I'm after some advice or suggestions. My husband and I are in quite a bit of debt due to credit cards, tax bill and expenses. I feel like we are never going to get on top of it. My husband has just started a new job and we are slowly trying to catch up but three weeks without income over Christmas has been hard. We have never been good at budgeting either. I am deciding whether to return to work but am unsure if it's worth going back full time and having my two children (under 3) in full time and only making an extra hundred or two (I assume) after we have paid child care fees, but then I think any little bit of extra money is worth it if it can help get us ahead. What have others done in this situation? Who should we contact for advice on getting on top of debts and budgeting? I tried contacting a budgeting company but they charge fees and advised they could not help us as my husband is a contractor and does not have a weekly set income.
3 Replies
Use an online budgeting tool, there are plenty of apps. But I like to do mine on paper others use an excel spreadsheet. You could also try a financial counsellor.
But it sounds like if hubby is a contractor having a few hundred dollars a week coming in that can be relied upon is a good idea.
Treat doing your money like a job. i check my budget at least twice a week and check the bank account to make sure everything is tracking. I allow myself to take out a set amount for free spending for the week and once it's gone it's gone.
Ring the companies you have debt with and ask them to speak to someone who handles financial hardship claims. Then ask for some help. Its a hard phone call to make but they are so helpful. You usually run through your income & expenses with them over the phone. Then they (well have given me everytime i have needed it ) will give you help. Usually freeze payments for 3 months or a very very minimum amount. This gives you time to catch up. They freeze the interest for that time too.
Don't give up IM. You just need to make the calls and you will feel much much better
We went through this sort of situation last year when we moved interstate, husband was unemployed for a while, large tax bill to pay back and I had our first baby and became a stay at home mum. My husband now has a job but is on casual wages so income changes from fortnight to fortnight. Have you applied for any Centrelink benefits? I find them particularly helpful, at least you know you'll have that amount of money every fortnight. Also have you rang and talked to the ato about your tax bill? I did and they reworked my repayments so for 6 months it was a smaller amount which gave us the time to get back on our feet.
As for budgeting, much to my husbands disgust, I actually love it. My husband has a spending problem at times so the biggest change I've made that helps is using cash only. Bills and repayments come out of our bank account automatically. We then get out a lump sum of cash every fortnight which is then divided up as per the budget. If you would like to know more I'm happy for you to PM me.
But keep at it. It will seem like forever but slowly you will find you start to get back on top of things