To tell DH to ride for Deliveroo in the evenings?

[Stackss]

Like everyone at the moment, we are struggling a bit with the cost of living. We aren't poor by any means (both in middle class jobs) but tbh we have overstretched ourselves wrt our mortgage and private school for 2 DC.

DH has always had his head in the sand when it comes to finances and assured me we could afford the mortgage and private school- and tbf we could prior to the current situation. DH is not willing to countenance any budget cuts such as looking at cheaper areas or state schools.

Frankly we need to bring in extra money to continue to afford our current lifestyle. WIBU to tell DH he will need to get out on his bike and do food deliveries for Deliveroo and Uber Eats to bring in funds if he isn't willing to cut back?

@MissTrip82

It's not about help to pay the bills. The grandparents were keen to help out with private education and I think they actually wish they could help out more. As I say, they are relatively well off but certainly not millionaires.

Anyway DH has spoken to them this evening and they are going to increase their contribution to one third of the school fees. We are hopeful that this will tide us over along with DH's Deliveroo shifts.

I think you need to at least look at the state sixth form options around you. You may be pleasantly surprised, anyway! You may find the best local state options are oversubscribed, so it would benefit you to put in an application now, even if you don't take up the place (this is totally fine and normal to do with a state sixth form and wouldn't cost you anything).

Therefore, the option is there if needed in September. There may even be benefits (in terms of university acceptance) to doing sixth form at a state school, and many of the advantages at private are less noticeable at sixth form e.g. even in State schools you will get smaller class sizes and the class sizes may be comparable.

Do you know what subjects your DC want to study?

Sorry, posted too soon.

Do you know what your fee increase will be in September? It may be significant, particularly if state teachers win a good pay deal. And the September after that?

Could you access any sort of bursary or scholarship?

@Postapocalypticcowgirl

The increase in September is expected to be 10%. Again the grandparents have said they will try to cover as much of this as possible. My Dsis will also try to help out.

How many years do they have left at school?

Quite a few Uber drivers I have encountered over the years have been doing it purely to pay private school fees.
It can work well if you need a boost/ top up and if the DC are in Year 11 then it isn’t forever. Are you absolutely certain that there isn’t any specialist work either of you could do in or related to your professional
line though? It may be better paid

This!

So for all those idiots that don't appear to be able to add up. If your husband did 12 hours a week with Deliveroo, he'd be bringing an extra £456 in a month roughly, which is £5,472 a year. More than just an extra fucking takeaway.

OP, you still haven’t said what your work is, if you can add to this, how you’re going to increase the household budget?

And what if it's 10% the following year as well? Or there's another hike in mortgage rates? If you need grandparent to up their contributing, your sister to chip in, and for DH to get a job and you're still not confident of covering fees, it feels like a very risky affair.

As per a PP, you would be wise to at least go and look at some state sixth forms. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised, and it won't hurt to put in an application to keep your options open. It's totally normal to apply for several sixth forms and choose which one you want to go to after GCSE results.

Does she not have children of her own? Are you going to give her a stake in your property?

Because you've implied you could afford the fees with a smaller mortgage, and it feels a bit unfair to ask your sister to effectively subsidise you having a larger house.

If she's happy, then great.

It all still sounds a bit precarious though, and I'd seriously consider looking at your state options. Far better if they are knowns, rather than unknowns in September, just in case.

Not if he's paying 40% tax he won't be.

Wow are you not embarrassed having to ask his parents for money? And there is no way he can pull in an extra 800 a month after tax unless he effectively works full time.

the mind boggles

How embarrassing for you. You appear to have forgotten a little thing called tax .

You're assuming no time off at all (deliveroo drivers are paid per delivery, not a salary with holiday pay etc.) and a low tax rate.

If we assume his marginal rate is 40% tax, and 3.25% NIC (he must be a higher earner to have kids in private school), and he wants 5 weeks off a year, then the numbers change a bit.

Average hrly earnings for a deliveroo driver are c. £13/hr at the busiest time (are those the times the DH would be working?). Those figures aren't guaranteed though, and assume he'd be working at the busiest times.

Less tax/NIC, that's £7.38/hr taken home. Which is £88 for a 12hr week, and £4,136/yr (assuming he takes some time off). That's a best case scenario - it could be much, much less.

£4k really isn't going to touch the sides when it comes to private school fees, and it will come at the expense of physical and mental health, so it is highly likely affect his performance in his day job. Will this look like a good idea if he ends up so knackered he loses his high-earning day job? This is a last resort, not something to do if you have other options.

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2021-03-25/deliveroo-riders-earning-as-little-as-2-pounds

His sister too.justone of many elements that make this utterly unbelievable.

Those figures I gave are for drivers, and I believe cyclists earn less btw. Driving would take less of a toll on the body, but then the fuel/wear and tear would need to be paid for and deducted from any earnings, as deliveroo don't cover the cost.

So you can reduce my estimate above by a fair amount...

😏

You still haven't mentioned what your planning to increase your financial contribution- so far it's juts your husband and his parents. Are you able to get a second job/ increase your current hours at work.......

@Stackss

So, DH is going to do Deliveroo. DGP are going to up their school contribution. DSis is going to see if she can help, too.

Forgive me if I missed it, but what are YOU going to do to help your family's financial situation?

I can't believe there are people who ask their oarents/PIL and siblings etc. for money to fund private school & lifestyle soend even though they could achieve their own savings my making cuts.

You have said this in your OP. Family support in difficult situations if great but it's CFery when it's because you couldn't be arsed making savings!

Unbelievable

My very lovely sister in laws family is like this, it’s appalling, they aren’t loaded by any means and her family always has their hand out. And she gives it to them, which means they always ask for more. I suspect there is quite a lot of grown ups out there with their hands out.

@Roundabout78 Yes it is. Like yesterdays thread, this is also a load of bollocks 🙄

So there's always a compromise isn't there. Such as state or grammar school plus private tuition. Downsizing.
My experience as a child when my parents experienced near bankruptcy have shaped the person I am. I'm proud of my parents for working 7 days to keep our house. But I personally would always cut back rather than sacrifice family time.

The OP is far too busy setting up and monitoring revision timetables for her twins that will be rewarded with cash…… now revealed as being paid for by the grandparents 🙄