coping financially....

[sunface]

hi all, i'm am pregnant with my 3rd (unplanned!!) already have a 3yr old and an 8yr old. Work 4 days a week and pay for 4 days private nursery care for DC. My DC will be about 3 months away from starting school when this one comes along (all going well), but then we are looking at another 4 yrs of nursery fees etc. My salary is awful - about £1000 a month. My hubbie works full time but all his salary goes on mortgage, bills, insurance etc etc. we have no extra cash at the end of every month, no savings, no pensions.... how does everyone else manage?? are we alone in this? Be good to know other situations..... x

I find it cheaper not to work, I am not qualified so minimum wage job and by the time travel, childcare and other expenses were taken into account it is not financially worth it for us.

thanks crawling i've been checking out the other discussion about SAHM or working. It's so hard, i just worry about the future and not having any £ saved to rely on or to provide the kids with potential university costs or otherwise...... lottery anyone?!!!

One thing I have done if really struggeling is do bar work I know it is not for everyone. It is great for us though as it is 8-3 working Friday -Sunday 18 hours, no childcare costs and they provide transport because they dont like you going home alone so no expenses. Could you switch your job to evening or weekend hours?

i work as a researcher in the public sector. have considered asking to work from home, thta way it would cut down on afterschool fees, still have the nursery costs to cover though.... but might help a little. It's hte kind of work where i really don't need to be office based. how are you feeling anyway crawling? this is your 3rd too isn't it?

Yep unplanned 3rd as well I seem to be perking up now how about you? Working from home sounds good having children is expensive.

Same as crawling here, we are better off with me not working. DH works full time, I'm a SAHM.

It was hard dropping my full time income, but we manage

heehee hi rasta you would think after 2 we would all know better! i was on the pill - woops!

hmmmm think me and hubbie need to sit down and work out what's best for all. he is just stressing so much at the moment about savings and pensions and not being able to provide for everyone and worrying no end about having a 3rd too - not exactly been the ideal start to pregnancy :(

We're also having DC3. DD started school this year and DS who is 2 1/2 will go to nursery once he gets his free place in september. We have absolutely no money left ofter at the end of each month. In fact, we probably spend slightly more than DH earns. I have qualifications but little work experience so any job I get would involve starting on a low salary. It doesn't make financial sense for me to work at the moment, plus I really wanted to be able to stay at home with DD and DS.

I'm considering childminding when this one is about a year old. Probably wont earn a great deal but at least I won't have to pay out any childcare costs.

I'm getting quite worried now about how we will cover the immediate costs of having this baby. We still have things like buggy/cot/clothes but we need a new car and will also lose half DH monthly pay when he takes his paternity leave, yet obviously still have to pay the mortgage

it's not easy is it? I look at other people around us and wonder how they can afford the holidays and the mortgage.......I am worried about the car issue too, we will need a bigger car (only have the one as it is)....

Our main concern was the car issue too, I think with a bit of shuffling and careful research you can still fit 3 car seats into the back of a normal car.

We've got a Ford Focus, and at first glance you'd think there'd be no way of getting 3 car seats in, but apparently it can be done so there is hope for us yet!

Our main dilemma though is that we live in a 2 bedroom house! It's got potential for a loft conversion but it's no where near in our financial reach right now

I did look into evening work, but DHs work load can often mean he isn't home before 6pm, which means I couldn't start work before 6.30pm at the earliest, then you'd have to take into account traveling costs for me to drive to and from work, and then us to take a cut in Tax Credits due to my new income blah blah blah, in the long run, it really wouldn't be worth it.

Sad that a system shows we are better off if I don't work

I do most of my shopping on eBay, some great bargains to be found, also car boot sales are fantastic for baby equipment. For DD2 we found a lovely, big, old fashioned wicker moses basket for £1!

Our motto is as long as we can pay the mortgage and bills, we can just wing the rest

Car neither of us drive but I am learning my mum bought me lessons for my birthday because of insurance we will just get a small car and DP can sit in the middle seat (we will put a 3 point seatbelt in) and DC1 in the front for a few years until insurance goes down otherwise it would cost a fortune.

Actually havent thought thid through is it okay for DC1 to sit in the front with a car seat obviously?

I work 2,5 days, my mum has dd over night and one of the days, dd is in nursery one of the days and My Dp works most weekends so minds our dc while for the half day so we get 1 and a half family days a week. I'm lucky as my salary is just for me and the cb / tax credits pay for nursery with only a small top up.

However we pay any spare extra cash off our mortgage and holiday in the uk. I only shop at asda to save money and very rarely buy branded things.

We also make a point of having a substantial surplus in Dp account for rainy days, which are becoming more regular!

Why is your £1000 salary awful? What do you spend this on if your dh's salary covers the bills?

Hand me downs are your friend. So is ebay, both for buying and selling.

ruddynorah £1000 would not go far after childcare costs for 3 children.

I quit my office job after two as we couldn't justify the small cash advantage of me still working versus the childcare costs for two. Now about to have DC3 so no way can I go back to my old line of work as the childcare would by far exceed any income I'd make.

I ended up starting up and running a family portrait business which involves one or two sessions (weekends or evenings) a week at a family's home so no issues with childcare as DH has them then. I can then work on the photos with my children creating havoc around me or late into the night after they've gone to bed. It doesn't bring in nearly as much as my old career, but it's pure profit because there's no childcare costs involved now.

It's obviously not the solution for everyone (or I'd be out of business!) but perhaps there is something out there that works in a similar way that you could do. I used to work in IT so doing photography is a complete career change, so it doesn't have to be anything related to your current job!

Crawling, if the air bag is switched off then it's OK.

Thank you rasta

hi all no internet access over the weekend hence me being so quiet! yup my £1000 goes towards the £600 nursery fees for my youngest and £100 a month for afterschool care. My partner is just freaking out about savings, pensions etc and the fact we have none. I think we need to be more frugal with the £ we do have. you have all put me to shame at how well you seem to budget.......

I asked about this too a while ago. It seems that most women give up thier jobs as child care is just too much. I think the gov need to do something about this area! A cap on the charges for different areas. Like London would be different than Midlands. Im looking into studying as I dont have a degree but have worked in science (Microbiology) for over 15yrs its annoying sometimes as I know certain things as i have learnt in the labs but will not get paid that much. So I wanted the degree to better my self and hope to get a better wage?! Its something Im looking into for Sept. Money is so tight its tupid. I lost my job in May last year never been out of work. I thne found out I was pregnant not long after. I looked for jobs no one wanted a pregnant woman they did not say as much but I knew. I had my own house with a mortgage I lived on my own with my son saw DP every weekend (as he lived 2 hours away) my house had been on the market for 2 years no sale. Had to wait 5 months until it was rented at £100 loss PM as that was the only way me and DP could be togther. We now live in rented accom whilst mine rents out until Spet this year and we have no idea what is going to happen by Sept I might have to move back to the house. its just too hard. Child costs extra money for the house I have tried to sell and cant. Its soo annoying. Its a right pain in the arse!

Are you claiming tax credits? www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/start/who-qualifies/children/index.htm

I'm currently pregnant (30w) so haven't been faced with the actuality of claiming tax credits (and all the reading I've been doing has been horribly confusing) BUT it seems that you can get quite a lot of help from the govt if you're on a low or moderate income. I think you can also get a certain amount of money back that you pay for childcare (as long as the establishment is Ofsted registered). If you're struggling it's well worth looking into!

i worry about coping with 1, let alone 3! so i think yr all doing pretty well so far :)