x-post - Salary cut in half overnight - Need help!

danlovedough

Trust me it's worth it. It has indoor & outdoor pools, sauna, steam, indoor & outdoor jacuzzi's, classes included for all the family, access from 6am-11pm 7 days a week and is 5 mins drive from my house.

I tried other gyms but they did not have the same therapeutic effect as they were either too far away or did not have nice enough facilities.

The nature of my work means my income is performance related.
I benefit from attending the gym regularly, keeping fit, and de-stressing in the pool & sauna, & steam room.

Being healthier, fitter, stronger physically and mentally enables me to perform better in my job, work harder, for longer hours, think through problems in a neutral and comfortable environment, overcome difficult issues, have less time off sick, and ultimately make more money.

I believe the difference of these things equates to more than £80 per month, although it's difficult to quantify exactly how much more i make through being fitter and healthier in the work I'm certain it has a positive effect.

I felt physically worse after going 3 months without the gym membership, and during that period did not perform so well in my job.
My bonuses and commissions reflected this.

I may feel differently about justifying the cost if my wage was a flat basic salary and not so weighted to performance, but in my personal situation the gym membership is 100% worth the money.

matttye

danlovedough wrote: »

Trust me it's worth it. It has indoor & outdoor pools, sauna, steam, indoor & outdoor jacuzzi's, classes included for all the family, access from 6am-11pm 7 days a week and is 5 mins drive from my house.

I tried other gyms but they did not have the same therapeutic effect as they were either too far away or did not have nice enough facilities.

The nature of my work means my income is performance related.
I benefit from attending the gym regularly, keeping fit, and de-stressing in the pool & sauna, & steam room.

Being healthier, fitter, stronger physically and mentally enables me to perform better in my job, work harder, for longer hours, think through problems in a neutral and comfortable environment, overcome difficult issues, have less time off sick, and ultimately make more money.

I believe the difference of these things equates to more than £80 per month, although it's difficult to quantify exactly how much more i make through being fitter and healthier in the work I'm certain it has a positive effect.

I felt physically worse after going 3 months without the gym membership, and during that period did not perform so well in my job.
My bonuses and commissions reflected this.

I may feel differently about justifying the cost if my wage was a flat basic salary and not so weighted to performance, but in my personal situation the gym membership is 100% worth the money.

To me, indoor/outdoor pools, sauna and steam room are just there to ramp up the price of membership. The main reason I go to the gym is to improve fitness and/or physique, and none of those features are imperative for that goal. I find it's working out that de-stresses and makes me feel better about myself, not sitting in a sauna afterwards.

Group classes - paying someone to show you something you could quite easily learn yourself by either reading online or buying a DVD.

My local swimming pool has a membership option for £19 a month so, together with my gym membership, that equals £31 per month - a staggering £49 less than what you're paying!

To each their own

pennies_from_Heaven

Hi op,
Not sure if you have looked into tax credits yet but I would imagine that you wouldn't be entitled to it on 30k, we got the lowest amount of child tax credit (£500 odd a year) they stopped this last year - the rebanding is now 26k for 2 children. We both work and have 2 children, so with three the threashold will probably be a little higher but unlikely to be over 30k.

glasgowsaver2011

danlovedough wrote: »

Trust me it's worth it. It has indoor & outdoor pools, sauna, steam, indoor & outdoor jacuzzi's, classes included for all the family, access from 6am-11pm 7 days a week and is 5 mins drive from my house.

I tried other gyms but they did not have the same therapeutic effect as they were either too far away or did not have nice enough facilities.

The nature of my work means my income is performance related.
I benefit from attending the gym regularly, keeping fit, and de-stressing in the pool & sauna, & steam room.

Being healthier, fitter, stronger physically and mentally enables me to perform better in my job, work harder, for longer hours, think through problems in a neutral and comfortable environment, overcome difficult issues, have less time off sick, and ultimately make more money.

I believe the difference of these things equates to more than £80 per month, although it's difficult to quantify exactly how much more i make through being fitter and healthier in the work I'm certain it has a positive effect.

I felt physically worse after going 3 months without the gym membership, and during that period did not perform so well in my job.
My bonuses and commissions reflected this.

I may feel differently about justifying the cost if my wage was a flat basic salary and not so weighted to performance, but in my personal situation the gym membership is 100% worth the money.

Moved to a new city so gave up my smart gym and joined a city centre 24 hour gym. I went twice, you do get what you pay for . It was no where near as good...So rejoined a plush one....I dont drink or smoke or drive so worth every penny.

heartbreak_star

See I was the opposite - I was a member of a beautiful plush gym...pool with soft lighting, poolside Jacuzzis, up-to-date cardio equipment, vibroplates...and I jacked it in because the free weights section was 2 racks of dumbbells (labelled ladies - light and gents - heavy, let's not get into how angry that made me) and a Smith machine (actually nasty on the joints).

Now a member of local council gym that has a massive barbell/dumbbell selection and proper bench/squat racks, and it's HALF the price! Still has pools and saunas, just functional instead of pretty, and very MSE

If they'd open a proper gritty spit n sawdust gym here I'd probably jump ship again haha!!

OP, I can't pretend to not be jealous of your salary...BUT I really think you've done well with sorting out your situation and planning for the future, so massive back-pat to you

HBS x

cats2012

It sounds like you've done really well OP, however I do think you're going to struggle a little bit for much more support as you still have things like £600 groceries and £200 clothes a month.

