Need to do something now

Singlespeeder

I was on a LCHF diet.... essentially loads of meat, next to no carbs. It's nearly carnivore.
I thought going veggie would be really difficult. It hasn't been.
As you're veggie already, you are most likely well aware of the cost benefits of being so.
My partner is vegetarian, has been for years. Once every couple of months we'll splash out on a take away curry. Our preferred take away charges £8 (10% discount for takeaway :beer:) for a Vegetable Thali £ 8.95
- Onion bhaji
- Mushroom bhaji
- Chana masala
- Vegetable curry
- Tarka daal
- Bindi bhaji
- Pilau rice
- Naan

It's a crazy amount of food, does both of us, with 2nd's and usually with enough for at least one portion the next day. I genuinely do not believe it'd be any better with meat in it. I used to love lamb, but this Thali is just the best, amazing flavours.
Could you not get something similar then if your partner insists on some meat, he can have a side of tandoori lamb or chicken ?
Don't make deal out of meals being veggie. Just make a fantastic chunky Moroccan Stew, the flavour, OMG, it doesn't need meat. Feed the family, see if they even notice....
We're pretty good at eating cheaply. Beer tends to mess things up, so we're having a dry September .... :A
I should go and look for a cheap eating thread :cool:

fatbelly

There's a lot going on here but can I just concentrate on the car situation. Husband has a works van that he uses and a £700 car that he doesn't. You have an 18k car on HP at £341 per month.

You were right not to list that as an asset as it isn't yours till the final payment is made, and if that is PCP you probably won't make it. In the meantime it is a massively depreciating thing that you are putting as much into as feeding the family.

Remember you can always voluntarily terminate a HP agreement and limit your liability to 50%. If you've already paid 50% of the credit figure you can walk away from it. But do it properly

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/hire-purchase-debt/hire-purchase-and-conditional-sale.aspx

The easy suggestion is that you use the £700 car but you do not like its running costs. So have a look for something similar but cheaper to run. The boys on the motoring board will help. Some of them practice 'bangernomics'. You don't have to be that extreme but reliable cars can be had at much less money than you think

enthusiasticsaver

You say you need a decent car for work but you actually only earn £1200 a month which is around £14000 a year. Spending more than £18k on a car is actually more than a years salary just on the car. The other debt does not help but you are massively over committed on that car. I would definitely give it back and get something cheaper and more within your earning power.

daisyfrau

I agree - the car is a killer. It’s far far too expensive and - in the nicest possible way - you can’t afford it. I agree new cars are SO nice to drive and make us feel good about ourselves, but think about what it’s costing you not just in payments but in debt interest (on the other debts you can’t pay because of the car payment)and ultimately in delaying your second baby. I drive a 14 year old fiesta I bought for cash when it was 7 years old in 2013 for £2500. It’s finally giving up the ghost now, and yes it’s mildly embarrassing next to my friends cars, but when I hear they have been paying £300-400 a month for YEARS for the privilege of driving more up to date cars I honestly think they are loony. £3600-£4800 a YEAR for what?! Uh uh come again. I earn a very good salary (over £60k) and my husband earns twice that, but my replacement car budget is £7-8k as in the end for me, as a working mum, a cars value is how reliable, safe, and economical (to run AND repair) and when I rank the things I want to spend money on then a flashy or current model car is extremely low down the list. Just worth taking a long hard look at the car amongst the other advice. We’ve all made money mistakes but if you can cut your losses and get out of it ASAP you will help your new financial plans along A LOT.

If I were you I would buy an old, relatively common (so hopefully cheaper to repair as more garage options) runner for cash for 1-2k max - try to eliminate car payment from budget but once some heavy debt paid you will need a car maintenance and a car replacement category instead. I got my car with only 50k mileage coz it had been a pensioners - was a little banged up - they had ended up having had license removed - but for my price range, it was good value. I even paid for RAC to inspect it before I bought as it was private sale and I didn’t want to buy a lemon and I don’t know anything abt cars. I’m sure others will offer better advice on what to replace it with.

