Hello

Itsallgonepearshaped

scaredy_cat wrote: »

if you have a spare room in your house, can you get a lodger, you can earn about £4k in rent before you have to pay tax on it.

Unfortunately not. We do have a small box room but it's full of the OHs ebay stock so no room for anybody. Good idea though .... thanks

Itsallgonepearshaped

LoulaBelle wrote: »

Is there anyway you can downsize your house maybe?

Funnily enough I did broach this subject with my wife this afternoon. It's definitely something that is worth considering but I might not have enough time to get the house sold with the market as it is before the bailiffs come knocking if I don't get a job. I'd probably struggle to get a another mortgage so we'd be looking to rent although this would probably help with the sale of this one as there won't be a chain.

GeorgeUK

First thing i would suggest is to get your CV up on monster.com
The sooner you get some income the better.


Council tax............................. 225
If paying over 10 months, can you ask to pay it over 12 (from January)


Mobile phone............................ 35
PAGY?


Telephone (land line)................... 15

Satellite/Cable TV...................... 40

Internet Services....................... 25
Can you combine these into a package?


Groceries etc. ......................... 500
Have a look at the old style board for meal plans. Also move down a brand (shops own)


Clothing................................ 75
per month? can this be halved?


Entertainment........................... 70
need to cut down until you can affor this

Emergency fund.......................... 100
also needs cut down.

Have you tried shuffling you card balances so that you are paying less interest? Can you clear some of the cards with lower balances so that you may be able to take advantage of any promotional incentives they may offer you to keep the card open?

MrsTinks

I hope she's declaring tax on the Ebay stuff she's selling... if not one day Mr Taxman IS going to come knocking and that might be the famous drop...
Sky - gotta go! Kids are perfectly capable of living without Sky - I lived till I was about 16 without even knowing about Sky and I did just fine - I actually played with other kids and my toys before we moved to the UK and got Sky
Emergency fund... HELLO! THIS is an emergency!!! You can't pay your bills... THAT constitutes an emergency!
food - you can easily cut this down very very low - use own brand and go to places like Aldi and Netto to shop. You don't need branded stuff to wash your hair in - if the kids are fussy then keep the old "posh" packaging and top them up with the cheaper stuff. Washing powder instead of tablets etc - I buy surf and mix it half and half with sodacrystals and my husband who has sensitive skin (he thinks) goes to work quite happily in crisp white shirts that he INSISTS can only be washed in very expensive washing powder... yeah right LOL
Clothing - You know what? I bet you can all cope a couple of months without buying more clothes...
Petrol and diesel... is there any way to reduce this? £150 is a lot if only one of you is working. I know my husband and I spend a lot more but they are work miles and so are claimed back - £150... that a trip from London to Glasgow, back again and nearly back to Glasgow! That's a LOT of miles...

You need a job - ok it's obvious and you know it...
You've worked in the industry for a while and NOW is a good time to use your contacts to find a job. Use things like "linked in" and facebook to get in contact with people you have not spoken to for a while - pick up the phone and CALL them - you have to swallow some serious pride right now.
I went temping between jobs to keep money coming in and to stop myself going nuts. I have no idea what a management accountant does to be honest - I'm guessing it's a type of accountant... if it is then you obviously hold qualifications - you could possibly even freelance - it's selfassessment time after all! I'm sure there is work out there if you can do selfassessments

Itsallgonepearshaped

GeorgeUK wrote: »

First thing i would suggest is to get your CV up on monster.com
The sooner you get some income the better.


Council tax............................. 225
If paying over 10 months, can you ask to pay it over 12 (from January)


Mobile phone............................ 35
PAGY?


Telephone (land line)................... 15

Satellite/Cable TV...................... 40

Internet Services....................... 25
Can you combine these into a package?


Groceries etc. ......................... 500
Have a look at the old style board for meal plans. Also move down a brand (shops own)


Clothing................................ 75
per month? can this be halved?


Entertainment........................... 70
need to cut down until you can affor this

Emergency fund.......................... 100
also needs cut down.

Have you tried shuffling you card balances so that you are paying less interest? Can you clear some of the cards with lower balances so that you may be able to take advantage of any promotional incentives they may offer you to keep the card open?

Thanks George. CVs on Monster and with loads of agencies. Registered with all the agencies as well so I'm praying something will turn up. I'll definitely review all the other bits before I speak to CCCS tomorrow. Unfortunately all my cards are maxed so no space anywhere. What really screwed me was the MBNA cards going from 0% to 34% interest when the cheap deals ran out and I had nowhere to move them to .... I've got 11 cards in total so I think my credit rating is knackered and I can't get another card with a cheap deal. Got 2 letters from Capital One this morning - one wanting payment and one giving me some credit card cheques - go figure !!

