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!

My partner will be moving in in January and having the loft at night (Because I am an epic snorer and he is a light sleeper) so can't rent that room out, but he will be helping out with rent then so that will help.

Thanks @CurlyWurlyTwirly this will be a monthly thing so I'm aiming to sort myself out by February/March. I don't know how much my partner will be contributing because we haven't discussed it but I doubt it'll be much... he doesn't earn very much unfortunately. I'll be getting most things secondhand also.

I was with Eon paying £90 pcm (still much less than you) but I got a special deal to transfer to Shell Energy.

You need to do your own looking, there are plenty of comparison sites. Same with your car insurance - when time comes to renew, shop around.

You still have a spare bedroom though. Your DP is in the loft, and you and baby in one bedroom since they shouldn't sleep alone the first six months anyway. You can take a lodger for tge second bedroom.

So, your outgoings are £2026 and you are earning around 4K take home. if i have understood correctly one of your jobs covers all your outgoing and you are left with just under 2k a month.

If your partner is moving in the one person discounts won't apply then.

Keep a separate account and pay £1500 a month into it as a saving account be see how it mounts up.

Unless I have completely misunderstood.

You’ve got a good salary, but you really need to sit and and talk figures with him.
You’re having his baby, you have to talk about money.
Also, is he going to help you 50/50 or more with childcare?
Your food bill will double with another adult.

Sounds like you are paying way to much for energy. I was with eon and paying £148 a month for 3 bed terrace. When I left I was nearly £1,500 in credit. Switched to a fixed rate with Scottish Power and am now paying £59 a month

I understand that your partner doesn't earn much but what would he be paying if he wasn't living with you? Plus, when the baby comes, he will have a lovely night's sleep in the loft room (heavily subsidised) and you will be up with the baby. So I think it's fair to set a decent rent payment in advance. It will avoid rows in the long term.

A separate bank account is a great idea, thank you. He isn't giving me any money right now and I'm not sure how much he would be giving me if he didn't live with me when the baby is here - he really can't afford to give me much I wouldn't have thought but it's something I'll sit down with him tonight and talk about :/

Where is your partner living now ? How much does that cost him?

I would do your planning and calculations without any expectations from him and then if anything happens you know you can support yourself and your baby and if everything works out swimmingly you have the money he contributes.

@bourbonbiccy he's living with his parents and is rent free...

Don't let your boyfriend move in until you've discussed and agreed how it's going to work financially. You're already talking like you're going to subsidise him. In which case, don't let him move in. He is presumably paying his way wherever he is now, so he needs to pay his way if he's living with you.

If you don't want to drop both subscriptions, drop one of them. The more expensive one.

x-posted

Don't let him move in.

You look like you're developing a cocklodger habit.

I pay around £70 a month for a 2 bed flat in utilities, it looks like they have set you up on stupidly high estimated bills.

Look for the earn £10 a day threads on here, there are loads of ideas to help you earn small amounts from the comfort of your own home.

Thanks for all the help everyone - I'm going to look at the debt charity to see if there's an easier way to pay off my overdraft, open a new account for savings and shop around for energy & insurance providers. Maybe I can decrease my bank loan a little and ask to pay it off a bit longer than I am now...

Rehome your cat. It is a luxury.
The sperm donor pays 50% or he can fuck right off.
When boyfriend coughs up 50% you can get a bigger place.
Cook your food from scratch as it is cheaper and better for you.

Move in with your parents is really what I would suggest.
Don't drink. Don't smoke. Work hard.

You need to change your gas and elec. It is way too high for a 2 bed house. By comparison I pay £60 a month for 100% renewables gas and elec in a 3 bed terrace. Are you paying for the energy you're using each month (so in winter it would be higher and in summer lower) or spreading them equally throughout the year? Do you leave the heating on in the day? Try putting your information about energy usage into online comparison sites and see if you can move to a better deal. It might also help to get a smart meter so you can watch your usage.

