Sparkles clears and saves

Sparkles87

postingalwaysposting wrote: »

Hi Sparks :wave:

The only thing that really jumps out at me is the groceries. Obviously if you end up bottle feeding your little one then I can understand but that works out as £70 a week, or £35 each a week. If you are staying home the majority of the time I am guessing you will be home cooking etc? Could you attempt to lower that? I know that nappies/baby stuff isn't included but its still a lot.
At the moment we aim for £45 a week so I increased it to £65 to account for nappies etc. but I don't think baby will end up costing that much at first

The only other small think is fuel. Is that for one or both cars? Will you be using as much once you are on maternity leave?
That's for both cars with a small decrease on mine for maternity leave, I'd like to aim for £150 total but we'll see how it goes

It is tight :eek: Its the debt repayments that are crippling you. I echo Beanie what was the loan used for? Its a huge monthly outgoing, could you get the period of the loan extended to try and lower the monthly repayments?
Yeah it was a very stupid move but at the time we had two dying and falling apart small cars and I didn't like owing so much to my parents when they were having financial problems.
I may enquire if we can extend it, think it was five years so hopefully they will, the rate on it is terrible.

Could you do mystery shopping etc while you are on leave in order to boost your income? Although if you get rid of a car as you mentioned this prob will not be possible.

Sorry if this is of no use!

I think I can earn a certain amount while on maternity leave as its my second job but not much or it'll affect the tax credits as we'll only just qualify as it is. I think I may try and get back into matched betting, I know it's harder than it was but got to be worth a shot.

It's a huge help, seeing someone else pick up the same potential savings as I have makes it feel a bit more do-able.

The thing that's throwing me is the loan/mortgage...they are with the same people, if I ask to change the loan, will that end up affecting our chances of a decent mortgage rate or is it better to be upfront about the two together?

postingalwaysposting

Sparks, do not feel awful that your house isn't yours at the moment think of it as an investment into your/your childs future. I think you are getting to hung up on the numbers/percentages for the brick/mortar. Just think of it as a home that over the years will be increasing in value... Think less of the now more of the bigger picture.

:eek: At what you spent the loan amount on but what is done is done. Try and see if you can increase the term and lower the repayments. If you could get those repayments down to <£300 it would make indents into your excess outgoings. I understand the parents thing. I am unsure regarding the loan/mortgage rates etc, maybe that would be best posted onto the mortgage forums?

Ahh so MS would prob be a no go then, what a shame. Good luck with the matched betting, have you completed every loophole on the cash back sites (in both your's and OH's name), I mean the deposit £10 in bingo and get £20 cash back ones? Also do you play free bingo for cash to play on the bingo sites? I know it may sound mundane but its something that can run in the background while you tend to baby/do house chores/on phone etc.

Fingers crossed with the fuel, hopefully it will start dropping soon. If you were to sell one of the cars what income would that generate and will it reduce your car ins and petrol costs? Ie would it be something to seriously consider?

Ok so food is explanable however can you reduce it a little? Can you eat from the cupboards for a few weeks or do some serious MSE meals. The ones on the oldstyle forum where they eat on £5 a week etc. I know its not ideal and certainly nothing to while carrying but maybe in the future? Or maybe just a few money saving meals a week ie meat free meals etc.

Just a few ideas! Also could the presents and hair cuts go for a few months? If you cut your hair once every three months thats a £40 saving. Do you really spent £360 a year at christmas? If you call the cars your's and OH's gifts this year and only purchased a token gift for the baby (will she know?) how many more gifts do you need? Could you handmake something that includes the baby instead and give token gifts. I am sure your friends and family will understand because no one can purchase a home and have a baby in the same year and then splash out on huge gifts. In 4 month using those two outgoings you could clear Very

Hope that helps some what

Sparkles87

postingalwaysposting wrote: »

Sparks, do not feel awful that your house isn't yours at the moment think of it as an investment into your/your childs future. I think you are getting to hung up on the numbers/percentages for the brick/mortar. Just think of it as a home that over the years will be increasing in value... Think less of the now more of the bigger picture.
I think that's the issue, but we were hoping to move in 4/5 years and currently that just doesn't look possible at all

:eek: At what you spent the loan amount on but what is done is done. Try and see if you can increase the term and lower the repayments. If you could get those repayments down to <£300 it would make indents into your excess outgoings. I understand the parents thing. I am unsure regarding the loan/mortgage rates etc, maybe that would be best posted onto the mortgage forums?
Quite possibly, I'll ask over on those boards. I don't feel the loan was wasted, every penny was sensibly used, it's just annoying that we can no longer really afford it - whereas before we could.