MrsTinks

LOL unfortunately I don't need an accountant but you're on the right track!
Why not print off a load of flyers on the computer offering help with selfassessments etc and go leaflet dropping it won't cost you much and it's got to be worth a go
Ok - can your wife claim back any milage if this is her own car? Does she get any fuel allowances?
As for the Sky - I am sure you managed well too I know for a fact DH would probably threaten to have a heartattack if I told him Sky and Sky sports would have to go... so I can understand the sentiments re the kids However - needs must and keeping your sky box would actually allow you to use it as a freeview box so you still get SOME channels
And think of it as a temporary thing...
As for cutting the food and other household stuff things - hop over to the OS board - it's filled to the brim with good ideas
Now is the time for blackberries... why not get out there and pick a load! Fresh air and free berries! If my husband can learn to make a blackberry and apple crumble then I am SURE we can teach you to too
If you can find some apples too then that's a virtually free pudding!
It's amazing what can be done to make the housekeeping money stretch

Look at the positives - you'll also find it much easier to find a new job if you feel positive in general

Itsallgonepearshaped

Well, after another sleepless night, I had my CCCS interview this morning. They were very helpful and eased my mind a bit on some things - good idea to tell all the phoning credit cards to stop phoning and take your number off their database under the data protection act so everything has to be done in writing. Still, the main problem is down to me getting some work and quickly or I don't think there's any hope. Been chasing round all the agencies again and applied to loads of jobs but all the feedback is that even advertised jobs are taking months to fill as companies can't decide whether to go through with it or not. Same with mates I've tried tapping up - absolutely nothing going anywhere. If that's the case then I think I'll run out of time and BR will be the only option which screws me up from using my hard earned qualifications again - stuck between a rock and a hard place ! Only came clean on the true extent of the problems to the OH a couple of weeks ago as I thought I could work my way out of it and now she's as stressed out as me which I feel really guilty about. Slightest things have me bursting into tears these days having been described as an extremely unemotional person up to now - the Verve's drugs don't work came on the radio in the car this afternoon about cats in a bag waiting to die etc and I was off !! :rotfl: What a nightmare !!

Right, off to put the kids to bed and then look up estate agents numbers - look like the house has to go on the market !!

Deep_In_Debt

I know what you mean about the work situation. I've been made redundant but have managed to find temp work. It's not what I want to do but it is keeping the money coming in for a while. I've also got a part-time cleaning job (horrible!) but it is basically paying for my food each week so it is helping. I soon realised that you need to be flexible and not fussy about what you do as long as it keeps the money coming in. I actually quite enjoy temping but only for the short term.

As MrsT says, get rid of Sky. I did but can still get Freeview channels through the box. Saved me £21.00 a month. Also, the kids will find other things to do. My family didn't have a TV until I was 12 - we weren't hard up but we kids found other things to do, we loved reading, playing and terrorising the neigbourhood (in a nice way!) so had no need for a TV at all and it meant that we spent quality family time together instead.

Sorry, i can't be more helpful but good luck.

PS - just seen your location, you're not far away from me!

4littleone

Hi!

I'm sorry you're having such a crap time. I've been made redundant 3 times in the last 4 yrs and i remember just how rubbish it all is trying to pay everyone and panicking about it.

However, onwards and upwards, i found a really good job in the end and have been there almost a yr now.

I think you need to consider absolutely anything, ie whilst looking for a job as a management accountant also look for any job that will gring in some cash.
Royal Mail are taking on seasonal workers this time of year, so are a few of the supermarkets. I know it's not what you'd like to do but it would stave off the wolves a little until that "real" job comes through.
I took bar work for a while which meant we didn't need child care during the day and it brought in enough to pay for most of the bills whilst partner paid the mortgage.

Food and groceries - i pay £180 per month for two adults, two kids and a cat. (i'm in a really well paid job now but we are saving for a desperately needed kitchen!)
I do this by;
1. shopping online for storecupboard items like tinned toms, pasta etc once a month.
2. Meal planning - at the beginning of each week i sit down and write out 7 meals, 7 days worth of lunches and breakfast plus drinks. You don't have to stick to days, just as long as you have a week there. I then do my weekly meat, fruit and veg shop from the meal list.
3. i buy all fruit and veg from the local market. I only buy as much as i need, so rather than a plastic sack of carrots i buy however many i actually will need. I try and go at the end of the day as a lot of the produce is reduced.
4. i buy large sacks of rice, lentils etc from my local asian shop as it is much cheaper.
5. i bulk out meals such as casseroles and stews etc with veg/lentils/pulses.
6. I got a slow cooker so that i can chuck everything in it of a morning, by the time we all come home at night there is a tasty stew or soup etc for everyone.
7. I batch cook, so at the beginning of the month i make up a huge pot of tom sauce which can be frozen in portion, you can then add whatever herbs are appropriate for things such as chilli or spag boll. Everytime i make meals i do double amounts so that i can freeze all the leftovers to be reheated later in the month.
Generally by the end of week two in the month i have enough meals to feed us till the end of the month.
8. all toiletries and cleaning are from the pound shop. They sell the normal brands but everything is a pound. I also make my own bathroom and kitchencleaners with baking soda and vinegar etc. (look at the old style board on here for instructions).

Finally, don't panic! And stop beating yourself up, the important thing is that you're meeting this head on and thinking logically. Look after yourself, get enough sleep and take everything one step at a time.

Best wishes. x x :beer:

Itsallgonepearshaped

Thanks guys. Definitely going to try an early night tonight - I'm absolutely knackered now. The stress is good for weight loss though - I've dropped about a stone in the last 3 weeks ! I know what you mean about looking at anything workwise - I've tried that in the past but got laughed at by quite a few people who wouldn't take me on cos I was overqualified ! Wonder if there's some kind of discrimination law against that one ?? Going to try cab firms tomorrow - just saw an advert in the local paper where they supply the car ...., then it's on to bar jobs (have to put on my best Eastern European accent !) and anything else I can see ..