Can I save any more money?!

Glad

Sarahsaver wrote:

quick answers...
joint namesyes we were married
no he doesnt contribute at all and hasnt done since mid 2002 (BEFORE he left!!!)

so presumably if he wanted to sell could you be forced to, would he be entitled to half and if so wouldn't it be better to do this sooner rather than later,

also
we have such a wealth of knowledge on this site but sometimes you need to seek it out, I know you are loathe to discuss the mortgage with the lender but could you start a thread outlining your situation Re mortgage and post it on the Mortgage board, people on there may be able to help but may never see your thread here.

elona

I can't think of anything that might help but just wanted to let you know that we are all thinking of you. Big Hug

Glad

so looking at the above advice sarah needs to get legal advice on transferring the interest in the property to her.

Spendless

I agree with glad, that Sarah should post on the mortgage board to see if anyone on there could help.

My single mum friend has a charge on her house,she needs to pay this money to her ex once the youngest leaves full-time education either by selling the house, or raising the money through re-mortgage or otherwise. It isn't half the profit though as it took into account she was limited working due to the children and also i think something to do with his pension.

It was sorted out in their divorce.

Not a moneysaving thing but i've heard of a charity called 'Homestart?' (think its called) that can give help at home freeing up your time.

Sarah - have i read a post by you that says you're about to train for a medical degree? Is this right - or am i thinking of someone else? If so would you receive a bursary whilst training?

Is this only a temporary thing your current financial position. If so i can understand your reluctance to sell your home.

Good Luck - if i think of anything else i'll post again.

Sarahsaver

going to court on the 18th feb (nervous smiley required here) for a FDR or something, hoping that THIS TIME the judge will have enough evidence from the ex to decide the house should be mine. things will get easier and im determined not to give up. From whats been said here judges seem to look favourably on the parent with the kids in the house, so i should be ok there. Its not knowing thats doing my head in. I dont want to go into council housing - you don't know the estates around here. No disrespect to the people there but one was in the uk's 10 worst estates to live (poor health, crime, unemployment, vandalism..)
At least im getting free lunch today - the perk, unexpected, of taking part in a community arts project!
Again thanks everyone, you have helped so much.
Does anyone know where I can get any chickens? Live ones that is? Theres no livestock market here anymore.

jellyhead

Hi Sarah, some energy companies give away energy saving light bulbs to people on benefits. Powergen gave me two, also included a carbon monoxide detector. I'm not on benefits, it was a sweetener to get me to stay with them when I switched to another supplier but I've heard that powergen will give them to families on benefits. Also, are you with powergen? They do actually seem to be the cheapest for me (check your area with an online comparison tool) but you also get tesco clubcard points with them. I got 1000 for joining and they also give you one percent of your yearly fuel spend in clubcard vouchers too. I don't know if you use tesco but it's worth getting a clubcard just for powergen. Points are worth 4 times as much in deals vouchers so the points you get for joining powergen can be swapped for £40 in deals. I've bought deals vouchers on ebay before and we use them for entertainment such as eating out, bowling, theme park entry etc. last year we used them to get into drayton manor park/zoo and the girl on the desk also let me use them in conjunction with 2 for 1's so we got vouchers left over and used them in pizza hut. You could end up with enough points at the end of the year to go somewhere with your kids or you could just sell the deals vouchers on ebay, they sell well.

Can you get a carers allowance if your son need extra care? Just wondering.

sharon

jellyhead

Moss-star, I haven't used cloth nappies yet but was doing some research about it for the next baby. I came across something about cloth nappies making eczema worse simply because they're left on for a long period at night and they don't have the same absorbency or the 'lockable core' or whatever they call it when they use it in sanitary pads and disposable nappies. Have you tried using one-way liners inside the nappy? they might help with stopping urine from touching the skin perhaps, or do they just stop poo from getting into the nappy? Like I say I don't have any experience of this, just repeating what I've read so feel free to ignore me!

jellyhead

I got free nappies for my son, it was sorted out by a social worker, elona mentioned one on this board? it was when we went for an assessment at the child development centre, they do a 2 week intensive assessment of children with special needs who've been referred by the health visitor, usually 2-3 years old. it included paediatrician, occupational therapist, speech therapist, behaviour psychologist, play therapist, social worker, etc. etc. and in most cases ended up with a diagnosis, referrals, medical tests, statement of special needs for school, portage or play therapy, financial help with nursery school etc. the social worker was there for everyone, whether they needed it or not, she just talked about money with me.

anyway, the social worker got me some financial help to pay for nursery fees. my son had developmental delay so it was in his best interests to be going to a nursery and the social services nursery was full. i was already paying for it, he was at the university nursery part time while i finished uni, it was a proper nursery though not just a creche. paying the nursery fees was crippling me but he needed it, i thought it would help him learn to talk and look at other children, it was a lovely small friendly environment. social services paid for one full day at the nursery including food. it was a massive help. i assume your 4 year old is already in nursery though so excuse my babbling, i'm jellyheaded today lol!

because he was showing no understanding of potty training at nearly 3 she also helped me to claim free nappies for him. she'd spoken to me about it and told me to ask my health visitor but the health visitor was very unhelpful because my son didn't have a formal diagnosis of a medical condition (he's nearly 9 and still doesn't, he was called a 'mystery' by the paediatrician last year). when the speech therapist asked if he was diagnosed with autism i mentioned that having no diagnosis meant no free nappies and she went back to the social worker (they all work in the same building) who arranged it all for me herself. starting on their 3rd birthday you can get half your nappy requirement free from the clinic. i can't remember if i had vouchers or a letter or something, i had to collect them every month.

i don't know what brand the nappies were, not a major one though. they were a bit plastic and gave my son terrible eczema at the top of the legs. they were absorbent enough, just not very comfortable around the legs. if he hadn't had eczema they'd have been great. my sister's neighbour was having money troubles and she started buying the nappies off me for £2 a pack. i used the money to buy the supermarket own brand, they didn't give him eczema. at 4 he stopped wearing the nappies and would wet the bed maybe once a month, the plastic sheet helped, easy to clean and i could get the bed changed while he was having a quick bath then he'd go back to sleep. we had a spare duvet under the bed, and a bin bag for getting the wet bedclothes from bedroom to washing machine. wearing nappies all the time wasn't too good for his skin, i know this is too much information but he'd get eczema around his anus and nappies made him too sweaty lol!!

i don't know if they do trainer pants to give for free (he was trained by 4 and was tiny anyhow, never needed large nappies) but they should have something, i'd imagine that the service is for all ages and there will be some older children in nappies.

sorry i'm babbling so much today, i'm not well and have a cotton wool brain lol! anyway i hope you can get some help with your trainer pants costs. i like spendless's idea of sending tips in to magazines, maybe you could even offer to write a column on moneysaving around the home for them, i bet the readers would love to hear about your daughter gathering watercress (i get a lovely picture in my mind of a little girl with flowing hair in a pinafore skipping through sunny meadows towards the river, told you i had a jellyhead today lol!). let us know if you sell soap on ebay, i love handmade soap and always look for it to give as xmas presents.

jo_b_2

Just found out that this is one of the threads of the month. Congrats, Sarah. Perhaps your luck's starting to change.

Best wishes. Jo.

Squidgy

You save so much already, I'm in awe. Just wanted to give you

(((hugs)))

hope the court thing went ok

Squidgy