# unemployed person sinking in debt



## Miracle Girl

*Age:*
40
*Spouse’s/Partner's age:*
30

*Annual gross income from employment or profession:*
*E72000*
*Annual gross income spouse:*
unemployed on job seekers 197.50 PW

Net combined monthly income:
E5192
Monthly fixed outgoings: ie elec gas telephone sky insurance cc minimum payments etc
E980

*Type of employment:*
private sector

*Expenditure pattern:*
spend, dont save

*Rough estimate of value of home*
E385,000
*Mortgage on home*
E267,275- we have been paying mortgage since nov 06
*Mortgage provider:*
ulster bank
*Type of mortgage: Tracker, interest only, fixed rate*
tracker 
*Interest rate*
5.05
*Monthly repayment(after joint TRS applied)*:
1455

*Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc*
Car loan me 20K left to pay  18K approx  E384a month
Car loan spouse: 6K left to pay 3K approx E137 a month (it has PPI on it)
credit card MBNA:6974.34
Credit card halifax:3213.07
*Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month?*
No, only paying the minimum each month on each card

*Savings and investments:*
none
*Do you have a pension scheme?*
no.

*Do you own any investment or other property?*
No.

*Ages of children:*
None.

*Life insurance:*
Yes (me only as house in my name).

*What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you?*
I am really worried about the amount of personal debt that we have built up and are struggling to pay back each month, (ie only paying the minimum on CC) and would appreciate some advice on how to clear it, I have considered remortgaging but dont like the idea of tying up Carloans and Credit card debt in to the mortage, would appreciate advice on this?

We have started a spending diary but we are still struggling to curb our spending on silly everyday things, would like some tough tips on how I can manage myself and my husbands daily spending better, we are as bad as each other TBH, however we do argue a lot over it.
I also want to know if my mortgage interest rate is a good deal or should I consider changing.
I have considered downsizing and selling our house and using the equity to pay on a smaller house with a smaller mortgage and clear my debts, but we love our home and would prefer not to do that.
We are also very anxious to start a family and due to health problems we have to go down the IVF route, this costs approx 4K and again we need help to organise our spending so we can go down this route sooner rather then later.
I am getting a bonus shortly approx 4K net and was considering using to clear some of my CC or save for ivf route what should i do?.
I know there will be comments about my spouse not working, he is looking and we are hopeful he will get a job soon...he needs to if we are successful with IVF!!
I have just read over my post and even to me I cant understand why we cant manage on our income... we are always going into overdraft each month!! what on earth are we doing wrong or not doing? would appreciate all advice  and apologies for the loads of questions


----------



## pc7

*Re: help with money makeover please*

Hi miraclegirl, well your doing the right thing in trying to see whats going on, diary will help! Your personal loans are over 31,000 euro you need to address how you got to this point so that when you do get sorted it doesn't happen again. You could consolidate your loans into your mortgage but personally I don't think this is wise. Can you sell your car and buy a cheaper one? Can your hubby start delivering pizza or chinese to get some extra income while he is actively searching for work? There are lots of jobs out there that may not be what he wants to do but needs must! As ever with makeovers focus on the loan with the highest interest rate and get it done as quickly as possible. 
How many rooms in your house? Can you rent a room or two?  Or depending on what area you live in can you take in foreign students for the summer?


----------



## ClubMan

*Re: help with money makeover please*

You cannot have it all - unnecessary discretionary purchases, _IVF_, the nice house etc, if you cannot realistically afford it. And right now you can't! I don't really understand why you have problems with the "silly everyday" purchases. Once you are aware of them then just don't buy them. What's the problem with that? If you get a bonus then you really need to use it to defray your debts rather than blowing it on something else. There are oodles of practical budgeting/spending tips already on the site so I can't see how they can be made any simpler or what's to be gained by regurgitating them yet again in another thread. You obviously need to stop using the _CCs _if you have not done this already. Seems to me that trading down and using any profit from the sale to clear debts is something that you may need to think seriously about as a once off measure to regain control of your finances.


