Help/advice please - for a mum to be

Yorkshirechick

I'm looking for a bit of advice as to the best way we can pay off our debts, save up for our new baby's arrival in January, and get a second car (big enough for 2 adults, a baby, a pram and a German Shepherd).

My partner and I are due to have out first baby in January, and so we're trying to budget so that I can have 9 months maternity leave. I'll get 14 weeks at full pay - which is £1550 for me, and then the rest will be statutory maternity pay which is about £450 a month. As you can see, there will be a hugh drop in wages for me. I'd also like to drop down to working around 30/32 hours a week (would ideally like to do less, but don't think we can afford it), and the baby will have to go into nursery for the rest of the time.

We currently have £2100 on a credit card, and a new sofa which is on 12 months 0% interest, and needs to be paid by the beginning of May next year. Also, we need to buy a new (to us) car, as both DP and I need a car for work - even though we work at the same place. I quite often have to travel for work, and also, we will need to get to the nursery and back, and will probably be working different hours to each other when I go back after maternity leave.

We've sold DP's car, and got £8500 for it, of which we're putting £6000 in ISA's and the rest into a savings account. This is so we can buy a bigger car (going to try and wait til I've had the baby), and also make up for the shortfall in wages while I'm on maternity leave.

So - we need to pay off our credit card and sofa, buy a car for Pete, manage the bills while I'm on maternity leave, and then manage the bills when I'm back - on less hours, with nursery fees to pay.

If anyone can offer any advice at all i'd really appreciate it, as I'm starting to feel really confised and worried by it all.

I'll do a separate post with our SOA, as otherwise this will be huge!!

Thanks
Yorkshirechick

liz105

why not pay off all your debts with the car proceeds, giving you 6 months to save up? How much could you save each month if you really pushed yourselves?? (Obv if this isnt a big figure then my idea sucks!)

Yorkshirechick

My wage £1530
DP's wage £1450
Total Incomings £2980

Bills
Mortgage £1168
Electric £30
Gas £40
Landline £11
Broadband £15
Pet Ins £28 (2 cats and a dog)
House Ins £25.20
My Car Ins £65
Life Ins £33.50 (for both of us)
Council Tax £98
Tv License £11.50
Water £50 (should go down soon as we've just got a meter)
Food £150
Diesel £120
Pet Food £25
Credit Card £75

Total Outgoings £1945.50

At the moment, we also get £200 spending money each.
This leaves us with £625 spare each month.

For some reason, we never end up with any spare though, as we're doing up our house at the moment, so end up spending money on that, also the odd meal out, buying random things we fancy, and generally frittering the money away. Also DP doesn't have a car at the moment, up til last month we were paying £75 a month insurance for him too.

Any suggestions as to how we can improve this and get ourselves into a better financial position for when the baby arrives will be really appreciated.

Yorkshirechick

liz105 wrote: »

why not pay off all your debts with the car proceeds, giving you 6 months to save up? How much could you save each month if you really pushed yourselves?? (Obv if this isnt a big figure then my idea sucks!)

We've just been discussing that today. Trying to work out if it would make more sense to do that, or stick all the debt on a 0% interest credit card and pay it off more slowly.

If we really pushed ourselves I reckon we could probably save about £700 a month.

CLAPTON

Really need to see the SOA before drawing any conclusions but its clearly worrying that with two salaries coming in at the moment you had debts rather than savings.

However, now with 8,500 in savings and with only 2,100 in CC and ??? for the sofa it should be possible if you are sensible about the car... say 2k for a large estate can buy a reasonable reliable car.
Assuming you are paying interest on the CC i would suggest you pay that off immediately.

Work out a budget that you will live on when you return to work with reduced income and start living on that now. That will means you will be able to save some money right now and that you will get used to living at that level so it wouldn't be a shock when the time comes.


But post the SOA first.

liz105

even if you do a 0% deal you will still get charged 2-3% balance transfer fee which you will get charged interest on. This sits at the 'bottom' of your bill so will get interest on it until you clear the debt. Pay off the £2100 with the £8.5 leaving £6400 in savings, cut down the spending money and no meals out for a while and thats the £625 + £75 + maybe £50 off the spending money that £750 a month over four months (?) £3k on top of the £6400 so £9.4k in your pocket by january and no debt?!?! how cool is that?? (oh, apart from the sofa but you could clear that too) ??

