Remember not to
1 don't top up your credit cards or pay intreats.
2 don't buy things which are out of your rich or on credit card
3 stay within your means

Enjoy the life without getting into money problems

FireWyrm

Well, it's going to take some discipline, but it's not totally impossible. You need to keep a very tight budget. You say your daughter is 4, which means she's going to need school uniform very shortly. She like my own daughters is probably going through shoes about every three months at the moment, so you'll have to budget for that. General 'play' clothes can be bought from charity shops, car boot sales, friends etc. Tesco is ok, but I find that trying to keep two children adequately clothed is pretty darn hard work.

Head over to the Old Style board for tips and tricks to making household budget go further. It's not just batch cooking and meal planning, there are tips regarding using old style house cleaners which are much cheaper and do the same job. We've all been brainwashed into believing that the TV commercial advertising is much better, but really, most of those cleaners use the same principles as natural cleaning agents.

Keep a very close eye on your DD's. If you can, move them to the first of the month, or some equally useful day in your monthly cycle. This means that any money left after that is what you have. It isnt fool proof, but it makes budgeting much simpler. Keep a diary of all spending, no matter how small. Some people do it with phone apps, some with notebooks and pencils, either will do. Search the forum for more information.

krustylouise

Thank you,

My daughter is already in school so I've already bought uniform for this term atleast! She's growing so fast though so I know it won't be long until she needs some more, I was very lucky and got her entire uniform for £40, from Tesco, I think the quality is amazing for the price you pay!

I do go on the oldstyle thread alot. I do batch cook as best I can, I manage on about £30pw for groceries, but obviously when my BF moves in it'll go up.

All my DD are for the 1st of the month except my council tax, which is the 15th. I pay my landlord in cash every week.

Thanks again

Kirsty x

Fishingtime

I am useless at maths
But I work it out after tax & Ni you will have between you wages of around £406 a week