----------



## Purple

*Re: help with money makeover please*

Hi Miracle Girl,

Do your monthly fixed outgoings include your load repayments? If not what do they cover (how do you manage to spend so much every month)?

Even if your loan repayments are on top of the €980 figure you still have about €500 a week to live on. Shopping should cost no more than €70 for two people (we spend about €130 and we have three kids and a dog). 
I can only advise that you continue to cut back where you can; if you have anything other than the basic Sky package then get rid of it, bring packet lunched to work etc.
Ask yourself if you need two cars, they are very expensive to run even without a loan to pay off.


Can your partner get an evening job delivering take-away etc.


----------



## annR

*Re: help with money makeover please*

I think your outgoings is more of a problem than husbands lack of a job - your spending seems to be a problem.  Even if your husband gets a job, you'll probably still be in the same predicament maybe worse.  You won't be able to afford kids.  Face it - as things are, you will never have money *for anything* no matter how much you earn.  

What are your other outgoings besides your fixed outgoings and the loan repayments?  Is it more than you earn?  I presume it is.

It's hard to offer advice if we don't know what the money is going on - what is the spending diary telling you?

>>I am getting a bonus shortly approx 4K net and was considering using to clear some of my CC or save for ivf route what should i do?<<

I think you should pay for the IVF but only if you have a plan to get the rest of the debts under control.  It is very possible to do this on your income.


----------



## Welfarite

*Re: help with money makeover please*

You should be able to afford more than minimum payments off your CC bills. You need to get serious about your day-to-day spending. I see you "started to keep a diray". Perhaps you haven't really analysed the results of that exercise yet and acted on them? 

By my reckoning, you have 550 plus each week for discretionary spending. This should be plenty to allow for more than minimum payments off CC. Perhaps you are maintaining the same lifestyle as when your OH was working? 

Why 2 cars if only one of you is working at the moment? Sell one and clear the CCs?


----------



## Miracle Girl

*Re: help with money makeover please*



> unnecessary discretionary purchases, _IVF_, the nice house


 
IVF is very important to me as my age is against me and it is not discretionary for me as I have no alternative but to go down this route. I know the cost is horrendous and success rate is poor, however I do not want to look back in the future and regret I didnt give it a go when it is def to late.
 your other comments around not being able to have it all is very true though and thats why I am on here, I  really want to clear this debt ASAP..I was hoping for tips on how to do this without selling the house to be honest, but I know that is something we need to seriously think about, and we have started looking on daft.



> Do your monthly fixed outgoings include your load repayments? If not what do they cover (how do you manage to spend so much every month)?


no this doesnt include loan repayments, does include CC payments (approx 200 a month)
we do have the full sky package and we justify that as neither of us go out much! I would happily give up the full sky package but hubby needs his sky sports!! other fixed costs is electicity, gas which are horrendous!! insurance, pet insurance, telephone, mobile bills, health insurance, car insurance, bins etc I am looking at reducing some of these fixed payments..we are changing mobile priceplans to get the best one, getting rid of eircom phonewatch as we have never needed it, will attempt the sky conversation again!!
dont really want to sell second car as whe he gets work we will need the two cars  as I travel a lot with work and we live in the country so no public transport, would prefer to keep my car as it is a fairly new one, but I feel safer driving it as I would prefer not to break down on my own in the sticks somewhere!!
our weekly shop is about E150 a week, eek !! 
evening job seems like a good idea while he is waiting to get something half decent! will bring up with him


----------



## truthseeker

*Re: help with money makeover please*

hello,
I dont mean to put hubby down but is he really in a position to insist on sky sports when he isnt earning himself? its a luxury, and he could live without it. also - could you not get cheaper cars? my car is very reliable and has never broken down and is only worth a couple of grand. you could clear a lot of debt by looking at downsizing the vehicles, with the knock on effect of lower car tax and insurance on both also.

you mention both telephone and mobile bills - why do you need both? if you have a mobile you dont 'need' a landline.

i mean youre on a great salary, its really just a matter of clearing the debt, tightening the belts for a bit etc...

where else are you spending money? is there any subscriptions that could be cancelled?

what about shopping - can you go cheaper, Aldi or Lidl?


