Might have to sell my car due to fuel costs.

[trippytaka]

Originally Posted by LowEL2XR8

My beloved EL XR8 might have to find a new home.
After getting my job back and consequently paying more than I earn to daycare to cover the kids I can't afford a V8 anymore.

As with almost everyone with an EL XR8 they regret selling it. I have not advertised yet but I know I'm regretting it already. They are getting harder and harder to find in good condition and when I am able to get another one it will be extremely rare to get a good one.

I'll be posting it up for sale next week when I work out the finer details.

Until she goes she will get some great attention to detail.

Have you thought about buying a s***er daily? An econobox to run around in?

[LeadFoot81]

Originally Posted by trippytaka

Have you thought about buying a s***er daily? An econobox to run around in?

But then he doubles up on rego and insurance?

If he could cop the initial loss, he could use savings to buy another car, then cancel the rego, go 3rd party fire and theft on the xr8 and store it away for a few years.

Realistically though, as a parent the OP has a tough decision has to make. As a replacement/stand-in I'd recommend a 4 cyl Camry as they're to cheap to run, reliable, mid to large size car.

[|||]

for $500 a year maybe look at overtime or another job. stacking shelves at the supermarket isnt the best job in the world, but plenty of people have done it to get themselves out of a bind.

[Cheech]

You mentioned you have a home loan. I am assuming it is principle and interest with an offset account.

Could you approach your lender and convert over to an interest only option until you are on your feet again ?

Depending on where you are in your home loan, this could be mean a big chunk of dough stays in your hands each month. Then when your childcare rebate comes back, you can put this on your home loan.

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by |||

for $500 a year maybe look at overtime or another job. stacking shelves at the supermarket isnt the best job in the world, but plenty of people have done it to get themselves out of a bind.

I would also suggest this as well.
I packed shelves for 8 months after leaving school. I thought it was not bad at all. You would be getting almost $20 an hour.

Childcare costs are ********. $1200 a week seams pathetically expensive. I earn about that much in a week after tax, to hell if my entire pay was going to child care.

I'm going to tell my Girlfriend I am not having kids until we are at least both full qualified in our jobs and on good money.

I'd say get a 4 cylinder Camry or something like that. You will save a lot of money and can always buy another xr8 one day.

[jcxr]

Originally Posted by LowEL2XR8

Unfortunately I don't have the $3500 to convert to gas initially.
I pay about $1245 a week in day care costs. I have to wait 3 months before I can get half of that back. In the meantime our rapidly reducing savings offsetting our homelone means we are paying a lot more in interest as well.
I really have no idea how bad it is until after tax time when we see how much we have to pay back family assitance for what they paid this year to us.
Everything is huge cost. We are going backwards weekly until this childcare rebate happens.

Fuel is a major cost to us. When I wasn't working the XR8 stayed at home and was hardly used. So it didn't effect us.

I even have to think can I afford a can of coke. Every dollar counts.
In about 3 or 4 years time we will be back to normal but until the kids go to school there is massive costs when childcare, fuel and interest rates go up.

I can do something about the fuel costs but not about the other two.

Ever thought of employing a Nanny for the kids?
Wouldnt cost anywhere near $1250/week, and some of the domestic work would get done, saving your Mrs some time also.

[Cheech]

Be aware that the second job will be taxed in your highest tax bracket and may push you into the next. You then may end up owing $$$ to the tax department if your employer doesn't deduct additional tax.

But a second job is also a good idea (even better if it's a cashie).

[XR6_661]

$1250 a WEEK.

A WEEK!!!!!!!

I might march up to the docs this arvo and get a vasectomy. If $1250 a week isn't a contraceptive, I dunno what is.

[XR6_661]

Whats the cost of having the kids at home with mum not working, vs the cost of childcare...

[Ibrox90]

Mate I can safely say I know how you feel.

I suggest you do what Ive done a few times.

Shed the 8 and buy a **** box.

When I bought my car I put my 1994 magna in the carport with a car cover and just left it. Then a year later when finacial strife came I swapped the 2 and drove the Magna.

Having now sold the Magna. I needed to take the 8 off the road to have some work done. once thats finsihed I'll be keeping the sigma I have as a Just in case.

Go and buy an Indestructable car, I suggest a 90's magna.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by |||

for $500 a year maybe look at overtime or another job. stacking shelves at the supermarket isnt the best job in the world, but plenty of people have done it to get themselves out of a bind.

I earn plenty working in a supermarket.

I loved my V8 but im glad i dont have it anymore.....

[AUIIPURSUIT]

as soon as i read your costs.. i thought to myself the same as a few others... whoever is earning less out of you and your partner.. put the apron on and stay at home with the kids.

with one at home, you could nearly cut it to one car for a while, so long as you plan ahead with groceries etc (and providing theres some public transport for times of need)..

if you feel you need to save 15$ a week to keep afloat, you need to see a professional for financial advise. Im not being rude when i say that, but so long as your honest with all expenses and so forth, you may be able to free some more money up.

From the sounds of it, selling your xr8 and buying a same priced vehicle, is not going to be your answer.

[BleedBlue]

I was recently looking for a cheap second car but needed the room for the kids. When I weighed it all up after extensive research an AU2+ (don't like the look of AU1) fitted the bill perfectly. Picked up a SR pack with 75000 kms on the clock for 6k. I have now put it on LPG for the cost of the rebate ($1500).

- The AU was one of the most bullet proof Falcons ever made
- Has power and room
- Cheap insurance
- Reasonable Rego
- Cheap parts (Jap car parts are not cheap)
- Costs around $35 to fill and gets me between 300 and 500kms a tank depending on city or hwy driving.

Couldn't be happier, apart from the dents in the door from the kids already!

[Mr Hardware]

Originally Posted by Cheech

Be aware that the second job will be taxed in your highest tax bracket and may push you into the next. You then may end up owing $$$ to the tax department if your employer doesn't deduct additional tax.

This is incorrect. Chances are he'll still stay within the same tax bracket, probably 30c in the dollar. Just advise the employer to take out 30c in the dollar, done.

Originally Posted by AUIIPURSUIT

whoever is earning less out of you and your partner.. put the apron on and stay at home with the kids.

Best advice of the thread. If $500/yr is a big deal, then i'll guess that one of you is earning less (net) than the childcare costs.
I've got a kid on the way and my mrs has given up work and won't ever need to return if she doesn't want to, aside from some disaster.

[Franco Cozzo]

Look into getting a Honda Legend, its fairly big and isn't too bad on the juice for a 6, plus has all the creature comforts. Its FWD so a lot of leg room in the back.

[1967xrute]

Yeah second job is the best bet. 4-8 hours is what ya need.
Childcare rates are a rort, but hey if it was cheap you wouldnt trust them with ya own kids hey. Sell everything you dont need on ebay....

[chrisfpv]

There's always going to be V8's to buy a couple of years from now. If keeping the XR8 is putting you in financial pain then you know what you need to do.

But with that being said, i'd imagine for it to be profitable you'd have to downgrade significantly to an older model car which could mean possible ongoing problems or down to a 4cyl.

[CJR09]

Originally Posted by LowEL2XR8

I pay about $1245 a week in day care costs.


When I wasn't working the XR8 stayed at home and was hardly used. So it didn't effect us.

I think you kind of answered yourself here -

a few options

1 - nanny
2 - replace 8 with 4
3 - If it wasnt a prob when you werent working - dont work, put time and energy into your kids - i'm sure everyone would benefit from this!


2 basic ways to get ahead - reduce expenses or generate additional income

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by kaniSS

I hate childcare. It always takes a chunk out of everyone's pay.

The thing I don't understand is why do they give you 50% every 3 months? Why not make childcare 50% cheaper. Stupid government.

They should change the 50% rebate to monthly instead of every 3 months.

Because they count on people being lazy. They also expect that a good proportion will never claim the rebate.

Lazy people who put in claim forms months over due make the government money by extra interest, much the same reason why they only allow you to claim quarterly and not monthly.

Why is there a cash back system on the M5? Because people can't be bothered with the paperwork.

That cashback account has tens of millions sitting in it waiting to be claimed I read... just think what that is earning in interest, along with the $40 tag deposit... but I digress.

To the OP. If you are selling your car then buy a cheapish 4 pot. The small economy difference between what you have now and a 6 will not be worth the hassle.

Cheap to run, cheap to register and insure and easy to offload down the track.

The nanny idea is pretty good. I lived with a girl who did that and she looked after 3 kids. Can you still claim the rebate with that I wonder?

Get an extra job. You only need to do a few hours a week it seems, and the extra tax you may pay will get returned come tax time anyway.

Good luck.

[JC]

Originally Posted by HULK_BA

You wouldnt want to ruin a el xr8 by adding lpg to it.

Another ill-informed statement. LPG doesn't ruin any car - in fact a good system will be only a small % of pwer down when compared to petrol, and with LILPG, it can nett a gain (though I wouldn't stretch to LILPG on an EL XR8 - mixer ring works well enough, and ends up in savings inside 12 to 18 months for most people).

To the OP - I sympathise; is there any possibility of trying the home based childcare, rather than the child care centre rip-off merchants. We were in a similar situation a few years ago with 3 kids under 3 and the missus had to return to work or resign. She ended up with part time as a compromise, and together with family looking after the kids one day a week, it meant she actually earnt money ($100 a week nett, I think) rather than just keeping child care centre in business and me kicking in $80 a week on top of her after tax wage for the privilege of her working.

Have you got onto the Family Assistance Office to see if there's any way you can be reimbiursed more frequently (I'm guessing the answer will be no, but it's worth a try)?

With the repayment of any overpayment - you only have to pay back what you can afford - we paid back an $9k overpayment at $50 per fortnight, plus the Part A and Part B payments when they were due were offset against that debt (which was their fault, not ours). Took just over 12 months to pay it back that way.

[TURBOTAXI]

Nothing wrong with LPG for the XR8 but also some good advice regarding re configuring the work roles - also look into an Au pere - an overseas student who comes pre screened and you pay $250 per week plus feeding and housing them, they stay with you 6 months then go off around Australia spending the money the earned working for you. Then you just get a new one. Great way to teach the kids about other countries and culture.

[sgt_doofey]

A 6 cylinder running LPG will be cheaper than running a petrol 4 cylinder based on fuel costs.
My wife and I had the in-laws 1.8l Corolla and my EL a while ago. I caught the bus to work and my wife drove. It was cheaper to drive the Falcon on gas than the petrol Corolla, so my wife took the Falcon everyday.
Registration is a bit more expensive, but if you cover enough kms, you should easily come out in front. The difference for us was spending either $30 on gas or about $60 on petrol a week.

My advice, if you buy another car, go with the LPG I6. It'll be cheaper than the 4 banger and you've still got the room of a large car.

[LTDHO]

I began driving a 02 Laser from a 92 XR8. Regretted it.

XR8 on gas is waaaaaaaaaay cheaper to run, plus it can tow tandems, sounds like and 8, is RWD, etc

[BENT_8]

Now, at the risk of having some of the riteous consider you a burden on their taxes i say unless you earn more than the $1250pw, throw the job in and look after the kids yourself.
The other option is for your wife to do a childcare course and work from home so she can look after you own and other peoples which will give her a wage and save you childcare expenses.

The childcare rebate is good, but most people need money day to day, not every 3 months.

[Dave3911]

Originally Posted by LowEL2XR8

After getting my job back and consequently paying more than I earn to daycare

Listen to the words coming out of your mouth.

Forget the specifics about the car - Why on earth are you putting yourself through all this stress and time away from home, to be worse off at the end of the week?

My family was in the exact same scenario as you. I'm 26, Three kids, Mortgage, Wife, two cars etc. etc. When my better half went to go back to work, part time around 40 - 50 hours a fortnight we quickly realised that after doing the sums it was a BAD idea. When you factor in the Family Tax Benefit Part A and B (which can be claimed Fortnightly if needed - I claim yearly) - you very quickly see that it takes some pretty big figures to be earnt before going back to work becomes a good idea. You basically start losing all of FTB the minute you have a dual income family, whereas you can earn a little over 100K/year on single income before losing benefit.

When doing our figures, we were fortunate enough to not have to use childcare every day of the week (would've needed 2 one week, 3 the next) - We were only going to end up at the end of a fortnight with an extra $40 in our pocket. If she had've gone back full time, we would've been in the same situation as you and been at a negative.

So basically, my wife would've been working for a dollar an hour..... Incidentally, she hasn't gone back to work and wont be until our youngest hits 5 and goes off to school. I actually love the fact that my kids get to spend the amount of time with their mum that they do. You don't get these years back and they are only little once. No point spending all that time slaving away at a job for little to no benefit...

[Stefan]

^^^^Spot on, why my wife stays home, she needs to earn 100k before it even starts to make sense for her to go back to work.

[Lukeyson]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Because they count on people being lazy. They also expect that a good proportion will never claim the rebate

In this case, you are incorrect. The Child Care Rebate is automatically calculated and paid Quarterly or Annually. Labor were discussing last year, trying to get the rebate paid weekly/fortnightly, but have not heard anything further.

OP sucks you are in that situation, do what you need to now, and when in a better position, you will be able to get a newer model

[zdcol71]

Originally Posted by AUIIPURSUIT

as soon as i read your costs.. i thought to myself the same as a few others... whoever is earning less out of you and your partner.. put the apron on and stay at home with the kids.

with one at home, you could nearly cut it to one car for a while, so long as you plan ahead with groceries etc (and providing theres some public transport for times of need)..

if you feel you need to save 15$ a week to keep afloat, you need to see a professional for financial advise. Im not being rude when i say that, but so long as your honest with all expenses and so forth, you may be able to free some more money up.

From the sounds of it, selling your xr8 and buying a same priced vehicle, is not going to be your answer.

This^^
Some balance to all of this.....$1245/week in childcre FFS!!! One of you must be earning at least that much to make any mathematical sense.
It stands to reason then that you have a combined income of close to $2500/week....if you can't afford to run an el v8 on that money, I'm sorry but I think you are living beyond your means. My apologies if I am reading this wrong and there is something I am missing

[b0son]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Lazy people who put in claim forms months over due make the government money by extra interest, much the same reason why they only allow you to claim quarterly and not monthly.

You put in the form ONCE. After that, you get your rebate every quarter with no further involvement on your part, beyond providing a new income estimate after tax time each year.

[phillyc]

Things sound like they are tight. Sorry to hear.

Ever consider moving out of your home and renting it out? I had to do that 10 years ago when times were tough. But, it allowed me to get back on my feet again.

The idea of the Au Pere / Nanny is a good one.

If you are ahead in the mortgage, ask for a hold on the payments (but make sure you repay when the childcare rebate kicks in).

The $1245pw will get a rebate of $625pw x 13 weeks. So $8k when it finally arrives. Pay that on the mortgage.

If either of you earn less than the $625pw, or even $700pw allowing for travel expenses. Quit your job or cut back on the days.

If either of you smoke, gamble or drink. You don't have to stop just cut back.

Hope it all works out.

PS If i had an EL XR8 i don't think i could part either.