Debt-Free wanna be vs Maternity pay. Determined to stay on track.

hannahroberts1985
hannahroberts1985 Posts: 840 Forumite
edited 18 April 2017 at 1:48PM in Debt free diaries
Hey everyone,

I'm Hannah I'm 30 :eek: (not sure how or when that happened my memory must be going because I only feel 21 mentally 50 physically though :rotfl:)my debt is shifting in the right direction and we are able to pay £200-£300 off a month but with maternity pay fast approaching I felt a diary would be a good way to keep me on track. I am currently 22 weeks pregnant with my second little boy. DS1 ( darling son)is two on the 29th. We are going on a holiday to Devon Friday. Guessing all this expense has got me wanting to keep things in check. Since being so good I get panicky about spending but chunks of money. We booked a small family holiday though before DS2 arrives as we haven't been on a holiday for 4 years and wanted to take Kian before things got crazy. Everyone's got to live a little right. I'm also currently on an 8 week full paid sabbatical from work...it's great but that's also 5 extra days a week to try not spend money! I tell you this weather needs to perk up soft play isn't cheap!!

I was awful with money years back even had a diary on here
previously. I have been cleaning debt for a few years now. I have some of my own debt and joint from buying things for our home my partner has bad credit due to a mortgage he's stuck in with his step father. ...we will cross this bridge at a later date but it is all (touch wood) on track now. Other than that he is great with money and has taught me a lot!! Me and DP (darling parter) share money fairly we both have pocket money then anything else go into the joint account/off my debt repayment. I was part time when I went back after DS1 but went full time when we were planning DS2 1) for the maternity pay and 2) I know my 8 weeks paid sabbatical was due so wanted to get full time pay for this. I have 6 weeks full time to work before maternity leave and I'm dreading it, but hey ho needs must! Think of the money I keep telling myself. I feel I am in a good place and manage money so much better than I used to. I'll share my tips with you.....when I get a chance. I will also update my signature with SOA ASAP.

Thanks for reading (if anyone is) now that's off my chest time for a bath then bed.
Hannah :)

If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply! [purplesignup][/purplesignup]
emergency fund:£179/ £1000 Uniform/car fund:£
boys savings £
Christmas £60 bday £40 holiday £

Family loan £7000/£5425
Credit Card 0% £2015.32 eon £435 overdrafts £1500/£1300
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Comments

  • Soooo in bed after my bath and my brain won't turn off so thought i'd pop back. We leave for holiday friday so I may be quiet for a week...i'll try pop in though. Thought i'd note down all the tips i've been using.

    -I have seperate accounts for everything (my bank got a bit annoyed at me and questioned why I needed another one...it may be effecting my credit score to I don't know, but I feel having everything seperate helps me see and manage it better. Thus the end result a better credit rating) it's complicated but i'll exsplain so you know how i manage things. Halifax account my wages in then £30 dd on pay day goes to a christmas savings account I have. Then I keep £200 in this account. This is my pocket money for the money roughtly £50 a week. I keep a card for this account in my purse. All other money get transfered to my HSBC current account (the one with the overdraft) I have a card for this but it is kept at home. I then pay my share to the bill's account (this varies depending who's full time etc ) Then any remainder money stays in this account I have my phone, contact lens, car insurance and CC direct debit from this account then any money left stays to pay off my over draft (While i'm full time there is a bit left over £50-£100 roughly) From our Joint bill account we transfer our months food and petrol money to another joint account. This one we have a card each and fill up/shop as needed. Also from our joint account we have a £40 DD to a savings account we try to bulid up for car repairs mot's etc.....and breath I think thats it. It sounds complicated I know but trust me its soooo much easier then when it all used to be managed from one overdrawn account and I didn't have a clue what I could spend or where I was at.

    -Have mini savings pots:
    I always used to get in a mess after christmas. I love chirstmas and love giving gifts. I wrote down who I buy for and a rough amount I spend on them. Total this up and divide by 12 (you could start now just divide by the months left in the year). If you can afford to set up a DD for this amount so you have it all saved up ready for chrismtas instead of spending on CC's ect like I used to. Also The money is there for when a bargain pop's up and I already have a stash of gifts. There is a great facebook group "Bargain buys for busy mums!" if you have lots of kids to buy for join....but make sure you only buy things you'll need. I keep a list in the notes on my phone with what i've brought for who so I don't impulse buy.
    MOT day :eek::eek::eek: We have two old cars and I always dread MOT day. It's a bit less scary when you have a bt of money tucked away. We currently put £40 away a month into our *hit the cars broken fund to soften the blow.

    -Pocket money account. I feel £200 is a lot of pocket money but then we have a nearly 2 year old and we have a good social life and group of friends (Hence the previous debt :beer:). In the past when budgeting we've been to tight and end up feeling feed up and have blow outs. This amount seems to keep us happy and sain. It may take us a little longer to pay off our debt but i'd rather that than loose touch with all my friends..jez thats hard enought when you have babies anyway. We also love taking DS on days out. We are lucky engouh our works juggle our shifts so we don't need chldcare. I feel as he's not getting interactive from other kids in nursery/daycare lots of play dates and trips out are a must!

