eeeekkkk... help?

tealady

Try local haidressing colleges for student sessions. I can get my hair cut for free that way (or for £4.50 for a cut and blow dry)

Seaxwyn

Hi Milly

The thing that stands out to me is that your life would be a lot easier if you had regular (and bigger) earnings. Could you get a full-time job?

cocalls

May I ask what kind of contract you have w/ regards to the nannying? As most of the childminders etc i've come into contact w/ have some of the toughest rules ever ie you have to give them several weeks in advance if you dont need them, you have to pay a retainer to keep them over hols etc.
(I would have thought it's the same w/ cleaners)i.e if they go on hols or don't need you on one particular day then that's not your fault you still have a living to make. Apologies if you already have contracts set up w/ them etc.

silly_milly

Hello everyone

Thank you for your replys and your advice... i feel a bit better already having just written it down as apposed to burying my head in the sand.

So... I forgot some things! Erm the biggy i guess is petrol which, term time is about £50 a week. non term time its about £30 a month. This is part of my job and my income reflects petrol costs so it has to stay really.

My council tax is more a contribution than an actual figure, my mum is letting me stay rent free so i said I would set up a dd for £50 to cover her costs a little.

Im cutting out completely my eating out, clothes and books and have started putting things on ebay and amazon (my books are my friends... this is sad! LOL!)

I hadnt realised i could reduce my contract so will contact them today to sort that out - that could save me about £100 a month i think - they didnt mention this option when i spoke to them so just assumed i was trapped.

As for changing my job, i used to be a sales manager so my income has about halved, however my dad died a few years ago and I kind of stepped into his shoes to support my mum (shes a foster carer) with her children. I dont feel I can change this until this placement leaves next year but that was why I started nannying and cleaning as I could build it in around my mums kids - they have special needs so arent that easy a bunch to look after!

Thank you so much for your help, I need a kick up the bum to be honest and a point in the right direction..... but, nothing like living at home as a motivation to pay off debts

tigzem

I wish you all the best for clearing your debts and reducing your outgoings..... I too love books, but I look in charity shops, depending on what you read, you can normally find something.

Good luck x

silly_milly

ooopps yes, i forgot to mention i dont pay tax as i dont earn enough after claiming back petrol etc, my NI is the basic £2 a week one which i pay in bulk when i get sent a reminder.

My contract as a nanny is lax to say the least, they are school techers so get about 16 weeks holls a year(private school - long holidays). I said i would take half paid and the other half unpaid. am hoping to put my charges up as Im losing about £10 a day on the going rates... im just a bit of a wimp!

Thank you again - you are going to get sick of me saying that im sure, but its nice to know Im not alone x

Seaxwyn

Hi Milly

Good for you supporting your mum and her foster children - you sound like a real star.

Definitely talk to your nanny clients as certainly you should get the going rate or close to it. Make sure you have a written agreement about the holiday pay too. Don't let there be any room for misunderstandings that could later sour your relationship!

Learn to love your library. I'm the biggest bookworm too and I very rarely buy books now - just the occasional impulse purchase on Amazon! And if you introduce your young charges to the library you will do them a favour for life.

lynzpower

milly,

I agree a permanent full time job would be best. Or maybe even a supermarket job where you could work predominantly evenings & then work overtime as and when?

I understand about you working ofr your mum and how irregualrt social services can be at paying ( i used to work for them and its the red tape one of th emany reasons I left!)

I suggest on this point you speak to a specialist foster care associations hepline

http://www.fostering.net/about/contact.php
http://www.baaf.org.uk/index.shtml

I cant remember where but one of the fostering orgs has a helpline that bascially campaigns & sorts out issues, late payments being a MAJOR campaign in the last year or so.

Do have a dig about, how CAN you support vulnerable children when your work sint valued.

One way of creating a structire might be to get a perm job ( even if its part time) and then paying the basics out of that, and overpayments from the lump sums when the Ss cough up?

*zippy*

Hi Milly

Another place you can sell books is

http://www.greenmetropolis.com/

you get £3 for every book you sell, you have to take postage out of that.

I'm a book worm and now only use the local library, they are very good and will order a book if they don't have it. They are also online so I can browse, renew and order what I want and just pop down to collect when they come in.

What pets do you have?

There is a long thread about cutting back pet costs that might help you

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=262477&highlight=pets

all the best

zippy x

looby75

Hi Milly, welcome to MSE :wave:

Just a quick note about books and library...I am a book worm too and one of the reasons I used to justify buying books rather than getting them from the library is that they never had the books I wanted in (our library is only a small one) Then I discovered that you can "book" books you want and pick them up at which ever library is closest to you. Our library service charge 50p per book (but someone told me its free if you are a carer so might be worth looking into, I live in Durham btw) but it's still a LOT cheaper than buying them outright.