Can we live on 42k?

[Canweaffordit]

Name changed as embarrassed as speaking about money blame my parents.

So I am on mat leave, due back in December. DH just been promoted. New salary is £42k so take home is about £2400 a month after pension student loan etc. Our month to costs are mortgage £800, council tax £200, utilities £100, tv/mobiles/contact lenses/ insurance etc is probably another £200. No fuel cost as company car provided.

We are discussing me not returning to work and whether or not we can afford it. We in the past have been not very careful with money, just spent what we wanted too. I used to earn £1900 a month but will drop to just £500 as I would be going back part time and nursery costs would come out of my salary. We do operate as "one pot" but easier to explain this way

Do you think it is manageable ? Does anyone else have similar income/expenses? I understand e won't be having twice yearly holidays, slap up meals etc

out

canwe
Have you got your practising cert?
In which case, say bollocks to them and go it alone - I did 17 years ago
I've not worked in August since then

Ahhh yes that my experience and its why I went to big4. Ironically the teams are so much bigger so they can accommodate PT schedules more easily. I was promoted this year and I will get 6 months off when DC#3 arrives in late March/ early April (normally leave is 16 weeks here).

Do take a look at going it alone and seriously consider other employers. I was interviewing for a financial planning role at a huge multinational company last month but couldn't face moving to a new employer when pregnant. The role was great as no month end close and they were willing to let me work from home 2 days a week. The salary was good too and it would have been a whopping 40% increase in pay for the same number of hours. (PT at big4 is 40-45 hours a week).

PT at big4 is 40-45 hours a week
Which is exactly why I went free range.
I work when I want how I want.
I make a lot less in cash terms than if I worked for somebody else
but I'm very happy with my lifestyle
and have spent just over £1000 in childcare over 17 years for 2 children

Wanted to say thanks for all the advice. I have a lot to think about.

Happy Sunday! the baby woke up covered in shit and the dog has shit on the kitchen floor so today can only get better

This is just a question based on curiosity. But have you included any vouchers the government will give you when you have calculated your childcare cost?

You can also factor in that when your child is 3/4 you might be able to get 30 hours free childcare on the new budget?

I might be wrong as he might earn too much and you will be classed as high rate tax payers, which is a situation i will be finding myself in next year.

Just wanted to add an update to conclude this. My boss emailed yesterday out of the blue, I went in to see him this morning with ds in tow dreading what he was going to say. Part time has been authorised - he is away on last minute leave for the next three weeks as his mother has taken poorly so wanted to speak to me before he left.

So I will be going back pt well it's really more 4/5ths but I said I wanted the hours over 3.5 days. They agreed. I still don't know if its the right decision. Only time will tell and if it's doesn't work I will just resign. So on the countdown to return to work, now need to shift some baby bulge or it will need a whole new work wardrobe

That's great! Congratulations. You've got the holy grail- a part time professional job at the level you were before you had the baby. You'll still get a full half of your time with DS, but be able to keep your career up and bring in some money too. Do check out the vouchers, they could reduce your childcare bill by £160 a month which is worth having. You can also keep claiming them if you go off on ML for a second child!

Congratulations. Agree you have got the holy grail of part time job. Try sticking at it. You will appreciate it when they go to school.

Well done you.
And remember : if they push you around, be ready to walk
as then they will not push you around

That is great news. It sounds like your manager has a life outside of the office and has their priorities straight. My experience has been that I just plan my time according to my work schedule. I still have childcare 5 days a week so I get time for myself. If there is a huge deadline coming up I will work a full week and then take 2 days off the following week.

Team members know my schedule as I keep it updated online. If it's blacked out I am not available, either because of meetings or time off. Never apologize for being part time and don't accept anyone mouthing off that your time isn't as valuable because you are not FT. I don't have a problem in the US but when working with European teams comments have been made when they have found out I am not FT. I tell them my time is more valuable because I am only available to the Company for 4 days a week so best get on with it.

Remember to tell people when asked about meetings on your day off 'That time doesn't work for me.' Never ever tell someone it is your day off.

