How to survive on one wage

[BibiThree]

Advice needed please! I'm thinking of taking a career break when the twins arrive. I worked out that if I went back to work part time, or even full time, I'd only be working to pay for childcare and we'd effectively be living on DH's wage anyway, so would rather take a break and look after my own children.

We can't currently run our house on DH's wage alone - what can we do? Mortgage is £73,000 which isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things, but with bills, food and petrol on top, we'd be spending his wage and have nothing to spare for things like clothes, shoes, or any ad hoc payments or unexpected costs.

Basically, can you live on one wage with 3 children nowadays?

ditto your mortgage sounds mega! Could you change the term on your mortgage - we've just spread ours out over 30 years with the same provider and we can shrink it back again at any time.

Def look at childs tax credit it's a big difference between having 1 and 3 children what is dh gross salary?

Could you sell one car and use it to pay off some of your loan early. Also sell your spare stuff on ebay and at a car boot sale to pay off another chunk.

Can you get a better deal on the loan?

It is tough, unless the salary is a large one. I stayed at home when I find out my second child was dts,so know where you are coming from.
As others have said, some of your outgoings will go down, and you will get tax credits.
To be honest with you, we have found ourselves in the embarressing positon of being helped out by both sets of parents at different times. Something I didn't expect at the age of 35.
Would your family be able to help out, if you got into major trouble. With us our margins are so tight, that it is really hard to put money aside of those unexpected expenses.
I am lucky that my parents are in a position to do this occasionally and take the view that it is better for them to help us when we really need it, and not save it all for inheritance.
It does hurt the pride though. I think, thats the lesson that I can offer you, if you are offered help, take it

bibi - look into your mortgage situation again maybe? You might be tied it at a high rate. It might be worth paying a penalty to get out and have a lower rate. Definitely speak to an independent financial advisor.

I'm going to book to see a mortgage person as soon as DH is on hols next - only about 2-3 weeks until Easter...?

Can you get out of a fixed rate mortgage? I think extending it over another few years may be sensible. I hate the thought but needs must. I may incorparate the loan into it and see how that works out. Even if it's the same mortgage amount each month, we're still £260 a month better off, right?

I'd like to use any spare cash to pay off the loan but it's a fixed one with Cahoot so we can only clear it in full.

We're waiting to find out if babies are girls or boys, if they are boys then Ebay will be flooded with dd's things!

You can get out of a fixed rate - but there may be early repayment penalties. You need a financial advisor to work out how much you will save on a new mortgage compared to the repayment fees on the fixed rate loan.

Browse on moneysavingexpert. There is a heap of information about mortgages.

about the mortgage change the terms of borrowing either up or down did not have anything to do with what rate we are on etc. we are with nationwide which is a very good lender.

It could be worth extending your loan period to 30 years until you can get out of the fixed rate deal in 2.5 years time - ask the advisor about this - they probably will not suggest this as the down side is you will be paying more on your mortgage borrowing in interest but this assumes that you take the whole 30 years to pay it off rather than something you do as a short term cash flow thing.

How long is the term of your mortgage at the moment?

bibi, its hard.

we have 2 kids and live on about £260 net a week.

mortgage is £230

council tax £150

petrol £70

train fares £10

food about £80 a week

then there's leccy, ntl package, mobiles, kids various outings

loads more I can't think off

depressing actually!

just try not to get into too much debt, thats my advice!

just thought you will get an extra £22 a week in child benefit - washable nappies will save you money and if you're no longer working you will have more time to do the extra washing and stuff.

TBH the shift to 3 children is a change of lifestyle IME your life does so very much revolve around them expecially more so with twins I should think.

I just wanted to add that when we were 3 years into a fixed rate mortgage with the Abbey, we were in total despair that the rate we were on was so high.

We arranged a meeting with the Abbey mortgage advisor and they agreed to allow us to change mortgage to a different deal (not fixed) and waive the redemption.

I had no idea that was possible, so I reckon it is always worth negotiating with them just in case. This could perhaps reduce your monthly repayment and even allow you to incorporate the debt into the mortgage. Although this isn't really a good long term strategy it might help to tide you over the next few difficult years. Plus if you did the bathroom with the money, then technically I suppose you could have added value to the house anyway.

entitledto.co.uk gives tax credit calculator

mystery shopping for extra cash, register at retailmaxim was recommended to me by another mumsnetter, only thing is cant take kids with you but if someone would watch twins for you