NICCI Bond is desperate to have a baby and has spent the last ten years trying to conceive with her partner.
She needs £7,000 to pay for IVF before she turns 42, as the clinic says the chances of a successful pregnancy after then are too low – and she doesn't qualify for NHS help.
The 40-year-old from Bradford earns £22,500 a year as a night shift worker at a children's home, plus extra if she works Sundays, but her outgoings leave her with very little cash and she is £10,000 in debt.
Our Cash Clinic expert Holly Thomas pulls no punches in telling Nicci to get a handle on her debts before they spiral out of control.
She also recommends Nicci ditch her pricey Sky subscription and switch from buying food in local convenience stores to shopping in supermarkets.
Nicci told The Sun: “I wish I had enough money to have IVF treatment but I’ve never had the funds no matter how hard I try.
"The clinic wants the money upfront – there’s no option of a payment plan to spread the cost. Plus I have poor credit due to a bunch of debts.
I want to have IVF before it's too late
"I’ve had tubal unblocking, a laparoscopy, cell tests, pelvic ultrasounds, 3D imaging, a 16-week course of oestrogen and a few other procedures.
"The majority have been self-paid as my partner has children, which means we’re not always eligible for NHS help.
“I don’t own my home or a car – but I’m not too bothered. The thing that’s driving me to improve my finances is to have IVF before it’s too late.”
Nicci and her partner Bilal, 51, live separately so they don’t have the benefit of splitting household bills between them.
She has already paid out around £5,000 in private consultation fees for treatments and assessments for her fertility over the past five years, to find out the reason she has so far been unsuccessful in falling pregnant.
Cash Clinic looks at where Nicci can try and cut back to fund the IVF she's so desperate for.
Why we've launched Cash Clinic
THE Sun has launched its new Cash Clinic series because we want to help you, our readers, to save cash.
For some, it's easy to get caught up with work and family life and to put our own finances on the back burner.
While for others, it needs an expert's eye to work out where further cutbacks can be made to already tight budgets.
If you'd like our Cash Clinic expert to review your finances and to feature in our series, please email Holly Thomas at [email protected]
Bills: £273 per month
New spend: £188 per month
Saving: £85 per month
Nicci’s flat is supplied only by electricity and not gas. Her monthly bill from Npower is currently £90 a month.
This figure is high as it incorporates extra to clear a £600 debt. The debt means that she can’t switch to another supplier (unless she could afford to clear it).
She’s currently on a tariff which ends in June 2020 so she should make a note in her diary to call Npower and make sure she switches to the next best deal rather than slipping onto the standard tariff, which is the most expensive.
Nicci was switched to a water meter a few months ago but so far hasn’t seen any reduction to her £35 monthly bill. Nicci should get in touch with the water company to question this.
Line rental, broadband and TV package from Sky is costing £45 a month. Nicci has the most basic TV package. Her contract is up in February so she could speak to Sky to see if it can discount her current deal or switch to a cheaper one.
Alternatively, she could use comparison site broadbandchoices.co.uk to see what she could get from other providers.
At the moment, there’s a deal from TalkTalk offering fast broadband and 105 TV channels for £27.95 a month.
Nicki currently pays £19 a month for a TV licence.
Nicci could save £80 a month by ditching Sky and swapping to a SIM-only mobile deal
Home contents insurance costs £24 a month with LV= for her two bedroom flat. She could get a cheaper policy from Privilege for £76 for the year (£6.33 a month), according to comparison site Gocompare.com.
Her mobile phone costs £60 a month on a contract to pay for an expensive handset.
The contract has another 10 months to go, after which she should switch to a SIM-only deal which should only cost as little as £10 a month.
Groceries £200 per month
New spend: £150 per month
Saving: £50 per month
Nicci spends around £200 a month on groceries. She picks up smaller bits and pieces from local convenience shops near home as well as an Iceland nearby.
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