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So, my first financial help thread was a bit poo poo. I got a couple bits of advice, got a few things heading in the right direction and promptly stopped posting because I wanted to spend money on dumb things and not be told they're dumb. Here's attempt number two, in which I have increased the number of dependants I have to 2, started studying, and my partner has done the same. I manage to not save anything, not pay off anything, and take on more (student loan) debt than I had before. So, I'll start with incomes At present I get the following incomes; Working For Families tax credits : 157 p/w Student allownace + accomodation supplement: 380 p/w (this has 20ish coming out before I touch it) so 361 p/w in hand Carpoolers I take to course: between 15 and 80p/w. I get 5 dollars per carpooler per one-way trip. Usually ends up being around 55 p/w Our definite expenses, being expenses I know to be regular and never changing are; Gas, covering polytech travel and around town stuff each week: 120 p/w Mobile phones (both of our phones): 82 p/month Phone and internet contributions: 50 p/m Partner's netball fees: 120 p/year (paid until next march) IRD repayment: 20 p/w Road fines repayment: 10p/w (finishes June 10) Our debts are currently; 1600 on a maxed out credit card at 12.9% interest 2000 on a maxed out overdraft at 16.9% interest 13000 student loan (with another 32000 coming from both of us over the course of both our bachelors to come) at 0% interest, repayments only required after income reaches a certain threshold after study is completed. So you may be wondering how we are living with no accommodation costs to speak of, and to answer that, we are living with my parents in a seperate double bedroom unit on property for the duration of our studies. Our costs are only food that we want that isnt essentials, (takeaways, treats, fancy foods etc) half the internet and phone and the rest we give in household upkeep and cooking. (we cook all meals, do all cleaning, yardwork etc) we also pay for all food thats required for my daughter who has a restrictive diet regimen, including 25p/w on specialist formula. It should be noticed we are also wanting to save around 3-4000 by december for our wedding in january. We were kindly gifted by grandparents 5000 dollars towards a wedding budget, and what we've got planned so far has put us at the 8000 dollar mark with everything included. That 3000 shortfall was sort of the catalyst for getting me back into being not-bad-with-money. Also, future costs of travel may double as my study will be changing to clinical placements starting next semester, and my partner will still be on campus studying, so we will be needing to take both cars. That coupled with the potential loss of carpoolers (if they dont want to travel with my partner instead) means our travel is going to skyrocket. So... the rest of whatever money is there is spent on games, takeaways (lunches etc) and energy drinks. Help? Advice? Plan of action? Is 3000 feasible by december?
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May 27, 2015 03:03
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Horking Delight posted:Formatted for better readability: Entertainment costs vary greatly. Some months we do nothing, others we'll spend 150 on a big weekend. I honestly couldnt estimate an accurate weekly figure but I'd guess we spend 50 a week on outings. That may be horribly underestimated though. Baby care is covered by the govt's ECE hours and subsidies, so no extra cost there. Car insurance is 635 p/year, and health insurance for all 4 of us is 270 p/m but paid by my parents once again while studying. Minimum payments on loans... well, they end up around 75 per month for my credit card, but we always load that on and then end up using it, so it is basically just the interest rate we are paying. Same goes for the overdraft. There is no minimum payment on the overdraft so it is just maintaining interest at the moment (+ 120 p/year straight fees) I just realised that the overdraft is part of a student account that my partner opened when she was studying a few years back, and we will most likely be able to put her back on a student account with no fees and no interested for duration of studying. I'll get her to call the bank about that tomorrow in fact. Also, thank you for tidying it up a bit.
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May 27, 2015 06:01
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Tamarillo posted:For American readability sure, lets look at this in kiwi speak: Dont apologise, I am not going to try and defend pissing around on this whole thing. I will only point out I didnt rack up the debt during the time we've lived with them, that was incurred when I was working and we were living by ourselves. The debt was originally higher by a 2100 Q card which we paid off with my final pay when we got offered the chance to study. I have just been shithouse at keeping up with getting debt free and basically blowing poo poo every week on junk food and video games. I was thinking about what you mean in terms of "saving" by paying off the overdraft, and then just using the overdraft/CC for wedding stuff as it arises, so I'll definitely have another look at doing that seeing as it can't be as dumb as I thought. 3k for the wedding might be ok, but I'll definitely aim for saving enough to get the 4k so we dont have to make cuts we would want not to. We've already reduced guest count by around 40 people (down to 60 total) because our mains costs are in catering. That 20 a week to IRD was paying back a WFF overpayment when I forgot to change my work hours down when I started studying so they had overpaid me by 74 a week for a few months. As for having 150 a week for us to spend, I'm more worried about the increased cost of two of us having to travel separately each day to MIT. Public transport is a non-option as buses run only twice a day from my town to the nearest train station, and both are 6 o-clock (am and pm) which would be impossible to do when we cant drop the kids at daycare until after 7am and pickup is latest at 6pm. This is the main drawback to our living arrangement (please dont take this as me complaining about living rent free!) as we are basically forced to use personal cars. Even if my carpoolers end up continuing with my partner, it will only go so far when the gas is around 120 per week per car. Leaving only 30 per week spending is something I can see us blowing through incredibly easily. One takeaway meal for all four of us is 5 dollars more than that already. edit: I will add my parents are repeatedly smacking me round the proverbial head about my spending. I tend to just make excuses and brush it off or claim I am making progress etc but no one believes that poo poo, least of all myself.
