Advice on Benefits, Housing and Money Saving

amberminder · 6 October 2004 at 3:26PM

Hi

I'm a single mum with two children. One is two the other is six months. My patner left me last november and since than I have been on benefits. I'm having a really hard time at the moment making ends meet. The housing benefit pays my rent but I have to make up the shortfall of £50 each month. My rent is £400 pcm but my landlord sent me a letter increasing it to £450. I just don't know how i'm going to pay it. I can't sleep at night thinking I may be homeless very soon. I have put my name down for a council house but only got 10 points and was told it would be years before they offered me anything. I don't know what else to do.
I have also taken a social fund loan to be a washing machine, an essential i needed for the kids and there is no laundrette near me. Obviously, this has reduced my benefit. I just cannot afford to buy the kids any bedding or vests at the moment. People keep telling to use the child benefit but it all goes towards paying the bills and tv licence etc. Why do the government include this in my benefit? I thought that everyone was entitled to it?
I have tried to moneysave, changing to a cheaper gas and electric suppler, blance transfred my credit card(which i no longer use) and shopping at cheaper supermarkets. I also havejoined pinecone and other freebies panels for their vouchers and free stuff. Any more suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I don't like to sound as though i'm moaning or whingeing but i'm really struggling at the moment. Thanks

Amberminder

Allexie · 6 October 2004 at 3:35PM

Hello Amberminder

So sorry to hear of your situation. Have you put your name down with Housing Associations too? If you can, go and see them in person, (doing your best reliable, respectable etc. citizen act!) rather than just filling in a form. They tend to have 'controlled' rents and you would probably get H.B. to cover the whole amount.

Best of luck

Fran · 6 October 2004 at 7:22PM

Hi amberminder,

Re your rent increase, let Housing Benefit know straight away as your HB might also increase. Assuming that you are on Income Support (?), why don't you get full HB? Is is because the rent is deemed too high for the area it's in? If it's privately rented, perhaps you can find something else? As Allexie suggests, make sure about your council housing application that you have said that you want to be considered for Housing Association too. There's also nothing to stop you applying to individual HA's as well as through the council list, though a lot of them may not take you onto their waiting lists, it depends on the area you are in and how each individual HA operates, so it's worth a try.

You could also ask your doctor if he would write a letter for you about the stress that the current situation is causing you as sometimes you can get extra points for this. (The doctor might charge for this service.)

Are you paying your TV licence by installments? That is another option if you aren't already (if you are on IS).

It's probably worth taking a visit to your local Citizens Advice Bureau as they will be able to look at your your overall situation and make sure you are getting everything you may be entitled to. They might also be able to help negotiating with the council about rehousing. Again re the housing situation, is there a "Shelter" in your area? You could make an appointment to see an adviser there to look at all your local housing options.

Shelter Website

Citizens Advice website - advice

Citizens Advice website (2) - find your nearest CAB on this site.

Does your 2 year old go to a playgroup or anything? CAB would also be able to tell you of any child facilities in your area. If you are mixing with other parents you are more likely to find out about bargains re bedding or vests, or you might get some passed on to you in this way. If you mention your difficulties to your family/friends they might be able to help too if they have young children. Some of them will be in the same situation as you and give you hints and tips.

One thing to try to avoid is getting into debt. Whereas before you might have paid by direct debit, this is not necessarily the best option in your situation as really you need to be deciding which are the priorities in terms of outgoings. Eg. if your rent is due, you might have a direct debit for something like the phone bill which you can delay a bit, whereas you need to pay the rent to keep a roof over your head. (This might not be your choice though.)

Are you getting full Council Tax Benefit? CTax is another priority that you can't afford to fall behind on. CAB can also help with any debt problems that you might now be facing.

(Sorry about making a lot of presumptions, but I'm trying to cover all angles.)

Is your ex paying any maintenance? You can keep some (it's either £5 or £10, I can't remember which) on top of your benefit now. If you are on IS then you will have already agreed to the Child Support Agency contacting him.

With you saying that you can't sleep because of worrying about being made homeless, I would think a visit to Shelter is the first thing to do, also a visit to CAB. At least then you know that experienced people have had a look at your situation.

Don't worry you aren't "moaning or whingeing" without good reason! It is difficult to survive on benefits, especially if you have been used to more income. It doesn't help having to make all the decisions yourself too and look after the needs of your babies too. You will get plenty of advice on here though.

You could also try posting on the "Families etc." board where you will also find others willing to help and suggest things.

Fran

amberminder · 7 October 2004 at 6:32PM

Hi Fran

Thanks for replying.

