How can I save money quickly & sort myself out?

[lostandconfused2]

So I'm 24, almost 21 weeks pregnant and I live alone in a two bedroom house with a loft conversion for an extra room. My partner will be moving in in January.

I have out a loan and I am deeply into my overdraft. I used to be amazingly good with money, I always had savings of over £5,000 (I come from a working class background, I've worked my arse off since I was 15) but I was with someone for six years who I looked after financially as he kept losing jobs. He then left me for another woman and after that I was paying rent and bills on that place before moving to somewhere cheaper (but still not cheap) into a one bedroom place. But I shared the deposit we got back on the previous house with my ex because I was a walkover and I had to put £1,400 down on my new place plus £800 in rent. So basically I ended up using most of my overdraft and have been skint ever since.

I have a good job but I am self-employed and I have a chronic illness and I'm struggling with pregnancy so when I have to take time off I don't get paid for it. And even when I do get full-time play, I still can't seem to get myself out of my overdraft! My bills are excessive, I'm paying so much and it's all got a bit out of hand!

Last month I yet again moved into a new property to be closer to my family and also to have a bigger place for me and the baby, so that was more deposits and rent in advance. I will be getting my deposit back from my old place, but I am still in my bloody overdraft deeply and I just want to get out of it but every day a new bill comes out.

I will hopefully be out of it in January as I have a big payment coming through, but I worry that that will also go quickly. My partner doesn't earn as much as I do so can't help out 50/50 and he won't be financially contributing until he moves in anyway.

So, what I'm asking after explaining my situation is how can I make sure from January, when I get this payment, that I can keep myself financially stable? How can I be more savvy? I want to save for the baby and make sure I have enough money to support myself while off for maternity, but I'm just really worrying!

[lostandconfused2]

This is what I'm paying: Car insurance, gas and electricity, tv licence, bank loan, water bills, broadband, netflix & amazon prime (I don't pay for Sky or anything, I have a cheap wifi only deal so I watch TV on these platforms), my rent, car finance & council tax which is stupidly expensive because of the area I live in. Then counter in food for me and my cats also, it's crippling me! I don't get any benefits or any extra help beyond my income which as I mentioned is good but I still am struggling.

[JadeDragon23]

It’s impossible to say without amounts op 🤷🏻‍♀️

[CurlyWurlyTwirly]

Are you getting a single person’s reduction for council tax?
Drop the Netflix & amazon orime and get now TV.
Shop around for new utilities provider.
Can you not move to a cheaper area with lower council tax ?

[AmberAndAlexsMum]

Get in touch with Stepchange the debt charity, who will be able to help you. They helped me turn my overdraft into a separate debt and then pay it off monthly. This way your income doesn't immediately get swallowed by the overdraft. Good luck with it all. Hope everything works out well for you

[lostandconfused2]

@JadeDragon23

Okay so my rent is £950 a month (I need all the help I can get from my family and this place is 10-15 minutes away from them, any closer is even more expensive!)

Car insurance: £140 (I unfortunately had an accident)

Bank loan: £150

Gas & Electric: £172 (I have no idea how but the company insist it is)

Water: £35

Broadband: £20

Netflix and Amazon: £15

Car finance: £144

Food ends up being £200 a month on home shopping.

Council tax: Bloody £200 right now because I need to apply for single occupancy on Monday (only just got my bill through) but I can't imagine it'll go below £120.

Currently my take home before tax is £2,200 from one job and I've just started a new job where I am on £3,000 a month but I won't get my first payment through until January hence being skint right now. So £5,200 a month before tax - not sure how much it'll be after tax as as I mentioned it's a new job?

[Todaythiscouldbe]

Nobody can help without income/expenditure figures

[lostandconfused2]

I posted them above @Todaythiscouldbe

[IceCreamAndCandyfloss]

Realistically you don’t have long to save and how likely is it you can save enough to cover maternity leave at this late stage?

With debt, loans and car finance and no spare income, adding another person to support not to mention childcare costs will likely mean more debt.

