Any help greatly appreciated

muddymouse

Hi, I wonder if anyone can give me some advice please? I have added my SOA below, but my main problem is the rent arrears (I live in a private rented property). I've tried today to get a loan just to pay these off as I'm so anxious when anyone knocks on the door, but I have a CCJ from when I left my husband over three years ago, and this is obviously affecting my credit rating.

I am divorced, work part time as a teacher and have 4 children. I think this is part of the reason for my problems, as I only receive child benefit and tax credit for one of them. The reason for this is that when my husband and I split, we agreed to share care of the children (who were all under 18 then) and so halve the benefits for them. My eldest daughter is now at uni, but lives full time with me, and although I get no benefits for her she does help out with food sometimes, and loans me money when I really need it. The other 3 children spend exactly half of the week with each of us (7 days out of 14), but my ex pays for most of their clothes and activities - I just feed and look after them while they are here, and pay for the occasional trip out when I can afford it (which isn't often). Because benefits cannot be halved, I only receive an allowance for having one child live with me for the whole week - the tax credits and child benefit detailed below. I also get a housing benefit allowance, so the £330 below is what I have to pay of the total amount of £500 pcm.

I trained as a teacher last year, and most of the rent arrears built up during this time, as I was surviving on the student loan and small bursary. The job I am doing at the moment is only part time, but I am hoping to progress to full time from September, so the situation might improve then, but can anyone suggest a way out of this mess in the meantime?

I have used this website to help get the cheapest energy, phone and car insurance deals. Really the only area I can see to cut back on is food, but I don't really where to start?

Thanks in anticipation.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 768.44
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 615.72
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1384.16

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 330.5
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 123.8
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 60
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 40
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 15
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 21
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 300
Clothing................................ 40
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 17
Car Insurance........................... 36
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 40
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 20
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1315.3


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 700
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 700

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Littlewoods ...................1000......35........0
Next...........................500.......20........0
Rent arrears ..................1100......200.......0
Owed to friend ................900.......50........0
Total unsecured debts..........3500......305.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,384.16
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,315.3
Available for debt repayments........... 68.86
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 305
Amount short for making debt repayments. -236.14

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 700
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,500
Net Assets.............................. -2,800

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using Opera browser.

psychopathbabble

muddymouse wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 768.44
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 615.72
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1384.16

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 330.5
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 123.8 can you pay this over 12 months?
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 60
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 40
Telephone (land line)................... 30 this sounds like it can be reduced
Mobile phone............................ 15
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 21 is this a package with internet? use freeview instead.
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 300 i only buy for myself but if the kids are only with you half of the time, this can definitely be reduced. check out the old style threads for help with this.
Clothing................................ 40 have to make do with what you have for now
Petrol/diesel........................... 120 can this be reduced?
Road tax................................ 17
Car Insurance........................... 36 try comparisons sites
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 40 this is a lot, does the car need a lot of repairs? can you possibly live without it?
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 20
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40 unfortunately this will need to be cut down for a while, only buy for the children and no-one else
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 20 what is this for?
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1315.3


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 700
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 700

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Littlewoods ...................1000......35........0
Next...........................500.......20........0
Rent arrears ..................1100......200.......0
Owed to friend ................900.......50........0
Total unsecured debts..........3500......305.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,384.16
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,315.3
Available for debt repayments........... 68.86
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 305
Amount short for making debt repayments. -236.14

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 700
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,500
Net Assets.............................. -2,800

Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using Opera browser.

Others will be along shortly with their input.... still some savings can be made i have made some suggestions.

muddymouse

Thanks for your suggestions psychopathbabble, I really appreciate the time it must have taken. Just to reply to your points:

The council tax is arrears, due to a mix up with my housing benefit application, so I have to pay that amount every month for the next 3 months to clear the arrears.

The amount for the telephone is actually for the phone and broadband. I have a deal with Virgin where I get internet, line rental and 400 mins of calls per month (includes landline and mobile) for £27 month, but I allowed an extra few pound because it doesn't include 09 numbers - not that I ever use them, but just in case.

The main reason I have Sky is so that we can use the Sky+ box - I assume I can't do this if I have Freeview?

Have looked at the old style boards before, but never really made an effort, so will definitely have another go now, thank you.