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May 27, 2015 09:30
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I like the idea of dropping dessert to reduce costs. We'll talk to our caterers and see what they say. Just going to share a little annoyance I have found out today. I rang the bank to ask about the interest free and feeless overdraft account for students for myself, and asked if they would transfer the balance of my credit card onto the overdraft and then close the credit card account. They told me I can't do that be cause for the period of a few minutes where the overdraft and credit card coexist I would be over the 2000 debt limit for the student account. To do it I would need to open a 400 dollar overdraft and swap 400 from one to the other then apply to lower and raise each limit each time. What a joke. Going to ring another bank today and see about a student account and tell my current bank that I'll close the acc if they can't sort it.
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May 27, 2015 21:08
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ufsteph posted:Dude. You have 2 kids, and are living at your parent's house. Are games, takeaways, energy drinks and $8,000 parties really the biggest priorities you have? No. But being able to study is. Moving out of parents removes the possibility of studying as both me and my partner would need to take poo poo paying dead end jobs to afford living anywhere near family or friends. We've done that for the first 4 years of our oldest kids life. Studying is the only way we're gonna get out of that cycle. Even if we were debt free and spent nothing on games food or anything other than bare necessities more than one of our total incomes would be gone just on rent. Let alone utilities.
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May 27, 2015 21:50
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Saros posted:You're living rent free, are you even eligible for the accommodation supplement? The accom supp I get is because I live in an area that's so far from where I study. Accommodation and Travel expenses. It only makes up around 30 of the total amount I think. We've been gifted 5000 for the wedding, if we don't spend it on the wedding we don't get to spend it on other things. ufsteph posted:I think you're missing the point. You don't need to spend your spare money on games, food and parties in order to study. Yea I definitely understand that. I acknowledge my spending needs to change. Hence asking for budget help so I can stop finding excuses and work to something concrete.
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May 27, 2015 23:51
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ufsteph posted:Fine, spend $5,000 then, and don't add $3,000 that you don't have. At the moment, the long term plan is to save money for a wedding in January, and then continue saving to get debt free by the end of my study period (3 years from this July) Our own place. If the rate at which we are saving for the wedding is sustainable for the length of time I am studying then any money we save will go towards our own house at the end of study/start of work,
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May 28, 2015 00:08
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ufsteph posted:If spending $3,000 on a party when you have two kids and a current net worth of -$48,600 sounds like a good plan, I'm not sure how much this thread will be able to help you. As noted, The majority of this debt is in (not even accrued yet) student loan. The student loan does not accrue interest, and only requires paying when working and earning above a threshold, so I am not going to lose my hair about paying off student debt when I am A) still studying and accruing it, and B) not earning enough to require paying it. The debt that is an issue is the overdraft and the credit card which is -$3600 which, if I can pay off by December, gets me the same as saving that much and starting again from here but with the wedding going ahead. Meaning that same amount would again be paid off within next year and saved again three times over before studying finishes. While yes, a wedding is just a party it is also very important to both myself and my partner. Despite you thinking that I am beyond this threads help, I've already had feedback and target margins to save/cut spending to to achieve close to what I am asking for.
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May 28, 2015 00:28
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ufsteph posted:I've never been to New Zealand, but I am pretty sure that it doesn't cost $8,000 to get married. You can still have a pretty great party to celebrate for $5,000. Yes, we have two children and are very young. I've not ever had income that has allowed for saving above and beyond day to day living, so no emergency savings to speak of. I was a school leaver that worked for slightly over minimum wage (550 a week cash in hand) paying for a house that was 410p/week to rent, and then supporting my partner who was having the children at home and then working part time when they started daycare. It's not like I've gone through 20 years of working life with no savings. I left school at 17, had my first kid at 19 and have worked hand-to-mouth since then (24 now). So yes, when my parents offered to support us during the study period that also covered emergency situations I already pay for my, myself and my partner leapt at the opportunity to get some proper education in a sought-after role we were passionate about. Outside of healthcare which we have insurance for and a good public health system as is, car damage/theft which we also have insurance for, or home damage/loss which we also have insurance for or death, which we are both insured for, there isn't much beyond car maintenance 8000 NZD is around 5800 USD. Catering for 60 people is 1500 alone, venue is 800 for reception and 600 for the ceremony. Which is incredibly cheap. Factor in a dress that's below 300 dollars, suits hire, and 5 days of staying in a cheap hotel for a honeymoon, rings, and decoration and cake and a photographer. 8000 is sweet gently caress all for a wedding. Our options from here are having no bridal party, or cutting guests even further (60 is already a small wedding, very few non family close friends as it is)
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May 28, 2015 00:53
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ufsteph posted:Yes you have, you just wanted to spend money on fun things like games, takeaways and energy drinks. You're spending money on dumb things but don't want to be told they're dumb. Sorry, saving money and being an adult are boring. Yea I have since we've been here at my parents studying. Which has been since this year. Sorry I haven't saved 20 grand in 5month? I don't know why you're so angry. I've laid out clearly that I am aware my spending while living here is poo poo, asked for help setting some spending guidelines for achieving a goal yet you've said nothing of value except restate what I've already admitted to but angrily.