----------



## annR

*Re: help with money makeover please*

What about the rest of your non fixed outgoings?  It's a basic exercise in comparing all your outgoings to your income.  With the figures you have given I see 3106 outgoings pm with 5192 income that means you should have 2086 left over every month.

Your debts are 34187 so if you put the 2086 into the debts every month starting with the CC it would take you 16 months to clear all your debts.  So you could be debt free before having a baby.

Those figures are only indicative on what you could achieve given the info so far.  You're obviously spending that 2086 which is left over.  On what I don't know.  

You must be forking out colossal amounts of interest on those loans, you would save all that money too if you just stopped spending and killed the debt.


----------



## pinkyBear

*Re: help with money makeover please*

Hi Miracal Girl,
Mr Bear and I live on a weekly allowance of €150 between us. Me €50 Mr Bear €100. He buys petrol, since we have started doing this we have managed to get ourselves out of a pit.
It also makes you think about what you are buying. We bring our lunches into work so this is really for additional expences that we might face.

I would really think about selling the car and buying a cheaper one. There are very reliable second hand cars on the market..

You actually have a greater net income than Mr Bear and I have, and a smaller mortgage so it really is just analysing what you spend your money on. 

I understand the fact that you want a child - but here is a thought - you are the main earner. If you did manage to sort things out - you might find that your partner might want to stay at home and look after the child, which would be quite nice. And that would spare you child care costs...


----------



## Miracle Girl

*Re: help with money makeover please*

we only started the diary two weeks ago, it has made us very aware of what we are spending daily and we are curbing because of it, but no we havnt started to seriously analyse it and thats what I will be doing today. 
without passing blame, i know it is my hubby who spends more daily as he smokes and "sometimes" goes to the bookies and to be honest this is where we fight the most. I want him to give up smoking to give IVF the best possible chance, he wants to as well, but finds it very difficult.  I go mad when he goes to the bookies as I know he cant just walk away with any "winnings" he has to carry on until they are gone (thats if there are winnings).
I spend very little daily ( dont smoke)approx 4 or 5 euro for lunch just petrol and while hubby isnt working he drops me in to work and picks me up so saving on parking (though the extra trips may rule that saving out)

we are not using his car at all at the moment.

It does get to me about the daily spending  and reading your posts has helped me realise that this is the crux of the problem. I know we can reduce fixed monthly costs, I could look at a better deal for our mortgage, but if the daily spending isnt going to go down then we wil never clear this debt


----------



## ClubMan

*Re: help with money makeover please*

Obviously the budgeting/spending suggestions here and elsewhere are useful but you have bigger fish in the form of your accumulated unsecured debt of c. €33K to fry as well. You need to figure out how best to deal with this. Trading down or remortgaging (as a once off measure to sort your finances out) should be at least considered along with any other options (although I don't see any offhand).


----------



## ClubMan

*Re: help with money makeover please*



Miracle Girl said:


> would like some tough tips on how I can manage myself and my husbands daily spending better, we are as bad as each other TBH, however we do argue a lot over it.





Miracle Girl said:


> he smokes and "sometimes" goes to the bookies and to be honest this is where we fight the most.
> 
> ...
> 
> I go mad when he goes to the bookies as I know he cant just walk away with any "winnings" he has to carry on until they are gone (thats if there are winnings).


Does your husband have a gambling addiction/compulsion? If so then this also needs to be addressed. All the more so if you are seriously thinking of staying together and having children!