Yorkshirechick

liz105 wrote: »

even if you do a 0% deal you will still get charged 2-3% balance transfer fee which you will get charged interest on. This sits at the 'bottom' of your bill so will get interest on it until you clear the debt. Pay off the £2100 with the £8.5 leaving £6400 in savings, cut down the spending money and no meals out for a while and thats the £625 + £75 + maybe £50 off the spending money that £750 a month over four months (?) £3k on top of the £6400 so £9.4k in your pocket by january and no debt?!?! how cool is that?? (oh, apart from the sofa but you could clear that too) ??

So would I just pay it off on the card it's on now? Or would I have interest to pay on the total debt?

i.e. there's £2100 on there now. If I rung them now and paid £2100, would I have to pay anything next month?

liz105

not that much of an expert on credit cards, I think it depends if you're charged interest daily or monthly. ie when I used to pay off my card each month there wouldnt be anything carried over. but yours may be different. why not ring them and ask?

at the end of the day the sooner its clear the less interest you'll pay, if thats in one hit now or a bit this month and a bit next month.

There's never any sense in having savings all the while your getting charged interest on debt.

let us know how you get on!

painted_lady

Hi, congratulations on your pregnancy!
I had first baby in April and here is my advise, based on what has workled for me.
Firstly, I am currently on half pay til N Ov then am on nothing, but hoping to stay off till April. I saved up a bit while I was still working, so had a small pot of money stashed away to help me now. I went through monthly outgoings with a fgine toothed comb, cut back on non essentials. I also stocked up on things that are essential that save, like washing powder, nappies etc, buy now while on offer, it will lower your shopping bills when you have baby. I bulk bought things like contact lenses, works out cheaper and have not to worry about it until I go back to work.
Then, l sold my car, currently have the money stashed in ISA, will live off this when I go onto no pay. Luckily, my partner has several cars (its his work/hobby) so I still have use of a car.
I am also not prioritising my debt at the moment, just paying minimum, debt is important, but not as important as my little boy. Paying the minimum keeps me in the good books. Its the only way I can afford to stay off work with him and childcare will cost more.
Next, you will get £72.40 a month in child benefit when LO is born. not a lot, but pays for nappies and milk. You will also be able to apply for tax credits, they might also help you with cost of childcare when you go back to work.
Childcare - a registered child minder who looks after children in childminders own home is a lot cheaper than nursery. They should be ofsted registered and checked. Cheaper still if friends or family can help out, even if its only one day a week?
Getting baby items - We got lots of things given by friends and family, people usually want rid because they can be bulky. We got a cot, moses basket, vibrating cradle and lots of clothes for free. WE bought a pram/car seat from a friend for £60 (she paid £400 for it only 12 months before). we wrote list f other thingsw e would need, such as steriliser, cot sheets etc and asked people to get them as presents, people will ask what you want, so might as well use it to your advantage otherwsie you will end up with bundles of newborn sized clothes that will fit baby for 2 weeks. I got work to buy me steam steriliser as a leaving present when they asked what we wanted. If people do want to buy you clothes, ask for baby grows and vests - people dont get them because they dont look as cute, but they are what baby needs. Ask for them in larger sizes too (my baby got to 4 months and had outgrown everything and we had to go buy him things, he didnt even get to wear some of the things in smaller sizes).
If your not as lucky enogh to have friends and family like mine, try freecycle. People are getting rid of baby items all the time, we have recently offerred some of our boys items he no longer needs. My friend recently got a pram ont heir for free. Ebay is also a low cost way to get many of the items.
That bring me to MAXIMISING YOUR INCOME - maybe you could do ebay to raise some extra money when on maternity leave, maernity clothes themselves sell well on ebay (maybe you could get yours there), amazon is good for selling paperback books, a lot of people on here do surbeys, mystery shopping etc. Maybe you have a skill you could offer, such as cake decoration for parties, making handmade cards and selling to family and friends, ebay on behalf of other people and take a cut?
Remember, 2nd hand maternity and baby stuff is like new as people dont have enough time to wear it out, so big market for decent 2nd hand stuff. Also, remember babies are big business and there are a lot of products available that you dont necessarily need, I saw burping cloths the other day, you put them over shoulder incase baby is sick on you when winding - you can just use the bib or a tea towel! My friend spent £20 on a breastfeeding cushion (cheapest way to feed baby, but I couldnt do it coz of health problems) but she found a regular pillow better. Bottle warmers - our baby takes food at room temperature, if you want to warm it, just make the milk up with warmer water?
Join the parenting clubs - I joined them all, theres a list of them on the money saving in families forum. The boots one is particularly good - I spent £30 in boots last week but got £20 of points on my card for it. Join the pampers club and they keep sending you vouchers for pampers nappies.
Hope some of what I have said makes sense and has been of help to you. If I think of anything else, I will let you know!