Ahh so MS would prob be a no go then, what a shame. Good luck with the matched betting, have you completed every loophole on the cash back sites (in both your's and OH's name), I mean the deposit £10 in bingo and get £20 cash back ones? Also do you play free bingo for cash to play on the bingo sites? I know it may sound mundane but its something that can run in the background while you tend to baby/do house chores/on phone etc.
I haven't done any in my married name, at this address or from my current bank account. So unless they do checks on national insurance number, I should be able to start over. If not, then can always do OH.

Fingers crossed with the fuel, hopefully it will start dropping soon. If you were to sell one of the cars what income would that generate and will it reduce your car ins and petrol costs? Ie would it be something to seriously consider?
Probably about 2.5-3K, it'd save us nothing month to month as I'd have to use public transport or drop OH to work some days as he can't get public transport to work. Honestly, this is the most useless place to get around! We'd save £10 a month in car tax in theory, and a bit in insurance but we aren't actually saving enough at the moment anyway so that'd break even anyway

Ok so food is explanable however can you reduce it a little? Can you eat from the cupboards for a few weeks or do some serious MSE meals. The ones on the oldstyle forum where they eat on £5 a week etc. I know its not ideal and certainly nothing to while carrying but maybe in the future? Or maybe just a few money saving meals a week ie meat free meals etc.
Going to try for £40 a week, we've tried dropping it lower but it ended up just costing more so will stick with that for June and see how it goes. We never have any store cupboard stuff here as we don't have any space in the kitchen to store anything, it's stupidly small. Going to have to have at least one jacket potato week though.

Just a few ideas! Also could the presents and hair cuts go for a few months? If you cut your hair once every three months thats a £40 saving. Do you really spent £360 a year at christmas? If you call the cars your's and OH's gifts this year and only purchased a token gift for the baby (will she know?) how many more gifts do you need? Could you handmake something that includes the baby instead and give token gifts. I am sure your friends and family will understand because no one can purchase a home and have a baby in the same year and then splash out on huge gifts. In 4 month using those two outgoings you could clear Very

Hope that helps some what

That's me having my hair cut once every six weeks and OH about every three months. Can't leave it any longer as its a short style, tried the colleges but they messed it up big time previously and it took ages to grow out - its not a complicated style, just short.
We've been in the house since 2011 so can't really use that as an excuse and the cars were purchased last year too. We did quite a few presents as token gifts last year and didn't get much for each other, but OH has a huge family so that money will barely cover it plus there's several birthdays between now and then
Same with clothes, we tried cutting it but it ended up that we really needed the money for clothes as I don't have a uniform for work and OH goes through two pairs of trainers a year for work and none of those costs come back.

If both cars go through their MOTs okay in June. I'm tempted to empty the car savings, not ideal but the insurance could go on the credit card in November as could OH's car tax in October...
That would give us £500 minus the MOTs now and £85 a month (not saving his car tax or both insurance) between now and Oct off the monthly budget.
Not ideal at all but maybe needed breathing space?

beanielou

sparkles~Dont be thinking about may or may not happen in 4 to 5 years.
Try and look slightly less longer term.

Sparkles87

£213.97 overspend is down to £185.66 a month due to a cost-of-living pay rise, baby steps in the right direction...

Sparkles87

OH's pay went in and we're very much walking a tightrope this month, food and petrol are going to have to go on credit cards to keep the account in credit and hopefully he'll get a bonus next month to cover it but if not, then any extra made will have to pay that off for now.

postingalwaysposting

Hey Sparks, Sorry I play devils advocate in this post but I am just bouncing around ideas.

I think you need to take the view that Beanie has given. Look more at the next 12months, having a child can change everything. What happens if you don't return to work? Or return to work P/T? Would you still be able to afford the current mortgage? Would you have access to funds etc to move?

I understand completely why you took the loan out and what you purchased but you really need to see if you can get it at a better rate. The repayments is nearly as much as your monthly mortgage payment!

Thats good, if you can start on those it may give you an amount of extra cash, it could even pay for Christmas I also saw this post mentioned and thought of you.

