Fed up and skint!

epsilondraconis

Damian, apart from your wife getting some part time work (although with baby no. 2 on the way I guess that is rather difficult) and reducing the food bill, the only other thing I can think of is that you try stoozing.
I've noticed that you already have a cashback cc. I'm thinking that you could apply for one of those giving 0% on purchases for 12 months or so. Then, instead of paying back the full amount every month, you pay back the minimum and the balance you put into a high rate savings account. If you think that you could get 6.5% (less tax), I'm sure this will be better than the percentage you receive on your cashback cc. It is vital however that you never touch any of the money in the savings account because you will need to pay back this money at some point.
This is not for everyone and if you go down this route, you need to be extremely disciplined. If you think you will be tempted to dip into the money in the savings account, then don't even start the process. Its just a thought. I currently have two 0% on purchases credit cards, one with £5k on it and the other that I am beginning to fill. Once I get to the end of the 0% period, I could either pay off all of the money out of the savings account, leaving me with the interest that has been accumulated, or I could do a balance tranfer and continuethe process.

For more info see:

https://www.stoozing.com

(N.B. The stoozing site is endorsed by Martin and is not some scam or anything unsavory.

Hope all goes okay with the baby no 2...

epsilondraconis

Also Damian, don't forget to always use the cashback sites such as Quidco / TopCashback / CashBackKings etc when buying online (particulary for insurances).

P.S. Perhaps you should also take out some extra life insurance cover - I get the feeling some people posting on this thread don't see eye to eye with you. Anyway, I'm going to make a run for it before I too get embroiled in world war 3...

[Deleted User]

Damian_Evans wrote: »

Well done Mum2one, you managed to quote all my bad bits and make me look like a tw~t! You missed the post where I apologised for tarring all dole claimers with the same brush. You should be a journalist, picking through what has been said and quoting only bits of it. Sounds like I hit a nerve. Try applying to The Sun. You'd fit in nicely there.

not half as well as youd fit in at the daily mail:mad:

justthisonce_2

I feel sorry for the OP and think he is getting an unnecessary hounding on here. Bet most of the people castigating him are actually better off i.e money left in pocket after essential bills etc are paid, and I would not assume that any of them claim benefits but from the way they have leapt on him i think I can take it as read that they do.

Poor s*d has a mortgage that is crippling him plus full council tax. He is paying over half his total income on housing costs, almost £900 a month in total leaving him less than £500 for everything else, just about £100 a week for his whole family for utilities, food etc. How many of you lot are paying out the same percentage just for a roof over your head? What do you suggest he does? He came here for advice not so you can tell him how lucky he is to have a job so he can pay his tax and NI.

From where he is looking bet it all looks a bit bleak. Only thing in his favour is he has no debts, good thing really as he wouldn't be able to service them if he had.

dmg24

justthisonce wrote: »

I feel sorry for the OP and think he is getting an unnecessary hounding on here. Bet most of the people castigating him are actually better off i.e money left in pocket after essential bills etc are paid, and I would not assume that any of them claim benefits but from the way they have leapt on him i think I can take it as read that they do.

Poor s*d has a mortgage that is crippling him plus full council tax. He is paying over half his total income on housing costs, almost £900 a month in total leaving him less than £500 for everything else, just about £100 a week for his whole family for utilities, food etc. How many of you lot are paying out the same percentage just for a roof over your head? What do you suggest he does? He came here for advice not so you can tell him how lucky he is to have a job so he can pay his tax and NI.

From where he is looking bet it all looks a bit bleak. Only thing in his favour is he has no debts, good thing really as he wouldn't be able to service them if he had.

If someone on benefits had a mortgage, (with a few exceptions) they would only get help with the interest on their mortgage payments after 39 weeks, and only on the first £100K. Like the OP, they could have got their mortgage when things were a lot better for them financially.

With a mortgage the OP's size, the monthly repayments would be over seven times the total benefit entitlement of a couple, before even thinking about any other bills.

Therefore, in saying that you bet that most of the posters on this thread are better off than the OP, yet (according to you) these posters are benefit claimants, you greatly contradict yourself.

You clearly have not read all of the posts in the thread - I doubt things can be looking so bleak with no debt and £80K equity in their property.

Can you point out to me in the first post where the OP asks for advice?

