Struggling with debt

helloiamsteph

Hi dancingfairy,

We pay £40 for electricity, half each
Sattelite TV - this includes Broadband and phone, I usually only pay half of this but have taken on the full amount after my partners redundancy - hopefully I will be back to paying half again soon!
Other Travel is a Zone 1 - 2 travelcard, this is a season ticket loan repayment from work

To be honest since my partners redundancy we have stopped going out as much, when we do we will maybe only spend £20 between us in a night. No holidays or fun things for the same reason!

He is getting JSA but the lovely people at the benefits office believe that I can take on all the rent on my own so no housing benefit- thanks very much! He is contesting this at the moment so fingers crossed

rog2

helloiamsteph wrote: »

He is getting JSA but the lovely people at the benefits office believe that I can take on all the rent on my own so no housing benefit- thanks very much! He is contesting this at the moment so fingers crossed

That's about 'par for the course' steph :mad:. He must contest this - ask him to look at http://entitledto.co.uk/

gfplux

Hello helloiamsteph,
I thought this was a joint SOA. I think you need to do it again with proper rent (nearly £1000 you said) and proper figures for electricity.
Good Luck

dancingfairy

I know the feeling according to the jobcentre - my OH can support us just on his wage as well He does earn a reasonable amount but not enough to support 2 of us - so no help with housing benefit or council tax benefit here either.
Good Luck with everything
df

helloiamsteph

Thanks so much for your help everyone, I have a lot to think about and act on now!

sarahs999

Brighton isn't THAT cheap any more compared to how it was a few years ago, but you can probably find something if yuo do some good research.

It is true that your mortgage would probably be less - say. £850 - £900 a month on a £150k mortgage. But that's all going to change soon as interest rates creep up. And then you have to pay for your own upkeep - can't go to the landlord when things go wrong. And you'll need extra insurance such as buildings and contents (you don't need contents, in fact, but you definitely do need buildings insurance). So it all starts to creep up.

Not trying to put you off buying at all as I can see the logic in buying now for first time buyers, especially if you haev a helpful relative to put down your deposit. I just remember that when I bought myfirst flat I was astonished at how much more moeny it cost me each month than renting - it just seems to get sucked out of your wallet. And then you might find it harder to pay off the debts you have.

Just a thought.

Clark80

£1000 rent? You must live in a really really nice place. Most one beds in greater london are going for £650 - £850 a month so there is a potential saving straight away? Moving a couple of postcodes is worth looking at? i know there will be movig costs but the monthly savings are looking really good?

tyllwyd

If you are thinking about moving from London to Brighton, if it was me I'd be tempted to rent in Brighton for a while before deciding to buy, to make sure you are OK with the commute etc and that it doesn't cost you a lot more than you'd budgeted. Otherwise, if you found you hated it, it is a lot more difficult to move once you've bought.

euronorris

If you are planning on moving to Brighton. Will you still be working in London? If so, any potential saving with paying a mortgage, rather than rent, would be sucked up in travel costs - and then some!

And if you plan to get a job in Brighton instead, you will find that the salary will be reduced in comparison.

Definitely worth looking at seriously to confirm if this is really a viable option for you right now.

It's a good idea to put it off, if you find it would be too difficult, no point rushing into it.

helloiamsteph

Hi guys, sorry it's taken me a while to reply!

Clark80 - we live on the border of zone 3, so not massively central. We recently moved form a horrible area, and to be honest when I was hunting then it was difficult to find a 1 bedroom flat for less than £900 per month! This is the area my partner grew up in and we both love it, so while we're renting we're keen to stay here. Plus what extra we pay in rent, we make up for with reduced travel costs.

tyll & euronorris - I won't be commuting to London, it'll be a clean break to the seaside!