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!

I would get rid of the tv licence if you are only using netflix/prime and catch up tv - unless you watch live tv or bbc iplayer, you don't need one. That would save the same amount as netflix and prime combined.

Just read that he lives with his parents right now, for free.

If this is his baby, it might be an idea that he stays there for now and gives you as much cash as possible towards the debts, while you still rent out that room to a lodger.

I can't stress this enough: if he is this baby's father, then your financial issues should be HIS financial issues. This isn't optional.

your gas and electric are excessive. We paid for a 3 bed room house and a family of four about £90/months and I tumble dry shed loads of clothes.

Check your readings. We were overcharged and got recently £600 back as we were so much in credit and now swapped to a different provider.

get rid of Netflix or prime. you don't need both.

are you getting the 25% council tax discount?

Also I agree with other posters that you definitely need to discuss finances with your boyfriend before he moves in and write it down. He should pay 50% of the rent and bills really as the bills will increase with 2 people. However some people also do this proportionally e.g. if you earn twice as much, you pay 2/3rds of bills and he pays 1/3. He should definitely pay half for baby related expenses e.g. clothing, formula, furniture

Do you need a TV license if you only watch Netflix and Prime?

You say he doesn't have much money yet he lives rent free with his parents. Where is his money going? Even 37 hours per week at NMW would be 1k per month after deductions. That's a lot of money when there's no bills to pay.

A debt charity? Am I missing something your going to be on some seriously decent money in January and don’t have many outgoings from what you’ve said.

You made a mistake with your previous partner who you blame for your current financial predicament. We all make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them and not go straight back and do the same thing. You have to sort out something fair financially about living together. Otherwise you haven't learnt a thing.

You havent got a relationship. You have got pregnant with a man that will not support you, cannot support you, chooses not to support you.

(I would keep the cat and ditch the cocklodger)

Is your dp on such a low income that he won’t be able to contribute much?? He should be moving in and helping you out even if he can’t pay 50/50.

Have you done a massive declutter recently I sold loads of stuff I didn't use anymore and when saving for a baby every little helps! My partner switched us to bulb energy, family of 4, tumble dryer and not stingy on heating we pay £90 a month.

Your partner may not earn as much as you but his contribution will help from January.

Someone else suggested a lodger for the loft conversion and that sounds like a good idea if you can bear having somebody sharing your kitchen, etc. Remember, you will have a baby in a few months. If you do take a lodger, have all the rules and regs set out plainly and put locks on your bedroom and living room doors. Make sure the person has good references. It could work.

Look after yourself.

Yes, I’m sorry OP but I do think you’re in danger of having the same situation with your partner as with the 6 year relationship. You keep saying he won’t be able to afford much but come on! He’s a grown man, soon to be a father, he needs to contribute fairly towards the cost of housing and utilities.

I can understand that depending on income everything may not be 50/50 between a couple but you come across as though the necessities like rent, bills and food are obligatory for you but optional for him. Please don’t fall into the trap of being the only responsible adult, talk to him about how this is going to work before he moves in.

(I would keep the cat and ditch the cocklodger

^^ this what's your partner doing to help save for baby?

Your partner may not earn as much as you but his contribution will help from January.

Or he could cost her more than he contributes. Single person discount on Council Tax gone, plus larger food and utility bills. (We tend to make larger meals with more meat when there's an adult man in the household etc). He may be crap with money and expect bailing out.

He lives at home with his mum rent-free. He may not do housework, he may expect waiting on, he may create more work.

I really don't think a lodger is a practical solution with a new baby due?

Compare your energy bill online that’s where I’d start.

You'll get very good advice over on the Martin Lewis website (18 years ago I was in £15K of debt after subsidising two rubbish partners in a row and various other life events - oh boy did I learn my lesson) on the Debt Free Wannabe part of the forum but you will need to be very honest about your incomings and outgoings and it might be a bit of a shock to learn where your money actually goes. Link to the forum thread there is forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=76 - there are masses of useful links to comparison sites and things over there too. And most people are very helpful.

Off the top of my head, based (mostly) on personal experience and on the experience of other friends/family who've been in not dissimilar situations:

1. First of all, work out exactly what income you're likely to be due - from maternity pay etc, if there are any other benefits you can claim. Work out your outgoings. Set up a spreadsheet.

1. Can you swap your overdraft for a 0% credit card or Zopa loan or similar to pay it off faster or is this not an option? You'll find excellent advice on the moneysaving expert site about "snowballing" your debts. There's a calculator and everything and it tells you how long you're going to need to pay the money back at various rates of interest; you input the figures. If you want to check your credit rating, Experian have a free offer for the very basic check. (Other credit checking companies are available.)

1. Write down EVERYTHING you spend, every penny - that £20 you take out of the ATM, for instance, what do you spend it on? Don't buy bought sandwiches and other extravagances, take your lunch etc into work and, if you don't have some kind of tea and coffee kitty, even take a flask in or at least tea and coffee from home. Make biscuits and sweet treats or opt for home-made smoothies as treats.

1. While the BBC is not free when you factor in your TV licence, you can watch BBC programmes online via iplayer etc without having to fork out extra each month and the same applies to itv and the Channel 4 hubs etc. There are also masses of great older programmes on YouTube and the like. So yes, as a temporary measure, you could cancel Netflix and Amazon Prime. Unless Amazon Prime is saving you more money on deliveries of things like petfood; only you'll be able to work that out.

