Fed up and skint!

kate705

Yes he is struggling which is why I am sympathetic.

There is little point though in posting provocative statements on the benefits board against claimants. The only reason to do this would be to vent the frustration you feel about your own life. What response was he expecting?!

He has upset people by making assumptions about all claimants, this is ignorant.

Damian needs to forget searching for scapegoats and use the very good advice given to him which I am sure he will do. I don't want to attack the guy as he is down but I don't like him attacking others either!

Fred56

Damian, take a second job. As you're in the blessed south you've got no problems, no shortage of jobs down there. You have a job already so presumably you are fit and capable. It worked for me although it did take a while.

Life isn't a free ride you know, you do have to work at it.

lesley1960

Its a myth that we can have it all , nice houses , nice things, holidays abroad and plenty of spare cash.

The LUCKY ones get a roof over their heads and can pay their bills , sadly their are many more who dont even get the basics .
It has always been a struggle moneywise when you have small children ,( just ask your parents / grandparents ) its only been in the last 20 or 30 years that we have come to expect more , probably linked to cheap credit

mum2one

justthisonce wrote: »

So now he has ask to 'ask nicely' :mad: if he wants any advice or help. That's what my Mum used to say to the dog before it could have a biscuit. i don't blame him though. i claim nothing myself but there are many many threads running on these boards with people discussing how they 'maximise' their benefits, how to complete DWP claim forms that are only vaguely sprinkled with truth. If he has been reading any of that then no wonder he is fed up.

No doubt if he had been able to get a council house at about £80 a week he would have taken it instead of having to burden himself with such a huge mortgage.

You may think he is moaning at people he knows nothing about but I reckon all he can see is himself working hard and getting deeper into the mire whilst people castigating him are being supported by his taxes. So I guess he does feel entitled to comment.You do need to see both sides you know.

If you wish toquote from a persons thread then use the correct words, not add your own on.
My point was ask nicley, as in "does anyone know if there is help available" or something similiar nor like a bull in a china shop. Politeness costs nothing.

MissKJ

Sorry to butt in, but this discussion really isn't helping anyone at all.

Damien, can I suggest that you look at the other DFW advice, then start a new thread setting out your SOA (copy and paste)goals and see who can help you improve what you are doing and you can track yor progress. You just nee to focus on maximising your income/ reducing your expendure and your life will improve, your frustrations diminish.

By the way,chickens and veg patches are great passtimes for "nesting" mums and young children. It is sadly a privilege in this day to be a stay at home mum with your own home ownership. I never managed it, and my husband earns a lot more than you. So you are doing something right.

Damian_Evans

chevalier wrote: »

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 The £176 is CTC and Child benefit. Wife looks after our son.

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 Already over 30 years on a 50/50
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! They don't want to know!
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. Already on a meter - worse off than standard billing. Have adjusted the float valve so that the water level is less.
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? No, as I am an office worker, and the car is not used for work purposes.
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

Damian_Evans

coops024 wrote: »

Whats this for if your wife doesnt work ?

I could have just saved you £20 my friend !:money:

This is for Nursery School. It is free when the child is over 3 years of age. But as the Government want lots of money for themselves, they do not pay the nursery enough. The £20 is a top up fee!

Damian_Evans

milliemonster wrote: »

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. The £176 is CTC and Chils Benefit, which, you also get!

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, I retrained as a plumber. Cost me an arm and a leg, which I paid back!! Problem is, starting out on my own is a big risk, one that could lose you everything, or earn me a better life. Unfortunately, I err on the side of caution, and now, in the current economic climate, is not the time to embark on setting up a small business with my amount of financial commitment. oh and stop having more children then you won't have extra mouths to feed. Number two is on the way, then that is it. Someone once said to me that there is never a time where you can afford to have kids.....

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

I will have a pop if someone has a pop at me.

Damian_Evans

epsilondraconis wrote: »

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:

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...

Many thanks.

I like that bit of advice.

Damian_Evans

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.

Thanks. I am glad someone understands, not that I am looking for sympathy, just a bit of advice, which I am getting from a few good people.

Being new on here, I did not realise that the DFW board was best for my initial post. We live and learn.