Does your monthly income comfortably cover your outgoings?

[LankyDoodle]

As I've discussed, I am considering giving up work shortly before I am due to take my maternity; we are a 3 car household, as we have 2 horses so need a 4x4 to pullt he horse trailer. However, we are going to sell the 4x4 and horse trailer and one of the other cars and get a slightly newer car for nearer to when the baby comes, just making do with one car for now. Any money we get for selling the cars will be a) saved; b) put towards a family type car; c) put towards buying a little horse truck, but it gives us a buffer and cuts back our outgoings a lot.

I have started dying my own hair instead of having hilights at the hairdressers, which I am not sure I want to continue doing as I don't like the result, but it saves money I suppose. We have cut back on what we buy at the supermarket and we don't splurge on luxures like clothes these days.

My husband brings home about 1550 a month on a normal month, but always has loads of overtime, is given bonuses of up to 1000 a year and generall does quite well, to the point he probably, on average, brings home about 1700 a month. Then, if he can, he does a bit of stuff on the side, but lately hasn't really had time due to the building work in our own house. I bring home about 1100 from my main job and about 120 from my casual job where I work about 20 hours a month with disabled children. At the moment we are also selling a lot of stuff that's needed selling for ages, like my old uni books and a dishwasher and that kind of stuff.

So our bank account looks OK for once; however, my baby is due in April and I will be taking maternity from 1st Feb. If I stay in my job and they pay SMP, after tax, I will be getting 108 a week maternity plus 20 child benefit plus 21 child tax. Because we can't get very much in the way of help, I am going to have to go back to work in some capacity and am considering childminding (well have been for years really).

We can massively crop our outgoings while the baby is still small and are taking steps to do this now, but 1700 a month from my OH and whatever I get from my casual job - anything upto 300 I suppose - isn't going to be enough by any stretch, to cover our bills and outgoings, even on rations!

Do your incomes cover your outgoings, and how do you juggle staying home with the baby as much as possible with actually affording to live? I really want to be able to afford to give my child lots of opportunities and am dreading not being able to; I had a childhood riddled with debt worries.

 

[kayleigh&bump]

we have a monthly income of about £1100 a month, and we cover all the bills plus about £100 left to ourselves, so im sure you will be fine! Once our LO arrives, our income will go up to around £1600 and this is still plenty for us to feed another mouth and give our by everything it needs. We have cutback on outgoings since i was made redundant this year, and now we only spend money on things we NEED. But we do just fine x

 

[LankyDoodle]

See I know other people manage on much less, and I just don't know where our money must go... well I do.
Mortgage is 570 a month, three cars cost us about 600 a month with all the bills averaged throughout the year, food is about 300 a month, bills are about 300 a month (council tax etc), then we save 100 a month, have horses and also spend money on other stuff like holidays (in this country). I think we need to take a serious look at our finances.

 

[kayleigh&bump]

if it helps, this is how our money is divided up....

£550 rent
£100 council tax
£100 utility bills
£200 car (finance, insurance and petrol)
£150 food

This is pretty much about it i think. It doesnt leave us with a great deal left afterwards, but its enough. We defo cant afford luxuries like horses and holidays if we do go on holiday, its a case of trying to make money by selling things or saving for a long time.

Could you look at things like bills and try to switch providers? We did this when we moved house and managed to save quite a lot. Also, your food bill seems pretty high, is that for just two of you? x

 

[aimee-lou]

Hiya,

Yeah you need to look at every single bit of outgoing you have - include things like clothes, haircuts, christmas, coffees and magazines, lunches out at work etc. It all adds up. It can be a great de-motivator to stop spending £5 a day on sandwiches and take your own lunch in with you! Try swithching your suppliers and see if you can save money there. Do you have debts that you are paying for? If so, use your savings and pay them off! The interest on a debt is always much more than you're earning, and without the debts, you'll have more to save.

Do either of you smoke or drink? These can cost an awful lot of money too...try cutting down or stop completely and you may have a little extra cash.Remember not to cut everything you love out though. It's like dieting....if all you ever get is lettuce, then you're not going to last very long. However, if you get the odd bar of choccy if you've been really really good, then you're more likely to carry on. (we have a take-away once a week - chippy tea only cost £5-£10 so we think it's worth it for morale!)

The other thing I did was try to live off the money you will be getting for maternity from the very start.....I was signed off so didn't have much choice but I was actually going to do it anyway. That way, any spare cash can go to buy the stuff you need, pay off the debts etc and you will 'test drive' the way of life to see what's do-able and what's not. Also, if you can, don't count bonus's or overtime as it's not technically regular income...treat these as the 'fund' for your holidays and christmas pressies. That way you'll always have a little extra and not be taken by surprise if there is a hard or long month.

