Barneyballbags
Old School Grand Master
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OK, so as some of you may or may not know, my girlfriend and I are expecting our first child in March
Now, as excited as I am at the prospect, I've now got to the stage where I'm starting to get REALLY worried about just how the hell we're going to manage financially ("you're not the only one", I hear you say).
I earn £17.5K - My girlfriend earns £18.5K. She has 6 months maternity leave where she will receive her full salary, and then it's a choice of her either going back to work full time/part time or not at all. All of our shared bills (including rent and food) come to £1500 per month, give or take a few £. We also have our own credit cards/store cards on top of that which we pay separately.
We don't have any support from family/friends as we live in Cardiff and the majority of our families live in either Worcester or Shrewsbury (so hardly what you'd call "around the corner"), and we can't move up that way as I have elderly grandparents who live on a farm down here that I visit every weekend to help out. So there is no option for us except to put our little 'un into nursery if my girlfriend goes back to work. And that costs a fortune. There is no way that we could afford to pay the nursery fees on our current salaries.
Has anyone been in a similar situation recently? It's really starting to stress me now, and it's not something I can talk about to my girlfriend as she's going through enough stress as it is and I don't want to add to it!
I've already started applying for second jobs but I'm not even sure whether that will be enough... Help!
Now, as excited as I am at the prospect, I've now got to the stage where I'm starting to get REALLY worried about just how the hell we're going to manage financially ("you're not the only one", I hear you say).
I earn £17.5K - My girlfriend earns £18.5K. She has 6 months maternity leave where she will receive her full salary, and then it's a choice of her either going back to work full time/part time or not at all. All of our shared bills (including rent and food) come to £1500 per month, give or take a few £. We also have our own credit cards/store cards on top of that which we pay separately.
We don't have any support from family/friends as we live in Cardiff and the majority of our families live in either Worcester or Shrewsbury (so hardly what you'd call "around the corner"), and we can't move up that way as I have elderly grandparents who live on a farm down here that I visit every weekend to help out. So there is no option for us except to put our little 'un into nursery if my girlfriend goes back to work. And that costs a fortune. There is no way that we could afford to pay the nursery fees on our current salaries.
Has anyone been in a similar situation recently? It's really starting to stress me now, and it's not something I can talk about to my girlfriend as she's going through enough stress as it is and I don't want to add to it!
I've already started applying for second jobs but I'm not even sure whether that will be enough... Help!