My wife and I are (all being well) are going to be new parents, any time from now - one months time. This will be out first kid, and its going to be a game changer for our lives, naturally.
I am a late discoverer of the MMM ways and I am seeking to implement the teachings as much as possible. I am a 33 year old dude who didn't start saving well until I was about 26, young and single...meeting my wife changed everything!
Things are going ok, but I need to see what I can do to improve. I need to drastically up my savings and Vanguard fund.
We bought a new car and financed half of it over a 3 year loan (pre MMM). I have just finished paying it off in 7 months (which I am very happy about). So the car debt is gone, freeing up an extra £220 a month just in time for the baby.
Current state of affairs:
Vanguard S&S Fund: £9700
Bank Acc: £8000
My Pension Fund: £23,000
Mortgage Debt: £115,000
Student Loan Debt: £4000 (1.5% APR)
Here are my monthly budget plans:
Monthly Costs
Investments - - - - - - - - 320
Mortgage Payment - - - - 627
Mortgage Overpayment - 350
Life Assurance - - - - - - -112
House Insurance - - - - - 14
Electricity - - - - - - - - - -32
Sofas - - - - - - - - - - - - 60 (4 months to run on this 0% APR)
123 Bank Fee - - - - - - - 5
Internet - - - - - - - - - - -35
Gym - - - - - - - - - - - - -20
Council Rates - - - - - - - 80
Eating out / Takeaways -100
Groceries - - - - - - - - - 280
Fire Logs - - - - - - - - - 15
Car Fuel - - - - - - - - - -160
Oil - - - - - - - - - - - - - 30
Cars Bills Averaged - - -150
Child Minding - - - - - - -??
Total £2,390.00
My monthly income £1820 (after 17% put into my pension fund - £453). I have worked out that my savings rate is about 25%.
My wife's income circa £1900 (after pension and personal S&S ISA contributions)
She will get full pay until September, after that she will be down to statutory government maternity payments, which is a paltry £550 a month.
So that pooled with my income is £2370, which on paper is basically enough to cover our typical expenses.. However come October we have expensive insurance and servicing costs for our cars (circa £1200 I am guessing), which will put a dent in the savings.
This is unavoidable really as we need two cars, our parents live in opposite directions and we have different hobbies which mean two cars are needed for flexibility.
The eating out should decrease when the baby comes, as we will be more house bound, and my plan is to batch cook a lot more. I was given a large chest freezer, so that will be able to hold lots of home cooked meals. This will be a huge shock to the system as we will be at least £1000 worse off from my wife not working.
Hoping I can get some advice and tips on what I can tweak to make improvements etc.
Cheers! :)