Money has a life of it's own and you need to tame it. Don't be afraid to just have a go......moneysavingexpert has a lot of helpful stuff and a budget tool etc. It can be very daunting but when it's done you'll feel much better about it all!

Hope this helps...I think we've all been there!

 

[kayleigh&bump]

Hiya,

Yeah you need to look at every single bit of outgoing you have - include things like clothes, haircuts, christmas, coffees and magazines, lunches out at work etc. It all adds up. It can be a great de-motivator to stop spending £5 a day on sandwiches and take your own lunch in with you! Try swithching your suppliers and see if you can save money there. Do you have debts that you are paying for? If so, use your savings and pay them off! The interest on a debt is always much more than you're earning, and without the debts, you'll have more to save.

Do either of you smoke or drink? These can cost an awful lot of money too...try cutting down or stop completely and you may have a little extra cash.Remember not to cut everything you love out though. It's like dieting....if all you ever get is lettuce, then you're not going to last very long. However, if you get the odd bar of choccy if you've been really really good, then you're more likely to carry on. (we have a take-away once a week - chippy tea only cost £5-£10 so we think it's worth it for morale!)

The other thing I did was try to live off the money you will be getting for maternity from the very start.....I was signed off so didn't have much choice but I was actually going to do it anyway. That way, any spare cash can go to buy the stuff you need, pay off the debts etc and you will 'test drive' the way of life to see what's do-able and what's not. Also, if you can, don't count bonus's or overtime as it's not technically regular income...treat these as the 'fund' for your holidays and christmas pressies. That way you'll always have a little extra and not be taken by surprise if there is a hard or long month.

Money has a life of it's own and you need to tame it. Don't be afraid to just have a go......moneysavingexpert has a lot of helpful stuff and a budget tool etc. It can be very daunting but when it's done you'll feel much better about it all!

Hope this helps...I think we've all been there!

Top advice Aimee-Lou!

Its amazing how much money you can spend in one month on luxuries like lunches at work, and takeaways. Takeaways was especially our downfall, before we moved house we used to have maybe 2 or 3 a week sometimes! awful i know. But now we simply cant afford it and have cut down to one every 1 to 2 weeks. We dont drink or smoke, but i dread to think how much money you would spend on this if you did xx

 

[aimee-lou]

Top advice Aimee-Lou!

Its amazing how much money you can spend in one month on luxuries like lunches at work, and takeaways. Takeaways was especially our downfall, before we moved house we used to have maybe 2 or 3 a week sometimes! awful i know. But now we simply cant afford it and have cut down to one every 1 to 2 weeks. We dont drink or smoke, but i dread to think how much money you would spend on this if you did xx

About a year ago hubby and I were in dire straights when it came to money. He smoked which used to cost us £25 a week! We used to have a couple of bottles of wine a week and a couple of take-aways at about £20 a pop. Hubby used to eat burger kings and subways at work everyday (costing about £5 a day!) and I would have sandwiches or pasties (another £2-£3 a day). When I worked it out, it was up at nearly £100 a week on stuff that just ended up down the drain. We've now swapped to packed lunches, hubby has quit smoking...with the pregnancy we can't drink anyway, but hubby has started making homebrew which he loves! .....We've swapped to chip shop once a week and the odd ASDA curry. I've had to come up with the strictest budget in the world and I've started to do my weekly shop at the local butchers, bakers and greengrocers which works out cheaper than the supermarket, then I do a fortnightly stock up of tins and stuff, so I have cut down shopping from £60 a week at ASDA to £75 a fortnight!!!!

It can be done and I actually find it really satisfying.

Another top tip....get yourself a really good basic cookery book! Soups, pies, stews, cakes, biscuits and all the good things that you can make soon my take-aways look like a waste of time and money......and we've both lost weight (well up until I became pregnant anyway! lol)

I'll shut up now! lol

 

[kayleigh&bump]

Top advice Aimee-Lou!

Its amazing how much money you can spend in one month on luxuries like lunches at work, and takeaways. Takeaways was especially our downfall, before we moved house we used to have maybe 2 or 3 a week sometimes! awful i know. But now we simply cant afford it and have cut down to one every 1 to 2 weeks. We dont drink or smoke, but i dread to think how much money you would spend on this if you did xx

About a year ago hubby and I were in dire straights when it came to money. He smoked which used to cost us £25 a week! We used to have a couple of bottles of wine a week and a couple of take-aways at about £20 a pop. Hubby used to eat burger kings and subways at work everyday (costing about £5 a day!) and I would have sandwiches or pasties (another £2-£3 a day). When I worked it out, it was up at nearly £100 a week on stuff that just ended up down the drain. We've now swapped to packed lunches, hubby has quit smoking...with the pregnancy we can't drink anyway, but hubby has started making homebrew which he loves! .....We've swapped to chip shop once a week and the odd ASDA curry. I've had to come up with the strictest budget in the world and I've started to do my weekly shop at the local butchers, bakers and greengrocers which works out cheaper than the supermarket, then I do a fortnightly stock up of tins and stuff, so I have cut down shopping from £60 a week at ASDA to £75 a fortnight!!!!

