help to reduce tax / debt

The 900k mortgage is the problem. Id suggest downsizing to a 200k mortgage.
Whilst there is foxtel etc, cutting the mortgage will reduce the stress, plus you can probably afford to keep the other expenses and provide for the.kids better. Id suggest an accountant or financial planner for mediation and showing the numbers to you. Your husband will respect these professionals. A financial counsellor wouldn't n appropriate as they tend to deal with low income type people.
 
Someones been licking the lolly pops a bit too soon.
What is it you do all day Lollypops?

If not willing to cut your expenses, you could look at ways of increasing your income.
Plenty of stay at home mums run a part time biz at home and can earn some extra income.

Otherwise, dedicating some time to self improvement/development will also help with future plans and goals.
 
Ouch! Great thread, just finished reading it all. I admit I'm no expert and it would be worth sitting down with a financial planner but..

Can't remember if anyone suggested selling PPOR and renting instead of buying another property straight away.. that would be my short term solution. Probably halves the monthly payment instantly and gives them some breathing space.

Then stay renting and buy an IP in her name instead, then the repayments are tax deductible and if she's not working $18K tax free.

Once there is reasonable equity in the IP, then look at getting a PPOR and use the rental income to assist in paying the mortgage. Even if hubby loses his job there is a stream of income and an asset they can always sell without losing the home.
 
OP, you first say you can't get a job because the kids go to 3 (?) different schools and you need to drive them around then you say that you can't cancel their phones because they catch public transport and you worry. Which is it?

Make the kids get jobs, get them paying board and set that aside to cover their expenses ie glasses, clothing etc. Teach them some financial responsibility and hopefully they won't make the same mistakes.

If you're not willing to cut back on your monthly commitments then get a job inside of school hours. You could be a checkout chick 10-3, 5 days a week. Assuming a pay of $20p/h nett, that's an extra $500 per week.
 
Lollypop

A lot of good advice here. You are not going to improve your situation without sacrifice. Who does the finances in your house?

Every 12 mths I update our income and expenses in a basic spreadsheet. I am not very good with excel so I asked hubby to make the columns do what I wanted them to do and ultimatley have excel work out if we were spending less than we earnt. And yes - at times the outcome was red. ..and that is when changes had to be made, sacrifices.

We made a decsion that I would not return to work until next year. The sacrifice for that has been

-No gym memberships. Just had to deal with it. I can walk, run, cycle outside. I have a couple of exercise videos / weights at home I can use.

-Change in phone/internet/mobile. We have 1 mobile phone it is a basic no frills phone. An iphone or similar is a luxury for us - we don't need it to live day to day. Who ever goes out takes the phone - becasue there is a landline at home and a landline at my husbands work (local).
We changed phone deals so that calls between home and the mobile are included. Calls to other mobiles with same company are included so I asked friends and family which phone company they are with - for example it costs nothing to call my MIL on her mobile but STD rates if I call her home. We have reduced our monthly bill by $80mth.

-Personal stuff - didn't have a haircut in 12mths. DIY instead of a salon for waxing. Apart from a new pair of runners bought with a gift card using my credit card points I haven't purchased any new clothes or shoes in 2 years - didn't NEED to.

-I use a clothes dryer - not a necessity but a convenience. However, I use it between 11pm -7am or weekends when it costs less to run. When the weather improves I will have no excuse.

- Sell your unused stuff. Go through your house. Ebay / Gumtree / local notice boards / have a garage sale. Earlier in the year I was able to put $500 back in our pocket by having a clean up.

I am sure others on here have made sacrifices to ensure they have financial stability. At the end of the day it is about cutting out the excuses and doing what you have to do.

This is not necessarily forever.
 
Lots of advice but it sounds like you are in a rut and can't find a way out. It might appear that you are living in the lap of luxury with foxtel, pet insurance, 4 phones, 2 leased cars but these 'things' add little or no enjoyment.

All you can see is your husband working crazy hours, not being able to get the kids new clothes, spending your life driving them kids are at 3 different schools and barely making enough to pay the mortgage.

You need to assess what is really important and what is going to make you and your family happy. This is likely to include working less, having a meal out with the family once per week, taking an annual vacation and being able to sleep at night knowing that losing the job will mean selling up.