I doubt we spend much more than £200 a YEAR on clothes at present, and most of the SOAs we see are families trying to manage on £200-£250 a month for groceries (we're £150 for 2 of us)

That doesn't mean what you've done isn't admirable, but you are very lucky to be earning £55k - just remember to keep stuff aside for a rainy day from now on.

sweetpea26

Hi there

Welcome back. Here is your 1st SOA
.......................................................

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Mortgage...................... 145000...(625)......4.5
Secured Debt.................. 15000....(500)......7.9
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 500......(50).......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 160500....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Capital One ...................1300......50........34
Virgin Mastercard..............4800......120.......34
Barclaycard....................3750......110...... .34
Overdraft......................1500......0........ .30
Total unsecured debts..........11350.....280.......-
..........................................................................................

Here is your latest SOA

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Mortgage...................... 125000...(520)......6.8
Secured Debt.................. 12000....(500)......9
Total secured & HP debts...... 137000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Virgin Card....................4000......100.......30
Barclaycard....................5000......100...... .29
N/Rock Unsecured...............25000.....110.......7
Total unsecured debts..........34000.....310.......-


Total at 1st SOA.......

160,500 mortgage and secured debt
11,350 unsecured debt

---

171,850 DEBT

Total at 2nd SOA.......

137,000 mortgage and secured debt
34,000 unsecured debt

---

170,000 DEBT

There is has been a reduction in your debt by £1,850. Have you calculated what you have paid in interest. Please do and it will shock you and hopefully make you realise that you have too much debt. I am not trying to insult you just trying to help you.

You are spending £800 per month on food and clothing. Seriously that is a ridiculous amount of money. £120 per month on mobile phones is £1440 per year. Too much.

Sky at £70 per month is £840 per year. These amounts are fine if you don't have debt and you decide to spend your disposable income on them but you cannot afford to do this.

I have to say this as others have said you don't need to go to a gym and pay those prices. £80 per month is £960 per year. My husband has a very stressful job and brings home more than you and he doesn't waste his money on a gym. We have a few pieces of equipment in a spare bedroom (which have been bought with savings not credit cards) a flat screen tv on the wall, stereo system and that to us is a luxury we have saved for. Until you can afford to buy these things...run up and down the stairs, lift buckets of sand etc outside...there are lots of ways of getting the same endorphin release than throwing £80 a month at a flashy establishment.

I really do say this with respect but you need to sit down and see where you are WASTING your money.


I don't think you have really had your lightbulb moment yet. You had a wake up call last year but you have increased your unsecured debts. What would happen to you tomorrow if you lost your job or were too ill to work for a while.

With respect I think you need to start really tightening your belt. You need to cut back on everything you really do not need for a duration to get rid of these high interest debts. How long will it take for you to pay the N Rock off? I appreciate you have a good income but you need to be severely overpaying these debts to stop wasting your hard earned money.

Your wife could do as I do to earn some extra money......ebay, surveys, shop and scan, amazon....lots of things she could do to bring in some extra money. It is amazing what you have that other people want to pay money for:) I started with a goal of earning £10 per week about 10 years ago .... I now try and make a few hundred a month. Its not easy but its certainly lovely to watch our savings accounts grow because of me not spending those monies. We go on a number of holidays a year and we still save money. Cut your suit to your cloth is the old saying. We now have no mortgage and that frees up a lot of money per month. You could do the same if you start firing every spare penny that you have at your debts.

If you think kids are expensive now wait until they hit secondary school and then onto University. Start now or you will not be able to help your children when they hit 3rd level education, if that is your goal.

Check out lots of success stories on this site. You have to work at something to make a success at it and its the same with paying your debt off.

I wish you all the best for you and your family.

Bertrum

OP

I don't know how you do it!!

Supporting 3 kids and a wife on that wage!! With Gym etc. I can barely afford that myself and I'm a single bloke earning not a whole lot less than you paying a laughably small amount of rent.

I really do think you are living beyond your means.

Your job is clearly not that safe. I would take a good long look at your companies finances and asses the risk. A financial consultant or accountant friend can help with that. If you have access to D&B reports, I would run them throught that and see what you get. Might be time to jump.

There are a lot of jobs out there if you have the right skill set.

Have you considered contracting? The rewards are good and you'd be no less secure.

sweetpea26

Another point ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,DONT EVEN THINK OF PUTTING YOURSELF IN EVEN MORE DEBT BY INCREASING YOUR MORTGAGE.

I repeat YOU CANNOT AFFORD IT.

matttye

sweetpea26 wrote: »

I have to say this as others have said you don't need to go to a gym and pay those prices. £80 per month is £960 per year. My husband has a very stressful job and brings home more than you and he doesn't waste his money on a gym. We have a few pieces of equipment in a spare bedroom (which be bought with savings not credit cards) a flat screen tv on the wall, stereo system and that to us is a luxury we have saved for. Until you can afford to buy these things...run up and down the stairs, lift buckets of sand etc outside...there are lots of ways of getting the same endorphin release than throwing £80 a month at a flashy establishment.

Yes, exactly right.

Just ran for half an hour and feel great.

Equipment:

- iPhone 5 (for music) + headphones
- Arm band to hold the phone
- Stopwatch
- Jogging clothes + trainers

Sure I had to buy that stuff, but that's a one off cost and I've ran with them hundreds of times!