----------



## pinkyBear

*Re: help with money makeover please*

Hi there,
About the smoking - Mr Bear and I smoke - Mr bear has quit the ciggerettes since yesterday - I am finishing my last packet..! 
I was chatting to a friend of mine this am and I was saying that janualry was the first time we did not go into overdraft! We were off the ciggerettes! 
He then asked me how mucch do I smoke - I said - not that much - 10 a day - when we worked it out this was roughly €120 per month!!!!! So I am definatly quitting!


----------



## Miracle Girl

*Re: help with money makeover please*



> you have given I see 3106 outgoings pm with 5192 income that means you should have 2086 left over every month.


 
The fixed costs dont include food and petrol and food is approx 650 a month and  petrol is 195 a month. that does still leave us with 1251 a month free and this is what is being frittered away!!..when I was earning less a few years ago I was in a far better state finanically and was able to save easily for a house!!


----------



## truthseeker

*Re: help with money makeover please*



Miracle Girl said:


> without passing blame, i know it is my hubby who spends more daily as he smokes and "sometimes" goes to the bookies and to be honest this is where we fight the most.


 
Miracle Girl - you hubby is being terribly irresponsible wasting money in the bookies like this. Clearly this is either being funded by your earnings or his social welfare payment - neither of which should be funding gambling. This is an area where you really need to put your foot down. How much do you think he is spending weekly between smoking and the bookies?


----------



## ClubMan

*Re: help with money makeover please*



Miracle Girl said:


> when I was earning less a few years ago I was in a far better state finanically and was able to save easily for a house!!


How did you run up so much non mortgage debt since then?


----------



## Miracle Girl

*Re: help with money makeover please*



> He then asked me how mucch do I smoke - I said - not that much - 10 a day - when we worked it out this was roughly €120 per month!!!!! So I am definatly quitting!


I have worked out that he spends approx €225 on fags and when he goes to buy them he has to get crisps and a drink so thats probably an extra 105 a month...that is 330 a month!  He of course will not tell me exactly what he spends in the bookies..prob doesnt know himself but as a guesstimate about €30 a week which is 130 a month.. so all this is comin to 460 a month!!this is a real eye opener


----------



## pinkyBear

*Re: help with money makeover please*

There is a number of issues Miracle Girl I think you need to think about - who is driving the impetous to address your financial situation?

Does your partner rally behind you in this? How does he think you will manage when you have children? 

I think a heart to heart is needed, as I think you might need more support from him. I dont want you to think I am comming down on your partner too heavily - but he doesn't appear to be helping you with the responcibilities...


----------



## Miracle Girl

*Re: help with money makeover please*



> How did you run up so much non mortgage debt since then?


Two cars, We got our garden landscaped, as we moved into a new build there were furnishing costs. credit card just added up and tbh cannot remember what I bought for nearly 10K so I am actually going to get  them out and see!  wehave not used the Credit cards for 6 months. I just need to start paying them off properly now.


----------



## truthseeker

*Re: help with money makeover please*

What does your hubby do for a living? Not necessary to furnish exact details but just wondering how much of a salary he could pull in if he got work?

How long has he been out of work?

You actually have a great salary - I think if you pull together and he takes on a bit more responsiblity you will be fine.


----------



## Miracle Girl

*Re: help with money makeover please*



> who is driving the impetous to address your financial situation?


 
its me. hubby will openly admit that money burns a hole in his pocket and he does struggle to understand the importance of what needs to be paid and priorities for eg I asked him yesterday if we won 3K  what would he do with it, he said he would get our built in wardrobes, get new clothes etc... Wheras I would put it straight on the Credit card!! so it is me that (badly) manages the finances. I know I have to take full control to get out of this and not allow him access to accounts etc and "hand" him an allowance and that would work, but this seems very drastic and controlling.


----------



## Bronte

*Re: help with money makeover please*

Well you don't have to put it like that, how about an allowance each, after all bills etc have been paid for.  I'd sell the expensive car, there is no way you can justify it when you have a perfectly good other car in the driveway.  That wipes out a debt of 18K overnight.  Anyone who chases their losses in a bookies is unlikely to stop at 30Euro.   How long has your partner been unemployed?  It must be fairly easy for a 30 year old to get employment.


