Affording children/costs to cut down

[Mrs Doddy]

Saving money ideas

These are all the things we pay out on not including spending money

Mortgage
AA cover
BT
Accident insurance
house and contents insurance
Mobile
Cat insurance
Car insurance
TV Licence
Diesel
Council Tax
Scottish Power G+ Electric
Sky
life insurance
Food
Caravan Storage
Bike insurance
Caravan insurance

I can't see how we can cut any of it down apart from selling the caravan and me cancelling my accident insurance H needs his for his bike - we can shop around in the insurances, if I will be at home all day then I will need the sky - I am going to see if I can cancel the BT line and re jig the sky package

I have worked out that we are £400.00 short on H's wages when i go on Mat leave when the time comes - we are saving now but what else can we do ???

 

[Poshie]

Hi Mrs Doddy. It's quite a scary prospect isn't it and one that I have considered quite hard.

My DH is self employed so his money fluctuates every month. My current income is actually slightly more than my husband and I am on a salary so I know exactly what I am being paid every month. It does scare me that we will become reliant on the one wage, but also that we don't know if that will cover the costs. I currently pay all the living costs so it will be quite a change when he becomes responsible for that as well as the business.

When you add up the list of living costs it's quite a frightening amount isn't it. Consequently, I will have to go back to work after 9 months. We have a bit of savings and I am starting to save this month to build up a nest egg in case of emergency when I'm not working, ie. paying the mortgage. That's all we can do and yes it will be touigh but it won't be for ever. At least I'll be able to buy the food with my maternity pay.

I think the items you mention are possible to lose but other than that, I don't know.

 

[Ju_bubbs]

could you claim working tax credit while you're on mat leave?

 

[Poshie]

Tax credits are means tested but there's also £18 a week child allowance (payable from birth) which is available to all. Not a massive amount of money, but it all helps

 

[Pumpkinb]

our outgoings look very similar to yours with the exception of the accident insurance. We have caravan insurance and storage fees too. However I couldn't get rid of that as it will be our only source of holidays for the forseeable future and we have to hold onto something!
We both earn similar wages and we cannot afford for me not to go back to work after mat leave but I want to take the full 12 months at home. Whilst preg we are going to try and save as much as possible to allow for this and then I will have to go back to work at least 3.5 days a week, can't afford to pay everything otherwise.
I think we will be able to claim 45.00 a month tax credit and 18.00 per week child allowance so that is 81.00 per month and then mat allowance will be something like 480.00 per month so you are at 561.00 already, along with your OHs wage would that be ok?
I am sure you will work soemthing out, eveyone else seems to cope and things will fall into place. Try and save as much as poss now and that will mean less to worry about when baby is here.
Good luck

 

[Mrs Doddy]

could you claim working tax credit while you're on mat leave?

I don't know anything about that - how would I qualfiy for this ???

 

[Mrs Doddy]

our outgoings look very similar to yours with the exception of the accident insurance. We have caravan insurance and storage fees too. However I couldn't get rid of that as it will be our only source of holidays for the forseeable future and we have to hold onto something!
We both earn similar wages and we cannot afford for me not to go back to work after mat leave but I want to take the full 12 months at home. Whilst preg we are going to try and save as much as possible to allow for this and then I will have to go back to work at least 3.5 days a week, can't afford to pay everything otherwise.
I think we will be able to claim 45.00 a month tax credit and 18.00 per week child allowance so that is 81.00 per month and then mat allowance will be something like 480.00 per month so you are at 561.00 already, along with your OHs wage would that be ok?
I am sure you will work soemthing out, eveyone else seems to cope and things will fall into place. Try and save as much as poss now and that will mean less to worry about when baby is here.
Good luck

We don't want to have to sell the caravan either - as you say its holidays and in a caravan its quite cheap !!

H earns a good amount so I dont think we will qualify of tax credits but I did forget about the child allowance - however I would rahter that be in a savings account for the baby for their future rather than spend that it costs to much !!!

 

[Pumpkinb]

i am planning on using the child allowance as part of our income until maybe they are of scholl age and there are no nursery fees to pay and I can go back to work normally....then I might think about putting that in a savings account, it all adds up and if that can help us pay the gas /elec one month then so be it!

