What would you do?

Anonymous

What would you do?

Rent is going up $40/week. My options are:

1) stay in current home, but child will have to stop going to activities.

2) move in with partner, but child moves school?

Partner and I had planned to move in together at end of year prior to my child starting high school. Lease is coming up and landlord wants to increase rent. Could keep child in same school but extra travel time, would be leaving partners house at 6am and getting home approx 4pm each day.
Moving in with partner now would be saving $1000+ per month to put towards our own home.

Posted in:  Parenthood Guilt

13 Replies

Anonymous

Don’t ever move in due to finances, how long have you been together?
40 dollars a week isn’t a lot, maybe get a credit card to cover activities for the rest of the year and then reassess. In reality it’s probably 40 x 20 weeks.
Let your child finish the year out where they are.
Give your relationship more time, you look like you are looking for a reason to expedite the moving in, why is that?
You both obviously decided to wait for good reason, take it slow, be cautious when you have a child, be 100% sure.
Don’t lose your independence until know him very, very, well.
Read some of the posts on here....
So many things more important than money, you have forever to save, now isn’t even a good time to buy.

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Anonymous

Why does your child need to stop activities, is there nowhere else to cut $40 a week from? It's not a huge increase assuming you're working, you would also be eligible for rent assistance. I would stay there.

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Anonymous

If the only reason to delay moving in together is not interrupting the school your child attends and that can managed, I see no issue. But if moving in together is still a 'likely relationship direction' rather than a guarantee that you are both fully on board with, don't. Moving in with someone prematurely and having it not work out is very disruptive for everyone.

I'd be looking for additional income or savings before cancelling activities though. Clean 1 house a week and you have made up the shortfall

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Anonymous

Stay in your house and cop the rent increase for 6 months so your child can finish school uninterrupted. Also don't stop the activities, if it's only $40 surely that can be made up somewhere else?? Keeping your kids routine is the priority, reassess at the end of the year.

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Anonymous

I would do whatever I could to avoid moving a kid to a new school midway through grade 6.
I'd cop the extra $40 a week.

$40 can be scrounged up, you can cancel any streaming services, downgrade your internet plan, remove luxuries from the grocery shop, sell any random crap you have lying around unused, do some dog walking, utilise public transport so you don't need to spend as much on fuel - that's just a few options, you tend to get creative when you need to.

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Anonymous

That’s a lot of change for your kid, a lot! All hanging on your relationship working out. That’s too much to ask of them in my opinion.

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Anonymous

What else can you cut out? Is there a scenario where child doesn't get affected? Don't change school with 6 months to go. Don't rush moving is. Speak with whatever activity your child is doing and see what can be done. Cut out anything unnecessary - streaming services, alcohol, smokes. Go fruit and veg market, ALDI for groceries.

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Anonymous

Listen to you all. $80 a fortnight is a lot of bloody money for some people. It could literally break them if they're already on a budgets edge. What a bunch of flippant advice in this thread.

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Anonymous

Flippant would be changing a kids entire world over 40 dollars a week.

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Anonymous

So what's your advice then?? Since you are so quick to criticise.
Rents are ridiculous. The cost of living is ridiculous. Everyone is feeling the effects. The advice given here was to try her absolute best to maintain the child's current situation until the end of the year. There are many women on here who unfortunately find themselves in a situation where they are living with a partner and can't leave due to no rentals etc, so the advice was given to not give up her independence just yet and wait until the end of the year. She asked for advice and thus wa the unanimous response. Does she have to take it? Absolutely not. But you aren't being helpful by being critical but yet not offering any suitable options.

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Anonymous

Please don’t change your child in the middle of his last year. Move in with partner and then suck up the travel for 6 months, then in high school he can attend somewhere closer to your new place. That way it’s only one big change at a time.

Also - and this is a big one - what does your child want to do?

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Anonymous

I wouldn't risk it, hell I won't change jobs as it would mean a change of school, let alone a new school, new house and new live in partner.
Mine are Seniors but to me it's a bit like last year if primary, way too many changes.

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Anonymous

How old is your child? If they’re old enough have a discussion with them. How long have you been with your partner. The move and travel doesn’t seem excessive.
I know $40 is a lot and can make or break budgets. I would have a chat with your child and see what they want to do, at this point (depending on how long the new partner has been involved) I would be leaning toward moving and travelling the distance for a while while you settle in.

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