----------



## Miracle Girl

*Re: help with money makeover please*



> Does your husband have a gambling addiction/compulsion? If so then this also needs to be addressed. All the more so if you are seriously thinking of staying together and having children!


 
I think I have not wanted to face this head on, but to if I am truly honest with myself, I think there is a problem, he has always had an interest in the bookies,I am afraid that if he was earning more, he would just spend more in the bookies and that is a real concern for me if we manage to have childern, I did find a good tread on gambling and I found the GA site and have copied the 20 questions on there and without letting on to my hubby thats where I got the questions, I am going to ask him to do the questionaire. I think I suspect what the answer will be.

Thanks so much for all your comments on here from all posters, it is so good to put my situation up and get feedback from it from an outside perspective, I cant really talk about with family and I dont want them judging my husband(dont mind it on here!!)..they do love him, but you know what I mean.


----------



## Miracle Girl

*Re: help with money makeover please*



> What does your hubby do for a living? Not necessary to furnish exact details but just wondering how much of a salary he could pull in if he got work?


In his last job he was earning about 25K a year. WE are hoping he will start work soon actually and if all goes well he will be on over 30K a year, He was talking about getting a new car!! that will definitely NOT happen!

I think an allowance is a good idea after bills etc.


----------



## truthseeker

*Re: help with money makeover please*



Miracle Girl said:


> I think I have not wanted to face this head on, but to if I am truly honest with myself, I think there is a problem, he has always had an interest in the bookies,I am afraid that if he was earning more, he would just spend more in the bookies and that is a real concern for me if we manage to have childern, I did find a good tread on gambling and I found the GA site and have copied the 20 questions on there and without letting on to my hubby thats where I got the questions, I am going to ask him to do the questionaire. I think I suspect what the answer will be.
> 
> Thanks so much for all your comments on here from all posters, it is so good to put my situation up and get feedback from it from an outside perspective, I cant really talk about with family and I dont want them judging my husband(dont mind it on here!!)..they do love him, but you know what I mean.


 
Hubby doesnt need to be ashamed (and nor do you) about a possible gambling addiction - he is at a great age to address it, still young and hopefully not as set in his ways as someone older.

Fair play to you - hardest part is admitting to the problem. 

This is just some advice, take it or leave it - but I wouldnt 'tread softly' re not letting onto hubby about where you got the questions - better to be matter of fact and up front about these things. 

you mention it has already caused rows - this is his defence mechanism, if it causes enough of a row then hopefully you wont mention it again you know? put all anger aside and just be practical about it.

on the money side of things, i second the poster who says sell the more expensive car!


----------



## pinkyBear

*Re: help with money makeover please*

An allowance isn't a bad thing - and it doesn't have to be crippling - we give ourselves enough so we can treat ourselves to a bottle of wine mid week..But it does make you think about where your money goes. 

This is the first month we have done an allowance - and it was a particularly difficult month - because NTL, phone and ESB all came out of this months pay check. 

And we started off with a €500 over draft - we are finishing off with a €100 over draft! Not bad from where we came from... 
So we are trying to quit the ciggerettes now.....


----------



## Welfarite

*Re: help with money makeover please*

reading between the lines, I think you and hubby need to sit down and decide where exactly you are going with this. Obviously, a the moment, it's you that is doing the worrying. He is subsidising a very nice lifestyle for himself from your earnings, without thought to yoru feelings about it. Time for a reality check for you and him. I suspect he will have little incentive to find work while he can live a lifestyle as he does (Sky Sports, his own car, unlimited money for bookies, etc) 

He gets his 200 dole and that should be his "discretionary spending" for the week. Plenty others have to make do with it, and they have to pay bills as well. He can pay his Sky out of that too if he wishes. 