 

[wishingonastar]

H earns a good amount so I dont think we will qualify of tax credits but I did forget about the child allowance - however I would rahter that be in a savings account for the baby for their future rather than spend that it costs to much !!!

I understand what you're saying about you'd rather that money went towards a future fund for baby but the government automatically give you £250 at birth to go in trust fund and then another £250 when they're seven so they'd be getting a start towards their future that way and i'm sure would rather you had the child benefit if it meant you could afford to have them in the first place! x

 

[cazd]

Have you guys joined up to www.freecycle.org yet?

Its a great way to collect and dispose of unwanted things....

We've given away all kinds of stuff - excercise equipment, books, clothes etc.
And... there's a tonne of baby stuff given away every day.

 

[princess_x0]

Hey!
I found this article and thought it may help you figure things out.
https://www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/buyingforbaby/knowhow/budget/#10

 

[Mrs Doddy]

Thanks everyone its so hard at the moment - I want save loads so we have money behind us but we aren't even ttc at the moment so want to have fun while we can

 

[sandy299]

You ladies across the pond are lucky you get paid for maternity leave. Here in the USA maternity leave is unpaid unless you take short term disability and then you are only paid 75% of your salary!

 

[Mrs Doddy]

You ladies across the pond are lucky you get paid for maternity leave. Here in the USA maternity leave is unpaid unless you take short term disability and then you are only paid 75% of your salary!

Really gosh !!!! I am suprised that anyone has kids in Amercia !!!!! how do you cope ???

 

[Poshie]

You ladies across the pond are lucky you get paid for maternity leave. Here in the USA maternity leave is unpaid unless you take short term disability and then you are only paid 75% of your salary!

Wow so you get paid nothing at all?! It's not great over here, although some local authorities have very good matnerity packages. Standard though is to get six weeks at 90% salary and then 33 weeks at a flat rate of £117 gross, so £93 net (can't believe they tax it!) It is going to be a struggle on that. I don't know how some people manage. I'll just about pay the weeklyfood bill with that and that's it. This means I will most probably have to go back to work after 9 months.

Plus the child benefit of course at £18/week.

 

[sandy299]

We don't get anything for maternity leave. We can take short term disability the time we are gone and they pay us up to 75% of our pay. It makes us mad here that other countries take better care of their mothers than we do. You would think they would here. It's frustrating. Although for me I will be working at home after the baby so I don't know how much time I will really take off. We get up to 6 weeks of leave. What do you have over in the UK? Of course don't they have universal healthcare in the UK? There are so many Americans that can't afford health insurance as I'm sure you have heard.

 

[Poshie]

Hi again Sandy. Well here you can take up to 52 weeks leave (maternity pay for 33). Of course it's great if you can afford to take that long off work, but not many can. I think the UK has the most amount of leave available within the EU actually. Yes, I am surprised that the US doesn't have a better deal for new mums. In fact the EU commission is asking us to adopt a new maternity pay deal which would be 18 weeks at FULL pay! That is very unlikely to happen though as employers (particularly small bussiness) won't like it.

 

[Wobbles]

Bottle feeding costs over £900 a year: and that's not including all the sterilising equipment you have to buy and the bottles themselves.

Nonesense!!!

A tub costs around £7 depending what you use! calculate maybe one tub a week = £364 depending what steriliser you use that can cost £10+ not sure what they mean by ALL! & bottles well depending again what ones you use £50 MAX that is.

Sorry I would use your own instincts than that sites suggestions lol!

 

[mummymadness]

Have you guys joined up to www.freecycle.org yet?

Its a great way to collect and dispose of unwanted things....

We've given away all kinds of stuff - excercise equipment, books, clothes etc.
And... there's a tonne of baby stuff given away every day.

Nice to meet a fellow freecycler
Just to reccommend freecycle again to any one , The things i have given away and recieved have been immaculate and lovely .
Some great woman delivered a kingsize bed for me with brand new matress .
And last week i picked up an immaculate Junior bed , Selling in argos for £60 with nearly new matress for my son in the comming months .
Lots of clothes i have given away have been new as the kids never got round to wearing them . I have seen travel systems etc on there too .
Juts an idea if anyone who hasnt a big budget for baby things . xxxx .