    -0% switch everything to )% where possible. If you can't use a snowball calculator to pay debts off in order.

    -Banking app's I have both the Halifax and HSBC app's. They are great I check them every day and know exactly whars going on. It gets quite addicitve. So different from when I would load up the laptop and squint at my internet banking becasue i'd neglected it for a month :mad:!

    -Credit check site. Noodle is free for a basic summery. They update it monthly and it's good to see where you can improve things. I'm hoping mine will be on the up. Since joining I realised I had two CC's that have been paid off and now closed. Not sure how it will effect it but hopefully it will improve. Also its showing i'm not on the electro roll so i'm currently looking into that.

    Thats all I can think of right now. Sorry if i'm waffling and telling you what you already know...wish I'd known these thing from the day I started earning but life is for learning I guess.

    x
    emergency fund:£179/ £1000 Uniform/car fund:£
    boys savings £
    Christmas £60 bday £40 holiday £

    Family loan £7000/£5425
    Credit Card 0% £2015.32 eon £435 overdrafts £1500/£1300
  • Quick check in this morning. Just had an email from a dispute I opened on eBay saying they will refund the £50 I'm owed. Whoop whoop. That will go into my overdraft account so I'll leave it there.

    So I need to pop out later to pick up a birthday cake for DS's party it's the day after we get back from holiday. It will just be a supermarket cake so should about be about £10.

    So the plan for the holiday spending money is: DP has been paid today and it's one of those lovely months when fortnightly paid people get three pay days so we can afford to spend all his pay check on holiday. I'm hoping he's been paid enough to last and have a good time. We also have £90 in cash from a sealed pot we've been using. I've been shopping and stocked up and snacks and drinks for DS to take on days out. I really hate paying £1.50 for a fruit shoot! I'm feeling on track and motivated so hopefully we will be savvy on holiday and not blow our budget. We have a few days off together too after the holiday and party so I'd ideally like to save a little bit to do a day out on DS's birthday. Fingers crossed.
    emergency fund:£179/ £1000 Uniform/car fund:£
    boys savings £
    Christmas £60 bday £40 holiday £

    Family loan £7000/£5425
    Credit Card 0% £2015.32 eon £435 overdrafts £1500/£1300
  • System
    System Posts: 178,076
    Photogenic Name Dropper First Post
    Community Admin
    Hi Hannah.....I'm following.
    Hope you have a great holiday. I live in Somerset and work in North Devon - it's a lovely lovely place. If by chance you are coming to North Devon, i can give you some lovely pointers on nice things to do that won't cost the earth.

    I totally get what you say about pocket money fund - life is very much now, so whilst you need to pay things off you need to live too. Where we live there's very little to do other than go out for walks (free) or cycles or go and play on the beach (free) so we manage that a lot better than I imagine it could be if you lived in a town.
  • Hey Ramblehan,

    We are staying in Bideford bay. Any recommendations would be great. The family we are going with are talking dogs so I'm guessing lots of beach days and walks....but also probably dinners and lunch out. I been good for so long now spending money makes my heart palpitate:eek:.

    We move to a small village about 10 miles from the closes town and I have to save we've saved loads. No take always delivery and you can't just pop to the shop when you get a sweet craving etc you actually have to look in your cupboards and cook something! Also lots of nice walks to go on.

    Hannah x
    emergency fund:£179/ £1000 Uniform/car fund:£
    boys savings £
    Christmas £60 bday £40 holiday £

    Family loan £7000/£5425
    Credit Card 0% £2015.32 eon £435 overdrafts £1500/£1300
  • mrsbee17
    mrsbee17 Posts: 60
    Debt-free and Proud!
    Forumite
    Hi Hannah,


    My name is also Hannah, a great name! :)


    It sounds like you're well and truly in a great place. I do the 'piggy banking' thing too but with YNAB (You Need A Budget). I feel it works well for me as all my money is in a Santander 123 account earning my interest yet YNAB lets me keep track on how much money I have in each 'pot'.


    Enjoy your holiday!
    Love Piggy-banking and YNAB!
  • Hi Mrsbee,

    I'm meant to be packing while the boy naps and DP watching football but I'm sat checking in surrounded by piles of clothes...packing after a big lunch was not a good idea I fancy a nap!

    I will have to check out the YNAB board thanks for the tip.

    Like you say I'm in a great place now but want to keep a first as when my statutory maternity pay kicks in that's when I'll struggle :eek:!

    Hannah x
    emergency fund:£179/ £1000 Uniform/car fund:£
    boys savings £
    Christmas £60 bday £40 holiday £

    Family loan £7000/£5425
    Credit Card 0% £2015.32 eon £435 overdrafts £1500/£1300
  • kansaskitty
    kansaskitty Posts: 137
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Hi Hannah,

    Congrats on expecting your second, and I hope you have a lovely holiday.

