Really quite scared...

A question about : Really quite scared...

Hi there,

My partner and I are expecting our first child in January 2015. I've been following the money saving expert advice for quite some time, as I got myself into a fair amount of debt when I was younger and am still paying it off now.

So with regards to my bills and repayments, i'm at bare minimum, I can't cut them back any further.

I was going through our joint potential income after the baby has been born, and I really am afraid that we won't be able to afford to live at all.

I have been working in the same job for 8 years, its steady, and I get Ј1600pcm after tax. my partner will be leaving her job to work part-time, 16 hours per week in the evenings, so we don't have to pay Ј1000pcm for childcare. So this means she will be bringing in Ј450pcm - totalling Ј2050.

All of our house bills total - Ј1180
Food - Ј260
Petrol - Ј170
my personal outgoings are Ј450
hers are around Ј400

this totals Ј2460 at a minimum before the baby is due. a Ј410 deficit, before any disposable income. We live in a small 2 bed flat which is Ј950 per month, one of the cheapest around our area in surrey.

I've been through the government benefits checker, and we're entitled to nothing.

I genuinely have no idea what i'm going to do...

any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Best answers:

• These amounts are huge, I'm sure there are loads of expenses you could cut back. Food for 2 people Ј260? Ouch! And what's included in the personal spends, these can be cut to almost zero each I expect.
  Why not put a soa (statement of affairs) up on the debt free wannabe thread and lots of experienced people there will give you good advice. From what you say there are still savings to be made. See link below but I think there are other soa sites too
  https://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php
• I don't know what you're including in your personal outgoings, but we found that our social lives changed dramatically when lo arrived - going out is a minimum and if we do it's generally to cheap/free events - other parents houses, playdates, picnics in park that kind of thing. If your baby is with you and you eat out, you prob won't be hanging around for dessert and coffee...
  Most of the time we are too tired to do much in the evening so evenings are cheap! If we are planning something as a couple we are more likely to treat ourselves to a take-away or just a nice meal indoors than go out.
  If your partner is going part time she may be able to make savings on food too, batch cooking, reducing waste etc.
  I make us sound really boring but we're so happy with life as it is now
• Yes Ј800 is def excessive ~ I wouldn't of said Ј250 odd for food is.
  Is that including the debts I bet?
  I think you should head over to the debts board they will be able to help you with the best advice.
  https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...splay.php?f=76
  To add, you'd at least get CB which is Ј80 a month.
• Go with the SOA, there are definitely cuts that can be made (food alone could go down, easily).
• If you are both working 16 hours plus per week, you should be able to get child tax credits/working tax credits. Worth looking into
  GQ
• Does the personal expenditure include debt repayments as otherwise it is huge. We have just under Ј500 a month for personal expenditure between us and our joint income is somewhat higher than yours.
  Have you taken into account child benefit which is payable until one of you earns over 50K? Not sure about working tax credits but don't child tax credits still pay until you reach household income of 40K or am I out of date on that one?
• Child benefit for one child is around Ј20 a week. Have you went onto the gov.uk website and had a look at the tax credits calculator? I may be wrong, but I thought that people with children under 1 are entitled to some kind of baby element on payments? Also, what are "personal outgoings"?
• On that income, you're right that you won't get child tax credits or working tax credits, and as you won't have any childcare to pay there won't be help with that either. It would just be child benefit, which is Ј20 a week. So yes, it's going to be tight. Are you married? If you are, she could transfer up to Ј1100 of her personal allowance to you as of the 2015-16 tax year, which saves a couple of hundred a year. I think if you need a significant income increase though, she may just have to work more hours. Around your job, if necessary. Is there anything she could do at weekends? It will probably make more sense for her to be the one increasing her income as she's not using her full personal allowance.
• that rent sounds expensive as well.. pay that for a 3-4 bed big house near me.. might be worth considering moving to a cheaper area as once baby comes i think you will really struggle..
• Your food bill is a bit on the extravagant side for just two adults. I can healthy feed a family of four on around Ј50 per week. Unless you are extremely well paid, having children will involve a complete change of lifestyle. Look again at your budget and reduce it to absolute necessity.
• As the original post was made in July 2014, I wonder how Mr & Mrs Jay have managed with cutting back on expenses -baby is due any time now!
• Ј950 a month for a flat
  move perhaps to somewhere cheaper
• Your bills and food are astronomical. Possibly your fuel, too, depending on your car and necessity of usage.
  I recently found a shopping list and meal plan from when my partner and I were on very little money (he was an apprentice and I was a jobseeker) we lived by learning how to get the best out of the least money.
  I'd suggest you meal plan, cut out non-essential bills (do you pay for TV channels? Why?) and aim to spend the least money possible, even if it means giving up some luxuries like branded toilet roll.
• Given it is a 6 month old thread it seems the OP saved money by disconnecting their internet connection.