Anybody got any advice please for a single mum?

Oh hold on - it is at the bottom !!

Does this mean you need to add on £68.40 and £11.60 to your outgoings ??

T xx

sammy18 wrote: »

:eek: Monthly Incomings:


Benefits - Income support £327.80
Child tax credits- £362.60
Child benefit- £120.80
Child support off kids Dad - £320.00

Total - £1,131.20


Monthly Outgoings:


Gas - £40 - check if you can switch via quidco
Electric - £40 - as above
TV License - £12
Cable- £10 - cancel and get freeview. If you are really really struggling you'll have to
Phone - £18 - is this the cheapest tariff eg - evenings and weekend?
Food - £300 - for you and 2 kids it's way too much
Water -£30 - try a hippo which can be supplied from water co
Broadband internet - £10
T-Mobile contract phone - £15 - see not below
Direct Debit (child fund for second son) £5 - cancel till you get your debt sorted
Rent arreas £68.40
Council tax arreas £11.60

Total : £400

DEBTS

Llyods TSB CC – Balance £2,309.63 (Limit £2,500) APR % 17.9%

Mint CC - Balance 380.00 (Limit £400) APR % 14.9%

Additions Direct Cataloge - Balance £941.33 (Limit £2,400) APR % 29.8%

NEXT Cataloge - Balance £26.47 (Limit £300.00) APR % 26.49 %

Overdraft - Balance £26.59 (limit £100.00) APR % 18.72 %

Loan shared with ex,arranged through him £25.00 a fornight not sure when
ends.

Rent arreas - Balance £1000 (Housing Benefit £243.60)
Council tax arreas - Balance £500 (Council tax benefit 52.76)

Firstly well done on bringing 2 children up on your own. I know how hard it is.

Your shopping bill is way way too much for 3 kids.

I am on my own with 2 boys and spend £100 on a monthly big shop and allow £20 each week for top up shopping.

My youngest is 5 months old so this included nappies and baby milk. If your kids are older you should be able to cut this back no probs by making things from scratch. Try the OS board and go to your library for easy cookbooks.

Also a visit to the librabry will be a free day out for the kids.

Phone tariff - £15 is very cheap but why not order an O2 sim via quidco or freefivers and go PAYG instead. If you top up by £10 on the O2 tariff you get 300 texts and 100 minutes. a fiveris a fiver at the end of the day.

The DD to the trust fund has to stop. If you pay the £5 to your debt you can then pay more to the CTF when you are on your feet. Say £15 and it'll be made up in no time.

If you need to buy anything online do it via quidco and get cash back.

Hope this helps a bit;)

hi hun

you havent written next to each debt- how much you pay off per month.

Have you chopped all your cards up? Do that, it has to be done.

Additionally, get those catalogues into the recycling as well.

You dont need temptation in your way!

Have you got anything that you can sell on ebay? Any kids clothes bundles sell quite well, in fact you can sell anything. We sold a pair of sunglasses this week we got free out of the paper for a fiver! :T

We're a pair of wrinklies and our shopping bill averages around £50 a week. DH says £300 a month is too much for one adult and 2 children, but he also says the £100 a month plus £20 a week (total £200 a month) is a bit tight - you're doing well if you can feed them well on this!

It's possible to waste an awful lotta grocery money on ready-meals, and from what I've seen, many young parents fall into this trap. An example: we were out earlier this afternoon buying fruit etc and I said how much I fancied a pasta bake. Now, you can buy these ready-made, and many people would. DH has just made a lovely pasta bake with dried pasta shapes, a 500g jar of Dolmio cheese and tomato sauce, and some slices of mature Cheddar. 1 kg of pasta for about £1 - you can make an awful lotta pasta bakes with that! There are people who'll say 'don't buy Dolmio sauce - make it yourself or buy the supermarket's own'. Well, OK. This is where we cut corners , save time but not money, but even so, it was a very cheap and filling meal with lots of nutrients and few additives.

HTH

Margaret

PS: Catalogues - oh yes, get rid. These are a too-convenient trap for anyone stuck at home, like young parents! They are just too much of a temptation and too costly. 'Easy repayments' - yes, easy until you add up what you're really paying for the convenience. Catalogues - this was the way I slid slowly and imperceptibly into debt when I was a young mum with a new-build first home, first mortgage, first of the family ever to be on the 'housing ladder'. They're the devil's own, only a little better than Provident.

your income support, does that include incapacity? thought income support was only abt £57 a week?

Whoops, sorry didnt read first post properly!