You, for your part will pay the REAL bills, the mortgage and put food on the table. That way you will be in control and you will know how much you can pay into CC debts to get rid of them. That way you will cut back on stupid unnecessary household spendiing. 

Quite honestly, you are on a very good net income that you should be using far more effectively ... and saving too. Face up to it girl!


----------



## ClubMan

*Re: help with money makeover please*



Miracle Girl said:


> I think I have not wanted to face this head on, but to if I am truly honest with myself, I think there is a problem, he has always had an interest in the bookies,I am afraid that if he was earning more, he would just spend more in the bookies and that is a real concern for me if we manage to have childern, I did find a good tread on gambling and I found the GA site and have copied the 20 questions on there and without letting on to my hubby thats where I got the questions, I am going to ask him to do the questionaire. I think I suspect what the answer will be.


Certainly sounds to me that this is a key issue that needs to be addressed so. Along with the accumulated debt and spending/budgeting issues. Perhaps he has just developed "bad" habits but it sounds like he could have a full blown compulsion/addiction. Perhaps you should try a _GamAnon _(for friends/family/partners/spouses of compulsive gamblers - not _Gamblers Anonymous _which is for the gamblers themselves) meeting or two just to see what you think?


----------



## annR

*Re: help with money makeover please*

Fair play to you for trying to get a handle on all this - when you get organised you will get a real sense of satisfaction.



> I know I have to take full control to get out of this and not allow him access to accounts etc and "hand" him an allowance and that would work, but this seems very drastic and controlling.


 
You don't have to behave in a controlling way to him, just to the money.  I suppose a lot depends on whether he is basically in agreement that the money needs managing or whether he is totally in denial and change resistant.

Just one scenario for how to do it -maybe if you both agree in principle that the bills and debts need to be serviced as a priority to other spending.  You could then arrange all those to be direct debited *right after* you get paid, so that there is seriously limited amount of cash there afterwards to be spent.  You withdraw what's needed for your lunch and for the supermarket spend (economise here of course).  He's left with whatever's left and he just has to manage with that.  If even that -he has his dole as well of course - that by itself should be enough to finance his leisure activities considering you are paying for everything else.  In fact, anything you give him is being spent on gambling and fags - if he gets upset and insists on demanding more cash for this it's him that's being controlling (or rather the fags and gambling is) not you.  Do not allow him access to your 4k for IVF.


----------



## Purple

*Re: help with money makeover please*



Miracle Girl said:


> The fixed costs dont include food and petrol and food is approx 650 a month and  petrol is 195 a month. that does still leave us with 1251 a month free and this is what is being frittered away!!..when I was earning less a few years ago I was in a far better state finanically and was able to save easily for a house!!


You spend a lot on food for two people but I agree with other posters that gambling and smoking are bigger issues.
From an outsiders perspective you are a financially secure person living with someone who is unemployed who goes to the bookies, smokes and “needs” sky sports. Is there a message here that you are missing?


----------



## Bronte

*Re: help with money makeover please*

I had a rethink on this overnight - who decided to buy a house, furnish it, landscape it and buy a new car, all seemingly in the past 2 years?  Was it a joint decision?  The house and expensive car are your's alone, so I don't think your OH is entirely to blame for your situation.  With your great salary you should easily be able to manage.    As a couple you need to sit down and go through the figures together.


----------



## Miracle Girl

*Re: help with money makeover please*



> had a rethink on this overnight - who decided to buy a house, furnish it, landscape it and buy a new car, all seemingly in the past 2 years? Was it a joint decision? The house and expensive car are your's alone, so I don't think your OH is entirely to blame for your situation. With your great salary you should easily be able to manage. As a couple you need to sit down and go through the figures together.


