Confused!!

lady_fuschia

I'll look into the ALF thing- thanks for the tip off- I can't believe I wasn't aware of it. My course is only part time, so I think that might affect it, but I guess it's worth looking into. Why would I get 25% reduction in Council tax? I never heard of that before.

We would get a medical season ticketand have looked into it but at the moment we can't afford to pay the lump sum! Apparently it would cost £100 for the year.

Already using weekly bus pass- taxis are the biggest pain. OH often finishes after 11pm when the buses and trains stop - and a taxi back home is £10- some weeks travel can cost over £60. We are looking into moving to a flat closer to where he works but we'll need to raise a deposit first.

You may have a point about the pension- I only opted in because I've had my Dad drilling into me for years how important it was to start a pension early!

Funny you should mention the competitions- I've submitted a copule of stories in the past couple of weeks as it happens. Got my fingers crossed! Will be submitting a few more over the summer too. (Helpful to talk to someone who's studying in same vague area- most of the people on my course are stay at home mums with husbands with fabulous jobs and don't understand the concept of having to budget!)

I'm going to check out the DLA now you've mentioned it. OH always assumes he's not entitled to anything (think he enjoys playing the martyr a little bit!) but I guess it can't hurt to investigate.

Thanks for the tips though, sometimes it helps to have an objective eye (and someone to moan at!)

Fran

***Boardguide comment***

Please remember that no advice given on these boards is necessarily correct, legal or useful. It is important to check through appropriate official channels before acting on anything read here.

missk_ensington

The worst that can happen is DLA write back and say sorry he can't have anything!

If you live alone you get a 25% reduction o your council tax, everyone in the country does. You might be exempt as a student,. thus cancelling you out and making him a single resident. If its a part-time course not sure if it counts though.

Are you sure your partners employers won't contribute towards taxi's late at night? If you've paid a bond where you are now, you should get that back?

Your expenditure comes to £1219 a month (including your travel at the highest scale) and your joint income £1420 with your partners earnings at the lowest end of the scale. Therefore you must have at least £200 a month spare??

Car bot sales are always great, and something I've done from time to time when very very skint, I've unpicked the seams of new-ish clothes and taken them back for a refund. In one weekend I sold some baby stuff on ebay and took back 3 items to shops and made £110!

lady_fuschia

Yeh I know- We should have £200 ish a month spare, but it just isn't there somehow. I posted a thread about this before and got the reply "keep a spending diary". Which would work if I could get OH to actually do it (suspect a lot goes in fruit machines, probably more than I realise on fags and "drinks after work"- which does annoy me as I have sacrificed my entire social life to our budget.) he's all for the idea, but tends to forget to put things in, or decide that certain things "don't count". Not sure where its going as my wage is always gone by the end of the first week of the month paying bills etc.
Sorry I'm just moaning now!! I guess its just driving me mad going without so many things (new clothes, social life, music, holidays etc- Inever go out, haven't bought a CD or anything new to wear in over six months and we've never had a holiday together- OH takes double pay instead of holiday time to boost the budget and I spend mine at my Mum's!) and still always seeming to have to struggle to pay bills. When I was doing my first degree I always thought by age 30 I'd have my own house, a car and maybe be married with kids- I'm getting there fast and none of that stuff is looking very likely!

Unfortunately we really don't have anything that anyone would want to buy if we sold it- I've been trying to get rid of a jobload of CD's for ages and nobody's biting. Sold my old uni books for £25, which was a small help.

Sorry, I'm being a right drama queen now- I'm normally much more "look on the bright side" but I guess sometimes these things get to you a bit!

missk_ensington

Not at all, I know what its like living with a financial liability snd I couldn't do it any longer so we split. I now how my own house (Im 20) a child and a good job, whilst dfoing my degree and he's bankrupt and living in a caravan.

Please don't tell me you have a joint account? I get the feeling your OH is viewing you as a cash cow, and if you're paying the bills what's his money going on?

I'd sit down and get serious, this isn't a joke or a 'I'll do it later' matter. Whats his rent/bills contribution?

Get the feeling he's taking you for a ride!

lady_fuschia

No we don't have a joint account. I'm very much a seperate bank accounts kind of girl! Technically I don't pay all the bills, I have the direct debits going from my account (partly because I'm paid monthly and he's paid weekly, partly because he has a tendency to "forget" to pay bills)and he gives me the money to cover his half on payday- I originally asked for £100 a week (which still means I cover the lion's share, but as I earn more I don't mind that so much) but admittedly in practice I don't always get that- often its more like £50 or £70, with a promise he'll "pay the extra next week", only something always comes up and I end up having to make up the extra.
Things are getting better I think- we did have a chat about the situation two weeks back - I showed him our SOA written down and pointed out how much we should have spare and he was genuinly suprised, I don't think he realised what he'd been spending. I'm not sure whether it will make a long term difference yet, but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt- he's actually said that I'm re-educating him about money, he'd always lived beyond his means before (overspending on credit cards then getting his mum to bail him out)I guess he's having trouble adjusting...

chugalug

Just a couple of points that might be helpful - I'm a single parent student so have an idea where you're coming from!!!

£80 pw on food is very high - I spend £50 for myself, 2 teenagers (18 and 19) and one child. The moneysaving board might have some ideas to help you cut down a bit.

Is it possible for you to get a water meter? Might save money if you could as there are only 2 of you but its not always possible in rented accommodation.

Your council tax is very high - £200 pm is approx £2000 per year. Do you have arrears? If not, can you move to a cheaper area?

At least one of your debts will be paid off this month.

Really, it sounds as though you're doing all you can but have a spender for your other half. Often the way unfortunately - one saver one spender. Might be time for some straight talking.

Also try the student board for any info on maximising your student income.

lady_fuschia

Thanks chugalug support and advice is appreciated!
£80 was a generous estimate, somewhere between £60 and £80 is more accurate, but I didn't realise it was that high- I actually thought we were quite frugal on food, we don't buy ready meals or cake or anything and don't eat meat, so not sure how we can cut back there- I'll look at the tips though, maybe there's something I'm missing!

I had a look at a water meter comparison site and apparently we'd be spending pretty much the same amount.

Yeh the council tax is in arrears, but hopefully we'll be up to date by the end of July if we keep up these payments, so we get to drop them a bit then, which will be a huge relief, like I said earlier, we are looking at moving to a place that will be cheaper, though we have to find the deposit from somewhere first.

I think you're right that often one person in a relationship spends and the other saves- luckily I think I've started to talk some sense into him, he's nowhere near as bad as he was (at least he's only wasting the money we have now, rather than money we don't have!), no idea if I'll ever get him to be as enthusiastic about saving as me, but I'm trying to be optimistic for now. SOmetimes it feels like a bit of a losing battle, I come home having gained £10 from selling something on ebay to find he's spent £12 on a takeaway when we've got food in the fridge. I feel its more a case of not thinking, than not caring- but short of sticking labels on all the lightswitches and confiscating his cash card I'm not sure what I can do!
Thanks for listening/ helping !

Penny-Pincher!!

I think people are assuming the £80 is PW on food, but it is monthly isnt it?!

£80 per month for 2 people is excellent and dont think you could this dont much.

PP
xx

lady_fuschia

LOL! Yes £80 on food is per month! I'm not sure I could spend £80 a week if I tried to!