Pay cut

[meandu]

I've just been offered a job during school hours. Really want it but worried about payout. I'll drop by 50% over £700 per month. My husbands basic wage will cover most the bills etc.. And he does overtime at the moment. I am just panicking I think as we'll really have to think about our spending. Will basically go from a £45000 family to about £38000. However I won't be having the stress of work to catch up on at home (currently teaching). I'd love to hear your views.

Sit down and go through your non changeable expenses, then through your reluctant to give up expenses . How much does that leave you? How much can you find ( coffees, lunches, magazines.) what happens if the the overtime stops? Realistically as long as you can cover the essentials you will adapt. It might not be fun from a while. We did a similar drop but saved on car and travel to make it less of a jolt.

How does your husband feel about it?

Husband agrees it'll be worth it, difficult as what you work out on paper is not reality. On paper it looks like we have a disposable income of at least £400 a month after all bills etc..

So you need to work out where that 400 goes ( and it should be easy to not need that) so therefore 300 to find

Try it. Get out! Get out now! You will always be able to get back in.

Run free, woman!

Gizlotsmum do you find it hard & miss out on lots or is it okay now you've adapted? Any regrets?

I know several people who have left teaching and gone to be a TA. They enjoyed it to begin with, though neither did it for long as the pay was just awful. One had calculated the pay wrong before she actually got her first pay packet-she thought it was going to be a lot more, but when pro-rata and the holidays were all taken into account, she was horrified by what she actually got.

Most of them are doing a couple of days supply a week instead.

Easy all goes on petrol, vehicles, impulse buys etc... We do have savings but not loads. Just don't want to have to scrimp and save to make ends meet. Bearded Bird, you're right I need to run free and hand notice in tomorrow, but still a scary prospect x

Ive calculated pay on hours work over the week's stated 44 not 52 so should be spot on. Tax & national insurance won't be much as under £10000 a year x won't have childcare to pay after youngest starts school in September. Work hours 9:30 to 2:30 5 days.

If you aren't reaching the tax threshold you can transfer some of your tax allowance to your DH. Think it's about 1100 a year. Would save a bit in tax.
You just fill in an online form and it changes your tax codes.

Ooo thanks for that MadeForThis, I'll look into it. Every bit helps x

Will you have lunch hour in that time?

I think it was about £500-£600 a month my friend was on.

No regrets and actually don't know what the money went on ( probably magazines/ expensive treats). We still get away, see shows, kids do after school clubs.. I am careful to check the best deals for utilities etc but not really noticed it. I buy myself fewer clothes but really don't mind. Use a college for haircuts ( so cheap). We maybe don't eat out as much but when we do it is more of a treat. Hubby is on commission so some months are tighter than others but never felt really broke after the first few months of adjusting.

I did a similar thing. On paper the finances worked. We set ourselves an allowance of spends for each month, after all bills were paid and a little extra left aside for unexpected expenses. We each take the allowance out in cash and that makes its easier to track while we adjusted to the new budget.

Do the moneysavingexpert money make over. It's about minimising all your expenses and maximising income. So all those fivers saved here and there add up. Also never buy anything without comparing prices and looking for vouchers. Downsize your mobile phone contracts. If you like magazines you can often read them for free from the library on a tablet. Change your gas and electric every year to stay on the best deal and get cashback and vouchers.

Also maximise your income by using quidco and looking for cashback offers etc. Can you spend less at the supermarket? Drastically reduce the amount of food and drink bought from coffee shops/takeaways/fast food places? Unless you are already living frugally there is usually a good saving to be made that will significantly bridge the gap. Also working less might mean you have time to shop around or cook from scratch to save money.

How much is quality of life worth to you? It's amazing the savings you can make when you really think about it. You'll have time to plan meals and shop around. We shop in Lidl mostly, I rarely buy clothes, take packed lunches and hardly ever buy a coffee out. We got rid of Sky in favour of Freeview and switch energy suppliers regularly. I switched my bank account to one that doesn't have a monthly fee and pays interest just now. When it stops I'll look again. We don't have holidays abroad, but manage a week in England somewhere.

If your husband can cover the bills from basic salary, any overtime is a bonus surely. If it came to it, I'll bet you could top up with a couple of evenings tutoring.

Teaching and family life don't mix and you'll be in a good position to jump back in if/when you want or need to later on.

Thanks everyone, feels slightly less daunting now. Rollonsummer, no I won't have a lunch hour as job is for 2 positions, 1 is lunchtime supervisor so work the full 5 hours a day. Hand in notice today so wish me luck for a positive result.

Well handed in notice but they want me to work until end of July. This will technically make me unemployed for summer, also not sure New employer will wait that long, even though this was mentioned at interview. The last person to leave handed in notice end may & left July. I'm asking for May half term at latest.