Will I lose my house???

djdido2

That is a possibility, although a bit difficult to implement at the moment as we are all sleeping in one big bed in my room as there rooms have been recently plastered due for decor as they were really bad. Feasible if I had the time away from my job (and the spare cash) to slap a bit of paint up and get the rooms looking a little bit homely. Not making excuses here btw.

bigbill

I take it you have Child Tax Credits?

djdido2

Yes I do have the Child Tax Credits but with so much going out and getting behind I am working my bum off and not getting anywhere. I am in the same boat I was nearly six months ago.

Loopy_Girl

If you are in receipt of WTC and CTC, I know this will sound odd but if you gave up your p/t then there is a chance your WTC would go up which would mean that you would still be getting the same coming in but you wouldn't be so stressed and have more time with the kids.
Why don't you phone the Tax Credit helpline and ask them hypothetically if you dropped your hours what would happen to your payments - it's only a phone call and no harm in trying

(and before anyone slates me for this comment, this woman is at the end of her tether and trying to work 50 hours - yes 50 - whilst single handedly bringing up 2 kids one of whom is a young one. If the Goverment system is such that she can work less and therefore spend more time with her kids then why the hell not. She's hardly a dole bum now is she)

Also...why not get yourslef down to the CAB or a Advice Shop and get an appt with a welfare officer and see if you can get some kind of payment plan for any debts you have. They also deal with utility companies as well. Plwase don't get despondant - there will always be an answer and if it helps then you are not alone in this situation. Plenty of people are struggling these days and I am pretty sure banks and the such are used to this. Doesn't make your problems go away but you are certainly not alone

**hugs to you**

ALIBOBSY

Supposedly all the main and most of the smaller lenders agreed to a code of conduct where they WOULD wait the 39 weeks, but obviously would be adding interest to the capital in that period.
However how many banks will agree to that under the current crunch who knows?
The olds rules used to be they would cover half the interest from 9 weeks then all from around 6 months I believe, at least then the banks were getting something from quite early on.

BTW shared ownership gets interest straight away as do renters on housing benefit.

ali x

djdido2

It seems so unfair that I could get help if I was a renter and not a mortgage payer. The so called property ladder is not such a good prospect anymore. I only bought the place as I was paying a similar amount in rent to really bad landlords. I have covered allsorts of avenues like selling, but the place is a mess at the moment and not much work has been done due to lack of funds, so if I did sell I am not sure I would make anything and therefore may end up owing the difference.

mummytofour

I have heard that single parents have an under lying entitlement to mortgage help with the ISMI but i maybe wrong.

I have been told by the uni financial adviser, (they did a financial calculation for me), that I will get ISMI. But my situation is slightly different as my DH is carer for my disabled son.

I have also been told that even tho I wont get IS they award it at a rate of 10p to allow for the under lying entitlement.

I would suggest OP get some advice from the Uni financial department. Op good luck with your choice, seeing your kids is important and really should come first IMHO. Your children need you so please dont work yourself into an early grave (((hug)))

mummytofour

Oh I forgot to say if you could post a statement of affairs on the debt free wanna be bored you will i ma sure get some great money saving tips and probably things you have not even thought of.

djdido2

I will definitely be doing that in the next day or two. Can't face the prospect right now as I am in stress mode and the slightest thing gets me all emotional. Trying my best to hide away from the kids so its all come pouring out here.

I have been here a few years now and have learned where to make cutbacks etc. It just seems at the moment that bills are being paid but I never catch up due to arrears and I am working so hard just to pay for those things. I know alot of us are in the same boat, but I feel like I am fighting a losing battle. (Doing all this alone has given me no time for myself or my kids and the stress is very apparent. Don't wanna live like this anymore!!

blueopal5577

If you do an NHS based course you'll be eligble for a bursary. Alternatively, if you do get income support prior to starting your course, you'll get a special support grant (£2845 this year) in addition to the maintenance loan, outside of london its approximately £4500. The special support grant is NOT taken into consideration by benefits agencies (housing and so on) but the loan would be. You would also get a £1470 parents learning allowance (not repayable) you could also get a non-repayable childcare grant £255 per week for 2 children.

I'm going through the student finance process at the moment and whilst I do not think you should be fraudelent in your application, you must consider that to recieve full support from the university you usually have to be under £18,000 a year... and then most help (this isnt related to child care / parenting but the maintenance loan) is on a riding scale above that. I have run into problems because i tried working 58 hr weeks, with sleep-ins (i work in care) and night shifts in between, which then "bumped up" my monthly paypacket - this impacted negatively on my application for student finance.

Look ahead, working non-stop will make you pig sick. Ive done it, and my mother did it with me, and whilst i appreciate she did it to give me the best, theres no compensation for an unhappy mum. Look into all avenues. Private message me if i can help you on anything as im not usually on this board. There should definately be a way for you to study... which is NOT a cop out, it will allow you to earn more afterwards and do a normal working week whilst being there for your kids.

Do not hand in your keys in a hurry, unfortunately the other was correct and you'd be classes an intentionally homeless and these days, kids or otherwise, the best they'll do is refer you on to high priced private lets or grotty B&Bs.

If you study you will also not have to pay council tax which is an extra help. Because you can still claim income support (although it will be adjusted for recieving the £4000 maintenance grant) you will also get some housing benefit, although i believe it is interest only. That said, it might be worth doing if you think that at the end of the course, yuor job prospects will improve. Your health is worth more than money, and being money poor and time rich may prove to be good for you, and your child. I really dont want you to feel this is a cop out. Maybe im applying too much of my own experience, but im an only child to a single parent, my mother worked like a dog to provide for me, and never ever let me be the one without the stuff other kids had. That said, she was permanently knackered and i know she'd do it all again but ur kids want you to be happy too.

Look into bursaries and charitable trusts put there to support single parents / families. They may give you help to study.

Alternatively... contact consumer credit counselling service or your local CAB. Not only will they have answers to all the questions but they will help you fill out an income and expediture form that creditors have to listen to - the CAB especially i found helpful. They will also negotiate on your behalf to have the interest stopped, and have payments you can afford from your BASIC full time salary... no overtime, 2nd job etc. This is where you should be starting from because you need to prioritise yourself for a bit. I'm not talking about claiming benefits for a bout of the flu, or going bankrupt for handbags on a credit card etc etc... im just saying youre doing your best, and the creditors dont need you to break your back to pay them NOW. Theres things CCCS and CAB can do to make them play nice, so that when you do give them money, it starts knocking down the balance, instead of building on the interest.

CAB are very good at looking into benefits and grants that you may not know about. If you worked full time or part time, with any combination of study - there may be other help out there.

Hope this helps, know youre not alone and you're doing the best for your kids, and they will definately appreciate it. I shall definately be keeping my mum in tea cakes and fluffy slippers after she did the same for me

good luck

xxx