Back again - 15 years later

ellenvan

I'm the opposite viewpoint here- I would continue with the share save as it is totally doable from October.

Surveys, selling in the evening on vinted, cut takeaways and just hang on in there until the childcare reduces

Bluebell1000

I agree with the poster above, it looks possible for you to keep going a bit longer. Are you using cashback sites for any shopping/insurance? Paying postage on clothes adds on quite a chunk, I find Facebook marketplace is good for getting local clothes bundles. Also you could look at your mobile costs, and see if you can reduce that a bit?

Time2count

It seems you need maybe £100-£150 extra each month for the next 6 months?

With the better weather coming up could you use some of the entertainment fund . Allow yourself a max of half the amount you currently have for paid trips out (even just the odd ice cream/ bus fare). You're in London, you have so many free child friendly things to do/ places to go. Maybe you could let the kids pick somewhere costly after your child leaves nursery, but in the meantime - parks/ museums/ nature walks/ create treasure hunts (give each child a tick sheet of things they need to find)/ all the fountains for kids to play in these days/ invite their friends over for free entertainment for them/ bike or scooter rides/ get on a bus, get off at random stops, find 'new' parks or areas to explore/ car boot sales or charity shops and they each have £3/4 to spend etc. Don't forget libraries, they often have free/ cheap children's activities at weekends and definitely in the school holidays, they also do DVD rentals very cheaply so doubly good for rainy days!

When my son was younger I'd do 1 weekend a month low spend (ie max £5), 2 free weekends and 1 more expensive weekend (swimming/ soft play). My budget for the month was £15 (appreciate this was several years ago though!)

Ensure you've done a full food audit, you might be able to shave £50-100 off the food bill (not each month, but over the course of the next few months). Could Olio/ Good to Go type things may help bridge a gap for a few months, even if it only saves you £30/month it'll all help.

Do the kids/ you need any clothes (other than school uniform) before September? Could you pause that expense for a couple of months?

Could you reduce your emergency savings to £150 temporarily?

Is your mobile phone in contract? If not, you could easily save £20+ there.

Do you have glasses that are comfortable? Could you maybe use them a couple of days a week/ more so the contacts will last longer so you'll buy them less frequently?

Is your council tax over 10 or 12 months? If 10 then swap to 12 and it'll reduce approx £25/ month.

Is the holiday fund for somewhere this year? Already booked? If not could any/ some of that be diverted? Even putting £70 a month aside would give you over £250 which would pay for a few bigger days out in the summer rather than a holiday as such.

Most of your monthly amounts are very low, so that's the best I can come up with for now.

If you can do any surveys for extra pennies that could help. Any bank switches available to you? I think Lloyds is offering a couple of hundred, even if you don't want to switch your main account you could open a 2nd account with your current bank and switch that once you've sorted d/ds on it. Do you have any accumulated nectar/ Tesco etc points that you can use over the next few months?

I think with tightening your belt in a few areas you can make the next few months work. If your credit cards are 0% then it'd be better to use them than the overdraft.

Time2count

PS you have done and are doing brilliantly. You are so close to the end and you will make it.

I know I'm going to get shot down for saying this but if you need to put some things on the credit card (as long as 0%) it is only a short term thing and come September you'll be able to pay it off with the lack of nursery fees. I'm not suggesting loads but if £2-400 went on you know you could clear that in the space of 2 months with half the nursery fees. You've proved to yourself you can pay down debt with your current budget and you're keen to get rid of the rest so I don't see it as becoming a long term issue for you, these are real expenses not buying on coffee/ nails etc like lots of people do.

5 months to go, you CAN do this!

Have you made an SOA for September without the nursery fees? One thing obviously missing is money for gifts.

beanielou

Some great suggestions here for you. Can you pause the share save for 6 months?
Can you sell on Vinted? Do some quick paying surveys? The six months will go faster than you think. There’s light at the end of the tunnel with reduction in the nursery fees and the loan being paid off.
Be proud of yourself in how far you have come. 🤗

ryandotdee

I am firmly in the keep the sharesave camp, I am paying into one and its the cornerstone of my debt repayment strategy. If I stopped it now, yes I could put another 400 a month towards my debts, and take the accumulated cash i have paid in and pay that off as well, but unless the stock markets goes absolutely belly up in a year the 15k I have paid in will turn into 22-25k, so I am making the decision to cut all corners, holidays, and frivolities for the next 12 months to ensure I am debt free. Seeing as you need to get through to October, your timeline is even shorter.

I would consider the mortgage charter option if you have not already done so, 6 months interest only will free up some funds each month, you can only do it once, and it will have a marginal impact on your monthly payments going forward, but, it is definitely worth looking at. I did it last year, and plan to overpay the mortgage once I have cleared my debt pile to balance it out.

unknownuser2u

First off, well done for everything you've navigated — getting on the property ladder solo after a divorce with kids is no small thing, and it sounds like your financial instincts are actually pretty solid.

A few thoughts from reading your post:

You're not missing a trick so much as you're in a genuinely tight window. The childcare cost is the obvious drag, and September really will be a meaningful turning point — £400/month freed up is significant. Combined with the loan finishing in October (another £232), you're looking at over £600/month of breathing room arriving within a few months of each other. That's actually a big deal.

On the overdraft drift — it might be worth doing a really granular look at when in the month you dip. Sometimes it's timing rather than total spend, and switching a direct debit or two by a week can make a surprising difference to how the month feels.

On consolidation — you're right that it kicks the can, and you clearly know yourself well enough to know you'd clear the loan faster as-is. Stick with that instinct.

The mortgage anxiety is understandable, but July 2027 is still over a year away and rates have been moving. Worth keeping an eye on whether you can lock in something decent 6 months out — most lenders let you reserve a rate in advance.

The jewellery question is interesting. A platinum and diamond ring can hold value but the resale reality is usually disappointing unless you go private sale rather than a jeweller buyback. Might not be the financial lever you're hoping for.

Honestly though — pension good, life insurance ticked, some equity in the house, debt heading downward, and a clear plan? You're doing ok. The next 6 months look like they'll genuinely shift things for you.