We will be doing some major 'tweaking' this weekend

**Dutchie** · 02-27-2010, 03:11 AM

As I mentioned in my other thread, our daughter is going to London in Sept.
We have been studying the conditions of the placement and the company where she is placed only has to 'pay' the student around $400.
On top of that there is an allowance from our government of around $ 325 plus the travel card which she gets in Holland also from the government. She can 'cash in' the travel card for her time in London so that will increase her allowance to around $425. So in total she will have around $825 per month.

There is NO way that that will be enough and since she will be studying and working full time, there is no chance for her to work extra.
Considering the cost of living in London which is unbelievably high, we are going to have to 'sponsor' her a LOT.

If she is VERY VERY lucky then her total of $825 will cover her appartment/room. Then she has living expenses/travel/food. If my info is correct then we don't have to take out any medical insurance for her since she will covered by the insurance that we have for her here.
We had been hoping to get rid of one of our big debts by the end of 2019, so if we still want to be on course for that we are going to have to do some MAJOR tweaking.
So that is what we will be doing this weekend.

QM · 03-05-2010, 08:30 PM

Sounds like you'll be very busy.

**mauimagic** · 03-05-2010, 08:49 PM

You are a real detective - great for you. Will be interesting to see what you come up with - and what you find out with invariably help others here!! mahal!!

**sinopa27** · 03-05-2010, 08:54 PM

will she be covered under their universal health plan in London?

**Debbie-cat** · 03-05-2010, 10:13 PM

Good luck! I know you can do it!

**IntlMom** · 03-05-2010, 10:19 PM

never a dull moment with life, is there?

**Luv2BeFrugal** · 03-05-2010, 11:28 PM

Whew! Sounds like a workout!! Great job hunting down all the details!!

**Dutchie** · 03-06-2010, 04:11 AM

Originally Posted by sinopa27

will she be covered under their universal health plan in London?

Good question and one that I wanted the answer to as well.
I called our insurance and asked them this.
Their answer.
If she is put on their salary list then we have to apply for NHS insurance (national health service), if not then she can stay on our insurance here and all bills will be automatically paid here.
So it is a question of waiting to hear what they say.
I expect that the insurance will be dealt with here since I cannot imagine a company having her on the salary list for $400 per month. Also it is a contract between her college and the company not between her and the company. She will still be enrolled in her college here while she is there.

**Dutchie** · 03-06-2010, 04:13 AM

Originally Posted by IntlMom

never a dull moment with life, is there?

Nope, never!!
At least not in my family.

**Dutchie** · 03-06-2010, 04:35 AM

What has happened since I posted about this.

- The tweaking last weekend just didn't happen. We were at dh's parents (fil was very bad and we sat with him and mil for a long while, did some grocery shopping for and with her etc.). Fil has recovered somewhat but is not doing so well at all.

- DD has a part time job (cashier at a supermarket) where she is now working as many hours as she can (on top of her studies) to help pay for London. (That's just the kind of person that she is.) So between parents in law and dd's long work hours, there was no chance to 'tweak' the budget.

- Some of you know that I did freelance teaching (English as a second language) at a junior school. I stopped after Christmas because my boss drove me NUTS because of her non-professional attitude etc. and I was convinced that I could be just as useful at home by being as frugal as possible.
Anyhow my boss called me this week and asked if I would please consider coming back since they are really stuck. We talked for a while, got some things straightened out and I will be starting next week for 3 afternoons per week at 3 different schools for the next 6 weeks. We have discussed everything and I will decide after the 6 weeks if I want to continue for another 6 weeks.
This will not cover dd's stay by a long shot but it will definitely ease things a little especially with dd working as well.

- So if everything goes according to plan then we should be 'tweaking' this weekend.

Thank you for all the comments and words of encouragement, they are always greatly appreciated.

**frugalfranny** · 03-06-2010, 02:29 PM

Good luck with the tweaking!

Also - congrats on taking the reinstatement with the job........hope it works out.

**Didi** · 03-07-2010, 03:15 PM

I totally missed this topic, sorry for the questions while the info was already here.

I had (as a student) to register with a GP, just in case. Rules may have changed though.

**Dutchie** · 03-08-2010, 01:34 AM

Originally Posted by Didi

I totally missed this topic, sorry for the questions while the info was already here.

I had (as a student) to register with a GP, just in case. Rules may have changed though.

Not a problem.
I was glad of your input.

I think that she also may have to register with a GP, indeed just in case.
This is one of the things that I have to find out.

**a.nonymous** · 03-08-2010, 05:05 AM

Originally Posted by Dutchie

I think that she also may have to register with a GP, indeed just in case.
This is one of the things that I have to find out.

Registering with a GP was straight forward for my wife and I. Just show up at the closest place, fill in a form, and that was it. We were able to register on a saturday, too.
No costs, no hassle, and took us only about 30 minutes.

**Dutchie** · 03-08-2010, 05:16 AM

Originally Posted by a.nonymous

Registering with a GP was straight forward for my wife and I. Just show up at the closest place, fill in a form, and that was it. We were able to register on a saturday, too.
No costs, no hassle, and took us only about 30 minutes.

I asked her about the transport and you're correct.
It was GBP 18 per week.
Maybe it was cheaper because she was a student?

Thanks for the info.