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caliandjack 
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Joined: 10 March 2007
Location: West Auckland
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 Posted: 30 July 2008 at 7:08pm |
 Dagster wrote:
I daycare will cost around $200 a week, thats pretty much all my wages after rent so not sure if its worth it, have to sort it out on DH income (when he finds a new job, its tough out there) |
See I thought about this cause I'd be in a similar situation, but if I stayed home I wouldn't contribute anything to the mortgage, and we'd have to find an extra $250 a week from somewhere.
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  [/url] Angel June 2012
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emz
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Joined: 25 November 2006
Location: Christchurch
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Posted: 30 July 2008 at 8:46pm |
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Fleury - just a thought, wouldn't it make more sense to pay off your car loan (seeing as it will be higher interest) than make bigger repayments on your mortgage?
If you can take a mortgage holiday, I think it's a great idea. Even if you have to pay back more interest in the long run, those first few months you will never get back. We have a mortgage, DH doesn't earn big bucks (and 1/4 of his pay goes on compulsory super so even though the IRD says we have an OK income we actually don't) and I work 2 part-time jobs to get by. But you do what you have to do for your kids, and I would much rather prefer to work at jobs I don't like so that I can come home to my job that I love.
I make all of Jack's food, clean my sisters house to pay for Jack's formula (hadn't factored in needing it), use cloth nappies and only buy disposables for daycare on sale. I cut my own hair or go to Just Cuts instead of my normal hairdresser, buy my clothes on sale, only make trips out when I have 2 or more things to do etc etc.
You can also put money onto your utilities bills so that you are in credit when bubs arrives, or arrange for an AP to pay automatically at a set amount so you don't get to the end of the month and freak out about a huge bill.
I know that some people want to go back to work after a few months, and some people have to, but you never know you may really enjoy being a SAHM so it's best to try and prepare yourself for a year so you don't live with regrets. Like I said, you will never get that time back and seriously what is a year of struggling in a whole lifetime? I sometimes think that we make rods for our own backs with HP's, 'having' to have new stuff etc. My parents lived on the bones of their bums bringing us up and it doesn't matter. Kids will not remember how poor they were, only the memories of the fun things their parents did with them and the time spent with them.
Anyway, I don't know if this helps at all lol but my2cents anyway!
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caliandjack
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Location: West Auckland
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Posted: 31 July 2008 at 7:28am |
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Thanks for the suggestion Emz, we consolidated the car loan and our credit card debt onto the mortgage 4 months ago, so the interest rate is the same, so no worries there. I am however making the same repayment so the car gets paid off in the same time as it would have with the finance company.
Emz I didn't think compulsory super was considered taxable income? That's what my DH said. Cause with that included it looks like DH earns over 60k when its actually only 46k, without the Airforce's contribution. Big difference.
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[/url] Angel June 2012
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ohanlon82
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Joined: 09 April 2008
Location: Auckland
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Posted: 31 July 2008 at 10:26am |
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good suggestions emz - thanks for that
DH and i could probably live on 1 wage - MAYBE LOL
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mummy_becks
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Joined: 01 January 1900
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Posted: 31 July 2008 at 10:42am |
Seriously Fleur as I am the same as Emz and 25% we don't see at the moment (will do in a about 20 years thou  ). At the moment we get next to nothing (so hanging out for the 28th of November) so are struggling big time.
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I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived!
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emz
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Joined: 25 November 2006
Location: Christchurch
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Posted: 31 July 2008 at 11:59am |
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The 17.92% that NZDF is supposed to contribute isn't taxable, but the 7% that you pay is. Apparently you can cancel your super and get the 17.92 + the 7% on your pay which is what we are looking at. Would be an extra $300 a fortnight before tax which is a huge difference.
That's a good idea about consolidating onto your mortgage. I often forget about stuff like that.
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ohanlon82
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Posted: 31 July 2008 at 12:03pm |
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we have a car loan but got same rate as mortgage so that is good and paid off in 3 years (1 1/2 gone now.. over half way mark)
I would love to me a SAHM but not sure if will be able to.. DH really wants me too but we will see :)
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caliandjack
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Posted: 31 July 2008 at 6:20pm |
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emz and mummybecks not sure what scheme your Dhs are in, but mine is trying to get out of his.
He's in the old one and been in 12 years now so is getting all of the 17.9% contribution the defence force puts in. But they're trying to close that one and shift everyone on to kiwisaver.
They (DH and his collegues) are trying to see if they can get part or all of their own contribution out before their 20 years is up.
We get the accommodation supplement cause we have our own home, which is tax deductable and goes on WFF
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[/url] Angel June 2012
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Snappy
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Posted: 31 July 2008 at 6:58pm |
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I never thought in a million years that I would be able to stay at home after the 3 month PPL was up. have no idea where my income went either! We get WFF (Lucky DS was born in the first month of the financial year) plus accomodation supplement. Taking everything like daycare for both children, transport, food etc it only worked out we were $100 better off if i worked. I decided that $100 was not worth missing out on the first few months of my sons life (work gave me no choice but to take the 12 months anyway) so we've just made small changes. We make our own bread, have casseroles and soups and generally stretch our money as far as it can go. We have $50 spending money a week and even that we havent needed any more than that at all. You really can make it work like the others have said.
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Mummy to two beauties... Formerly Kaiz.
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mummy_becks
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Posted: 31 July 2008 at 7:02pm |
We don't get the accom as we are in army housing, but get the WINZ accom as we still own our house in Palmy.
I know the one Nigel is on he can't get out of for at least 6 years.
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I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived!
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Finances once bub is born?