 
I have always earned the greater salary between the two of us even when he was working,  We have always put our money together and regarded it as one income, particularly since we have been married, so buying the house etc was a joint decision though of course I did influence it along the way (as all women do!)I do accept responsibility for our situation as of course I could have got a cheaper house, smaller car etc. However when I do the sums and I spent all last night doing this, much to the horror of hubby (he hates these "money" conversations. It is our daily spending that is causing problems for  us, we can of course make savings in all other areas, economise the weekly shop, look at cutting out our bills, is the money that seems to "disppear" that is the problem. the spending diary is helping and I did analsye it last night and though we have gotten better, we still managed to spend money on silly things ie popping out the shop to buy a couple of bottles of lemonade and spending 17E!! (this happened tuesday this week) 
We are now on weekly allowances and I have written up a monthly budget in advance for June so we know what we need on bills etc and we are cutting our food bill. Allowances have been decided for the two of us as he smokes he has got more, and I think if we are really good we could actually claw back 500E in june or at least thats what it says on paper!!
Thanks for all your advice and tips, some really good stuff on here. I will also look at the gambling issue as I suspect that is where the money is "disppearing to" and if we are both on allowances then it will be very obvious if this continues to happen.


----------



## microsquid

*Re: help with money makeover please*

Any update Miracle Girl?


----------



## legallady

*Re: help with money makeover please*

Hi there

It seems to me that your husband is extremely immature. Is he ready to be a father?

I would agree with everyone else when I say that you should be able to manage on what you have, but a severe reality check is needed. The spending needs to be sorted. 

have you ever considered renting out a room in your house? Also, while your husband is looking for a job, would he consider doing up some fliers and delivering them in the locality offering his services cutting lawns etc?


----------



## mell61

Miracle Girl,
I'm also wondering how things are going?
I'm currently heading down the IVF route, and people I've spoken to have all mentioned that the counselling that you go through is very intensive - in fact hubby and I have taken out time over the past few weeks to discuss the 'what it it happens / what if it doesn't' scenarios, in advance.
Away from money, if he's not ready to face up to the realities of your current financial position, is he ready to face up to the realities of what IVF involves?
Its unclear on your original post whether or not you had started down the IVF route, as going privately its usually a 3-4 month wait to get first consultation.
Ihope it works out for you, but really do think your other half needs to take some financial responsibility, from our view on the outside it looks like he's had a nice easy ride for a while now.


----------



## simon44

god knows how a family with over 5000 euro a month income has money problems. Anyways,. If you've money problems down grade your car(s) to a cheaper model. My god i've love a new Mercedes but I'll stick with the banger until I can afford to upgrade. Get rid of unneeded things and learn to make do.


----------



## Miracle Girl

hi ...i havnt been on for a while, but thought I would give you bit of an update. we have been doing the spending diary and that has really helped us curb our finances.my husband has also curbed his gambling. I did pay off a huge chunk of one of the credit cards using my bonus and we have just done without any little luxuries. My husband has had a bit of work, but nothing regular, but he has got moving more then he was. our first IVF consultation is just over a week away so we will decide and know more then about going down this route.


----------



## Miracle Girl

edit


----------



## Complainer

mell61 said:


> I'm currently heading down the IVF route, and people I've spoken to have all mentioned that the counselling that you go through is very intensive -


Not in my experience at the HARI clinic - One fairly superficial chat with a counsellor was all that was involved.


----------



## j26

Complainer said:


> Not in my experience at the HARI clinic - One fairly superficial chat with a counsellor was all that was involved.



Nor the Sims.  Not even a perfunctory chat as yet.


To the OP.

Maybe try setting up a standing order (as opposed to direct debit) to your credit cards.  Then the money is gone out of your account on payday and you simply don't have it to spend.  You can't fritter away what you don't have.  Once one of the credit cards is clear, then is the time to begin saving for the IVF, while still paying off some of the other credit card.


----------



## BROOKING

With regards to the IVF we went through SIMS, one meeting and then pretty much into it straight away, cost was approx 6K, this was last year,


----------



## Mommah

Miracle Girl

I pm'd you.


----------