1. Definitely meal plan, buy ingredients to fit, batch cook from scratch, freeze in advance. Have a look at multi-buys, special offers (Iceland and the Co op often do "bundles" of stuff, for instance), seasonal foods; if you shop in person, go in when you know they're reducing food. Make your own bread, soups, stews, smoothies etc. Cut back on meat and fish - as someone else has said, there are very good veggie options around, and they can work out less expensive. Do you have a local market? Think about a slow cooker - that small outlay will save you money. And porridge, pasta, potatoes and eggs are definitely your friends! We're also huge fans of mysupermarket.co.uk in this household to check to see which supermarket will be our cheapest option if we need to do a supermarket shop. (Though we try to buy locally where we can, and interestingly, it's often cheaper.)

1. Have a look at uswitch and compare the market and the other comparison websites to see if you can swap to a cheaper energy tariff. Our energy provider was adamant that we needed to be paying around £250 pcm a few months ago. Lo and behold, they've very recently reduced it to £180. It's still too high, but it's a start.

I'm not sure about smart meters as such as my understanding is that they tie you in to whichever company installs them (currently - I'm happy to be proved wrong) but some kind of energy monitor might help you understand what's happening with your energy. And good advice up thread about checking your water usage too. Your council tax single person discount is a little more of a thorny issue as your partner's going to be moving in; you can check with your council, and it might be worth asking if they can split your bill into 12 payments rather than 10 - www.gov.uk/council-tax/paying-your-bill

And the same applies to your car insurance - we've saved literally hundreds of pounds in a year before by not continuing with the same provider.

1. If you still have to drive, you can register for petrolprices.com (it's free and they don't harass you with masses of emails) to find out who's offering the cheapest petrol/diesel near you. I know it might seem like a few pence, but if you're driving regularly, it soon mounts up. And it does vary. And use all the vouchers and points and so on you can to stretch your pennies.

1. If rehoming the cat isn't an option (and since we have two of our own I really do understand), have a look at Petsathome and other online supermarkets to see what the cheapest options for cat litter and food are (though if the little blighter won't eat the food it's not always the best economy). I vaguely remember someone somewhere on here suggesting some really good online options for pet supermarkets, as it were.

Finally, as others have said, you definitely need to have a chat with soon-to-be-moving-in-partner about finances before he's there. He's likely to get a bit of a shock about the cost of living if he's been living with his parents rent-free, but if he was moving into a shared house or his own place he'd have to pay his rent, and towards bills and food....A separate account is a very good idea if it's possible.

I've been very poor and reasonably well off in life, and I've learned a lot about how to stretch your income so you still have an okay quality of life so I genuinely wish you and the soon-to-be-here littl'un the very best.

You have very expensive tastes and habits without the income to support them. Even less so when you’re on maternity leave.

You are paying for three ways of watching things when you don’t need any, or could settle for one.
You seem perfectly at ease about supporting another fully grown adult.
You have more bedrooms than you need.
You live in an expensive area.
You must use electricity and gas like crazy as that price is ridiculous.
You have a pet.
You have a fairly high food spend.

The only way to spend less is to spend less. I think you been to start being honest with yourself about what you need and what you want and make some significant changes.

check interest rates on overdraft vs.personal loan ?

And although others have already said it, I can't reiterate enough how you shouldn't spend loads on new baby stuff. It simply doesn't get used and you can pick up so much stuff for free on sites like Freecycle/ Trash Nothing and cheaply on ebay/ Facebook.

The other thing I would say is are you planning far enough ahead? If you are self-employed what sort of maternity pay are you entitled to?
You're not assuming that you will still be able to do any work when the baby arrives are you? This will simply not be possible!

Look at getting your council tax paid over 12 months. Most councils will allow it provided that you're not in arrears.
Do what you can to make sure that your property is properly insulated so you're not wasting heat.
Shop around for better fuel deals.
Are you on a water meter? If not then go on one, and if you are speak to your water company and see if they can send you water saving devices.
Is your overdraft an agreed one or an unauthorized one? If it's the latter then get it formalised as the interest and fees are cheaper.
Consider transferring your overdraft to a 0% credit card.
Shop around for the best deals on all insurances. Make a note of renewal dates in your diary.
Do you have a driveway that you can rent out?
Stuff you can sell?
Check a benefits calculator online.

Your gas and electric are far too high unless you have your heating on 24-7. I pay about £80 for a three bed three storey.

I got myself a revolut card. It was primarily for holiday spending but at home I use it like a prepaid credit card.

You have to link it to a debit card or accou t though and I know not everyone is up for that.

What I like is that I transfer money over when I get paid and then I can allocate the money to different "vaults".

You can have ten vaults, I have:
Grocery week 1, week 2, week 3, wk 4
Diesel wk1,wk2,wk3,wk4
Clothing
Christmas
Holidays

You can set a target for you to out money into each vault but I just fill each one with the amount I need, say sixty pounds per week for diesel. It helps me allocate the money for necessities and then figure out what to do with the rest.

There's loads of other ones around too, so have a think if they might suit you.

Some good advice from previous posters. I'd look into selling as much stuff that you don't need.

Your food shopping could be cut by dropping down a brand level - eg if you normally buy KitKats, but the Tesco own version. If you normally buy the Tesco own version try the value version.

I get haircuts from a training academy. My cut and colour is about forty quid.
Definitely cancel Netflix or prime.

Good luck

How is your cat £15 per week? Mine gets a bag of Catsan for £4 which lasts 2 weeks £2 (can get it cheaper if you buy the bigger bag). A sachet of Felix AGAIL 2 boxes for £7 £2. A big bag of dry lasts for ages £2 (possibly less). She gets a stick in the morning £1. Dreamies £1 (although this lasts more than a week)

So £8 with the chance to cut that down more.