Live on £4,000 for a year - 2009, Part 3

cw18

From the I.F. site : Intelligent Finance is a division of Bank of Scotland plc, which is a subsidiary of HBOS plc.

From Times0nline (dated 13/10/08) : The Chancellor will move to take control of the Royal Bank of Scotland today by injecting £20 billion of taxpayers’ money.

Are RBS and Bank of Scotland the same thing?

ETA: Just checked Martins list of which banks are linked, and no they're not. Did the government take of Bank of Scotland too?

slowlyfading

Congratulations whitewing! :j :j

Frugaldom

cw18 wrote: »

From the I.F. site : Intelligent Finance is a division of Bank of Scotland plc, which is a subsidiary of HBOS plc.

From Times0nline (dated 13/10/08) : The Chancellor will move to take control of the Royal Bank of Scotland today by injecting £20 billion of taxpayers’ money.

Are RBS and Bank of Scotland the same thing?

No, they are completely different banks, we have Halifax/Bank of Scotland, The Royal Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank. (And all of them have their own currency notes.) Clydesdale, however, is owned by the Australians now, I think.

cw18

OK, so from the Telegraph (12.1.09) :
The combined Lloyds TSB and HBOS bank will be 43pc owned by the government when the takeover completes later this month, after the overwhelming majority of investors opted out of buying new shares in either company.

So it looks a fair chance that the government does now have a 'heavy hand' in I.F.

It will be interesting to see what happens with rates at the other banks they've bought into - if they also push up rates ahead of anyone else trying to compete with them - then it's probably a fair assumption the government have had a hand in this

Savvy_sewing

although I am not a subscriber as such, I am trying to be a good lurker!. I seem to be having a "spending" problem that is trying to get everything stocked up, and changed before DS is officially off of the Child Benefit and Tax Credits. Which is sort of crazy in one way, but I feel as though I need to have stock piles to tide me through when the money stops at the end of August. Then I will have to live on less then you guys, by around £500 a year.
I have been buying whoopsies and trying to make the meals around them.
DS is off out on his moped, and currently costing me in petrol too! The downside of all this is that I am mostly sitting here on my own, and finding it hard to make a proper meal for one. It also means that I am throwing away food, that I had got out for DS and then he isnt here for meals!. (He went to his mates in Oxford last night, at short notice, and then today he was due home he said he was staying another day.) So the change from his last tank of petrol has gone. Stupid me had given him all I had, a £20 note and asked for the change!! Wont do that again in a hurry.
My Ex husband (of 15 years), no love lost, has not been paying the Child Maintenance very regularily, and the CSA have been trying to sort it out. He owes me over £720!!! But they have a problem in paying things out to me as for some reason, he has been refunded the last 3 weeks for some technical reason, which means "Bare with me Mary" was her words. Baring with he is ok if you can afford to loose £48 a week income. And Mary is not my name!!!! Grrrrrr
(Ex had also promised DS £150 towards the moped and he or I still have not received that either.). So my reserves really are all gone. So why am I spending still? I reckon I am scared of actually recording my spends anymore!! Its like half of me is in denial and the other half is determind to be as frugal and organised as possible. Help!!!

cw18

Mooloo - I hate to be the possible bearer of more bad news, but have you checked how you're fixed with Council Tax once your DS no longer gives you a qualification for CB and CTC. Following my chat with our office this afternoon I suspect he'll no longer be exempt and you'll have a bill for that as well :eek:

Savvy_sewing

cw18 wrote: »

Mooloo - I hate to be the possible bearer of more bad news, but have you checked how you're fixed with Council Tax once your DS no longer gives you a qualification for CB and CTC. Following my chat with our office this afternoon I suspect he'll no longer be exempt and you'll have a bill for that as well :eek:

I was just thinking that when reading your earlier post.
I suppose I will have to find out. Its not just the council tax, it will be the rent as well. Currently both are being payed as I am on ESA, but they take DS into account. What is frightening me, is that if DS's Apprenticeship is not one of the ones covered by the government, then I will probably not be entitled to keeping the amount for the cottage. The last thing I want to do is leave here, now I have just settled in.
I have tentatively thought about how I could try to work, but not sure that its not really going to be a pipe dream.! Truth be told I am SCARED to death about the future. Immediate is bad enough.

Savvy_sewing

If DS is only 16 surely he doesnt pay council tax until he is 18? I am not sure but just had that thought?

cw18

Mooloo - looks like you could be right on the age thing. Just checked a different section of our council's site (was concentrating on student exemptions this afternoon) and it says

The normal Council Tax charge for a property is made on the basis that there are at least two adults (people aged 18 or over) living in the property.

I would imagine you're right about the rent though :eek:

Savvy_sewing

cw18 wrote: »

Mooloo - looks like you could be right on the age thing. Just checked a different section of our council's site (was concentrating on student exemptions this afternoon) and it says




I would imagine you're right about the rent though :eek:

Well how come that doesnt surprise me!! I suppose I will have to ask them what changes. I feel that its unfair that he will only be on an apprenticeship so he wont have much money. But I will still need to have a two bedroomed home. I am already in the cheapest I could get. (Hence no gas, no central heating and a downstairs bathroom.).
Ah well. Today is a lovely day, I will not get depressed about it now. Or I will cry as I am on my own tonight.