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May 28, 2015 01:11
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Where did I say I don't want to do it? I got told numbers I needed to meet. I asked more questions about what it would mean when my other costs go up. Not once did I say "no I can't do that I want to eat energy drinks too much". I am still unsure why you're trying so hard to 'convince me' that my spending habits are poo poo. I am aware they are poo poo. I'm asking for help to slap together concrete targets to meet while being realistic. Yes, being realistic means I cut out poo poo spending but the point of getting help is to see by how much. To see what we can still work with. To come up with other ideas to cut costs or think of things I hadn't thought of. Surely by now you understand that I HAVE thought of spending less on takeaways and games.
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May 28, 2015 01:31
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Saros posted:Tamarillo already gave you the answers you just don't like them. The health insurance was left over from when I had it through work. With my medical history and that of my family we wouldn't get it back if we took it off and tried to resign up later. We've already used it for thousands worth of operations and doctors visits including with the kids so it is definitely worthwhile at this point.
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May 28, 2015 01:33
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Tamarillo posted:Can you actually manage on the one car thing? I didn't see an answer to that and it's kind of the cornerstone for you being able to save. Yea we've been talking about the car thing and for at least most of the time it won't be an issue for us to just go up early together and share. The biggest problem will arise when placements start and they are shift work so times may vary largely. I think that only starts next year though but will have to wait until time tables and schedules are confirmed. So that may be possible at least for a while. As for her studying; her original study was a terrible choice we've since discovered. So this time she is starting again doing bachelor of health Science in midwifery. Yes, studying the first time for a lovely trade was not smart. But nothing we can do about that now except make up for it. so her study finishes around the same time as mine. This is good though in that we should be able to both get work reasonably fast and get our own place much more quickly and be in a more stable position than one working while the other still studies for some time. In regards to moving areas we have been looking at Hamilton funnily enough. It is roughly the same travel time from where we live to Auckland as it is to Hamilton thanks to traffic so like you said it's a great compromise on living closer to the potential work area and staying within visiting range of friends and family. We've also thought about wellington as a potential option but that is more just a passing thought than anything. No idea on what living down there costs in comparison to up north.
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May 28, 2015 02:28
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Tamarillo posted:As someone who lives in Wellington I would say Hamilton is cheaper, and significantly closer to your parents. Wellington commutes are a bit poo poo too. Good to know, it's a shame because we always love visiting my grandparents in Welly, it's always so nice from a visitors point of view. I should be able to stick out the Bachelors, I'm doing extremely well and thoroughly enjoying studying now I'm not a 17yrold, and I'm studying something I actually really want to do, so fingers crossed it stays that way. Veskit posted:I'm confused what you want to do with setting your goals in your situation. Are you trying to reach a specific point? Reduce debt by X amount by Y date, save 3000 dollars for wedding by this point, or is it to be financially responsible? Yea fair enough, I guess that's on me for being ambiguous. Or at least seeming like I just want to save money then continue being bad with it after January. I guess the best thing I would hope for from going forwards is to set some weekly saving goals, reduce erroneous spending by a huge amount, and make the target of paying the extra money for the wedding and reducing non-student-loan debt completely by the end of next year. If I can stick to that then the remaining two years of study should yield a decent savings to help with moving costs or interim costs when starting post-degree work.
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May 28, 2015 07:44
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Horking Delight posted:That still gives him 4300 of high-interest credit card debt he should clear out before spending 3k on a wedding though. Is 4300 the 3600+ interest until the end of next year?
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May 29, 2015 08:04
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Tamarillo posted:Hellooooo! It's Accountability O'Clock! What did you decide to do re: your budget? Hey, sorry haven't posted but I've been stopping spending on takeaways as a first (and major) step. So far have bought one lunch since starting the thread and thats because I had a late start and didnt have time to put one together. Kept the cost under 6 dollars, as opposed to the usual 10-15 too so not a total blow. I guess I can keep updating every week or so on saved money, and progress towards the not spending on poo poo.