    Will be following with interest, we have a son aged 14 months and I no longer work so we survive on hubby's wage, and although he got a huge promotion a year ago we bought a much bigger house as we'd like more kids, so things are a little tight round here too! We ended up being offered less for our final mortgage than first told for our AIP so we had to take a little loan from bank of the in laws too, but we're slowly paying this off despite dreaded car repairs etc etc!

    We also piggy bank but just virtually using apps and spreadsheets mostly, we do have separate accounts for our sons savings and car expenses though. For pocket money we give ourselves £10 fun money each, our son £10 to pay for his baby groups/activities and £20 for eating out/takeaway per week. We also then have £50 for groceries and £40 fuel per week. Thanks for sharing what you do, it's so hard to stay on the straight and narrow and be sooooo tight all the time!

    I'd be interested to know what you've spent preparing for baby no 2, as we are TTC again and I'm hoping not to spend a lot as I breastfed (still do!) my first, and we would reuse cot and as much as we could clothes wise if it was another boy, would probably have to invest in a double buggy and some nursery furniture but that would all be second hand.

    Once again enjoy your holiday!
    :heartsmil Stay-at-home-mummy of two, pinching the pennies but loving it! :heartsmil
    :grin:Spreadsheeter, piggybanker, envelope-system user!:grin:
    :exclamati Debt £1400/£6500 21.5% :exclamati
    :question: Emergency Fund £0/£500 0% :question:
  • System
    System Posts: 178,076
    Photogenic Name Dropper First Post
    Community Admin
    I'm called Hannah too!! ha ha, and we use YNAB - it is great, but you have to use it properly - my main gripe is that I don't have an android or iphone so can't do the immediate updates on spends, but the piggybanking thing is great.

    Bideford bay is lovely. OK here's the low down
    Westward Ho! is a lovely sandy beach, with great rockpools. There is a car park right at one edge which is now free (but if you park in middle, you'll have to pay) - very short walk into beach/town, past lovely beach huts and a nice pub, and a tidal swimming pool. YOU MUST have a HOCKINGS ice cream in Westward Ho! It's a tiny family firm who make it in the morning, sell it in the afternoon and it's the BEST icecream in the world.....

    If you like walking, there's some great walks on this website
    http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bideford-bay-and-hartland/lists/running-and-walking-routes-around-bideford-bay-and-hartland

    I'd really recommend Bucks Mills beach if you fancy a different beach. It's sandy at low tide, free parking at the top of village, but a long walk back up hill!

    if you are a NT member, there's Arlington Court, and Baggy Point car park at Croyde where you can use your card)

    Cl*velly is one of the major attractions in the area, but it is very expensive. There's a way around things if you are really interested in going.

    Don't forget about doing picnics? Are you staying in self-catering? There's a morrisons in Bideford, and also an ASDA (at Atlantic village) on the outskirts.
  • Grrrr wrote a looooong post and it's gone!!

    I'll try remember what I was rambling about.

    Ramblehan- good name BTW :beer:! Thank you for the tips
    I've screen shotted your post so when were there and making plans I'll put them forward. The ice cream sounds like a must though. What's bigger/better the morrison's or Asda? Someone we are meeting there is taking a camper can and putting their BBQ in so we're hoping to BBQ a few night to save money on restaurant food and drinks out. Pack ups are a must! I'd much rather go out for a couple of nicer meals than pay for overpriced sandwiches etc! Is there a nice Greek in the area at all? Me and DP are hoping to escape for a date night and I've been craving Greek lately.

    Kansaskitty- hey we are having another boy so it's going to be pretty cheap. DS1 will move to his big boy room which will need a
    Toddler bed and a bit if decorating then the nursery will need a coat if paint but that's about it. We brought him a toy box and I personalised it for his birthday so that counts as a present but was also needed :). When I knew we'd defiantly have another baby I started buying uni sex items like vests, sleeping bags, we got a denim trike etc. Our pram will be fine as Kian's been out of it a long time now. With living in the middle of nowhere we don't really use a pram much to be honest it's straight to baby group then out and in etc. Just for days our so our old one is in pretty good nick. I'm hoping to breastfeed again. I breastfeed DS1 until he was 1 it saves so much money not to mention all the other benefits. DS1 was lucky enough to be gifted £1000 when he was born and on top of his we have a dd for £10 a month to build it up. Not much I know but when we are in a better place hopefully we can up this. I have this ISA in my name though in a bid it will help improve my credit score.

    Right I really need to pack last bits my alarm is set for 4am...6 hours away :eek:! Thank you all for reading and commenting. I will try check in over the next week and promise once I'm back to reality will get up to date on your diaries and we can help keep each other on track and motivated :money:

    Xxx
    emergency fund:£179/ £1000 Uniform/car fund:£
    boys savings £
    Christmas £60 bday £40 holiday £

    Family loan £7000/£5425
    Credit Card 0% £2015.32 eon £435 overdrafts £1500/£1300
  • System
    System Posts: 178,076
    Photogenic Name Dropper First Post
    Community Admin
    if you are near Bucks Mills (the bideford bay caravan park is there?) then the closest would be Asda. I don't use either so can't really comment.
    Have a lovely time and see you in a week or so!!
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