Please help! I'm not sure where to start...

saraht86

I have been with the company for almost a year and very much enjoy my job, i've just been trained up to cover my senior co worker when she leaves for maternity end of the month. Do you think I should ask for a payrise?

FireWyrm

No, don't ask for a pay rise right now. People are being made redundant left and right, this is no time to be rocking the boat. However, with regard to work versus childcare, how are the children doing on this? Between various clubs, childminders and school, they probably don't see either of you much....no, Im not looking for an answer here, just raising a question in your mind. Since you're not contributing financially to the family, perhaps emotionally might be more profitable in the long run, especially if they are young.

Anyway, no one has suggested a spending diary yet. Start one tomorrow morning (since it's still the beginning of the month) and see where the 'incidental' money is going. I'm almost certain your SOA is nowhere near the truth...almost no-ones first effort is.

BFM

can either you or your partner get childcare voucher scheme at work - takes a chunk of cash off your paypacket each month but criticaly before tax is worked out.

a lot of firms do this and if they don't its no/little cost to them to run a scheme from my understanding so badger your HR depts.

wannabee_in_credit

I completely understand about needing to work. It saves my sanity with my children - but there may still be room for saving there. I have one pre school age and one at school and my childcare bills come to about £650 a month (including his 15 hours nursery). Obviously your costs may be the going rate where you live - you pay an awful lot though - are you getting everything you're entitled to from tax credits?
I feed my family of 4 on about £225 a month - making massive savings since I started shopping in Aldi.
People have already offered lots of good advice, which I won't repeat, but good luck getting sorted out. Does your 4 year old start school this year? That should help to ease things a bit.

Tixy

I would certainly bring up the possibility of a payrise, especially if you are taking on more responsibility. Obviously not demanding one but asking if they've considered it or asking when your next pay review will be if you've been there nearly a year. Every bit will help.

So it sounds like you need to get through the next year until your loan finishes and your childcare costs will reduce then from the sound of it?

Maybe you need to make some hard decisions to get you through that year and work out where you can make some cutbacks and what you are prepared to give up - perhaps reducing clothing costs to bare essentials, or reducing the activities the kids do or the gym etc.

Anythings you could sell to raise a bit of cash to cover the holiday passport costs etc? If you did back out of the holiday now how much of what you've paid could you get refunded (just so you can think about it).

saraht86

We would not get refunded anything ... As far as i'm aware at least.

No I don't see alot of the children and it does make me upset tbh but even cutting the gym I will see them more & save money because I go straight from work twice a week. I could reduce some of their clubs. We have just paid to take us up to the end of the school year so come September they can be reduced. My MIL does help with the childrens coats and shoes and will occassionally pay a term at a club for us which is such a big help but obviously we cannot expect this.

I'm unsure what to do re work. I have compared my wages to job descriptions and i'm at least 1500 underpaid but like a poster said I don't want to rock the boat too much although given i'm the only fulltime person working there in accounts/credit control I do feel somewhat secure. I wouldn't leave if I didn't get a payrise but I do feel I deserve one with how much I've taken on since starting, my whole role has changed really.

Are there any links/tips to reduce my grocery bill please? We have a cat but shopping at Aldi helps as his catfood isn't very expensive at all. Is it worthwhile taking out pet insurance btw?

Thank you for all the advice. Definitely will cancel the gym, look at reducing the childrens clubs, talk to hubby about flexi time if possible (and overtime!), I will call virgin about our media package and see if I can reduce any mobile tarriffs. Will also start a spending diary and search the house this long weekend for things gathering dust and chuck on ebay. Does it cost to sell things on ebay? I've only ever bought from there before.
I'm assuming we should pay the mastercard before the virgin card as the virgin card is 0% APR is this right?

Next year will free up a lot of money for us so we really need to get through and also form new habits so once we have some breathing room we dont burn through it and get ourselves in a mess again.

Will it actually save money planting vegetables btw? I have loads of seeds, I bet its too late now?

theoretica

I suggest you don't just look at what you can easily cut, but look from the other end too - you have at least £183 of cuts to make (some of which you have found already). Don't ask yourself if gym or football or whatever is worth it. Do ask yourself if you can break even and still keep these.

Tixy

Have a read of this re groceries Supermarket Shopping

Yes focus on trying to pay off the card that isn't interest free first.

Sounds like you have a good plan to work through what you may be able to reduce.

I think planting veg can save money - though it probably depends on what veg you buy and how much you eat- I grow tomatoes & salad leaves which i eat a lot of and are easy to grow (though I do live alone so need less than a family your size would). You are not too late in the year for most things.