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Jun 3, 2015 09:17
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Nam Taf posted:Or how about you account for every dollar of every week and total it up for us? You don't even know what you spend on half your expenses, so this would be a good start. Ok so this week I've managed to have 140 saved with no other costs coming out until tuesday which will be next weeks running total. I'll do an itemized list tomorrow when I've got free time but for me ending the week without hitting 0 or close to it is pretty good.
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Jun 7, 2015 08:00
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Tamarillo posted:I did check this as soon as I saw it, but according to Studylink the caveat to the accommodation supplement is that you aren't entitled to it if you live with you parents unless you have a child, of which the OP has two. I am pretty sure it's legit. I'll admit I was surprised by the Working for Families when they don't work though. Still. Ehh, it would either be study assistance or the dole. I'd rather my tax went toward people trying to keep a roof over their heads while trying to study and better their employment outcomes rather than long term unemployed beneficiaries. OP has correctly asked for an asskick to cease said taxpayer party. Yea this is correct, having two kids puts us in eligibility for it, and its sweet F-all anyway. Working for families has two aspects, family tax credit, and in work tax credits. The former you are eligible for under any circumstance based on income, the latter you get if you are also working 30h+ a week. We only get the former part. Also it should be noted that we have cancelled the wedding ceremony and reception and are going to do a registry office thing and have a 5yr re-wedding when we're both working. So no more over-5g budget to save for. All savings are now going on credit card first (as partner is about to be interest free for duration of study once more) Sorry for not posting up the tally, had studying to do last night for an assessment, so here is the tally Starting money monday morning: $26 Tuesday Pay(WFF): $157 Wednesday Pay: $361 Carpoolers Pay: $80 Total after Income for week: $624 Petrol cost total: $133.20 Credit card payment: $160 Vodafone bill(monthly came out both phones): $79.14 IRD repay: $20 Fines repay: $10 Supermarket shopping: $68 (this included slightly more than normal with my take-in lunch items) 1x Weak rear end moment where I got a bakery breakfast and coffee: $9.70 Remainder at end of week: $153.96 So I had one day where I didn't resist, which was poos but miles better improvement than previously. After taking away my starting cash I am pretty much $124 saved and if you include the payment on the credit card I have saved a pretty decent chunk of cash this week. I'm thinking if I can continue at this pace, then whatever over 100 I have at the end of week I can increase as payment on credit card to help that go quicker. Obviously weekly expenditures will ebb and flow with timing of bill payments (IE, my phones dont come out weekly, and other weekly shops / doctors visits can through this off) I will say it was loving hard this week not buying stuff. Energy drinks are goddamn tempting. I also don't know how we'll go resisting using some of this money each weekend.
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Jun 8, 2015 19:57
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ufsteph posted:Two things: It depends on what happens with the family that was giving us the 5g for a proper wedding. We're going to see what they feel about us having a bbq thing and using the rest for a honeymoon trip to the south island. If not, then no honeymoon or at least nothing that involves big travel expense. After talking it over for a few days we are surprisingly ok with having a teeny party instead of a typical wedding.
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Jun 8, 2015 21:10
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Well we've heard back from the family who were going to give us the money and they've said they'd rather not still give it to us if it's not going to be a large wedding, but instead my partners parents have given us 500 and my brother has given 1000 to put towards rings, some food and alcohol and the registry costs. So that's cool. Were going to have a look at what that gives us as options to do and see how much of it we'll use up.
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Jun 14, 2015 03:07
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Just a quick update; I have managed to get another bank's offer of interest free loan up to 2500 for the duration of study + 2 years after completing study (2 years after is more than my current bank offered) in order to avoid that fuckaround with my current back refusing to change my credit card to their interest free overdraft account. So I've taken 2000 as the overdraft limit, paid off the entire credit card and transferred my savings into the overdraft which is now sitting at -$1100 all up. So I no longer have any interest bearing debt. My partner has successfully changed their account back to a student account and her overdraft is no longer bearing interest either. Once my overdraft is paid off completely we plan to reduce it to the minimum 400 and then work on paying hers off. Without needing to plan saving for a big wedding, we're looking on pretty good track to get rid of debt before we finish studying completely and have a nice little egg saved or at least cover any surprise expenses.
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Jul 6, 2015 01:17
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ufsteph posted:It's good that you got that new loan, but you should still create a reasonable budget and focus on not wasting money on junk. Yea this is the main focus at the moment. We've managed to cut out energy drinks and all fast food. Though we have still on occasion given in and bought a couple pies at the bakery for lunch. It's a huge improvement over semi daily takeaways. But it still leaves us room for improvement.
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Jul 6, 2015 22:18
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