Kimitatsu

MOVING THREADS FOR BETTER RESPONSES


Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to the debt free wanabbe board where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

backtomum

Hi Damian

I'm afraid this is Great Britain - where the less you do the more you get! I'm afraid you're in the same position as myself and many people I know. I for one are not surprised you feel bitter - working full time to take care of your family and not having anything left at the end of the month stinks! I'm not a benefit basher as such but a lot of people are a lot better off on the social (if they have numerous kids) than some working people. For example my sister in law owns her house outright, gets maintenance from ex-husband (not included in her calculation for tax credits), free school meals, free school uniform, free travel passes for kids, free dental and prescription charges, council tax benefit and everything else that's available. She will freely admit that she is well off compared to me and my other half - who incidentally kill ourselves working full-time. Her tax credits a week come in at nearly £200 alone and she works 16 hours per week. We have cut our expenses down to the bone.

Try selling on e-bay - this has helped us over a few rough patches, also car boot sales.

Oh and another thing you aren't allowed an opinion on some of these board - though DFW is one of the best boards full of very good people who are in the same boat hardworking and !!!!ed off - I wouldn't venture near the Benefits Board if you work.

liney

Damian_Evans wrote: »

As previously said, whatever extra is earnt, either by me or my wife, affects the child tax credit we get. By the time the income tax and NI is taken off, then child tax credit adjusted the following year due to the increased gross income, having a cleaning job at minimum wage is virtually worthless.

No - you are on minimum tax credits anyway, so you will still get your £10 a week unless you suddenly earn (£58k- check figureon the website) in one year. You will be better off if your wife works part time - perhaps weekends/or evening when you dont need childcare.

milliemonster

Damien, I for one have always been 'fortunate' to be in work and work my way up to have a good job and have never had to claim benefits however, I think your attitude is a little bit hypocritical when in effect you are claiming benefits of £176 a month yourself because your wife has now stopped working due to having kids.

I have 2 children myself but have always continued working, part time initially and now I am full time they are a little bit older, child care fees take half of my wages, I get £40 a month CTC and that is it, I have seen people on some of these boards that don't work and when I look at their SOA with all their benefits actually have more income than I do but I'm not bitter about it.

If you can't manage on the income you have, don't expect the benefit system to bail you out, send your wife back out to work to bring some more money in or retrain and go for a better job yourself, oh and stop having more children then you won't have extra mouths to feed.

We all have to take responsibilities for our families, don't turn this around by having a go at others

chevalier

my comments are in blue

Damian_Evans wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1254
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 176
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1430doesn't you mention child tax credits but are you getting working family tax credit? How old is your oldest, will they be turning 3 soon, as you then get the five sessions of childare free. Does your work offer child care vouchers? If so then maybe this could pay for sessions for little one so that your OH can work.

Is there any training you can do to get a better position at your work. Eg online training, or with the Open University. With your income you would get subsidised fees off the OU. Thinking out of the box a bit, would you be better off if your OH worked and you were a house husband?:D

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 700 ask them to extend the term. You can't afford this and you income and outgoings don't balance at the moment, so you are getting into debt. The extension to the term doesn't have to be forever, it could be until OH returns to work or similar
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 143 ask the council to pay this over 12 months instead of 10, this will help with balancing the budget. Also check that you are in the correct council tax band. There is an article (and links to a band checker) about this on the main site. Many houses were just rated by eye and there were a lot of inconsistencies in how it was done. If it is found that you are in the wrong band, the refund is for every year you have been in the house!
Electricity............................. 35
Gas..................................... 35
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 28 have you checked to see if you would be cheaper with a water meter? (assuming you are not on one) You can have one put in for a year and then if it isn't cheaper you can have it taken out again for free. Also you can ask your water board for water hippos to put in the cistern of your toilet. Saves a litre a flush.
Telephone (land line)................... 21
Mobile phone............................ 10
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 240You mentioned that OH does the shopping at Tesco because she takes her mum. Well how about suggesting to mum that she sees how cheap it is at Lidl/Aldi! If you want to trim your budget, then maybe you need to explain the change in venue. Also don't forget your local open air market if you have one. Fruit and veg will be significantly less there even in the south (used to live in the most expensive county in the country and it was STILL cheaper to get fruit and veg from the market than Tesco's).
Clothing................................ 3
Petrol/diesel........................... 110 ouch, don't suppose you can claim anything back from your work for this?
Road tax................................ 15.5
Car Insurance........................... 24
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 14.5
Car parking............................. 8 can you park further away for free?
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 20
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 10
Contents insurance...................... 10
Life assurance ......................... 19
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 12.5
Haircuts................................ 3.5
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1474

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 250000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 800
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 250800

Secured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 131000...(700)......5.75
Total secured debts........... 131000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,430
Expenses (including secured debts)....... 1,474
Available for debt repayments........... -44
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Surplus(deficit if negative)............ -44

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 250,800
Total Secured debt...................... -131,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. 119,800

quote]

Can I just mention that you have no internet costs listed?

hope the above helps
chev