Id throw everything at the debt and return to work asap. Swap the car for a cheap runaround and ditch the tv subscriptions.

[dawnish]

To best see where you can save money, you need to identify what you're spending each month, to then see where you can cut back. I recommend making a budget planner spreadsheet which breaks down your outgoings and to be as honest as you can. There's a good one on the Martin Lewis website that's easy to use

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

How much would a 1bed bed?

[lostandconfused2]

No I have paid maternity leave (39 weeks) but I wanted to save some extra on top. I can't ditch my car as I have a year and a half left on it. I have the subscriptions because I don't have a working TV...

[Whyarecrispssonice]

I would say that you accept the fact that right now, you are in an overdraft. The prospect of £5200 before tax means that living as you are, you will be able to quickly pay off your overdraft and save again. Your partner moving in should make you at least £500 better off.

[lostandconfused2]

One beds in this area are around £800 and I moved OUT of a one bed to have a bigger home to settle down in for my child.

[RollOnNextYear]

Query the utilities and make sure readings are exact. That seems steep

Try other car insurance providers.

[lostandconfused2]

Thanks @Whyarecrispssonice but I'm not sure I've been clear on my post - what I'm looking for is tips on how to save better and quicker, like apps, companies to talk to, ways to watch my budget better etc?

[Whyarecrispssonice]

Oh...and £200 per month on food for a single person is quite a lot (in my opinion). That was my budget for a family of 4 for years.

[DisplayPurposesOnly]

Gas & Electric: £172 (I have no idea how but the company insist it is)

Time to shop around. I'm paying £55 for a 2-bed semi.

Netflix and Amazon: £15

Non-essential so cancel until you've paid your overdraft off.

Council tax: Bloody £200 right now because I need to apply for single occupancy on Monday... I can't imagine it'll go below £120.

25% discount on £200 is £150.

[lostandconfused2]

@RollOnNextYear Can I change car insurance providers when I'm already under a company? Sorry I've only been driving a couple of years so not really sure how it works - my step dad does all that! Roughly what should I be paying on utilities? It does seem steep to me too!

[lostandconfused2]

@Whyarecrispssonice £15 of that is cat food, cat biscuits and cat litter, so £35 on me a week.

[lostandconfused2]

@DisplayPurposesOnly Could I ask which company you are with to be paying £55 please? I'm with Homeshift and it's been a nightmare since starting...

[Moominfan]

Could you apply for social housing? Not means tested and much cheaper rent

[lostandconfused2]

I did and I got rejected @Moominfan

[Whyarecrispssonice]

Oh. Sorry. I've also been looking at this. Know there are apps that track all spending which are reviewed highly but when i mentioned this to bank, they seemed horrified. You do have to link all accounts so worried about harvesting passwords. Regarding the above, I thought you were feeling anxious but as I could see an end to your current situation, I didn't want you to beat yourself up too much.

[DisplayPurposesOnly]

I live alone in a two bedroom house with a loft conversion for an extra room

Consider a lodger for the loft conversion. It needn't be full-time (could be Mon to Fri for someone working away from home) or permanent (could be short-term for someone relocating who needs a base whilst they work/look for somewhere).

[CurlyWurlyTwirly]

So your monthly income after tax will be about £3700.

I haven’t got a calculator on me, but your monthly outgoings look like they’re around £2,000.
Is the £5,200 your one off payment in January? Or will you get that every month till you have the baby?
If it’s monthly, then you can save about £1500 per month till the baby is born. So you’ll have about £6,000 in savings.
How much can your partner contribute?

Please don’t get into the trap of subsidising another man. Just saying.
Borrow as much baby equipment as you can, and maternity clothes for the rest of your pregnancy.
Buy some cheap bundles of babygros on eBay for the age range ranges so you have the right seasons.
It’s been a while since I had a baby but ask the new mums on here how much they spend on baby consumables, nappies , milk just in case so you get an idea.