I think age is on your side in the baby front - remember after having baby you may be on mat leave with reduced income for up to a year, plus then a further 2 years of really expensive childcare until free hours kick in so this is one situation not to walk into until finances are in better shape. (I think if you were older and time wasn’t on your side then maybe - but it would be a HUGE financial hit - but I personally think in your case you have the chance now to improve things and to save a little before trying for a baby. If it all works out it will be MUCH better that way.

Well done for the LBM and for recognising a lot needs to change. Your future you will thank you for making the sacrifices now...

FKIW99

fatbelly wrote: »

There's a lot going on here but can I just concentrate on the car situation. Husband has a works van that he uses and a £700 car that he doesn't. You have an 18k car on HP at £341 per month.

You were right not to list that as an asset as it isn't yours till the final payment is made, and if that is PCP you probably won't make it. In the meantime it is a massively depreciating thing that you are putting as much into as feeding the family.

Remember you can always voluntarily terminate a HP agreement and limit your liability to 50%. If you've already paid 50% of the credit figure you can walk away from it. But do it properly

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/hire-purchase-debt/hire-purchase-and-conditional-sale.aspx

The easy suggestion is that you use the £700 car but you do not like its running costs. So have a look for something similar but cheaper to run. The boys on the motoring board will help. Some of them practice 'bangernomics'. You don't have to be that extreme but reliable cars can be had at much less money than you think

Thank you i will look at that. Im not sure if we have paid off 50%, the £18000 is what is left on our agreement although early settlement figure is less, the car was obviously worth more when we bought it. Another issue is that we are over our mileage allowance so may get charged for that. i need to investigate the best thing to do. Also, in actual fact the nice car is in my husbands name and he pays for it, the cheap car on paper is mine.
Thank you for your comment

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

You say you need a decent car for work but you actually only earn £1200 a month which is around £14000 a year. Spending more than £18k on a car is actually more than a years salary just on the car. The other debt does not help but you are massively over committed on that car. I would definitely give it back and get something cheaper and more within your earning power.

The income I have put on the SOA is our minimum each month, my monthly income can fluctuate by as much as £800 and the last financial year before tax and expense I took £22000. My husband did £48000. It almost makes it worse as it shows how much we potentially have spare each month and so where on earth does it go?!

daisyfrau wrote: »

I agree - the car is a killer. It’s far far too expensive and - in the nicest possible way - you can’t afford it. I agree new cars are SO nice to drive and make us feel good about ourselves, but think about what it’s costing you not just in payments but in debt interest (on the other debts you can’t pay because of the car payment)and ultimately in delaying your second baby. I drive a 14 year old fiesta I bought for cash when it was 7 years old in 2013 for £2500. It’s finally giving up the ghost now, and yes it’s mildly embarrassing next to my friends cars, but when I hear they have been paying £300-400 a month for YEARS for the privilege of driving more up to date cars I honestly think they are loony. £3600-£4800 a YEAR for what?! Uh uh come again. I earn a very good salary (over £60k) and my husband earns twice that, but my replacement car budget is £7-8k as in the end for me, as a working mum, a cars value is how reliable, safe, and economical (to run AND repair) and when I rank the things I want to spend money on then a flashy or current model car is extremely low down the list. Just worth taking a long hard look at the car amongst the other advice. We’ve all made money mistakes but if you can cut your losses and get out of it ASAP you will help your new financial plans along A LOT.

If I were you I would buy an old, relatively common (so hopefully cheaper to repair as more garage options) runner for cash for 1-2k max - try to eliminate car payment from budget but once some heavy debt paid you will need a car maintenance and a car replacement category instead. I got my car with only 50k mileage coz it had been a pensioners - was a little banged up - they had ended up having had license removed - but for my price range, it was good value. I even paid for RAC to inspect it before I bought as it was private sale and I didn’t want to buy a lemon and I don’t know anything abt cars. I’m sure others will offer better advice on what to replace it with.

