Student, pregnant, sinking and in need of help :( *update*

ABetterLife

Archi_Bald wrote: »

ABL, I do have another idea - - - assuming you don't have a bad credit file (check for free on noddle.co.uk), you could probably make an extra £100 - £160, if not more, relatively easily.

You would have to agree that your bank account gets

Both pay £100 for switched accounts, and you could do them one after the other.

Halifax pay quite quickly, the Coop are very slow with paying. But staying with Halifax could help you getting £5 a month extra if you apply for their Reward account - thus may be doing just Halifax might be better for now.

If you come across minimum monthly deposit requirements, don't worry - these do not have to all be made in one go. All you need is pay in the total required during a month. E.g. you can withdraw £250 and pay it in again. Do that 3 times and you have paid in £750. Some people have two current accounts and just shuttle the money to and fro.

Halifax Reward also needs 2 monthly Direct Debits to pay you the monthly fiver - - I know you said you don't like DDs but you can set some up for just £1 to go e.g. into a Tesco Savings account in your own name.

If you want to go ahead with the switching, open the new bank account fully before you request the switch. Getting online access, a card and a PIN are not part of the switch service, and you really need all this before you can ask them to switch. The switch is quite straightforward and just takes a week from request to completion.

Thanks for the great ideas

Unfortunately, my credit file is poor at the moment. I still need to sign up to the electoral register (in the process) and I have a default/bad payment history withe Lloyds debt. Apart from that it's fine but the Lloyds is a big fat mark against me. Once that's settled and clear, it should be good provided I don't mess up!

I'm already with coop. Love them! Don't want any more accounts atm (already have student acc with Barcleys and a cred card) but it's an idea to bear in mind!

ABetterLife

matttye wrote: »

Ignore the rude idiot that posted earlier.

Some people get really touchy about people on / about to be on benefits and think they're all really lazy, without giving any regard to the individual circumstances. Not even worth your time replying to such posters.

Thank you! It did hurt a bit but I know logically that he's just bitter/likes to judge/probably is a sad, sad guy inside so I didn't let it get to me too much.

Dazedandconfused

It's really important to stop the impulse buys. Not just the shopping things like the phone as well. You need to ask yourself so you really need it and if not don't buy it.

Write down what you need and only buy that, you don't have room for luxuries on your budget. Sainsburys basics are pretty good.

ABetterLife

rach_k wrote: »

I don't have much to add except that it's worth looking up your nearest nappy library. I know you said you have some nappies already but many will do long term loans of older styles of nappies that still work perfectly well but aren't in the latest colours or prints and many have newborn hire kits you can borrow for the first month of baby's life. Newborns can go through so many nappies so it's a great way to save a bit of money (and they're much nicer than paper nappies!).

I hope everything works out for you - you sound like you have incredible determination. When I was pregnant I worked 12 hours a week sitting down at a computer and I was completely knackered at the end of each day so I have no idea how you're managing it. What's certain is that your energy and drive will make you a fabulous mum so even if you don't have bags of money, your baby will be very lucky.

Thanks for the idea!

And thank you for your kind words! Yes, it's been absolutely exhausting, especially when I've been on placement. I managed to complete my first placement and receive really good feedback but I was doing 40 hours a week compared to the 47.5 hours this time (combined - placement plus my p/t job) and I was 4/5 months pregnant as opposed to 7/8 months! So it just wasn't doable this time and money came first as work would not arrange for me to work from home unfortunately.

On the plus side, it's kept me busy which has helped a lot and my nesting instinct has been strong for a long time now, which motivates me to get things ready/sort things out/clean constantly lol. It helps a lot with the depression/anxiety, keeping busy

Thank you again x

ABetterLife

Dazedandconfused wrote: »

It's really important to stop the impulse buys. Not just the shopping things like the phone as well. You need to ask yourself so you really need it and if not don't buy it.

Write down what you need and only buy that, you don't have room for luxuries on your budget. Sainsburys basics are pretty good.

I know, I know. A big part of it is kind of not knowing what I need, if you know what I mean? I don't cook daily at the moment, so I don't even buy a lot of fresh food because I end up not using it in time and it goes off. So I buy the few things I do need like bread, cheese, eggs, milk, cereal, sparkling water etc then end up roaming around and getting caught up in deals.

All part of the learning process, I guess. I've come far and shop/budget better than I used to. I used to spend all of my wages the night they came into my account, now I actually have money left over by the time more money goes in!

Dazedandconfused

What kind of food do you eat? Any particular likes / dislikes? You need to make yourself cook daily and eat nutritious meals especially with you being pregnant. Will sort out any deficiency iron issues for a start.

Do you have a freezer or at least a freezer compartment frozen veg is much cheaper than fresh for a start

duchy

You'll do fine - You're bright and you're determined.
A few random bits. Loads of shops give student discounts - sometimes just with your student ID -often works out better than Quidco or Topcashback and of course it's money in your pocket now rather than later. It also may be worth you getting the NUS plus card - more student discounts and my favourite one is 10% off food in the Co-op shops - in reality it sems to be off everything so long as there is food included in the shop and Co-op often have good offers on baby supplies so a couple of packs of nappies and wipes on offer plus a couple of tins of beans/fruit whatever should get you the 10% off the lot.

The Ipad needs to earn its own living - find the apps for Roamler and Field Agent both can earn you cash for no outlay and very little effort.

Definitely check out toddler and baby groups at local churches ..... nice warm hall to meet in (and save on heating at home), a cuppa and a chat with other new Mums and often people are selling baby bits ....and no-one cares if you're Christian, Druid or Athiest That said I used to take my son to church - he'd go to the creche and I'd enjoy just sitting back and letting the service wash over me -often not really listening - but I found it relaxing and theraputic whilst the rest of my week was so busy. I couldn't tell you what the sermon was about most weeks but it did me good...if not in the way it is intended....and again a nice place to meet other families .

