Can I save any more money?!

Sarahsaver

there are allotments nearby, but a long waiting list
i have a limited amount of space in the very heavy soiled waterlogged garden, but i grow herbs, tomatoes, spinach, and im going to ask someone i know if i can have some of her chickens, i live in a city so im not sure what the neighbours would think.
I would like an air rifle so i could shoot the woodpigeons which sit and stare arrogantly at us from high up in their tree. (yep they are proper pigeons not the grotty city ones:)) Lovely with watercress!
My daughter picks wild mushrooms for me:) (aah) She also gets watercress out of a river when its in season!

I have heard of lets, i do have a lot of skills i could offer, i will look into that.
Im wondering if i could sell pickle or soap on ebay, or would i be breaking some sort of regulations?
Cant make ANY changes to the mortgage - which is the biggest problem - because they would re-assess the whole thing again and only take into account my income, not the ex's whose name is still on it. I already get council tax benefit, i'd really be stuffed if i didn't!

stardoman

It takes a while for all the checks, but have you considered childminding? A friend of mine is a single parent and is a registered childminder. Because the government is wanting to get more childcare available she can earn quite a bit each week before it affects her benefits. As it is, she earns £40 a week collecting 2 children from school and looking after them until 6:30, but I'm sure she said she could earn £100 (may even be £150) per week before anything was affected. She has 3 children aged 6, 4 and 2. I'm a registered childminder myself and have had 2 phone calls this week from people wanting childcare on a weekend. If you're prepared to look after children for the more unsociable hours you could fill spaces fairly quickly. The more usual 8-6 childcare can be harder to fill as nurseries are springing up.

As you've lost your child maintenance are there any more benefits you could get?

Also, consider seeing another lone parent advisor - a different advisor may think of something the first one did not. This is one thing I've learnt recently - don't accept the first persons word on anything, always get a second opinion.

Mandy.

Sarahsaver

oh yes i already make gloop and it is good for my son's skin

elona

Sarahsaver

I know this has probably already occurred to you but how about moving nearer to your family as housing may be cheaper and you might have a bit of practical help from them if you need it.

I do realise that schools etc and facilities where you are may preclude this and am not trying to be cheeky just to open up ideas.

Good luck for the future whatever you decide and please keep contributing as your ideas are great!

Js_Other_Half

I think you should definitely have your benefits assessed again (by CAB or somewhere similar, not by the DSS!). DLA has two components - care and mobility. Care has 3 rates, mobility has 2. Once you are in receipt of one of these it can act as passport for other benefits?

Good luck with it all - you will come out the other side of this.

Js_Other_Half

Just had another thought - if you were a member of a union when you had your stroke, did you take up any advice they may have offered? It might be worth your while to see if they have some sort of scheme for 'retired' members?

Glad

only a small idea but my local authority offers free admission to the swimming baths for all children who join the library,


may be worth checking if your LA does anything similar

Spendless

SarahSaver- Have i got this right? You have a low income which includes a small pension annd this entitles you to certain benefits (school dinners and council tax for example) but does not give you any help with your mortgage costs?

If this is so, have you double-checked this. Ted did a link on benefits board earlier on today about how does and doesn't get help with mortgage costs.

Re - the mortgage can't be changed due to ex's name on it. Is this the ex that has given up his job? What would happen if the mortgage company knew about that?

What would happen if it was to go on your income only? Could the mortgage company force you to sell the house?

tiff

I'm concerned about the mortgage side of things from the legal aspect. My sister had a house with her boyfriend, split up from him after a number of years and went off to America leaving the house in joint names. She came back 8 years later with a husband and child and wanted a mortgage so had to get rid of the old one. When she contacted the mortgage company it was in arrears and just weeks away from reposession. She continued paying all the mortgage payments and was told the only way to get her name off the mortgage was to force the sale. Which is what she did but this took well over a year. The profit was then split 50/50.

I am concerned that your ex partner can come back in on the scene and force the sale in a similar way. Presumably because you have children the law would protect you in some way but hopefully someone here can help with this. (Apologies if you didnt want this part of things dragged out in the open, really just trying to help )

It just seems so unfair that you cant get any help with the mortgage.

Bogof_Babe

£50 a week shortfall is a lot to make up, and tinkering at the edges will help but not fundamentally improve your situation.

Can't you get free prescriptions and associated support for your son's condition? I am thinking of the family on Wife Swap who got extra benefits on account of their kids' asthma, so is it possible to claim something like Attendance Allowance for your son? Apologies if you've already been down this route, but that was what first sprung to my mind.

Any chance of letting a room to a student? You can charge up to about £50 a week without penalty from the tax people. You'd need to check this out as I have only a vague idea of the whole package.

Finally the other thing that shouts at me is that in this country no-one has to really struggle against starvation, so maybe there are extra credits/benefits/allowances you can get, given your situation, that you are unaware of. I think someone suggested the CAB, but even they don't have all the answers (the sad thing in the present day is that no-one seems to, not even those who's job it is). You still have a computer so do as much research on .gov sites as you can. Good luck and God bless you. xxx