Worried about money, any advice?

james_uk · 15 April 2018 at 12:51AM

Hi, me and my partner have a baby who is starting nursey soon (few months away).
We both work full time and in the unfortunate position that we do not have any support, both our parents are not in a position to mind our baby and friends / family aren't either due to either working themselves or just not being able to.

We are thinking the baby would have to go to nursey full time, the cost of this appears like its going to be around £800 - £900, then when you factor in all the other things we would have to pay for like additional travel, i am about to start driving to help so the extra insurance etc.. we are basically looking at it all costing more or less the same as what i actually earn per month.

At the moment we have a mortgage etc and both of us usually have no additional money spare at the end of each month and i am getting really worried about how we will afford this.

I am assuming we would qualify for tax free childcare but that only brings it down a little?

Is there anything else we could looko at or may qualify for?

Its mad because i wouldn't class us as poor but when you more or less take away my whole monthly wage, i just dont know how that can be justified that childcare can cost nearly the same as what i get paid.

Obviously we will have to try and cut back on a lot of things, but when we both have nothing spare now then to need about an extra £1000 per month just seems mad.

It has got both me and my partner so worried, i dont know how others seem to do it, there are people that are a lot worse off than us and they appear to get by fine.

If anyone can give me any advice that would be great.

Thanks

James

FBaby · 15 April 2018 at 6:53AM

Don't panic. You'll be surprised when you get down to it that you can make it work, the thing is that you need to accept that indeed, you'll have to change your lifestyle and probably have to make some cuts.

Firstly, you need to work out what you might be entitled to if both of you work FT, and then you will need to decide whether it is worth both of you continuing to work FT. Normally, you shouldn't be worse off, but might find that you are only marginally better off, maybe by £100-£200 a month and you then need to decide whether this is worth it. Maybe decide that it isn't, but you need to factor in the impact of stopping to work vs gaining experience on your future career so that this £100 might become -£500 vs £500 in 5 years time.

If you decide that one stop working, you'll have to accept that it comes with some inevitable compromises, for instance, giving up the car, moving to a cheaper area etc...

Either way, you'll make it work if you budget properly.

Woolco · 15 April 2018 at 10:30AM

Sorry I can't answer your question, but reading about your situation it does seem SO unfair.

suki1964 · 15 April 2018 at 10:48AM

Woolco wrote: »

Sorry I can't answer your question, but reading about your situation it does seem SO unfair.

Why is it so unfair???

Should nursery workers not get paid a living wage?

Op, child care is expensive, very much so, as it should be. Many moons ago I worked with a nurse who was actually working for free as all her wages went to the crèche plus a bit more, this was long before CTC, WTC, childcare vouchers etc, but she done it as her career meant she had to if she wanted to progress.

These are the tough decisions couples need to make when deciding to have a child

My own daughter gave up full time work and took a small cleaning job that fits around her husbands shift and relies on the CTC and family allowance to make up the short fall. She doesn't have a career and once little one starts school in September she will be back looking for a full time job

If either you or your partner aren't on the career ladder perhaps this is something one of you could do, leave work and become a stay at home parent, working evenings or weekends to make up the short fall

End of the day, when children come along, cuts have to be made

The old style board is a great place to get ideas on how to stretch the budget

Woolco · 15 April 2018 at 11:09AM

suki1964 wrote: »

Why is it so unfair???

Err because people have children and then come on here and say money it tight. Like money was not a priority at the time. Now it is.

maisie_cat · 15 April 2018 at 11:18AM

Every couple who plans a family will have the same decisions to make, childcare is rightly expensive. What has changed from when you planned to have a child and looked at the financial impact?
For many the decision on whether one partner should continue working really depends on career. Giving up work for a while and caring for your own child maybe cost effective in the short term, but may damage career prospects later.
When I gave up full time work I calculated that I saved around £900 a month in costs related entirely to working including work lunches, petrol & car costs, dry cleaning, food bills mostly as we reduced the reliance on convenience options. You will need to put a budget together to work out which option is better for you both financially and career wise.

suki1964 · 15 April 2018 at 11:29AM

Woolco wrote: »

Err because people have children and then come on here and say money it tight. Like money was not a priority at the time. Now it is.

I missed the sarcasm

Begsey · 15 April 2018 at 12:02PM

With us, it worked out better for the wife to take a career break. We had twins, and although family were willing to help, we felt it would have been too much to ask of them.
She went back part time when they went to nursery, and full time when they went to school.
Have a play about with the tax credits calculator. I didn't think we would be able to claim anything, but it was surprising.
Incase you've not used it before.
https://www.gov.uk/tax-credits-calculator

w06 · 15 April 2018 at 5:48PM

If it's any reassurance I'm a member of a few professional fora and even couples where both are on a good wage have these worries, with the whole of one person's wage often going on childcare.

It's only for a few years and times will get easier as they go to school. You'll likely surprise yourselves how much you can reduce expenditure without major impact on your lifestyle.

Darksparkle · 15 April 2018 at 6:15PM

Regarding help available, what is your household income?

Have you considered a childminder rather than a nursery? We found it's about £200-300 cheaper per month (we use a mix of both).

Does your employer offer childcare vouchers?

cantcope · 16 April 2018 at 12:35PM

the fact childcare costs almost your monthly wage is because the childcarer will want to earn a monthly wage too.
i used a childminder was almost £1000 per month. i got childcare vouchers from work via salary sacrifice which saved some tax but for the first few years things were really tight. It was worth it though, i had adult conversation, moved along in my career gaining a rise etc, my child blossomed around other children.
things now seem amazing that he is 5, in school, childcare is a LOT less (jsut before and after school now) and we have money left over for treats and holidays (i am single now too so even less money coming in!)
If i'd stopped work rather than pay childcare i'd still have had no money but now be job hunting, around school hours, on a much lower wage with a 5 year gap in my employment history. 5 years in an office is 5 years worth of technology changes and updates i'd have no idea about.
Definitely worth looking at the bigger picture rather than how much money you'll have x
Good luck with whatever you decide.

Worried about money, any advice?

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free