BIG drop in income help!!!

toria27

We are looking into getting rid of one of the cars but it can't be mine as I have the family car, OH's is an old mini and not suitable for DD. I do work overtime at my job which is at night so it's not just 1 night a week and with Christmas coming up there will be a lot of overtime. OH's car is very sentimental to him so it is hard for him to part with it, he realises now that he needs to though so it may be on ebay soon!!

The cut in wage is only for the next 2 years as when DD starts nursery in September I can easily increase daytime working and then again further when she starts school the following year. Also OH will be working his way up. I like to think I am very good with money and I am sure I can make it work without us getting into too much trouble. I am thankful we are off to a good start with no debts to our name so far (except mortgage of course)

I have asked OH about getting a lodger and he is not keen (DD so young in house) he may not be as opposed to a student though thats a great idea especially as it is only short term so I will look into that thanks, do you have to pay tax on earnings from a lodger though and do you have to provide meals if it is a student??

Thanks again for all the suggestions there are some really good ones that I am going to look into and will let you know the outcome.

toria27

thanks oops a daisy. I don't know much about these type of policys. I currently have a brace and have to have a lot of dental work at the moment (already paid for) so I don't think it's worth me taking it up just yet, possible for OH though. Are you then tied in for a set amount of time or can you cancel, does it pay up to the amount your covered for and you just pay the remaining balance??
Some freinds of mine are on denplan through their dentist and one of their payments is really high as she has a lot of work done. So that was putting me off that plan.

hypno06

Hi there, re the student lodger, you can "earn" about £4500 (don't recall the exact amount) without paying any tax - it comes under the rent-a-room scheme and doesn't even have to be declared.

We provide food, because our students are only 17 and are studying at the local high school, so we take the role of host-parents. It is easy though, because I just make a casserole stretch to 5 instead of 4 by bunging in an extra carrot and some beans etc!!!

With short-term hosting, you can quote two rates, one with food, one without. Some students may prefer to do their own thing, others can't boil an egg! But it really isn't *that* invasive, and I would say that our children have benefitted from it by learning stuff about other places, etc.

I would certainly look into it - it might make the next couple of years financially a bit easier.

toria27

thanks hypno06, I have been having a look online about this and can't really find the info I need, who do I need to contact?

Just to update OH had his interview but will not hear for about 2 weeks, he thinks it went well though, he would be on £22000 a year which is better then we thought (if he gets it that is???) so we would be about £111 better off per month than previously thought. There is also a quarterly bonus with the job but they didn't have figures to give him and also overtime, plus only working 1/2 day on a Friday freeing up some daytime hours for me to work. So things are looking a bit more positive.
If I am still at Tescos my 10% discount will start next May so that will also help.

misspoppy

Hi

HSA let you claim from the day you join and allow all pre-exisiting conditions, I think they are great if you have regular treatments

hypno06

Ours is done through the education authority at our local county council office. If you look in the phone book under Childrens Services at County Hall or whatever you have, you may get the right place. Otherwise, looking for language schools in your area might give you some results!

Good luck.

trying-very-trying

Hi Toria. What a difference a day makes. Things are already starting to look more promising for you. I would try and go with the lodger idea, I think hypno's about right with the tax free allowance, and it would make a significant difference to your budget. I do hope your oh, hears good news about his job, and the money isn't going to be such a huge drop after all.

toria27

Hi all, thought I would update you all, not that I have done that much yet. I have asked a family freind who is a financial advisor to help look into OH's life insurance and he agrees that a big cut can be made there and he is doing all the leg work for me on that to find the best deal etc.

I am doing well with the shopping this month and have spent £113 so far, have done a lot of bulk buying within this also as there were some good deals on food I already buy. I am aiming for £160 per month which is a £40 drop per month. December may be a bit harder obviously we are out for Xmas day & boxing day but have in laws staying for 4 days at new year.

I am trying really hard to boost my tesco clubcard points also, as we are getting married in June and are using them to pay for our wedding rings.

Overtime is available like mad at work the moment due to high levels of sickness and being close to Christmas so am going to hopefully be getting at least £55 extra a month, just for doing 1 Sunday a month. I just need to find some help with DD to be able to do more than this.

julybride

We are about to have a tough year in a very similar position to you because i am about to go off on maternity leave leaving a bit of a dent for 6 months. WE have budgeted on a worst case scenario with no!!! bonus included. Hubbies bonus will go into a pot and we are going to use it as our emergency. We are about to clear all our debts and we just never want to go there again. So to help out we have worked out how much we need to save in the next few months to help and i am already buying things that i know cost... that can be stored...that i'll need for the next year i.e. pressies, cards, shavers, winter coats, last new shoes for a while.

Persevere we dropped salary two years ago and have still paid back our debts (slowly) but i have learnt I need to be realistic about how much I need and workout how to cover it... don't fall into the 'in and ideal world it will be like this...' which was my hubby's main problem:rolleyes:

toria27

I have cut our shopping budget saving us £480 a year (which we can comfortably do making a few changes)
Also our clothing budget saving £240 a year (will get clothes for xmas & birthdays and just get what were desperate for.
Then if I make sure I do a few hours overtime a week (about 4 hours) which is always available at work instead of being just over £200 short a month we will have £8.50 left not a great amount but a much better situation to be in.

This however is still not taking into account any emergencies that may arise with the cars or the house but does include absolutley everything else. But if OH gets this job for example there is the quarterly bonus and overtime, also carboots and ebaying.

I am now keeping a diary of all spends for food (also anything for the house and toiletries) which comes out of the £160 per month budget and another diary for clothes.

I am feeling a lot better about things and am just waiting to hear how much we can save on the life insrance.

thanks again for all suggestions