Thanks. I will definitely need to be assertive about not doing ridiculously more hours than what I am contracted for.

Im so so surprised. My manager has children though and I think that is what has tipped it in my favour. I've been there a good while though as well and have good assessments each year so they must want to keep me. It doesn't hurt either that I've heard through the grapevine that my mat leave cover isnt very good.

This is almost like an award from the universe for all the shit we went through to have Ds!

If anyone else is in a similar boat start your communicating with your employers asap. I first raised it 8 months before I was due back

Remember to tell people when asked about meetings on your day off 'That time doesn't work for me.' Never ever tell someone it is your day off

This in spades, especially with clients.

Anyway, delighted you've got what you wanted, you're obviously really valuable to your company. And hurray for shite maternity cover .

"I'm sorry, he's out on site today"
he's gone for a cycle ride
"I'm in a meeting"
wish the rest of the yoga class would stop giggling
"Sorry he's working on a project all that week"
we are sloping off to Devon for a few days

I love being self employed

Canweaffordit

Can I suggest that you start a spreadsheet of all your outgoings etc? There is lots of 'around £XXX' in your posts, and I think you would know where you stand more if you had it all down. There are budgeting apps etc if that is more your thing too.

I am an overthinky type of person and like to know where everything goes. I am also very good at thinking we only spend X when actually, we spend more like 1.5X

I think living costs/what we are used to varies so much for different people that it is quite a hard question for anyone else to answer re is 42K enough. I didn't see if you had life insurance/income protection policies from what you listed but those can be sensible things to have too, or if you do have them, perhaps an example of how easy it is to forget some costs if they aren't all written down.

jevoudrais
I believe she's already downloaded a ready made spreadsheet off another thread

Ta1kin I am so like that too. I am training my kids to be silent when my phone goes. My mother thinks this is a form of abuse but my two clients are multinational and call me to discuss things as late as 9pm. It is a 2-3 min conversation and no it often can't wait until the next day because of the time difference. I have a team reporting into me who are located in India and, being in the US, the time difference kills the whole team.

Want2be
Its actually a really basic life skill - knowing when to keep schtum.
I work from home so clients turn up or call at all hours
and I remind them that my odd working facilitates our lifestyle

Thank you - I agree. It is called self control and they need to practice it. Money doesn't grow on trees. DH and I are also running his business out in the midwest. These phone calls are what pays for the nice things they enjoy. While DD is 4 and DS is 2, it's amazing that DS has already picked it up and knows to be quiet when my phone goes while DD has decided she is more important. After he will tap me on my leg and continue with what he was saying.

Canwe glad they've agreed to you going part time. I did after DC1 and found it worked really well. I work for a Big4 firm and don't do anything like 40-50 hours in my 3 days a week so should you want a change don't discount them.

Gosh we live in Hull and our combined wage is £25,000! Mortgage £400 Utilities £180 Fuel £180 Car Loan £180 the list goes on. We manage but have no disposable income for meals out etc.

Their take home minus mortgage probably isn't far off yours, given the doubled housing costs and two lots of personal allowance.

as a single parent with 1 child now at uni, I have found many ways to supplement my income- for example, renting out my drive, hosting foreign students, tutoring, focus groups, suspending my mortgage for a few months this year as I needed to upgrade the house. Fortunately we have a Lidl around the corner-I have found so many ways to supplement my income, so good luck, it's all possible-oh yes, I have also done home swaps for holidays!

Well done on the PT negotiation OP!!
It was never about the money for me, though things were tight for us when I was on both my mat leaves.
It has always been about financial independence, the satisfaction of doing something I am good at, and the longer game of career development, pension, financial security etc.
I worked a variety of PT patterns for 6 years whilst my two were small on my terms and went back FT when the youngest was 2.5.
If I had stopped working completely after having my eldest I would not have been able to slot back after a 6 year career break. Instead, after a brief period of treading water whilst at my most sleep deprived, I climbed the ladder steadily.
Mine are 13 and 9 now and I am undoubtedly a better parent to them due to having a successful career. I work a regular day and a half from home, so I can do school pick-ups, and they too know when to keep schtum when mam is on a work call .