Pregnant and in debt!

dancingfairy

You might be able to reshuffle your debts and thereby lower the apr's but I'm not sure you'll be able to consolidate. O.k let's say you owe 10k. If you ask to borrow 10k to consolidate then the bank will look at it as though you now owe 20k (they can't guarantee that you will use the new 10k to pay off the old 10k or that you won't wrack up more debt) so they are likely to be wary. I think it's unlikely you will be able to consolidate especially as you have just started new jobs.
You could try for a consolidation loan but I doubt you'd be successful.
How long have you got left on the phones?
Could you sell them and use the money to pay off the contract but keep the SIM for a new cheap phone? Would this work?
How big are you debts? Do you have any relative small ones?
Is the council tax over 10 months or 12? If it's over 10 then you have 2 'free' months coming up which could be used to pay off smaller debts? or to pay off one of the mobiles?
You might want to do the debt remedy on the Stepchange website. This will give you an idea of what it recommends for someone in your situation. It looks like a dmp (debt management plan) may be the answer if some rejigging does't work.
Oh and congratulations on the new jobs and the pregnancy
df

longtermplanner

30 - gas & 30 - electricity = very round figures - are you sure these are accurate?
10 - tv licence - should be £12
45 - internet/tv - cancel it & get basic braodband for under £20 a month
120 - food - really? That is very little for two adults as it has to include toiletries, cleaning stuff, sundries such as light bulbs etc. You might try both keeping a spending diary and seeing what you really spend
230 - fuel - could you move closer to work and reduce this?
90 - mobiles - daftly large - when do contracts end?
35 - haircuts - go half as often
40 - gym - cancel
10 - spotify(!!) - cancel

You have nothing in for clothes (eg maternity stuff!) or dentists/opticians/prescriptions (free for you whilst pregnant but not for OH) or for emergencies... When this is combined with the fact that your food line is almost certainly too low and the fact that your income is going to fall next year, you aren't goi9ng to be able to manage the debt repayments.

I suggest you call StepChange and talk to them about a Debt Management Plan: http://www.stepchange.org/Howwecanhelpyou/DMPDebtmanagementplan.aspx

jennyj26uk

I say cut out the pet insurance, spotify, sky, gym and stop going out as much. Contact StepChange debt Charity to apply for a DMP where you can lump all your debt outgoings into one payment each month. It will take a while to pay off but at least you'll be in control of your debt. Congratulations by the way

rising_from_the_ashes

I would complete the full SOA (sticky towards the top of the board) as there is a lot of stuff missing as longtermplanner says and you need to account for everything to get a proper picture

Consolidation rarely helps / works as it's too easy to get into new debt - and I'd seriously worry this may be the case as once your salary drops when you do on mat leave, it would be really easy to run up new debts

Much better to try to work with the debt & creditors you've already got

ohhh and congrats!

claret_mike

I know this may sound really awful but it may be worth spending the next 9 weeks just focusing on you being healthy and without stress.

You will have time to start planning for your finances but I would wait until you are 12 weeks confirmed pregnant. Just concentrate on looking after yourself.

When you get to 12 weeks, I would start looking at the following

- What can we cut out now?
- What can we cut out before the baby is born?
- What can be done to increase income for partner?
- What can be sold to help reduce debts now and can we overpay before hand?

I would consider looking at speaking to step change etc but I would maybe even consider speaking to your creditors directly to see if you can make an arrangement for 6-9 months whilst you are on reduced pay etc.

Clearly if you have spotted things you are currently paying where you don't need to, I would take action because it will help regardless but just focus on yourself for next couple of months..

Congratulations on the news btw...

When_the_going_gets_tough

Have a look on the National Debtline site. Maybe a debt relief order is the way to go.

flyingmamma

Congratulations I had a fair amount of debt when I fell pregnant 5 yrs ago... I managed better than expected despite huge drop in salary... I have manged to pay off 60% now , I would recommend checking g tree and similar sites when u buying prams , cots etc... I didn't but when u become a parent u enter a new world and discover things!!! I did buy a second hand jumperoo for £25 ... Hav just sold on after my 2 babies hav used it for £35! My sister is currently pregnant so we are checking out prams etc.... There is so much pre loved excellent stuff.
Be excited about your little one and look after yourself
Also re your mobiles ... I heard a salesperson from a major mobile company telling their friend if they couldn't afford the contract the mobile company were obliged to help them by lowering tariff ... Worth checking?

Jenny001

You can contact C.A.B as they are great at giving advice on what you should be claiming for and also for debt advice so give them a ring.

As for baby things, its not just nappies and food but you will need a cot, pram etc. Look on ebay as you can get really good bargains on there also look around second hand shops as they also have second hand prams/cots/clothes etc. As someone has said do not buy too many maternity clothes as you do not need them. Congratulations!

Monkeyballs

Hi,

First of all congratulations and welcome!

I think it has been mentioned on another post on this thread but we really need to see the debt balances and APR's and maybe the lender if possible? It would make offering suggestions easier

Silly question but do you have any savings or other assets available?

MB

debtdawg

Check out baby item reselling pages on facebook - I've bought and sold lots of the children's stuff on those. I recently bought a gorgeous moses basket and stand that look like new, still for sale for over £70 in Mothercare, for £20, a bundle of newborn sleepsuits and cardigans etc for £5, a baby chair that again looks like new for £15 (still for sale in the shops for over £40) and a bundle of beautiful Mothercare cot bedding (a bumper, grobag, 5 cot sheets etc) for £15. My pushchair was off of a local Ebay seller and I bought it for a fraction of the new price. My local page is extremely busy and there is always somebody selling things you need, plus you can sell them on easily afterwards if you take care of them, recouping a lot of your costs.
Maternity clothes - check out the sales. I got a really nice pair of maternity jeans from new look for £7 and they had others reduced to £5 a pair, I've been teaming them with vests and supersoft checked shirts from Matalan that they had reduced to £6 (in +3 sizes bigger than my normal size!), I also picked up a couple of maternity dresses for £4 each off of the selling sites.
Breastfeeding is a personal choice, but free, saves buying bottles and sterilisers and is better for you and your baby, plus will save you a fortune in formula milk.
Check out your local council for schemes on reusable nappies, or if you want to use disposables then Aldi/Lidls nappies are just as good as the main brands.
The others have given you good advice on bills you can cut down on, my best advice is for you to keep a spending diary and write down EVERYTHING over the next few weeks, you'll be surprised where the little extras go and how everything adds up.