It can be done and I actually find it really satisfying.

Another top tip....get yourself a really good basic cookery book! Soups, pies, stews, cakes, biscuits and all the good things that you can make soon my take-aways look like a waste of time and money......and we've both lost weight (well up until I became pregnant anyway! lol)

I'll shut up now! lol

Thats really good you've managed to do all that. It is hard sometimes, but just goes to show, it can be done. I defo know what you mean about it being satisfying. I love going out and finding a bargain, or cooking something from scratch knowing that it cost me a fraction of the price as if I was to go out and buy it. we must be geeks lol

 

[LankyDoodle]

Hi,

The thing is, and you may all laugh at this (!!!) but we do budget so tightly - I have a spreadsheet and write everything down, we use the cheapest utility supplier and we make sure things aren't used when not needed. We take cash shopping and limit our budget for food and we try not to spend too much on luxuries. We don't smoke or drink which is good as we'd be so broke, but we do have 2 horses (they are non-negotiable as they are part of our lives and I'd like them to be part of our children's lives).

We have quite a good looking bank account right now due to starting to budget tightly earlier in the year, but I am so worried to the point of panic mode, about my wage being more than halved when we have a baby (an extra mouth to feed). I also want to try and be able to stay home with the baby at least part time, rather than go back to work full time. If I did stay home then we could probably manage with one car I suppose...

We don't have any debts and we are due to renew our mortgage, going onto a lower rate.

Hmmm great posts and given me a LOT to think about and a desire to go and chop our budget even further. Do people here still spend money on things like the cinema and stuff, or is absolutely everything out?

 

[LankyDoodle]

Thank you all so much for the advice - here is the luxuries we spend on (all estimated amounts and sometimes I buy lots of new clothes and other times I don't bother):

Clothes - £50pcm
Haircut/hilights for me - £120 every 4 months (but actually I go every 6 and like I said have started dying my own hair)
OH haircuts - £8 a month
Makeup/toiletries - £50pcm
Going out (cinema, meals etc) - £30pcm
Holidays £100pcm
Dvds, CDs, books etc - £20pcm
Savings - £100pcm
Newspapers - £10pcm

Then I worked out we see optician once a year and probably have glasses once every other year. Then dentist twice a year each and chiropractor if and when we need it. However, I am really lazy because I can claim for ALL this on my healthcare policy that work pay for and can add my OH for £7 a month!

The biggest thing we can cut back on I think, is food. The other thing I can do is to cut back on the extras I buy for my horses!

 

[LankyDoodle]

I guess I just think to myself that if people manage on so little, we could be saving so much more than we are...

 

[kayleigh&bump]

Thank you all so much for the advice - here is the luxuries we spend on (all estimated amounts and sometimes I buy lots of new clothes and other times I don't bother):

Clothes - £50pcm
Haircut/hilights for me - £120 every 4 months (but actually I go every 6 and like I said have started dying my own hair)
OH haircuts - £8 a month
Makeup/toiletries - £50pcm
Going out (cinema, meals etc) - £30pcm
Holidays £100pcm
Dvds, CDs, books etc - £20pcm
Savings - £100pcm
Newspapers - £10pcm

Then I worked out we see optician once a year and probably have glasses once every other year. Then dentist twice a year each and chiropractor if and when we need it. However, I am really lazy because I can claim for ALL this on my healthcare policy that work pay for and can add my OH for £7 a month!

The biggest thing we can cut back on I think, is food. The other thing I can do is to cut back on the extras I buy for my horses!

We do do things like cinema and socialising, but ONLY if we have spare money in the month. We dont budget for things like that. We usually end up with about £100 left in the month, and that is to cover things for me and oh like clothes, haircuts, make up, going out etc etc. It is hard cutting back, but it does get easier.

£50 a month on clothes isnt that bad if you can afford it, but could you look at maybe ebay or only buying what you need instead of buying something cos you like it? Also, £120 on hair cuts is A LOT!! I dye my hair myself, and i have a friend who cuts hair, so she does it for me every couple of months for £20. Hubby has his hair cut around once a month at £7 a go. Make up and toiletries - can you cut back on this? We include our toiletries in with our weekly food shop, and any make up i need, I will get as and when. This probably averages out to not even £5 a month. Your going out seems pretty reasonable, everyone needs this I think!