I did wonder about clothing... I probably don't even spend that much, but have been wearing the same clothes to work since September, and the kids notice. I have bought a few things of eBay, so yes, will definitely try and get that down too, thanks.

Unfortunately, I can't reduce the car costs as I live about a twenty minute drive from the children's school (my ex stayed in the family home) and about 30 minutes from work. The maintenance costs do seem to have been really high for this car...something seems to go wrong nearly every month, but I do take it to a friend who does it as cheap as possible, so don't think I can cut down any more.

The entertainment amount is just for things for the kids really - the occasional trip to the cinema (always on Orange Wednesday) and maybe a magazine here and there. The thought of cutting these out altogether makes me really sad. I trained for 4 years to become a teacher, and I thought my finances would improve, but things seem to be just as bad as they were when I was working in retail!

psychopathbabble

You will get there... my friend has 2 teenage kids and after spending 3 years doing her degree and living on grants (her benefits were stopped) she now has a full-time job at my old high school and is doing really well.

Some freeviews do have a recording facility, we had one at home before sky was put in. Might be worth a look!

Your best bet is to attack the grocery budget then... it's just a matter of organisation and planning (easier said than done I know!!)

savingmummy

muddymouse wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 768.44
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 615.72
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1384.16

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 330.5
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 123.8 once the arrears are clear pay over 12mths
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 60 ring round for cheaper elec/gas, some are offering cashback for swapping. I find having both with same company, and paying DD works cheaper too.
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 40 this seems high
Telephone (land line)................... 30 haggle for cheaper
Mobile phone............................ 15 is this contract? maybe go payg??
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 21 i would cancel this
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 300 halve this, buy what you need, stick to a list - no extras, meal plan for the week,
Clothing................................ 40 reduce this
Petrol/diesel........................... 120 only use the car when really needed
Road tax................................ 17
Car Insurance........................... 36 is this the cheapest? have a compare.com
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 40
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 20 is this the cheapest?
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40 reduce this
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1315.3


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 700
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 700

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Littlewoods ...................1000......35........0 high APR
Next...........................500.......20........0 thier APR is high so this is a priority
Rent arrears ..................1100......200.......0 PRIORITY
Owed to friend ................900.......50........0
Total unsecured debts..........3500......305.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,384.16
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,315.3
Available for debt repayments........... 68.86
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 305
Amount short for making debt repayments. -236.14

Are you using an overdraft for outgoings? or credit card?

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 700
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,500
Net Assets.............................. -2,800

Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using Opera browser.

Hi and welcome.

You are £230 short each month so you need to make some cutbacks for now. How are you paying out each month when your income goes. Overdraft?
I would cancel sky (its a luxury you cant afford right now), halve groceries i spend 150 on 4 so it can be done.
Reduce clothing to £20 a month if you need clothing - assessories to change your outfits!
Presents can be reduced - once your straight you can up this amount!
Thats £190 a month saving!
Do you have anything to sell?
Could you get a evening job or weekend job?

Rent is priority so this needs to be paid off, pay the bare min for the catologues for now (even though the APR`s are huge!) and concentrate on the rent!
Then get the catalogues paid AND cancel accounts!!!

Goodluck x

festivalgirl73

I don't think I can be of much practical help but wanted you to know you are not alone, your situation echoes mine scarily, I also left my husband, walked away leaving him the house, share the children 50/50 and let the ex claim majority of the benefits as I felt so guilty at the time, I have 3 children at home and get £10.53 a week tax credit and am not entitiled to housing benefit as they don't live with me apparently!! They have certainly been here all half term as their dad drops them off to me when he goes off to work regardless of whether he's had them the night or not, its so frustrating isn't it when the authorities can't see that you need to put a roof over your childrens heads even if its not you claiming the child benefit.
I managed to rack up £30K of debts in the five years since leaving as I have been living in a stupid bubble of denial that I can cope financially.
Anyway, sorry, enough about me, I'm sure you can get your rent arrears paid off with a bit of tweaking as suggested by all these lovely people here.
I'm in the midst of trying to sort out my own DMP as none of the debt management companies can offer any help as I don't have enough surplus income.
Anyway in short, I really hope you sort things out and I totally empathise with your situation. It helps to know I'm not the only one in this stupid situation, and I hope it helps you to know there are others like you out there.
x