Ohh, what to do...

PaceThePixie

Afternoon,

I just wanted to chip in and add; My hubby and I have contents insurance for goods up to £40K including 1 expensive laptop and 2 mountain bikes that would cost £5k to replace. We pay £6.07 per month for that with the AA.

Also life insurance we pay £15 per month and that covers my husband who is in the armed forces for the value of £150k. It does cover him even when he is away on exercise and operational tours too.

Shop around for these types of insurance you will get much cheaper.

Good luck.
Thanks :-)

debbie_debt

SaintLethal wrote: »

Hi all,

I think one of our issues is that we're now dealing with fairly big numbers - 1.5k nursery, 1.5k house fees etc. So it is hard to see that £10, £25, or £100 saved here or there could make a massive difference.

I completely get this mentality - we've got similar incomes with similar levels of debt and so when you're reading zero's on the end of your credit card bill, you can be tempted to think that £10 here and there on lunches, £30 on a take away or £5 twice a week at baby groups means nothing in the grand scheme of things. I was living in a similar way until recently (our baby turns 1 next month too ). But then, in December, I added up all of the little non -essential spends that we'd made like that and it came to a shocking £430 :eek: Alright, that was over Christmas, so we'd had a few extra treats with my OH tempting me into saying yes, but it's still huge. For January, we've cut it all out and am definitely feeling the difference in our bank account.

Although the numbers seem tiny, it might be worth considering. If that was every month for us, we'd save over £5k a year :beer:

anna_1977

Hi,
like others have mentioned seriously look at getting rid of the car, that would save a good amount a month.
Also, I notice you have listed TV licence as £10 but they are £12.12 per month so now you're down to only £7 odd left over. Maybe go over your SOA again and double check you haven't rounded a number of things down
Anna

anna_1977

Sorry. couple more things ...£50 per month on haircuts? That's £600 a year I'm sure that can be cut right back

Do you not have buildings insurance at all?

northerner999

If it is shared ownership that may explain the lack of building insurance - I don't need it for mine which is similar. I

Lemonsqueezer78

£300 "management charge"?? Jeepers... what the heck do you get for that?

questionss

Central London - get rid of the car!
Try & pay this debt down, especially if you want any siblings for your little one!
Finishing nursery won't be a magic wand - you childcare outgoings will still be significant - before & after school care, holiday cover etc.

£100 for other baby stuff - healthcare (what exactly, you should get all their prescriptions etc free), nappies/wipes (what brand do you use, can you change down? I use Aldi or tesco value nappies - I bought the tesco value ones when I was desperate & I was very impressed) Classes (what? Mostly overpriced & unnecessary, access your local children's centre, go to cheaper parent/volunteer run groups rather than pricy franchises)
Trips? What is this? Is it with nursery? They aren't even one yet, I wouldn't be bothering with baby centred trips

I have previously worked a full time job & a part time job and I'd urge you to consider it for one of you. To minimise impact on the family I'd look for bar/restaurant work - I used to work one weekend evening & one weekday evening in addition to my 9-5, I'd try to avoid tying up weekend daytime!

rogue999

If you go for option 2 and chill out then I think there is a serious change of your debt increasing. The £10s, £20s and £50 all add up and will make a difference.

Can you pinpoint the debt to exactly what part of the wedding/house/baby the amount is related to - or was it just a general overspend over a number of years (mine was!) - there is a danger this will continue (mine did!).

I got a second job in Sainsbury's last year - I work 2 x 10 hour night shifts. I start at 9pm, the kids (12 and 10) are getting ready for bed when i go, and I'm home at 7.15am in time for my husband to go to work and me to do the school run. It's meant I can pay much more per month and i've really noticed a difference over the last few months. It is hard doing the night shifts though - I only work 3 days in my regular job but with a full time job it would be tough.

pennystretcher

I would reduce the amount spent on clothing for now - ideally keep it at £0 until you really, really need to buy some more...

Every small amount you save somewhere else will build up over time, so don't ignore the small savings..