Ok so if you sold one of the cars you could clear the loan. Are you sure you would still cost £315 a month to run the one car? Even if you kept the car maintenance/tax the same your petrol would at least drop by 1/4 if not 1/2. Also wouldn't the insurance drop slightly as you can both go onto one car? The only other suggestion is to sell one car and get a bangernomics for your OH to commute. That means your loan will be cleared and you will still have two cars? Obviously then your car outgoings will not change at all but your loan could be cleared.

I am unsure how dropping the amount you spent on food cost you more? Do you mean cost you more in time etc? There are three adults in our house hold and we spend approx £80 a month so £20 a week or £6.66 pppw. The only thing that excludes is pet food/personal drinks (ie tea/coffee/juice is included)/toiletries and treats (ie chocolate/takeaways/junk food). Ok that is lowest brand on everything, little meat, reduced stuff but its all we can afford between us and we all work different shifts. With a bit of meal planning and price matching I think you can still lower it.

RE Christmas can't you just explain to the family that it will be token gifts/children only? There are a huge amount of ideas for token gifts that can be made for <£1 a head. I would be very surprised if they said no, after all everyone is trying to strectch there money to go as far as it can and christmas is a big expense.

Unsure if emptying the car saves is a good idea

How frustrating with this month's pay, not good incurring more debt. However in order to work and to eat then it has to be done!

Take care

Sparkles87

postingalwaysposting wrote: »

Hey Sparks, Sorry I play devils advocate in this post but I am just bouncing around ideas.

I think you need to take the view that Beanie has given. Look more at the next 12months, having a child can change everything. What happens if you don't return to work? Or return to work P/T? Would you still be able to afford the current mortgage? Would you have access to funds etc to move?

I will be part-time when I return as only been employed part-time since October, student income was upping me to full-time. We can't move and mortgage is affordable on my part-time wage.

I understand completely why you took the loan out and what you purchased but you really need to see if you can get it at a better rate. The repayments is nearly as much as your monthly mortgage payment!

Yeah it does need looking at, but not sure how to approach the bank about it

Thats good, if you can start on those it may give you an amount of extra cash, it could even pay for Christmas I also saw this post mentioned and thought of you.

Ok so if you sold one of the cars you could clear the loan. Are you sure you would still cost £315 a month to run the one car? Even if you kept the car maintenance/tax the same your petrol would at least drop by 1/4 if not 1/2. Also wouldn't the insurance drop slightly as you can both go onto one car? The only other suggestion is to sell one car and get a bangernomics for your OH to commute. That means your loan will be cleared and you will still have two cars? Obviously then your car outgoings will not change at all but your loan could be cleared.

Selling a car wouldn't touch the loan, it has about 14k remaining! The car is worth 3k maximum. Our travel costs wouldn't drop as I'd have to drop OH to work everyday which isn't practical with baby and would use loads of fuel, or else use public transport which would cost me about £10 everyday :eek: The insurance/tax would only save about £80 a month, so we'd end up worse off with one car.

I am unsure how dropping the amount you spent on food cost you more? Do you mean cost you more in time etc? There are three adults in our house hold and we spend approx £80 a month so £20 a week or £6.66 pppw. The only thing that excludes is pet food/personal drinks (ie tea/coffee/juice is included)/toiletries and treats (ie chocolate/takeaways/junk food). Ok that is lowest brand on everything, little meat, reduced stuff but its all we can afford between us and we all work different shifts. With a bit of meal planning and price matching I think you can still lower it.

This is my current task, it's proving very difficult at the moment but I'm going to have to take a harder line with OH as it has to be cut down.

RE Christmas can't you just explain to the family that it will be token gifts/children only? There are a huge amount of ideas for token gifts that can be made for <£1 a head. I would be very surprised if they said no, after all everyone is trying to strectch there money to go as far as it can and christmas is a big expense.

Possibly, but again, it's OH's ego to battle on that one

Unsure if emptying the car saves is a good idea

Half of it has already gone on MOT and the rest will probably end up on the other car's MOT

How frustrating with this month's pay, not good incurring more debt. However in order to work and to eat then it has to be done!
Take care

The problem is, the month's pay is likely to be the same now until September...so we're utterly stuck.

Just got to ride it out until the end of June when hopefully we can change the mortgage and loan. Otherwise I might just give up

Sparkles87

The car savings were emptied by the two MOTs, neither anything major but both around £200 so need to increase tax savings in time for next car due, so that'll be £50 a month now until October.

Keep being phoned by company that arranged our last mortgage and bank so hopefully between the two we should be able to get a decent deal

beanielou

Positive vibes your way.