Do you have a company or are you a sole trader?
Limited company
How long have you been trading?
Since Nov 2004
Can creche fees be reduced by getting an au pair/working less and paying for fewer days?
It’s a possibility I have looked at other places but none seem to have spaces for a child less than 1 year. When went back to work after maternity leave I only intended to work 4 days but some staff left and I needed to be in the office 5 days a week. This is something that I am working on at the moment.
Can the Halifax loan (presuming the interest rate is well below the rate Blue is charging) be increased to reduce the Blue loan?
The Halifax loan is well below the Blue rate but Halifax refused a refinance last week as did Bank of Ireland.
Do you have a car (or cars) that could be down graded to release some funds?
We both drive company cars, company also pays for petrol, insurance, tax and services.
Is there any possibility of you or your spouse getting another income source (eg a few hours work at the weekend)?
My husband works most weekends and takes a day off durning the week but its not constentent. He is at the final stages of getting a new job but we are not sure if he should take it as the salary is a basic of €24,700 for 3 years with the possibility of €32,000 with overtime but he will lose his company car (petrol etc) and mobile phone which will mean more bills for us and not more money!
How long is your mortgage fixed for?
We fixed it for 2 years and will face a penalty is we move sooner but we can refinance with GE anytime from next month onwards but were hoping to wait and re mortgage and put a small extension on the house as it is only a small home.