Starting from the Start

YORKSHIRELASS

Hi

Two bits of advice from someone who messed up big style when they were younger and is now slowly digging themselves of out a financial black hole.

1. Start keeping track of your finances and become a bit obsessive about it. Set up spreadsheets, keep a spending diary, balance your bank every week, make a sensible budget and stick to it. Seeing it in black and white makes it real and keeps you on track.

2. Your daughter is the perfect age to set good habits in place. If she doesnt get massive piles of Christmas presents when she is 4 she will understand that she is not going to get them when when she is 14. Same with clothes, outings, treats etc etc. I wish I had done this with my kids when they were little instead of pretending that we could afford things that we actually couldnt.

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

StarMummy_2

I have a house viewing this afternoon exciting stuff

roxy7699

Oh lovely. Do enjoy. Remember you can make it look more homely than it may look now.

floss2

Remember that while you want to spoil your daughter, what she will rememebr are the experiences - adventures, a trip to the seaside with rock-pools AND ice-cream AND candy-floss AND chips (ok, maybe not that sensible :rotfl:) the excitement of making Christmas cards, dressing the tree, planting seeds for next summers salad & flowers, going for long walks & kicking leaves in the autumn (I still do this & I'm nearly 50!), having a snowball fight, having a water fight, bubble-baths together....lots of cheap/free things to do together, without lots of plastic or TV ads.

Oh, and haunt the local BHF furniture shop - also look out for Emmaeus & Sue Ryder furniture shops for more bargains for your new home.

Good luck - and I would second the advice to keep your spending diary (mine is an Excel s/sheet on my works PC, and I check my bank balance every few days & add every little thing in so I know how much I have to spend) - it will be a chore at first, but well worth the effort.

Tink_04

Definitely check out the £1 films at the cinema great for a rainy saturday and throughout the school holidays!

Tink_04

Oh and cashback sites for setting up your home insurace etc

StarMummy_2

well i went to see the property and it's lovely, nice 2 bed terrace with a small grassed garden, brand new floorings, kitchen and bathroom and (just) in my budget. BUT I can't afford it. I've rented before so know about deposits and application fees so I had budgeted accordingly, however this agency expects extra for an invetory to be done and to pay for professional cleaning at the end of my tennancy (must be paid in advance) all for the grand sum of £300 extra so the cost of moving would be £1500 + the £675 for the first months rent! i have the bulk of this saved but i really cant afford all that this month especially as the only appliance is the cooker so i'd have have to buy fridge/freezer and a washer dryer etc. feel like i could cry! the market here moves so fast the property will be gone by the end of the week and properties are few and far between especially in catchment for DD's school.

fiftyeighter_2

Good grief Star Mummy that sounds astronomic. It seems such a shame to miss out on it though. Could you not borrow the money you need from your parents or would they hold on to it for you till following week. As long as you paid them what you have saved. That will then get you time to source washing machine fridge etc. oh I do hope something sorts itself out and you manage to get it. If not I am a great believer in " it wasn't meant to be" and something better will turn up. Good luck.

Willowpop

StarMummy wrote: »

well i went to see the property and it's lovely, nice 2 bed terrace with a small grassed garden, brand new floorings, kitchen and bathroom and (just) in my budget. BUT I can't afford it. I've rented before so know about deposits and application fees so I had budgeted accordingly, however this agency expects extra for an invetory to be done and to pay for professional cleaning at the end of my tennancy (must be paid in advance) all for the grand sum of £300 extra so the cost of moving would be £1500 + the £675 for the first months rent! i have the bulk of this saved but i really cant afford all that this month especially as the only appliance is the cooker so i'd have have to buy fridge/freezer and a washer dryer etc. feel like i could cry! the market here moves so fast the property will be gone by the end of the week and properties are few and far between especially in catchment for DD's school.

Maybe tell them you'll take it, but can't move in till x date..ie when you can afford the extra money. Offer to pay whatever you can now and then the inventory and cleaning stuff when you move in and know it is clean and are satisfied with the inventory. Might be worth asking if you can do that?

floss2

StarMummy wrote: »

... however this agency expects extra for an invetory to be done and to pay for professional cleaning at the end of my tennancy (must be paid in advance) all for the grand sum of £300 extra so the cost of moving would be £1500 + the £675 for the first months rent! ....

That's outrageous! They obviously expect tenants to pay them as well as the fees they get from landlords!

Could you bring yourself to ask your parents to pay the extra? And look on freecycle/freegle for appliances - maybe do your washing at your mums for a couple of months?