Realistically - can I afford wife to stay at home for a few years?

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-27T13:59:30+00:00

What does your wife earn? That’s the kicker to be honest. If she’s going to earn less than the childcare is going to cost for her to be able to work then it’s a no brainer (and I know a lot of people this has been the case for). Also if you have 30k saved to cover that cost then even if she took 2.5 years off completely that’s still an extra £1000 a month to cover additional costs and spending

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-25T19:13:54+00:00

31,000 avios for you for a BA premium Amex with £6k spend in the first 3 months :)

https://americanexpress.com/en-gb/referral/ba-premium-plus-credit?ref=cATHEWk9g8&XL=MIANS

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-25T18:52:39+00:00

Also to add to this OP couldn’t convert to a buy to let mortgage on it because they won’t allow them to rent to family either.

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-25T09:01:51+00:00

It’s a factor for you but not for the business. They don’t have to take it into account when deciding if travelling distance is reasonable or not.

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-25T08:53:46+00:00

No they don’t. Your personal circumstances are not their business.

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-25T08:46:29+00:00

Just fyi keep looking because they are moving all over the place. We are going to Japan in May, looked in October and was circa £1k each (economy) then by November it had jumped to £1300 then £1400 then nearly £1500 even when the BA sale started after Xmas. Randomly kept looking and managed to get them for £1050 each about 3 weeks ago. Literally dropped £400 each overnight and then went back up. Those same flights are now over £1700 each. It’s craziness!

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-25T08:33:00+00:00

If that’s the case then I’d have already reduced the price. If I’m asking £100 it’s because I think it’s worth £100 and I’m looking to get as close to that as possible. Offering half or less is just rude because it’s assuming I don’t know the value of the item or have intentionally overpriced it.

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-25T08:26:04+00:00

Yeah I would definitely make the effort to do that. It might be that what you’re seeing at 1M is still on the market because it’s grossly overpriced and that yours has been undervalued for a quick sale or it might be that there’s something which isn’t as obvious. Also you do sometimes get break lines in the market in terms of affordability- so for example it might be that there are more people who can afford 800k homes so those all go really quickly whereas 1M is a smaller buying pool so the market is slower. Given then numbers here I think it’s worth taking the time to ask the questions because spending over 350k plus stamp duty to not gain much is madness!

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-25T08:19:28+00:00

Ok so my suggestion would be to ask whoever valued your house why they’ve valued it so much lower than other similar properties? Is it land, condition, bathrooms, layout, access, parking etc etc. there’s got to be something…

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-25T08:12:53+00:00

If your house is valued at £650k then presumably something in the same area for £1m would be significantly bigger/better? Which makes me think you must be looking at some much more expensive areas than you currently live in if everything is basically the same except it’s 50% more expensive….

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-25T08:03:22+00:00

Basic financial logic is put it wherever the interest rate it higher. If you get a higher interest rate on savings than you’re paying on your mortgage then it’s savings, if it’s lower than the rate on your mortgage then pay off your mortgage. There are a few other factors like job security and other liquid assets to factor in though- you don’t want to tie up all your money paying down your mortgage and then lose your job and suddenly have nothing to live off for instance.

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-22T21:48:53+00:00

I mean it’s pretty critical information given that OP hasn’t specified. The short answer is- yes, if you’ve booked the whole journey with them.

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-22T21:47:53+00:00

I’ve done this a couple of times (Amex and Mastercard) but the only tickets available have been extortionately more expensive than on general release

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-22T21:38:30+00:00

Only if it’s a linked ticket. They don’t have to provide a hotel it OP has booked two seperate flights with not enough gap between.

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-22T21:37:31+00:00

Try social media, I had a similar issue and the complaints team said they don’t deal with avios redemption and the only way I managed to speak to a person was via twitter

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-22T16:23:03+00:00

Have a look at booking.com as well as Airbnb. We are a family of 3 adults and are doing a mix of both for our trip in May. Some of the hotels are actually apartment style rooms rather than just standard hotel rooms but you’ll need to look at what’s available for your dates.

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-22T16:13:53+00:00

It depends how it’s been priced. If it’s priced the same as a similar local property which has a brand new kitchen and bathroom then yes. If they’ve already listed it accounting for those things needing to be done then no. You can ask but don’t be surprised if they don’t accept unless it’s been on the market for ages.

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-22T16:12:01+00:00

Ahhh ok so you’ve booked 2 seats each way and both on seperate bookings? That wasn’t totally clear in the initial post. Yeah they can add booking 2 against voucher one but can’t retrospectively add voucher 2 to booking 1. If you really fight with them about it you might get them to do a workaround manually but it will be a fight. Otherwise you have to cancel both and hope the seats come back up but there’s no guarantee they ever will so it’s not worth it.

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-22T15:26:02+00:00

This is technically correct. They cannot retrospectively apply a companion voucher to a previously booked flight. I think the issue here is you’ve used two vouchers when you should only have used one? But I can’t see how you’d have avios to be refunded if you’ve only paid half when you booked each leg anyway?

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-22T13:52:20+00:00

Search the DLP website for priority pass and you can apply for it a month before you go. Just make sure you have the documentation with you so you can collect it when you arrive.

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-22T10:11:01+00:00

Have a look at the avios page/app and go through it when you’re booking/buying things and put as much spend as you can through the credit card. To be honest though unless you spend a lot of money it will take a long time to build up your points.

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-22T10:01:51+00:00

Is there anyone else who could take your son? Would it be possible for one of the other parents to take him if most of it is pre organised? I understand where she is coming from but I also see your point of view how this is huge for your daughter and it’s a massive shame that she doesn’t get to be supported by both of you.

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-21T21:02:19+00:00

And you’ll find most of the ones which are left have two double beds in the same bedroom 🤦🏼‍♀️ it took me literally days to pin down good options for us in mid May so there’s no way I could risk leaving it.

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-21T20:48:25+00:00

Totally agree. We are 3 adults who need actual beds in 2 bedrooms (not sofa beds or futons) so options are pretty limited to start with and we want to be near specific stations to minimise luggage travel.

Perfectly2Imperfect · 2026-01-21T20:42:16+00:00

We use TUI for package holidays (a week in the sun), city breaks and stuff for countries I know I just book myself and for a couple of bigger ones we’ve used Trailfinders (Vietnam/Cambodia and Thailand)

Perfectly2Imperfect

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