Always broke!

beanielou

So do you want to move to a bigger house?
You really need to think if you can afford to do this.
It will be a long hard slog.

tece

You won’t struggle forever I’m sure.
I’d advise you stay put until your daughters are out of full time childcare and then increase your mortgage.
I’m sure over time you or your wife will get promoted or better jobs and it will get easier.
I’m an oldie with grown up kids, luckily now mortgage free and madly saving for our retirement.
I remember being in your shoes due to the 15% mortgage rate in the early nineties and felt the same despair.
I wish you all the best and just console yourself that you are in the fortunate position to be homeowners and not renting.

Blibble

Statement of affairs calculator below, as requested -

http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

We're on a similar income to yourselves, granted without childcare costs, and end up with a fair amount left over (~£1000). If little 'uns cost a few hundred monthly in food / childcare costs etc., would you then have enough for a further couple of hundred p/m on the mortgage & for increased energy / council tax costs as well? Then to have set aside for savings and treats is quite difficult.

I think sometimes it's better to be "house poor" & experience rich, as it were, but it's both of your decision.

Cakeguts

There can be lots of "it only costs x much" things if you are not careful. Car finance is one of those. Also mobile phones and the other one is sky and internet. Car finance can be a killer because once you start buying a car this way you can't save up to buy a cheaper one.

edinburgher

Agree completely re. car finance. We managed to avoid the trap of having rotating car finance until our mid-30s and then our old banger gave up the ghost. Currently paying off the 0% credit cards used to purchase a replacement :eek: If we'd budgeted better, we'd have got a slightly younger banger