It's all going to go wrong again

Wafoo

We sold our house in 2003 and used the proceeds to pay off our old creditors via a IVA as I had been offered a job in Australia,things didn't work out there so we came back,rented a house last June and started again.Thought things were going too well after my refund of charges from smile,now am facing a £440 a month drop in income from end of August which puts us back in the barely scrape by category,on top of which the house we rent lease runs out in December and think they want it back,my wife refuses to work,House prices are ridiculous but can't move out of the area as my daughter is in year 11 so have to stay in the area.
I know this isn't making much sense but just had to write it down to vent it somewhere.
I'm going to read every money-saving tip on this forum and see what I can save a month,need to sort my life out.
There done it!

spud30

If you can move to Australia, you can move to a cheaper area, surely

Pop up your SOA and we'll see what we can do to help

Glitterari

Why does your wife 'refuse to work'???

wanna-be-mortgage-free_2

:hello: welcome Wafoo. Yes if you post your SOA the good people on here will help you try cut costs.

Floss

Sorry if the questions sound a little rude or nosey, but here goes:

1. Why does your wife refuse to work?

2. Why can't you move to a cheaper area in your town until your daughter has finished her exams next summer? If she is 16, she can surely travel by bus or walk to her school from a cheaper home?

3. Have you been given advance notice by your landlords that they want the house back? Or are you just speculating....

4. Have you posted a Statement of Affairs (SOA) yet, to see where DFW advice can help you cut your budget?

Wafoo

Ok here goes

In the last lease there was a notice to quit on it
The whole area we live in is expensive,it's the Vale of Glamorgan
My wife says she can't find anything in the area as she doesn't drive,

here's my SOA


food £300
rent £550
credit card £120 we pay this every month to get it finished (owe 5700)
our money £100 (haircuts,treats etc)
clothes £20
gas £42
elec £48
phone £26
tv £11
water £38
c/tax £95
appliance cover £8
house contents £8
life ins £20
car ins £19
broadband £19
car maint & tax £20
premium bonds £50
petrol £50

out £1514 I think


In Salary £1556
tax credit £42
child benefit £70

£1668-
1514

leaves about £154 for the month,so any help much appreciated,this always seems to get spent somehow,school trips,repairs,unplanned expenses

spud30

Looking at your salary, should you not be entitled to more tax credits?

Treats could be cut a bit, not nice I know, but would help.

Food is a lot for a family of 3 - have a look on the OS board for ways to eat for less.

Broken_hearted

Your wife could find a job, does she know how bad things are getting.

lynzpower

Spending 50pcm on premium bonds isnt the best way to start, that money can easily be stopped. How much money do you have in those?

Your broadband is high at 19, the tesco value one is 14.0dd

Do you need your appliance cover at 8.00 per month, check your contents insurance if it covers for accidental damage etc, mine does

Clothes can stop, as can the 100 treat money.

You seem to be spending a lot on utilities too, check you are on the chapest supplier via uswitch and check out https://www.saveenergy.co.uk

your phone package is high there at 28. What call package do you have on it?

domestic_goddess

LYnzpower just said all that I was going to say

Except can your wife not get the bus to work, even a small part time job in a supermarket etc would help enormously.

Also your food bill can be at least halved without too much trouble. If your wife wont work then that could be her job to half the food bill by cooking more meals from scratch, making extra and freezing etc. Check out the old style board for more tips.

Use quidco to move suppliers for utilities and earn cashback for doing so.

Ebay any stuff you have that you dont use. Again your wife could do this as her contribution. Also clothes you could buy off Ebay you will get some lovely bargains.

Also def check out if you should be getting more family tax credits and stuff.

Good luck

:beer:

Wafoo

We have about £800 in the premium bonds,were going towards buying a house,will definately look at the utilities,do seem steep,I'll have a sit down with the wife and try and explain better about the need for extra money,I thought I earned too much for extra tax credits,I'm on £26000 per annum before tax.
The phone is BT's standard rate I think,pay direct debit,was looking into a package including broadband but Tesco have me tied in until September.