I have just hit the wall of 'OMG how the hell am I going to pay for this' and cannot seem to get my head around how much everything costs

Me and my partner are young (22 and 23) and both have quite good jobs although I earn minimum wage, he has a secure and well paid job. We live in a very expensive area due to where he works and property is sooo expensive (475 pcm for a one bedroom small flat)

Now, I have to think about a two bedroom too and I know I wont get much help because of my partners job but the living expenses are just so much up here.

I am feeling pressurised into going back to work early now because I know I wont be able to stay off and pay the bills so I went to the nursery across the road to get a brochure because youre supposed to book early and its £40 a day!!! thats £700 a month....more than I pay in council tax and rent.

What I mean to say is, all I can see now, is my baby sharing a room with us untill we cannot possibly keep them there anymore, and me working to pay daycare. Im really tearing my hair out about this!! :( anyone else feel this way? xx

Hello,
just want to say there is light at the end of the tunnel. I will just give u a breif account of the back gorund to my situation.
my husband and I are 22 and 27, my husband is just coming to the end of his 2nd uni course (so hasnt had a proper job before!). I fell pregnant after leaving uni so I only had earning for a total of 6mths then i had smp. We didnt have much savings as we got married 10mths before lo was born.

My mat leave we used to pay the bills in a one chunk if we could rather than monthly. This saved me worring about them each month. We oaid out for a few things over the yr, but we put luxury and holiday to the back of our minds. o the money we had left over after bills etc, we saved. We could have spent these on social nights out etc. We chose to spend any money left over on essentials for our daughter or we saved it. As a result we are in a better financial situation than I thought we would find ourselves in.

You can get help from the council to pay for child care. Have you looked into living further out and getting your oh to comute to work. Or does this work out more expensive?

You mention going back to work early. Im not sure if your on maternity leave or what, but if you are and you go back early, you have to pay back some of your maternity pay I believe.

I would suggest you sit down with your partner and write a list of how much you will be earning. Figure out your bills and how you can save on electricity and reducing your shopping etc. See how much you have left. If you find your are in -ve figures, just have a sit down and suggest ways to help. Sounds obvious, but sometimes i find sitting down with pen and paper discussing things is better than a chit chat convo.

Sorry for the ramble, not sure if any of what i have writeen will be useful. hth xxx

Hi, I am not pregnant yet. But I am the same age as you (23 in a month) and I just want to reassure you that everything will be fine! I am also thinking of how we will cope, but in the end you know that you will and you're going to be the best parents you can be.

So I don't have all my little silly luxuries, I don't care, I will have the best luxury in the world, a husband and a baby!

We are also in an expensive housing situation. And we need to move! I have to put together a huge deposit £1000 to move into a house, I cannot cope with the lift in this building with a pram, it'll kill me. And then there's student overdrafts to clear as well. Which is massive. So we're not trying to concieve for a while yet, maybe another year, which is rubbish.

Sorry have rambled. I would def take the advice given and pay off any bills you can now, water, council tax rubbish like that. Also, can u have support from ur family?

I don't even have a job yet, and i have to save before we start ttc, oh dear!
xx