I think age is on your side in the baby front - remember after having baby you may be on mat leave with reduced income for up to a year, plus then a further 2 years of really expensive childcare until free hours kick in so this is one situation not to walk into until finances are in better shape. (I think if you were older and time wasn’t on your side then maybe - but it would be a HUGE financial hit - but I personally think in your case you have the chance now to improve things and to save a little before trying for a baby. If it all works out it will be MUCH better that way.

Well done for the LBM and for recognising a lot needs to change. Your future you will thank you for making the sacrifices now...

Thanks, We will definitely be making changes, the problem is my husband and his pride. Im pretty sure he would not accept (despite the situation we are in) to have a too old or cheap car as our main car. His argument is the cost of repairs that you don't get on a new car. Also I do around 20,000 miles of driving a year with some longish journeys and so really am keen to have a reliable car.
We will not be sticking with this car I agree its such a massive outgoing, I will prob have to compromise with my husband and I will aim to get something with a much lower monthly payment. I like the idea of an older plugin hybrid as they can get 150mpg and no car tax so cheap to run!


On a more general note - I usually wait till just before my cc payments are due to pay them, but I have just been paid one of my main invoices for july and so im thinking i am going to pay the minimum off them now instead even though the big barclaycard isn't due till the end of Sept. it means I can then see what is left for us to play with rather than just scrape the minimum when Iv been frittering money away all month.
Also just sold my guitar and case for £50 so thats a bonus off one of them. Im thinking we will work to pay my husbands barclaycard off first as its only £1800 roughly (off the top of my head) and he currently has a dd set up for £150 despite the minimum being only £50 or so coz then we can put thet £150 off of my barclaycard which is massive with lots of interest.

theoretica

FKIW99 wrote: »

The income I have put on the SOA is our minimum each month, my monthly income can fluctuate by as much as £800 and the last financial year before tax and expense I took £22000. My husband did £48000. It almost makes it worse as it shows how much we potentially have spare each month and so where on earth does it go?!

On a more general note - I usually wait till just before my cc payments are due to pay them, but I have just been paid one of my main invoices for july and so im thinking i am going to pay the minimum off them now instead even though the big barclaycard isn't due till the end of Sept. it means I can then see what is left for us to play with rather than just scrape the minimum when Iv been frittering money away all month.

Coping with uneven income is a challenge, but trying to work out each month as it comes is a bad idea. You need a plan. Know your necessary spending, know what you need to put aside for annual bills and then know exactly what you are doing with money over that (mostly overpaying the debts, maybe an emergency fund). It is great your SOA shows you can survive on your minimum earnings as that makes planning much easier.


One suggestion would be to get all your invoices paid into a separate account and then transfer money out to a bills account and to another account for variable spending/groceries/clothes. That way you are never looking at the whole sum and seeing what you have to spend - you just have your smaller fixed spending money to look at.


I suggest you ask the motoring forum here for ideas for a reliable, cheap car that your husband won't be too embarrassed to see you drive.

clairebeth

I was just going to say the same about fluctuating income. You need to set up a system where your money is allocated immediately and doesn't get a chance to get frittered away. So, when you get paid via invoice, do you normally just spend that money rather than allocate it? Does your husband get paid on the same day each month?

There are a few ways you could do it, I suppose. You could allocate all your hubby's earnings to your daily living expenses and then every penny you earn in your job goes to pay down the debt. When you think that this time in a year your debt would be decreased by about £18k or so, that's fairly amazing. Do it for two years, then start mat leave, and you could be £36k towards being debt free, PLUS, you would be used to living on one income, making mat leave much more manageable (you would still need to pay the minimum payments, but by this time those will have decreased).

Alternatively, you could have both your wages go into one joint account but not use the debit card for this account. Then pay yourselves your grocery money, spending money, bills etc. Out if this account, as well as siphoning off funds for emergencies, MOT etc. (MONZO is really good for this as it allows you to have multiple savings pots and you can call then whatever you like).

