Debt is the bane of my life, but need OH and DS to get on board

gilly1964

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

His half is still over £1,000.

But if he uses his car he can get home in time for an evening job - using the bus removes this opportunity

And if he was to get a job in the Uni town he would not be able to get home

[Deleted User]

I think your step-son is very lucky to have your love and support to help him get through university debt-free. There is, of course, a price to pay for that and you and your OH are paying it. My 3 kids will all come out of university with debt of around £20 000 because, in spite of working full time since my youngest started school, I have not been in a position to help them out much financially. But I have kept a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs:)
We all make choices with what we have and what we want to do with it and I'm sure your son will be very grateful to you one day (if he isn't already). The fact is that you could be debt free if you really wanted to - the trade off would be that your son would have the debt instead like many other graduates. As you say, its a short term investment and you probably just need to keep an eye on things to make sure they don't get out of control
Good luck!

RAS

gilly1964 wrote: »

The £50 fuel each week covers Uni and he puts in extra for all other fuel costs so with his friend contributing half the Uni fuel it is still not that much more.

Very definitely correctly declared on the policy

MAIN DRIVER, with me and his dad as additional drivers.
One years no claims

blimey

Who is that with - we could not get it under £2100?

gilly1964

RAS wrote: »

blimey

Who is that with - we could not get it under £2100?

Admiral Multicar

gilly1964

victoria61 wrote: »

I think your step-son is very lucky to have your love and support to help him get through university debt-free. There is, of course, a price to pay for that and you and your OH are paying it. My 3 kids will all come out of university with debt of around £20 000 because, in spite of working full time since my youngest started school, I have not been in a position to help them out much financially. But I have kept a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs:)
We all make choices with what we have and what we want to do with it and I'm sure your son will be very grateful to you one day (if he isn't already). The fact is that you could be debt free if you really wanted to - the trade off would be that your son would have the debt instead like many other graduates. As you say, its a short term investment and you probably just need to keep an eye on things to make sure they don't get out of control
Good luck!

He will still have debt

Tuition fees of £27000, before you add anything else

[Deleted User]

Of course, I forgot the tuition fees have just gone up. I have 2 kids at uni at the moment but they both started last year so got in before the tuition fees rose so much

Still, hopefully if he gets work as a physio, it will be a good investement in his long term future

Hele_an

Gilly - please ignore some of those on here who seem intent on stressing you out - you son is doing very well and to be so persistent on finding a job , starting uni, doing volunteer work and holding down a girlfriend! I only managed the first two when i was his age!

He sounds like a good guy who just needs a break in life - as do a lot of our young folk - and i'm sure there are a few mums and dads on here who would agree.

As long as he accepts that when he has money coming in, he is expected to take responsibility for any bills you are currently funding him then it shouldn't be a problem. I know that i would have been in a much more serious debt problem if it had not been for the saving grace of my parents, again a sentiment i'm sure a lot of people on here would agree with.

Good luck with all your plans - i'm sure your family will be able to knock this debt on its head!

WeBeBroke

Your poor son is coming in for a bit of a bashing isn't he!
I think with a bit of money management you'll be fine. You have a good income and with a bit of tweaking you should be well able to come in under budget.

We have a similar income and our main culprits are also food and sports/holidays (visits home to see family). I'm trying to tackle one thing at a time and I'm going for groceries at the moment.

It's just a lot of time and effort and when you both work (or in your case, you are ill) or have children it can all be a bit overwhelming.
I've had a bit of a kick in the backside as we're planning to move back to Ireland next year (oh and I are both from there and all our family is back there). So I want to have some savings under our belt and learn to manage the pennies a bit better. I can't really blame my sons for the ridiculous grocery spend as they are only young and the 5 yr old in particular doesn't eat anything!

So maybe just focus on one aspect of your budget - (use up all those tins of beans, very fragrant :eek:)
Just make a list of the meals you/OH/DS can do with what you have at the moment and make that your meal plan. Eventually, once your grocery budget is under control you can look at something else in your budget.

I'm off to take my own advice now - I've just added up what I spent last month and had a minor heart attack!

best of luck!

WBB

gilly1964

WeBeBroke wrote: »

So maybe just focus on one aspect of your budget - (use up all those tins of beans, very fragrant :eek:)
best of luck!

WBB

Thanks, will go with your suggestion of focussing on the one point, so grocery spending it is

Beans on Toast
JP and Beans
Five Bean Chilli
Bean Curry

Just need another 3 suggestions for the rest of the week

[Deleted User]

Buy a can of air freshener.

After all those beans, you are going to need it.