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Credit Crunch

Sorry not baby related but wondered if the CC has affected you?

We bought Kade loads for xmas but have now decided to tighten our belts even though we have a holiday booked for the end of feb.
Is anyone else preparing to tighten their belts for 2009 or has your situation not changed and your happy to carry on as normal?
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Replies

  • God tighten doesn't even describe it!!
    Am making all our food and a portion each goes in the freezer. Then one week of the month we live out of the freezer! Only have to but milk, bread, pots and formula etc. Off to buy a chest freezer tomorrow so I have more room to store BOGoff things and lo's food.
    No holidays as yet. Oh seems to think I'll be going without a birthday present. Might be going to far!
    Think it's good to try and live on a budget sometimes but this is a forever one! When you've got lo's it's so differernt isn't it?
  • That's a good idea about a bigger freezer, Ours is quite big already but I still struggle for space. Am sure it is way cheaper to cook your food and freeze it,

    No birthday pressie isn't good :\( Even anything is better than nothing!!
  • Have hinted would like a lovely to Mummy card so fingers crossed! Bit selfish I suppose but would like something to open mind you it's not like I'm 21 or anything-hahahaha!!
  • My DH started his own business about 6mths ago & thankfully is doing quite well...BUT a lot of firms he deals with have gone to the wayside. It is still worrying times, as DH would of liked to have had more lined up for beginning of this year.

    We've reviewed our finances (that sounds so serious) & rearranged things a heck of a lot so our monthly expenditure is reduced. We've changed fuel providers etc etc. As i'm dieting, i do a weekly menu & only buy what we need & will actually use (we were a nightmare for throwing fresh produce out).

    We will still be going on holiday, but day-to-day expenses like eating lunch out etc will be curbed dramatically.

    I will also be winning the lottery this year which will help tremendously - lol!!

    Sarah xx

  • Hahaha Sarah777 my solution too-you win on Friday, I'll win Saturday??!! x
  • We have been lucky its not really affected us, and if the base rate stays as is when our fix period is up on the 1st of feb our morgage payments will go down so we will be able to keep the payment the same and be paying of even more than we are already over paying.
    and his company decided not to make him redundant but gave him a loyalty bonus of 3 months rent so that made our savings go up and we now have over ??10.000 saved and have been over paying the morgage for over a year so can not pay it for two months at the moment.
    We also got our gas and electric fixed 2 weeks before all the prices started to go up so ours hasnt increased at all yet and will stay like this till 2011.
  • So far we've been pretty lucky. I have stopped shopping at supermarkets as much as possible, I spend less when I go to the green grocers and butchers and it's a nice way to spend a morning. Our biggest expense after the mortgage is oh's car, he drives a big, fast car that costs a fortune to run (we're lucky if he gets 22 miles to the gallon :roll: ) but as he bought it with money left to him when his dad died and he loves it, it would be absolutely a last resort to sell it. I swapped my car (which was nearly as bad) for a more economical one last year so we weren't paying as much for that. Other than that we've been able to carry on pretty much as normal, because oh works for a supermarket his job is pretty secure (people will always have to eat!) so at least we don't have that to worry about.
    xx
  • It hasn't affected us as yet but I am seriously worried about when I go on maternity leave. I have 2 monthly payments for a car and a loan that I took out literally in the few months before we threw all of our 'plans' out of the window and decided to try for a baby there and then. If I didn't have those payments to make, I would be quite happy with our finances etc. whilst I am off... I am hoping to rearrange the terms of both loans in March to reduce the payments but not sure I will get anything half decent in terms of APR rates because of the CC.

    Also we are due to remortgage in July and I am worried about not getting a good rate on that!

    Joo xxx
    24w today!
  • The credit crunch is horrible! Me n oh had only been 2gether 7 months when i fell preg so we hadnt really planned a future or anythin! We tried 2 buy a house but as we didnt have a deposit we couldnt get a mortgage, we then looked at renting but need 3 bedrooms as oh has a 5yr old so rent would be at least ??650 which we just cant afford now i'm on mat leave! We've been on the council waitin list 4 a year n arent gettin anywhere! So now we're havin 2 settle with stayin between his mums n my mums who live 20 miles apart n as oh doesnt drive he has 2 stay at his mums most of the time coz of work! I feel like a single parent sometimes n its not fair on my little girl 2 be away from her daddy so much! Sorry 4 the rant lol x
  • we.ve been lucky its not affected us in any way yet. fingers cross it doesnt plus im due bk in wrk now in feb.
  • We've not been affected by it either.

  • We aren't too bad as wages haven't dropped yet but my mat leave pay will kick in now and we won't get pay rises so overall we will have less this year. Can't really cut back when we already live frugally but holiday will prob go as will our 2nd car.
    oh F*** the kenwood that we bought off ebay has just started smoking like mad and stopped.... guess buying 2nd hand doesn't always work!!
  • Hate to break it to you girls who think you haven't been hit but it has affected everyone! You might not have noticed it yet but everything, food, fuel bills, travel costs etc have all increased. Might not have caused you a problem yet but unless you have a magic money machine (and if you have, can I share?) then there will be less spare cash in your pocket!!
    xx
  • It hasnt really affected us either at the moment, and fuel has gone DOWN which is our biggest expense. Its only 84.9pl round our way at the moment.

    Im sure it might affect us in the future with me going on mat leave in April but for now we are ok, although I will be being more careful with food shop mainly because I am bad at buying and wasting which makes me feel bad when peple are suffering.
  • I have really noticed my food shopping bills have increased and I think because of all the news headlines I was expecting my gas and electricity bill to be higher than it was - it was still higher than this time last year but not as bad as I thought.

    Our mortgage has gone down but we have siphoned that money into our savings and I have always had a week where we empty the freezer out every month or so so that no food goes to waste.

    I know people who are really worried for their jobs and I agree with Bedhead that although some of us are very lucky at the moment, the cc has and will affect everyone in some way.
  • Ebay clearout sounds good-have so much 'stuff' we don't use or need. Really have to learn how to use Ebay!! x
  • Time something I don't have a lot of but to have extra cash would be so handy.
    We're lucky we're doing ok but you never know how things might chance do you? I agree about the food prices I now make a list and we have to stick to it in the supermarket. And we don't do a food shop on an empty stomach! I swear that adds a t least a tenner to a shop!
  • we are much more careful with spending than we were but then our lives have changed so much with lo that our spending has gone down anyway as we don't go out!!

    main affect is that it looks like i'm being made redundant, i have been called into work (am half way through mat leave) for a meeting on weds and have received a letter infroming me there will be major changes to the project where i work- either it will be closed, made smaller or merged with another project. if i am we will loose a huge chunk of my maternity pay and i will go down to stat minimum (which i know i'm lucky not to be on) but feel really gutted as want to enjoy my time with my lo as much as possible without feeling stressed about money...

    but then remind myself that i've been lucky to be on half pay anyway. I'm sure we'll cope just hate money stress!
  • emdt I'm sorry to hear you may be being made redundant, I was made redundant whilst on maternity leave but put on notice just before I left as our office was closing. I was under the impression that if you are made redundant after notifying your company of your pregnacy or on mat leave then you are entitled to the benefits on your contract. I don't think they should be cutting your maternity pay.
  • ooo Lottie... I hope thats true I'd feel sooo much better! Have you got another job?

    am off to do some more research on being made redundant.
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