Once you get free childcare, just automatically direct that money onto your debt payments.

I was really pleased to see WorriedDan's post. I agree entirely that this is manageable to you. You have a fantastic joint income with ab affordable mortgage and can certainly manage this if you knuckle down. Can you imagine what it will be like when you have no debt? So much choice! Freedom!

FKIW99

clairebeth wrote: »

I was just going to say the same about fluctuating income. You need to set up a system where your money is allocated immediately and doesn't get a chance to get frittered away. So, when you get paid via invoice, do you normally just spend that money rather than allocate it? Does your husband get paid on the same day each month?

There are a few ways you could do it, I suppose. You could allocate all your hubby's earnings to your daily living expenses and then every penny you earn in your job goes to pay down the debt. When you think that this time in a year your debt would be decreased by about £18k or so, that's fairly amazing. Do it for two years, then start mat leave, and you could be £36k towards being debt free, PLUS, you would be used to living on one income, making mat leave much more manageable (you would still need to pay the minimum payments, but by this time those will have decreased).

Alternatively, you could have both your wages go into one joint account but not use the debit card for this account. Then pay yourselves your grocery money, spending money, bills etc. Out if this account, as well as siphoning off funds for emergencies, MOT etc. (MONZO is really good for this as it allows you to have multiple savings pots and you can call then whatever you like).

Once you get free childcare, just automatically direct that money onto your debt payments.

I was really pleased to see WorriedDan's post. I agree entirely that this is manageable to you. You have a fantastic joint income with ab affordable mortgage and can certainly manage this if you knuckle down. Can you imagine what it will be like when you have no debt? So much choice! Freedom!

Thank you Clairebeth for your positive post thank you for giving us hope!
So my husband gets paid weekly, every friday. his income also fluctuates as he is on price work on building sites so his income will depend on what he's doing. The absolute minimum he will take home (after tax) a week is £570 but its usually more, some weeks he can take home over a grand. His gets paid into our joint account and most of our bills go out of this account.
I have 3 main work contracts that I get paid for monthly plus usually a couple of extra smaller invoices from little random jobs. I get paid into my business account and then I just transfer willy nilly money across to my own personal account which i use day to day. Our pet insurance, mobile phone bills, tv license and one of our monthly car insurance payments goes out of my account plus my minimum payments for my cards. Just looking back through this last months bank statements we can see that we fritter literally £100's on nothingness. I am disgusted with myself!

I really like the idea of us trying to live off my husbands wage and using my income to pay the debt off. We would really need to budget hard but I think maybe we could do it. And then as you say it would be much easier when Im on mat leave as we will be used to living on one wage. I will look at the figures and see what we could do. I can't wait to get the 30 hours free nursery that extra money would help massively in getting the debt down sooner. Thank you!

Moneywhizz

I agree that your problem isn't really that you don't have enough money, but that you have not organised a proper way of managing your money. You need to spend a good bit of time working out a realistic budget, taking into account all of your weekly, monthly and yearly expenses. If you can cover that with your husbands salary that would be great. You need to account for the fluctuations in his salary though by saving the extra on good weeks, for the weeks he doesn't earn quite so much. You then need to decide how to manage your salary. You should think about building up an initial emergency fund at the same time as paying off the debts, especially those with the highest interest. It really is all about organising your money and keeping on top of it all. What a difference this would make to your family's future when you are not drowning in all this debt and paying out large amounts each month just to service it. You just need to work out what system of managing your money works best for you.

Fiona_CW

My income is a lot lower than yours but does fluctuate a lot from month to month as I have 2 jobs (one is zero hours contract) and do a little self employed work. I have 2 bank accounts - my HSBC account gets my wages and has my direct debits. When I get paid I leave enough in that to cover the bills and then transfer the rest to my Starling account. I have kept a spending diary for just over a year so know where the money goes. Starling has "spaces" so on good months I can move money into there to save for the bad months