calamity

Use the money you have lying to clear your cards and sofa--you should still have enough left for a decent sized car.
save what you can each month after that to cushion you a bit.

totally agree with paintedlady--stock up now on offers on baby wipes, nappies newborn through to stage 3 plus all the baby toiletries--we did this--just chucked a couple of extras in the trolley each time and i was really glad we had.
Take any offers of prams,cot and car seats that you get--your baby is more important than what it is lying in;)

izzybusy23

Yorkshirechick wrote: »

I'm looking for a bit of advice as to the best way we can pay off our debts, save up for our new baby's arrival in January, and get a second car (big enough for 2 adults, a baby, a pram and a German Shepherd).

My partner and I are due to have out first baby in January, and so we're trying to budget so that I can have 9 months maternity leave. I'll get 14 weeks at full pay - which is £1550 for me, and then the rest will be statutory maternity pay which is about £450 a month. As you can see, there will be a hugh drop in wages for me. I'd also like to drop down to working around 30/32 hours a week (would ideally like to do less, but don't think we can afford it), and the baby will have to go into nursery for the rest of the time.

We currently have £2100 on a credit card, and a new sofa which is on 12 months 0% interest, and needs to be paid by the beginning of May next year. Also, we need to buy a new (to us) car, as both DP and I need a car for work - even though we work at the same place. I quite often have to travel for work, and also, we will need to get to the nursery and back, and will probably be working different hours to each other when I go back after maternity leave.

We've sold DP's car, and got £8500 for it, of which we're putting £6000 in ISA's and the rest into a savings account. This is so we can buy a bigger car (going to try and wait til I've had the baby), and also make up for the shortfall in wages while I'm on maternity leave.

So - we need to pay off our credit card and sofa, buy a car for Pete, manage the bills while I'm on maternity leave, and then manage the bills when I'm back - on less hours, with nursery fees to pay.

If anyone can offer any advice at all i'd really appreciate it, as I'm starting to feel really confised and worried by it all.

I'll do a separate post with our SOA, as otherwise this will be huge!!

Thanks
Yorkshirechick

Hi there

Whatever you do, don't fall into the trap of having the 'must haves' for baby and everything matching. I know with your first new baby its lovely, but it really is a waste of money. I done my daughters room out with the baby bear range from babies r us and did she appreciate it? Of course not, a baby doesn't care if the room is co-ordinated and matching or painted dayglo pink and green, so long as they are fed, comforted and kept clean and warm, thats the most important thing. Also the top and tail bowl which is part of the 'essential list' is uselss and a baby bath is a waste of money as its better to get a bath support and get in the bath with them.. also moses basket.. only in it for such a short time that it really isn't worth it. I didn't listen to my mum, but I soon worked out she was right. All these marketing ploys to have the co-ordinating ranges and beautiful furniture is just that, a ploy for you to spend over the top when really all you need are the basics.

Good luck with your new arrival. A wonderful magical time, make the most of the first 3 months cos it flies by!!!

Edited to say, Asda do phenomenal deals on baby stuff. Six packs of pampers sensitive wipes for £4 and jumbo packs of pampers nappies for £11... so definately stockpile all this stuff. Will save you a wedge later on. Also Tesco nappies are superb, the same quality as Pampers but for a fraction of the price. I definately recommend their super fit range over pampers active fit when your baby is up and about cruising and learning to walk!!