Once you & your husband have worked out what you want, you will be ready to exchange your phones, cars and foxtells for them
 
Hi All

I have read most posts and agree with most. At this stage we don't have enough details of who spends, who saves, etc.. to make definitive calls although I grant every little but helps and personally, the worst debt if those small, every month items like Gym, Foxtel, Mobiles, that seem like nothing but are every month, on month , on month.

Lets not scare the lady. If she is seriously she will come back. But if we go too hard she may never get our help. Who knows, she could be talking to Dazz now and half way to buying some office tower;).

On expenses each to their own. Gym is expensive but maybe it offsets health insurance or other issues. Foxtel costs but so do movies and other entertainment for children. These add up.

And to those with no kids: don't judge what they cost. 2nd hand Shoes for example are false economy and offensive to wear and use. You may be happy in the knowledge you saved $50 on pair of school shoes but you may end up spending $1000 on therapy when you kid is bulled to the point of needing therapy due to having 2nd hand gear. Get good, affordable new stuff and teach them values.

So please come back Lolly pop. Talk some more and we will be kind.

Peter 14.7
 
Mr. Fabulous said:
Bit rough on the husband there, Peter. It's pretty obvious she is the one making the overwhelming majority of the spending decisions. They are both at fault here, for getting into this much trouble. For all we know, the husband may have very little idea of how much trouble they are actually in. Remember, we are only getting one side of the story. 14 hour work days doesn't leave a lot of time for sussing the finances.
Click to expand...

Yeap I was wrong to assume him.

Mr. Fabulous said:
This is why I don't want to get married, LOL!
Click to expand...

Nope, your wrong here. BEST thing I EVER did was to marry my good wife.

Two can achieve so much more than one and you get someone wonderful to share it with.

Regards Peter 14.7
 
Hey slow down everybody, we just got Sunday trading.

Don't confuse us with these weird eastern turns of the tounge. :confused:
 
CHAOS said:
Who does the finances in your house?
Click to expand...

Nobody. That's the problem.

Peter, re: getting married. I am stoked for you dude that you met a great woman. Maybe one day I will as well! My last relationship started out really well, we saved like demons for the first few years.

Then she wanted to dip into the savings to do a massage course. Then she wanted to dip into the savings to do a self improvement course....

When we broke up not long after all this and split the money, it took me a couple of hours of explaining to her that she couldn't take half of what was there, rather that the money she'd taken had to be taken into account first, with the remaining amount split 50/50.

If I meet someone (hopefully!) the finances will definitely be maintained separately.
 
It sounds like Lollypop has had a bit of a shock with some of the advice, it will take time to work through the painful truth and then more time to work with her husband to sort it out together. There really is a difference between "needs" and "wants", it's a big mind shift to go from all the bells and whistles to living within your means.

Nothing against the OP, however I particularly agree with the comments about setting an example for the kids, a good financial education is so important - I have more than one acquaintance who do not understand money at all, it is really sad to see the debt ever increasing, the wardrobes bulging, the fancy cars and so the need to work more and more hours for more and more years. I would like my kids to understand that money is to be managed wisely, if you spend that dollar it's gone forever so make sure you think and spend it wisely. Not bein mean with money, but not being wasteful either. And importantly, put some money away regularly and watch it grow, rather than disappear.
 
Mr. Fabulous said:
Peter, re: getting married. I am stoked for you dude that you met a great woman. Maybe one day I will as well! My last relationship started out really well, we saved like demons for the first few years.

Then she wanted to dip into the savings to do a massage course. Then she wanted to dip into the savings to do a self improvement course....

When we broke up not long after all this and split the money, it took me a couple of hours of explaining to her that she couldn't take half of what was there, rather that the money she'd taken had to be taken into account first, with the remaining amount split 50/50.

If I meet someone (hopefully!) the finances will definitely be maintained separately.
Click to expand...

Actually, I am blessed and hence naive. A few of my male friends complain about their partners and I ignore instead of realising this is the norm.

My wife is a better saver than me. She is against Daughter getting a pony for instance. Most wife are into that stuff around our way.

Good luck on finding Mrs Right. Sadly, my wife has no sister.

Peter:)
 
Unrelated to this thread, I am going to start a fresh thread on how do you teach your kids about responsibility with money. Look for it and comment please.

Peter
 

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