Don't forget prescriptions and dental treatment are free when expecting and just after ... get any dental work done whilst it is - preferably before the baby is born so it's a babysitter saved

~Chameleon~

Sign up to studentbeans.com and download the app onto your phone. It will store an electronic student ID so you don't need to purchase NUS card, unless you've already got one. Loads of discount stuff available. If you do have an NUS card then make use of your local Co-op as you get 10% discount on everything.

knack92

Have just read through the thread and I admire your determination to get through this tough time. Here's what I can add; hope it helps!

ABetterLife wrote: »

Definitely an option! To be honest, I don't watch much TV. The only shows I watch regularly are Eastenders, Casualty, Holby City and One Born Every Minute, all of which I can catch up to online. So maybe I could get rid of the TV license for now. Do you know if this will cancel out everything I've paid so far or if I could restart it again easily if I wanted to?

[...]

I've been looking at the broadband deals. I'm very scared of going over my data with my phone as I use that for tethering. Yesterday I used 1gb just watching EE, OBEM and browsing. The reason why my Tmobile bill is so high is from going over on data also (signal on my phone was down for over a month due to a faulty mast and I was tethering on my iPad, forgetting I only have 2gb data!!). So I definitely am looking into broadband.

[...]

If I had no signal on my phone for a month due to a fault out with my control I would be expecting not to have to pay for that month. Give Vodafone a call and see what compensation they'll offer you. Might be a long shot but could prove fruitful.

If you do get rid of the licence but want to continue watching TV programmes you will definitely need to look into getting broadband. That's assuming you're watching programmes live on TV rather than live on your iPad.

ABetterLife wrote: »

Thank you! I think I'm gonna do an online shop at Tesco (have a clubcard) if I can find a good offer.

£12 off your first £60 Tesco groceries order with code XX3RM7. The groceries have to be delivered by 30th March.

ABetterLife wrote: »

Hey guys, I'm going to go out and get some shopping (instead of doing it online) as I have some vouchers to use so I will reply individually when I get back in. Just wanted to say, I'm on TopCashBack and it is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!! Why didn't I do this sooner?!?! Hello, free cashback plus more for your money when buying items you would have earned nothing on before! They need to bring out a card, this is amazing. I feel so happy, lol!

Back soon x

Anything at http://www.tesco.com/boost you can see yourself making use of? If so, instead of spending your Clubcard vouchers instore at their face value, 'boost' the value of them by 3 or 4 times and use them towards the offers on the boost website.

Topcashback gives you various options for payout, one of which is Tesco Clubcard Points. They give you a 5% bonus (compared to Bacs) and the points are usually added within a few days. So if you have £10 of cash back ready to pay out you will get 1050 Clubcard points worth £10.50 at Tesco or up to £42 in Boost offers. To me it's an absolute no brainer because even if I don't Boost the vouchers I can just spend them at their face value instore. The only downside is that you have to wait til the Clubcard statement (quarterly) to get your cashback, though I don't find that a big issue.

Sign up to Quidco and compare with TCB to see who offers the best cashback rate. With Quidco you can register your debit/credit card and get instore cashback at certain retailers.

Check TCB Snap and Save and Quidco Clicksnap for grocery purchase cashback. Eg. 25p back when you purchase Cadbury Buttons (a current Clicksnap offer). They have phone apps for easy receipt upload.

Remember that cashback is not guaranteed and can take a long time to become payable!

Further to the NUS card suggestions by others, I would also recommend Unidays which has similar offers.

[Deleted User]

ABetterLife wrote: »

I know, I know. A big part of it is kind of not knowing what I need, if you know what I mean? I don't cook daily at the moment, so I don't even buy a lot of fresh food because I end up not using it in time and it goes off. So I buy the few things I do need like bread, cheese, eggs, milk, cereal, sparkling water etc then end up roaming around and getting caught up in deals.

All part of the learning process, I guess. I've come far and shop/budget better than I used to. I used to spend all of my wages the night they came into my account, now I actually have money left over by the time more money goes in!

Although it's boring, planning your meals in advance can provide significant savings because you can optimise the ingredients that you buy, you can make sure that nothing ever goes to waste while purchasing cheap and healthy ingredients like fresh vegetables. If you can get to the point where you're never throwing food away you'll be making very good savings. If you absolutely must have the joy of finding good deals, perhaps budget £5 per shop for you to spend on any items you spot while exploring the aisles.

An added benefit on top of saving money that you get from planning meals in advance is that over time you will build up a collection of various meal ideas that you know the exact cost of, then in hard financial months you can plan to eat the things that you know are cheap and healthy.

Also if you eventually come to enjoy planning meals you could try vegetarianism, being a healthy vegetarian requires extra commitment to planning good meals and cooking but it can save money because of how expensive meat is nowadays. I quit eating meat last year just to see if I could (I used to eat meat every day) and it was actually very easy, the cost savings are great. That's not an option everyone is interested in but it's worth keeping in mind if you want to squeeze the pennies further.

I know that it's been said a few pages back that the iPad was a bad financial decision, but I just wanted to say that a helpful general rule to live by is if you can't buy a luxury outright then you shouldn't buy it, needing to finance something non-essential is a tell tale sign it's a bad idea. Although that doesn't help now it's good to keep in mind for the future, some people put a lot of hard work into rescuing themselves from debt and then fall back into the same old habits trying to reward themselves. If you can convince yourself debt is to be avoided at all costs and only ever use it to invest in your future (student loans, mortgages) you'll set a solid foundation for your new good habits.

Good luck with your daughter, have you decided a middle name yet? If not I recommend Martin Lewis, so the money saving spirit is with her from birth.

:money: