₦airaland Forum

Falzdbadtguy:
Or you can invest the money in Bitcoins

my hand nor dey that one.i think Claremont suggested petrofac..have been looking into it,if for nothing at least for the kids

Ralphlauren:
Maybe you should move back to nigeria (Abuja ) then.

Tell me how many “salary earners” have over 38million naira (£80,000) as “savings” lying idle in their bank account.

I was being sarcastic ..
Don't know.why people love all these comparing and contrasting..
Things are just so different, different challenges too.
Besides all the money is for a deposit and related costs so in reality savings zero.

aje33:
With everything I've read here, I think if one can be making 400k and above per month in Abuja, he or she should be better off here than most folks in UK. Am I right?

Yes,with 400k and above you will be better off than most folks in uk

Ralphlauren:
Again, I’m surprised you couldn’t get a mortgage on a tier 2 visa.

I know people on the notoriously complex tier 1 entrepreneur visa that got a mortgage easily without any issues at all.

Before you move out of Scotland, you really should look at the pros and the overall picture and not just concentrate on your pay.

Houses are cheaper in Scotland compared to some parts of England. You do not have to pay any prescription charges. The government is increasing free childcare hours. University education is free. Standard of living is really good and most importantly it’s a good place to raise kids (when compared to places like london and Birmingham).

The complaint about ir35 will still apply irrespective of what part of the country you movr to.

Yes,we have considered it all ,spoken with friends etc and this is the better option for us.Many of our friends in similar professions have moved to england.Will port back for free uni when the kids are older.
We tried on the tier 2 and were rejected so didn't bother again,just started storing up money,lol.

Falzdbadtguy:
we actually sign a non-disclosure and are not supposed to tell anybody.
Anyway, i will leave the job next year by God's grace. Its still same pay as SHO-grade in NHS, you get like 2,600 after tax

You are being ripped off and exploited!! I'm soo sorry about that.If you were working directly under the NHS,then at least you know that's the usual pay.
I'm just year 2 and our pay is similar,chaii..don't worry your escape is near

Falzdbadtguy:
I came here as a Resident medical officer.
I'm only just over 1 year in the UK
It was just to get out of 9ja asap, i was stressed out and that was when forex was going gaga and my MD was driving me nuts with errands
i earn 10pounds per hour...lol so the hour rate is just silly to try to equate what junior doctors earn in the nhs.
we heard the agencies make may be like 50pounds per hour, but we only get 10 and feeding.

anyway, i was like an aquarium fish dropped in the ocean, so i had to get my bearing and this was a softlanding and realised that UK is not the heaven it was fabled to be.

i can only work 20hrs extra work during my free time 1 week offs every other week, and nhs locums pay about 40-45pounds PAYE, although they've reduced it in London to 32 PAYE.

I tried Umbrella a bit, but there were hidden charges and locum jobs are not usually regular.

Private company too, but the agency i was using was sloppy and i forecasted just paying an accountant to do nothing, so i opted for PAYE instead and lesser paperworks.

Its been ok, i don't live beyond my means or to impress anybody as there's nobody to impress. I doubt my neighbors in the Terrace i live even know i exist. If i die there sef, i won't be discovered until my parents call or the agency come to inspect the rented apartment. My parents would probably just think am too busy....God dey.

How can you earn £10 an hour as an RMO? Habba!!!
You are doing very well,you've taken the first steps and it will pay off! Just keep your eye on the ball.Buy house asap when you can..

Ranchhoddas:
People also include money for haircut in their budget?

I am starting to understand why Pidgin2 and her stay-in-Nigeria crew are very insistent on their position.

One is not really enjoying life if you have to worry about the minutest things.
Haircut?

Haircut you said??

Why not? A budget shows you where your money is going..we like seeing what we spend on,all financial gurus always advice a budget listing even the minutest thing.
Hasn't done me much good though

Ralphlauren:
Are you based in Scotland ?

If yes, I’m surprised you are yet to buy your own property. You’ve saved a good sum already and that money will buy you a flat outrightly in some parts of Scotland.

I will advise any single person to save up for a mortgage and buy a property before getting married. Doing so was one of the smartest things I did. Falzdbadtguy and ukmigrant take note of this.

I’m currently married and my largest household bill is childcare costs (£1100 per month as nursery fees for ONE child inclusive of all meals, nappies and wipes).

My wife also owns her own home which she bought before we got married. She currently rents the property on Airbnb and she makes a decent profit after deducting mortgage, utility bills, etc.

Right.
Husband was in england to start with,things were very tough for DH then,so he moved about a bit.
i finished school l,joined him and was jobless for years because I didnt have the right visa to begin foundation year-was a tier 2 dependant and did not do housejob after med school (meaning I must not locum but had to start with their own graduates.)then delay of GMC to approve qualification (took a year!)
We have been moving about so much,time flew so fast,we could not get a mortgage because we were tier 2 visa,we gave up.Got ilr,almost bought last year but due to ir35 issues we are moving again as Scotland pay is poor in comparison, definitely will be worse off if adding their tax rises.So we are moving where we can earn more,so even with higher taxes can keep more due to more earning potential.
It's a long story,very long and scary to have money lying about but can't get a house due to so much instability.

Hopefully 2018 won't pass us by.

Falzdbadtguy:
Is there some sort of criteria, for selecting where to settle and do you know if Peterborough is a nice place to settle? from your experience

Unfortunately,I know nothing about England,just lived there for a bit then we moved up north,sorry.

Maybe dupyshoo can help? I'll be keeping tab too cos we haven't chosen our final destination

You are doing a lot of shifts ,I assume you are locuming,do you ever plan to train?
Im still junior& salary is poor,so bear in mind that you get a hefty pay cut if you decide to train,max 6 years if core medical,but 3-4 years for Gp.

UKmigrant:
Maybe they want to buy the Buckingham palace you don't know!

Not even close..all we want is a good middle class area,low crime rate,good schools,decent quiet way of life,that's all.Having kids kind of narrows down areas you can live as you need to consider a lot of things for their sake.

Falzdbadtguy:
So the UK govt gave a colleague 20,000pounds just to become a GP in some village, and the guy bought this....if he has 80k, he'd probably buy a ferrari. Nice discipline

I don't blame him ..life has to be enjoyed,no point stashing so much money & not enjoying small small pleasures.im pretty sure he can afford it so why not?

UKmigrant:
A bit strange that since I moved here, I have been having this wierd feeling that the time runs a bit faster than Nigeria, I have not been able to get over this for a while now as it feels like I dont have time to do everything I plan to.

I wake up in the morning and before I could catch up with unfulfilled tasks of the previous day, bam! its midnight again and I doze off! I wake up again the next day and the vicious cycle continues.

A friend told me it might have something to do with the winter. A lot of people get conditions with funny names like S.A.D( an acronym for seasonal affective disorder) during this period. I have not been feeling SAD though, infact its the opposite LOL

It's because you are so busy..the days fly by.

Beautyaddy:
Looool!!

Endless father Christmas...and you wonder why you're not able to save?

Everyone has a choice but I guess your choice is to carry everybody's problem and add it to yours...good luck!

Out of all those people you listed up there that you're sending money to I will exempt your parents.

Every other person can be helped after excess left over.

Very very fair assessment,thank you.
I have looked over this list many times to cut down and the victims will be the close cousin for starters and reduction in help for sibling.

For fees,this one there's no choice as not paying it would be a burden on parents who I'm also giving money for maintenance.The part gateman salary is split between siblings,parents don't work so who will pay?
If I give parents money ,is it now grandparents I'll ignore?who will care for them?

It's heavy ,but I expect school fees to lighten in the next 5-6 years for the ones in uni.then 18 years for the one in primary

We actually save 10% of our combined income or slightly less if something comes up & also put £800 in investments.I agree it could be more but for now we are stuck til we shave off some expenses.

Eg: childcare will reduce once the kids are in primary
Rent will change to mortgage,gas&electricity hopefully,then money sent to Nigeria too.
There's hope.

dupyshoo:
With 20% deposit, you can get a mortgage with a very good rate. The interest rate is so low now. My advice is for you to get it asap. You can fix your rates for 5 years if you want to be sure of your monthly payments.

Our mortgage is a lot cheaper than rent, so please consider it asap.

We are on it..next year asap once we choose a permanent base for the next phase of my training.
Your posts have been very helpful,thank you

Falzdbadtguy:
At this rate, you could outrightly buy a house sef

Complicated..we were moving around a lot,one final move and we will buy.to buy in a place with good schools will cost over 400k

Falzdbadtguy:
Amaze balls

Remember this is a family of 4 ,5 peeps.when we add the extra person who helps with childcare

Have been here almost 8 years,target is 100k ,most will go to deposit for house ..you saved 11k in one year,if you continue this way you will save much more as long as you don't throw in kids to the mix.
However your income will increase with time,if your partner works and you keep expenses down,you will save more.

dupyshoo:
Your electricity and gas cost is too high. Try to change supplier every year. Go through uswitch and check for cheaper deals. If you register with topcashback, you can even get up to £70 cashback for changing to cheaper deals.

Your life insurance cover seem to be too pricey, we have cover for my whole family including serious and critical illness for about £50.

Swimming class cost can be cut down. Check for council life centres. They are usually about £30 per month for once per week class.

If your kids are skilful in football and you are sure they will be future Kevin de Bruyne or Messi, then the football cost is a good investment. Atleast you will be sure of retiring early.

Hahahaha at the football & retiring...I wish
That £58is just one person &council run.
We did the council swimming but the child was just not concentrating and would be busy playing about so we pulled out and went private,it was £58 for one block(council)

Thanks for your suggestions..I will definitely shop and switch for electricity & life insurance..

Not much to do today so lounging at work and Nairaland

wonlasewonimi:
What kind of house are you living in that you are paying £250 for council tax?
I have been cutting my hair myself for more than 15 years
You dont need £44 for sky tv--buy a freeview box and subscribe to netflix
how can you spen £300 on fuel and £250 on train
Church offeringsPastor's got something on you?
Grocery £400...garden of eden beckons
Your hair? I thought you ladies wear wig these days?

Yes council tax here is £250 massive increase from what it was.
Freeview children channel limited.
Dh even has Netflix ontop I forgot to add that one,he insisted on Netflix for himself
We are a family of 4,plus nanny or family(2 people sometimes),so sometimes we re 6 people so grocery bills is high
We go give offering naa-its not tithe
I no get wig,hair sometimes can be once in 6 weeks or 2 months.
We are two people -one person drives to work,the other takes a train..our jobs are in different places.
We have to look into cutting hair ourselves

Will have to find a better deal on the sky or something,I'm just hoping to settle down properly and start cutting down bills heavily.Im so ashamed of our expenditure but they all seem like necessary evils for now..have tried many times to cut down but it seems we are getting worse.
We don't have any debts though ,don't use credit cards much except to do small purchases to boost our credit ratings ,we pay back immediately.

wonlasewonimi:
Look into help -to -buy scheme by the government and use half of the saving to stabilise yourself.

Thanks ..this is definitely what we will do.hope to buy 2018 for sure so we can rest.

Bills

Rent-£1k
Council tax-£250
Electricity&gas-130
Fuel-£300(distance to work is far)
Train(£250)
Life insurance-105
Income protection- £40
TV license-12
Grocery-400( could be more)
Swimming class -105 for 5 lessons
Football(child)-58 for a block
Nursery-500( when family around)
ISA for kids-£100
Stocks for kids-£200
TV& internet- 44
Nanny-£800 when family not around
Haircut-£30
My own hair-£60-100 plus manicure&pedicure
Eating out-£100 (depends on what's happening)
Outings -£100(soft play,zoo & co)
Church offerings-£100-200
Charity foodbank-£50
Miscellaneous just incase of wahala-£100
Pocket money-300(150 for each of us)

Saving up for holiday-£100-200

Investment -£500pcm
Nigeria maintenance-xpcm

Saving-10% of income.
MOt,servicing,car tax, insurance- once a year


I know there are areas to cut down though before wahala bursts.
We both combine our income and work from one pot.

DisGuy:
The main thing is to just settle down properly seems you are in a rush ....saving for a mortgage and building in Nigeria all in one year might be a bit too much esp with childcare cost etc but then again na you know your pocket

We have saved up an ok amount (over 80k) for deposit.so we now want to leave it and then focus on building in Nigeria.

To be honest we are confused(just like my name).Feels like we are in a huge spin with no concrete plan.

Whether to keep on saving and focus on buying this year or to just split our money and do the 2.The pressure is intolerable

Lexusgs430:
Polish aupairs through an agency, seems to be the most cost effective option..........

Once we settle in,will definitely look into this.
For now it's family doing shifts for us.No regrets at all as we can go to work without fear.

otokx:
You guys sending money to Nigerians in Nigeria are not really helping the situation back home.

Which other options are there?
Parents maintenance, grandparents maintenance
Siblings fees Uni
Close cousins who need cash as they are job hunting
Money to help out siblings in a jam
Staff with parents salaries
Jobless close friends cash once in a while
Repairs at home where parents live

It is endless..is there really a choice??

Bills from Nigeria
150k pcm for both families
School fees for family -550k pa
120kpa part salary gatemans
Cousins,siblings money.by the side -cannot even calculate this one.

So it mounts up like crazy..

We have decided to arrange our finances to allow us make our own investments if not we keep giving out and end up having nothing.

Have landed property,not many.We have decided to build in 2018..so will have to lock up

Just ordinary visit ran into hundreds of thousands cos the things to do to keep our families comfortable were too much..we were so relieved when our holiday ended.

I'm grateful that we are not poor and are able to manage ourselves and keep family happy but the bills are back breaking..

I wonder how other people cope and are able to build so fast and have tonnes of investment.

We have arranged meeting with financial adviser in January .
Is there a thread here for people with families..my problems will seem wierd for a single person.

We got from an agency in London ,she didn't come from Nigeria,lives in the uk.she was horrendous.once we move into our own house will start trying aupairs.

People with families should speak up as well.Would be great to see how others get by especially bill wise.
Childcare is the real money eater..eases up slightly when child is 3,weight off at 5 depending on schooling preferences.
Currently blow thousands on plane tickets flying in family for childcare as agencies here are not reliable and had a horrible experience with a Nigerian nanny.
Have not bought a house yet due to some circumstances,spending 1k pcm on rent.Nice area,good schools.Will buy next year God willing.Have managed to save a good amount for deposit.
Bills 2-4k pcm with nursery fees,council tax, grocery,life insurance,income protection,hair cut and do,children's ISA,childrens extracurricular,eating out,money sent to Nigeria for family,mobiles,fuel etc
My salary is 2.4k, foundation doctor.husband higher earner.
Once we settle,we expect to save way more and reduce bills

Ukmigrant,
100 likes so you need to live up to your word and show the payslips.
Or say you decided to go back on your word by choosing not to show it again..

sorry op,deleted

justwise:
Congrat!

Thanks

Tfree:
Congratulations imconfused, that was very quick. My brother submitted the same day, he's in his final year too, my husband and I are sponsoring his trip and we submitted similar documents. The only difference is he applied alone, as he'll be travelling alone, although my mum had been to visit us before.

We got a call and we're still awaiting the decision. The tls website hasn't been updated, latest update is still showing received by UKVI, so doubt its been couriered.

Thank you for sharing the application update. 

Thank you.Hopefully it gets sorted ASAP.We were advised for her to apply with my mother to make her application have more substance,since she's in final year etc..
I believe with all the documents you used,it should go well.
Good luck

Elly91:
Did they apply through priority route or standard?

Standard

thisisposh22:
Really happy for you and your family. Did you sister or mother receive an acknowledgement email from UKVI after the biometrics?

Hiya,yes they did some days after the biometrics,something about their application being prepared for the clearance officer