I want to stop drowning

System

The question you have to ask yourself is how will you afford the extra £250 a month if you don't take the job?

Nursery fees won't be forever , when your little one is 3 they will get some free hours . I think you need to think long term.

Just my thoughts obviously.

debtaghh

I'm taking the job I more meant what to do about the house. It's ridiculous the amount it costs to rent a 3 bed house.

System

As you say it is a lot about £1450 is that right ? What is the position with the landlord at your home now, I thought they wanted to sell ?

debtaghh

The landlord wants to move back in. I'm wondering whether we should look further afield but keep the kids still at school locally. Just seeing what there is out there for cheaper.

System

I guess it's all about logistics , getting kids to school , nursery , then you to work. DH how long will his journey be ? Do you have 2 cars , extra petrol for you . Will you be paying less moving further out , or will it be the same after adding all of the above on.

Needs some thinking.

Am sure ES will be along with her great advice,

debtaghh

Thanks Cumbria , the extra £250 includes an extra car and the expenses. Just looking at other areas to see if it's doable.

System

Homework for today then. Hope you find some answers.

You will be busy new job, possibly house moving , be kind to yourself as well.

enthusiasticsaver

I think taking the job is wise. You will get some free hours when your DC is 3 and tax free childcare will give you some help until then.

Re the house weigh up pros and cons. Look at cheapest in the area you want and work out your costs based on paying that. Then look further afield and see if the amount you save on rent is the same or less than what you would spend on extra travel expenses and the inconvenience of longer commutes. If you are now both going to be working close to where you live now and kids are settled in school I would hesitate to move too far out.

How will you finance another car?

debtaghh

We will try and find a cheap run around and will have to use the savings. I spent time on Rightmove and to be honest rent has gone up everywhere. Even moving 40 mins away we would only save £100 on rent but then pay that on fuel. Things are going to be tight for a very long time and we need to just accept that and try and do things for free as much as possible.

Spendy_Spenderson

Hi debtagh (*waves hello* in absence of knowing how to use these smileys)

I recently read through your diary from the beginning and now delurking to add my two pence worth. Firstly congratulations on the new job, that's fantastic and you should be really proud! I know it may not feel like a high wage for now but importantly it will be a regular income that you can reliably budget with. It's also a great opportunity to step back into the world of work and get some experience on the CV. This will help you when you're ready to move on to something else, or if you stay then you can work your way up learning new skills and grabbing hold of internal opportunities for progression that come your way.


Anyway, moving on to the current situation I am not sure I can actually offer much advice on the house issue. You need 3 beds as a minimum and if there really isn't anything for less money, or those that do exist are so far out that it will result in the same outgoings overall, then this leaves little choice. But one thing I have been thinking while reading through your diary is that there really is a significant difference between your incomings & outgoings, even more so since the minimum payments were increased on the credit cards and now this increase in rent. I would encourage you to do a *realistic* SOA with the new rent figure. This should be an accurate reflection of what you spend on each category each month. This will give the true picture of what that minus figure really is. If it's significant, which I unfortunately suspect it is, then I believe a lot of advice would urge you to consider a DMP.


As I said I have read your diary so I know how against this you are but that was for a specific reason - if you needed to rent again in the short term. You now know you do need to do this therefore you could try to negotiate a longer term in the new tenancy (ie 2 years with a 6 month break clause for protection) and once you are in this new property, can you look at applying for a DMP then? My understanding (someone correct me if wrong) is that your landlord or managing agent will not be told or informed if you go on a DMP. Your concern was that it would show up in a check and put you at a disadvantage property wise. But once you have your property you should not have to worry about this again for some time. And this may therefore be the opportunity to start this which should then allow you to actually afford all your outgoings and budget for food, entertainment etc and not constantly feel like it's just never enough, which is what I imagine it does feel like if every month you have a deficit of hundreds of pounds in what you'll bring in and what must be paid out. The stress and anxiety that causes you is not good. You budget really well and you try everything, but sometimes I just feel its a constant uphill battle and perhaps futile if the simple answer is you can never afford your outgoings.


As I say it's just my suggestion for managing what I see as a precarious situation in the longer term. I am not overly experienced in these things though so happy for those who might know better to correct me here. You have a lot of lovely dedicated supporters (yes I'm looking at you ES amongst others ) who are here to help you every step of the way.

Good luck with everything and I'll go back to cheering you on from the sidelines.

Spendy