CROYDON: Trying to get by on such a tight budget can get us down
VICKI DEACON, 32, and husband Trevor, 35, live in Croydon, Surrey, with sons Ryan, six, and Zachary, four. Trevor works in sales, earning £25,500, and Vicki is paid £20,000 as a healthcare assistant working in operating theatres. Vicki says: TREVOR got a pay rise this year, taking us from a joint income of £43,500 to £45,500. The extra £150 a month means we can take the boys on a plane — to Salou in Spain — for the first time this summer.
It’s during term time, so we’ll have to pay the £120 unauthorised school absence fine for Ryan — Zachary is still below the legal age — because I get set annual leave and, at £1,400 for flights and accommodation, it’s half the price it would be during school holidays, when we couldn’t afford to go. We used a credit card, which will be paid off before the holiday.
We bought our two-bedroom semi- detached house ten years ago under a shared ownership scheme. It cost £225,000 and we took on a mortgage for £112,500, which costs £402 a month, and pay a housing association, which owns the other half, £100 rent. We could afford a bigger house if we
moved further out, but rely on our mothers to do the childcare, which saves £560 a month.
We each have a car, but mine is 14 years old while Trevor’s is 15 years old. I shop at Iceland, Lidl and the Co-op and spend about £500 a month.
While Trevor and I can wear the same old clothes for years, the boys grow fast so I keep updating their wardrobes, from Primark and H&M. Shoes come from Matalan, about a quarter of the price of Clarks.
I save £40 a month for Christmas through a scheme and spend about £250 on each of the boys. A lot of stuff ( Nintendo DS consoles, games and Lego) I tend to buy secondhand.
I also collect restaurant vouchers, which means kids can eat for £1 or families get special deals, and once or twice a month we go to a Harvester or TGI Friday’s, costing about £40. A couple of times a week Trevor and I treat ourselves to fish and chips, £12 for two.
Our other indulgence is a Merlin pass, £600 for the year, with unlimited access to Alton Towers and Chessington World Of Adventures.
We owe £6,500 on a £12,000 loan we took out a few years ago to buy my car and replace a broken boiler.
The strain of living on a tight budget close to London can get us down, but we try to make the best of what we have.