Feeling a bit panicked

[IVFfirsttimer91]

Hi, just posting for a bit of advice.

Long story short, DP is a chef, has been at his workplace for just over a month. The restaurant is a new one and is due to open next week. I do admin for 2 different companies for 5.5 days a week and I freelance in the evenings and at weekends. We are expecting our first baby in March.

Earlier this week DP came off his bike on his way to work and has broken all 3 bones in his little finger of his dominant hand, it is now in plaster and basically useless.

He is carrying on going into work and doing as much as he can, but we are both seriously worried that his boss will either tell him to take time off until his hand has healed enough to be able to use it properly (4 weeks min according to the hospital)/ let him go as he cannot do his job properly/ let him carry on working but end up causing more severe damage to the hand.

I can’t work any more than I already do at my permanent roles and without DP’s wage I CAN cover the rent but cannot cover even a quarter the bills or any other essentials (we’re on quite a tight budget). Our savings at the moment are minimal as our elderly dog needed an operation, and whilst we have some saved it was earmarked to cover loss of earnings when I’m on maternity leave.

In the event of him being unable to work would it be best to just get a loan out for a thousand to cover us for a couple of months until he can work again, or would living off of credit cards be the more sensible option? We would obviously use our savings initially, but they wouldn’t be enough to cover us if he needed more than 4 weeks off.

I just don’t know what to do for the best, I’m trying to pick up more freelance work, but that isn’t going to cover the shortfall, and I am already permanently tired.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

does he have sick pay?

@dwesmon not anything above SSP no.

Check your APR on your credit cards. Often they are very high.

You might be better to try your local Credit Union. You don't have to have saved there before in order to borrow and they may allow you to repay over unto 5 years. Ours ( Sheffield) will lend from £200-£7,500 or sometimes £10,000 at 15%.

If you are a home owner the interest rate drops to 10.7%. Ditto if you work for one of their 'partners ' so often local firms, schools, hospitals etc.

Often you can apply on line or give them a ring.

You should also be able to get help from your local Food Bank. Our local one which I help with offers financial help with Gas/Electric bills and also dept counselling plus a community shop where you pay £4 a week and get to choose upto £25 worth of food.

Can you claim UC if he goes off sick? He needs his finger to heal because of his job.

They're unlikely to be entitled to UC until the baby is born. There's pretty much no help available in this situation for child free couples. You're expected to manage on one salary and SSP or income protection insurance.

Unpalatable as it is, you'll probably have to get into debt, so you need to minimise the cost of this. He needs to rest his hand so it heals properly and if that means being out of work for a month or two, that's better than him being in pain, or causing longer term damage. If he loses this job, he'll be able to get another one straight away, there's a real shortage of chefs.

Cancel ALL unnecessary spending and be brutal. No Christmas presents, see if you can go to relatives for the meal, cancel any subscriptions that you don't really need, if you haven't already done so, review all your bills to see if you can reduce the cost. Little as possible on travel.

Spend as little as possible on food. If your DP is a chef, he has the skills to cook nutritious food for very little money. Vegetables, spices, eggs, pulses and grains are your friend. Use up what you have in. Look at Olio and food pantry type places where you can buy a box of food for not very much. I wouldn't bother with Too Good to Go, it's too unpredictable and more a way of getting treat food cheaper than full price, but often still more expensive than food at home.

Increase your income as much as you can. You can change your bank account for an introductory bonus. Can he babysit for any friends/relatives going to Christmas parties?

For the credit card, apply for one that has a long 0% spending offer, see Moneysaving Expert. If you can't do that, look for a balance transfer offer.