Holidays and savings.... could you not combine the two? What do you use your savings for? If it was me, any savings we had would be used for things like holidays. Newspapers, this is probably something you could cut down on?

Heres what we spend our spare money on in an average month for me a hubby. But, if for instance one month we had a particularly big bill or something, then we would cut down on going out and clothes and only get what was necessary...

Clothes - £20pcm
Haircuts - £10
Makeup/toiletries - £5
Going out (cinema, meals etc) - £30 - £40
Magazines - £10
Stuff for baby (clothes, toiletries etc) - £20 - £30

Once your LO is here, and you are not working, could you look into claiming tax credits? This can be a great income top up if your a bit worried how your gunna manage. Can also mean you can get free eye and dental care too. Either way, I would definately you claim what you can through work, and for an extra £7 a month, might be worth adding oh on too!

Another tip... try signing up to Freecycle.org I dont know how you feel about 2nd hand things, but people literally give anything and everything away on this site. Its really great and everything is free. You can save your self a lot of money. For instance, I have just got a load of maternity clothes off their from a lady who lived near me, and they were all perfect, mostly mothercare and Next. Worth a try, you may be able to get some bits for your horses off their too. x

 

[aimee-lou]

Thank you all so much for the advice - here is the luxuries we spend on (all estimated amounts and sometimes I buy lots of new clothes and other times I don't bother):

Clothes - £50pcm - Try Ebay?.....do you buy designer or could you go to ASDA/Primark/Matalan as the clothes are a fraction of the cost!
Haircut/hilights for me - £120 every 4 months (but actually I go every 6 and like I said have started dying my own hair) - I go twice a year at £35 a pop. Could you shop around, find a good local salon? £120 is a lot of money on your hair hun! If you're going to do your own highlights as well, that will help.
OH haircuts - £8 a month _ I love the fact that Men's haircuts are so cheap...Hubby goes every 6 weeks rather than 4 - so it's £7.50 a month rather than £10.....Every little helps! :dohh:
Makeup/toiletries - £50pcm -Make-up....what's that?! lol - I bet you could cut this down if you really think about it. Stock up when the supermarkets do 3 for 2s, and sign up for a boots advantage card (handy for LO too!)
Going out (cinema, meals etc) - £30pcm - That's about right hun....you need this to stay sane!!
Holidays £100pcm - Check out Hoseasons etc and see if you can get a good deal.
Dvds, CDs, books etc - £20pcm - Try selling on some stuff and use this money to buy stuff that you want! Ebay is ace!
Savings - £100pcm - Brill that you can save.....I wish I could! Don't worry about saving anything while you're on Maternity though...you will need every penny but if you can put £10 a month aside for emergencies all the better!
Newspapers - £10pcm - Get them on email to your computer! Save the planet and your pocket!

Then I worked out we see optician once a year and probably have glasses once every other year. Then dentist twice a year each and chiropractor if and when we need it. However, I am really lazy because I can claim for ALL this on my healthcare policy that work pay for and can add my OH for £7 a month!

The biggest thing we can cut back on I think, is food. The other thing I can do is to cut back on the extras I buy for my horses!

To answer your question we still go out....Orange Wednesdays are excellent!! lol - We also have a holiday every year in the UK (a week in Cornwall normally which gets paid for out of the 'fund' and when the 2 months of council tax don't get taken in the beginning of the year.....£100 a month seems a bit steep but I suppose if it's your only holiday.)

Get your healthcare sorted as anything you can claim back, you should!! I used to have this and I'm going to get the HSA once I go back to work. Don't forget that you get free dental and prescriptions when you're PG and for the first 12 months!

Our monthly budget (Maternity):

Income: £1810

Outgoings:
Rent - £520
Council- £130
Other bills (DD's etc) - £420
Housekeeping - £250 (food, Toiletries, dog stuff, emergency fund etc etc)
Fuel and car - £150
Debt repayments - £300

= £1770

Leaving us £40 a month to do with as we please - not a lot but pays for a bag of chips or a sneaky trip to the cinema!

Couple of things I was told when I started out.....as long as your rent, leccy and council are paid, you will still have somewhere to live, and that's what's important. Don't be afriad to ask for help, and there is always a way of sorting things out so you'll be ok. Feed yourself first, your car second and your bank manager/bills third.

