Money Matters..
Don't want to depress you, but if many parents knew the cost of
bringing
up a child, there would be fewer babies born!
Of course you will manage, everyone does. But there's a difference between managing and struggling, and it helps if you can reduce your other expenses as much as possible.
- Compare your mortgage with others on the market and switch it if there is a cheaper alternative. Several companies will take lower payments in the first year or two, which could help pay for a lot of baby's equipment.
- You may have been meaning to switch your electricity/gas/telephone supplier? Now is the time. Since Maggie Thatcher deregulated these industries prices have fallen substantially in real terms because of competition. There are an increasing number of companies offering to supply you with utilities and most are considerably cheaper than the old monopolies like British Gas, BT and the regional electricity boards, yet about half the customers are still with these old dinosaurs and are paying more than they need to - about 20-30% too much according to a recent article in the Sunday Telegraph.
The silly thing is the only thing that changes is the name on the bill and the level of service (which should improve!). For example, let's take British Gas. You probably think they deliver your gas, right? Wrong! The pipes and all the equipment are owned by Transco. If you sign up with another supplier you receive the same gas you would have received had you stayed with British Gas and paid their higher prices. If you smell gas and need an engineer the same chap will turn up whoever you pay for the gas - the Transco engineer! It's the same with electricity and telephones. Change the telephone company and need an engineer and the BT man arrives. Think BT give you the best service? Then read this! - if you don't have time to read the whole article, 29% of readers of a well-known consumer magazine said they were satisfied with BT's service as opposed to 78% for our favourite.
There are various web sites that offer to find you a cheaper source but bear in mind that these sites receive commission and the best deal is from a company (see the ad at the top of the page) that refuses to pay these people! Again an article in the same paper reveals all.