With the council tax, see if you can get the discount applied retrospectively. That would get you some money back for the month(s) you've overpaid.

Your water is also highish. We're a 2 person home and pay £30 a month. Do you have a meter?

I would get rid of netflix and amazon prime. You can use bbc iplayer, channel 4 and itv players online for free. There is loads to watch there, and extra online tv is not essential if you're looking for savings.

Your food shop is also highish. Where do you shop? I don't know how you do it now but I save much more if I plan my weekly meals, including some bulk meals, then do a shop online. Asda is generally the cheapest I've found. Alternatively you could go to lidl or aldi if you have one near you. Try eating veggie sometimes, stuff like lentil dal with rice, or a bean chilli are really cheap. Lots of good ideas on the cooking on a bootstrap blog. Can you buy cheaper cat food and litter?

How on earth can someone move in before you’ve discussed finances??

Your outgoings are just shy of £2k, your income on £2.2k, so baldly speaking you need to work out where that £200 is going.

You don’t need apps - you need a spreadsheet that lists all of your outgoings, all of your income and calculates your surplus.

I suspect you are spending without thinking so you need to look more closely at being in control and not spending on unplanned things.

If your maternity paid at full whack? Because you’ll have a job to afford your life on SMP and need a plan fast.

Get rid of Netflix and amazon - you will save £180 a year.

Get rid of your cat. You cannot afford it.

Shop around for utilities - we pay £85 for 5 of us in a 4 bed so yours seems extortionate. Get a smart meter so you can see exactly where it’s going.

Sit down with your partner and work out what he will be paying. How much rent. How much for bills. If he cannot afford it he cannot move in. And if he doesn’t move in work out how much maintenance he owes you.

Sorry had another idea - you could try putting yourself on cat sitter websites for some extra money. You already have a cat so have experience. In my area (zone 3 London) you pay about £10 a visit, and the cat sitter gets about £8 of that. Not bad money for a max 30 min visit (and I imagine plenty don't stay that long) if you only do it for clients within walking distance of your house.

Rehome your cat. It is a luxury.

What a heartless comment, rehoming a companion is just cruel unless there truly is no other option.

I do think you can get the cat spend down though. I get a huge bag of wood litter for around £10 which lasts a month for 2 cats. Food for my two is £6 a week feeding specialst dry (bought in bulk from Zooplus) and a coupe of felix pouches between them at night.

I don't drink, don't smoke, work hard... I can't live with my parents because they have a three bedroom house with three kids living there, I moved out at 18. I can't move out from the house I am in now because I am in a year's tenancy contract, and I like it here and am happy here. What I am looking for is tips to save after January to keep me out of my overdraft - not to talk about moving again or rehoming my animals or my relationship

£35 a week for food is quite a lot for a single person - could you shop somewhere cheaper (Iceland, Aldi), cut down on branded food, cook more veggie food, batch cook (bulk things out with cheap ingredients like lentils and freeze portions) , find out when your local shop reduces BBE items and buy from the reduced section.

Choose one TV subscription rather than 2. Do you pay for TV license if you dont use BBC?

Switch providers for broadband, car insurance and utilities. You may have to wait until your contract comes up for renewal for insurance.

Buy your cat cheaper food!

You look like you're developing a cocklodger habit

Yep.

Do not let this man move in until you discuss how much he'll HAVE to pay. 50/50 for everything - not just 'helping out' with rent.

My partner doesn't earn as much as I do so can't help out 50/50

I'm sorry but he has to. And, 'help out'?! Err no, pay his way like an adult more like. It's not 'helping'!!

Turn it around. So he's going to sponge off a pregnant self employed partner? That's nice.

Sounds like he needs to be looking for another job, or taking on some evening work so that he can make a fair contribution. If it's his baby, he should be preparing to contribute MORE to cover the losses you'll be making while you care for your JOINT baby!