I wrote a letter to the council today advising them about my change in circumstances regarding the rent. I am on income support but you are right the HB pay what they think is neccessary for the area in which I live. I also wrote to the council house department explaining the situation again. Can you tell me what the difference is between a council house and the housing association, I'm confused I've never claimed anything before and don't know how the system works. I tried to phone Shelterline but it was constantly engaged. My local shelter is all the way in Birmingham about half an hours drive and I don't think I can get there, as I don't drive myself. I look in thelocal paper for cheaper places for me to rent but everything is so expensive with the cost of housing and rent in the current market. My health visitor has said she will write me a letter about how depressed I am becoming about the situation, so I will send them the letter when I get it.
I pay for my license weekly, I am on the scheme, I only found out through looking on the internet. I don't think enough information is given to people about help they can receive. My internet connection costs £17.99 a month but I think is something I can't do without. It helps me with my money saving and I keep in touch with friends and family this way. I am by myself here in Telford. I originally come from Manchester and every single member of my family lives there. My parents and brother are angels bless them, they pick me up every few weeks so I can stay for the weekend and have a break.
My two year goes to playgroup twice a week. Its £3.00 a session but I think she needs to mix with other children and it really gives me a couple of hours to myself. After Easter when she is three she becomes state funded so that should help. The other parents there are very nice but they tend to stick together in little groups. Maybe it's me I don't know but when I try to strike up conversations I get yes and no answers. Itry to look for bargains on the boards at mse and also look in ethel austin, bwise etc for stuff for the kids.
I'm was in Debt for about £4000 overall but as I said I have balanced Transfered cards and again my parents have paid the majority of this off for me. I am aiming to pay them back once I get myself out of this situation and can find a job when the kids are older.
I have never paid my bills by DD because I like to be in control of where my money goes. Only the housing benefit cheque goes by standing order once a month. I have a phone card to pay my bill of weekly. I need the phone because my family phone often to give me the support I need so it's essential to me that I keep up the payments.
One thing I have learnt from my situation is the value of a pound. My family are quite well off and I never had to pay for anything and things were handed to me on a plate. When I first came here I had never even paid a bill and had no bank account, i only had daddy's credit card! (not that I ever was spending mad or anything) I've learnt how to do so many things, the bills, my personal finances and look after my children. I aim to teach them about money and how to manage it. They both have saving accounts but they are obviously empty right now. I feel like I've grown up ten yen years in the first six months.
Anyway, i'm shall ring shelter again and make an appointment at the cab to see if they can help on my behalf. Thanks for all your help.

Fran · 7 October 2004 at 6:54PM

amberminder,

I'll write a more detailed reply later as I have to go out now.

Council housing is owned by the council. Housing Associations also own "social housing" (ie. housing for people on low incomes or with social needs). They have their own rules which may or may not be similar to your local council. Councils administer their housing in different ways, depending on which area you live in you might find different rules and reg's.

The councils have to allocate a certain percentage of people who are on their waiting lists to the Housing Associations. When you filled in the form you would have probably been asked whether you want to be considered for Council/Housing Association/Both. It's worth checking that you are down for HA's as well as council housing. Because they are seperate from the council, some HA's will consider you depending on their criteria for allocating housing, which is why it's worth enquiring seperately to them. You should be able to find a list of HA's in your area from CAB, local Housing Help Centres, Shelter. (You could also try a websearch.)

More later as I have to go out now!

Fran

amberminder · 8 October 2004 at 4:22PM

Thanks for that Fran, have got a clearer understanding now. Got through toshelter and am going to ring my local office for afdvice.

mini · 8 October 2004 at 4:38PM

Hi

I have sent you a pm, you can click near the top of the page where it says hi amberminder to read it.

Also are there any Surestart schemes in your area, worth asking your health visitor they may be able to help with cost of some items such as baby gates & also they have meetings & afternoons for parents where the children can be looked after.

Also if you have homestart in your area, again ask Health visitor may help you feel less isolated & get some regular support.

take care, mini

Fran · 8 October 2004 at 6:49PM

Hi amberminder,

Another alternative might be moving back to Manchester to be near your family (?). You could get yourself on the local council exchange list. You should be able to get on the Manchester council housing list/housing associations lists too as you have lived in that area before.

Is there some kind of adult education course whether it be computers, knitting, woodwork or languages (eg) locally that you could go to? A lot of them operate with a creche in the daytime now. It would mean meeting other people that you share an interest with rather than simply that you happen to have children.

It must be difficult when you are from a background where money wasn't an issue, and as for learning about banks, bills etc...... it does take some working out! You seem to be pretty much in control of those things though. Let us know if you get help from Shelter (and CAB?).

Fran

Spendless · 8 October 2004 at 11:36PM

Hi amberminder. If you go on Discussion board under moneyearning.expert, and read thru a member called jellyhead talks about ways she earned a little cash when she was in your circumstances.
Good Luck and keep coming on the boards.

babysaver · 9 October 2004 at 4:37PM

You're ex should be paying maintenance through CSA if you're on IS (I know Fran said this earlier on). You're allowed to keep the first £10 per week without it affecting your IS - assuming that he's assessed to pay £10 or more. I think Fran's suggestion about moving closer to your family sounds like a good one.

Good luck - I hope you get everything sorted out

Spendless · 9 October 2004 at 9:52PM

Hi again

Few more thoughts, you say your youngest is 6 months. Are you breast-feeding?If not I think you might be entitled to 'milk tokens' but not sure. Worth checking out.

Re: the clothes, notice you mention vests. My 2 rarely wore them due to being hot-blooded,just make sure they've got cardi, coat, extra layer on.

Also check out shops in your town. We have an independant clothes shop that sells kids clothes very cheap. Babygros £1. Mum in law got me last lot thay had Disney design on. Other good places are Asda, local market, charity shops, car boots. Especially so for youngest as babies don't really wear out clothes.

Other idea for your playgroup. Organise a clothes swop,money going to playgroup, charity. Each fetch in a bag of clothes that your kids outgrown. In your case 0-3 months that you've prob still got. You pay £1 for someone elses bag of bigger size and money raised goes to playgroup. You could do it as bag of clothes for fixed amount, or hang clothes up for people to see.
That way you get rid of clothes that are no use, you get clothes in bigger size and organisation gets money raised.
Best Wishes

Advice on Benefits, Housing and Money Saving

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