Oh and get yourself a slow-cooker! They're a godsend and make things so cheaply. Stick lentils and oats into things to make them more filling.....god the money-saving tips just keep coming! lol

Best of luck hun! Keep the questions coming!

EDIT: Forgot to mention that this is based on hubby only bringing home the very basic salary he can get. He often gets more than this so this goes into the 'fund' to pay for things like haircuts, holidays, presents etc. Never expect this money and then when it is there, all the better.

Also, don't forget to budget the loss of earnings for OH's paternity leave if he's taking it. He should get £120 ish less tax per week, so don't forget to take account of this when budgeting for the month that bubs is born!(Hubby's done some overtime this month so that it goes into next months pay packet! Bless him xx

 

[LankyDoodle]

Thank you so much for your help guys. And aimee-lou, our holiday is Cornwall as well! We live on Somerset/Devon border so it isn't far, but we take our 2 horses with us which is what pushes the price up really. We saved money this year as we didn't go due to problems here.

You guys have eben great and given me some fab ideas.

I don't want to be a SAHM as such, but being a mainly SAHM would be nice if we can work it out.

 

[kayleigh&bump]

Im sure you will be fine. Defo look into tax credits though, they really do help and could be the difference between you being able to stay at home or not. Im gunna be a SAHM and really looking forward to it not really worrying about our finances at all once LO is here to be honest. Good luck xx

 

[aimee-lou]

Glad to help...I know how daunting it can be as I was literally thrown in at the deep end back in May.

I will be going back to work of some description (hubby will be going to Uni next September all being well so I will be the earner) but I'm hoping to do a lot of it from home rather than have to go out for 50hours a week!! It's such a struggle but if it means a healthy and happy LO then I don't really care!

Oooh a horsey holiday in Cornwall...that sounds excellent! We just get a static on a last minute deal normally....managed to go for £40 last year as we got some holiday vouchers for christmas from FIL! BARGAIN!! Everyone needs a holiday, even if it's just a couple of nights in a tent!

Personally I think the key is to claim everything you can think of, try not to worry too much and just think of the long term rather than the short!

Speaking of tax credits, I need to do my applications tomorrow...been putting them off something rotten lol...but only 3 weeks til LO is here so better get a move on! lol

 

[LankyDoodle]

Because of my OH's income, we can only get £21 a week CTCs and no WTCs. Also, of course, we get the child benefit of £20 per week. I have a job which is casual hours with the council, and I intend to keep that and try and get more hours. All that should mean I should be able to give up full time work, as OH can do overtime most of the time.

Thank you again. xx

 

[aimee-lou]

Because of my OH's income, we can only get £21 a week CTCs and no WTCs. Also, of course, we get the child benefit of £20 per week. I have a job which is casual hours with the council, and I intend to keep that and try and get more hours. All that should mean I should be able to give up full time work, as OH can do overtime most of the time.

Thank you again. xx

That's all we're entitled to as well..... sucks doesn't it!

 

[mrsraggle]

I'm in a similar position really, I earn £1660ish pcm and hubby brings back £1300ish. So we're knocking on £3k a month and I have no idea where it goes OR how the blummin eck we'll cope when I'm on SMP. My salary will go from £1660ish to £500ish.

I'm planning on shopping at butchers/greengrocers etc and we've done our best to get rid of credit cards (or at least swap for lower interest rates), I'm a utility-swapping whore! And generally try and make sure the bills are as low as possible. Even our mortgage is quite a steal @ £400 a month. I think we just waste it on lunches and magazines.

Ho hum - I know I can do it, so I will!

 

[jlosomerset]

Hi hun

Just wanted to give you some local advice

I have my hair cut n coloured at Luci Foreman in St James St, Taunton, Luci actually does mine and it costs me £50, if you have it done with some of the other girls it is only £30 bargain!!!

Also we go to the livestock market at Bridgwater every Saturday, I buy my meat and veg from there and it is so cheap, we do a meal planner for the week before we go and only buy what we need, I then get my other groceries in Morrisons as they seem to have the most offers, I spend approx £55 a week, that is for me, DH, DS1 (6), DS2 (3) and 2 hungry dogs, I think that is quite good going.
This week for example the market had 3 beef joints for £20 and I got 4 700g packs of lean mince for £5.
All gone in the freezer, if you have room invest in another freezer, means you can get the reduced things or stock up on the offers.

We take home approx £2300 a month including our cb and ctc, but our mortgage is £880 of that, I work part time which I feel is the best of both worlds and we run a car and DH has a van for work.

I think you will find that you just adapt at the time and babies dont need to cost the earth, car boots are great for picking stuff up at that have been hardly used and as someone else mentioned, the local freecycle group is really good.

Good luck hun x