help!! so skint struggling with expenses

pixienix

hi,

i'm new here, i was looking for advice to get out of the rut i'm in but cant find any threads with the same situation i'm in.

i work for a company but i'm self employed as a taxi driver and our work load has dropped considerbly in the last year, my earnings after fuel, radio fees and insurance is on average down to £60 a week.
i recieve all the top up benifits i'm intitled to (tax credits, housing/council tax benifit and child benefit) i have 2 kids living with me and 2 others who live with their dad who i pay £25 csa for a week.

my problem is on what i'm getting, i cant afford my bills. i am in debt with my water company, they are threatening to cut me off for non payment, my council tax is in arrears as is my rent, i havent paid my monthly tv license bill since january either.
i dont buy any extras or go out anywhere etc, i'm struggling just to feed us all to be honest, i havent even been able to afford to do a full shop since xmas and have just been buying top up essensials (bread, milk, spuds, value range burgers sausages etc)
i dont know what to do, if theres any help available etc?
any help in where/what to do gratefully appreciated!

babymoo

Hi, I'm no expert on this but i didnt want to read and run. I am sure that someone will be along shortly with some answer. If you have a scout around you will find plenty of threads with the same sort of questions.

It might help if you do a SOA so that people can help with where your money is really going? Again not certain on this so it may just be best to wait for someone else. However don't panic you are definately not alone.

3Dogs

Use this link to do your SOA (statement of affairs):

http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

pixienix

heres my soe so you can see where my money is going:

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1 (taxi)
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 240
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 796
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1036
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 248
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 76
Electricity............................. 80
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 30
Telephone (land line)................... 21 (needed for work)
Mobile phone............................ 35 (needed for work)
TV Licence.............................. 7.25
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 54
Internet Services....................... 10 (neeed for work)
Groceries etc. ......................... 160
Clothing................................ 25
Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 10.75
Car Insurance........................... 157
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 300
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 0 we're all girls so have long hair trimmed by moi!
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
fees to office for work................. 360 xda rental and bookings fee
Total monthly expenses.................. 1744

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 4,000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 4,000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,036
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,744
Available for debt repayments........... -708
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount short for making debt repayments. -708 EEeeek!!!
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 4,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. 4,000


hope this helps people looking at my question, thanks for the advice on this

also what wasnt included i forgot to add my csa payments of £100 a month

Annisele

I'm afraid I'm getting very confused with those figures - I can't turn them into a weekly income of £60 from taxi driving.

If I just pull out the car related costs:

Monthly income after tax................ 240

Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 10.75
Car Insurance........................... 157
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 300 really? that looks very high
fees to office for work................. 360 xda rental and bookings fee

If that's the case, then your monthly income from taxi driving is £240, but your costs are £928. So, presumably your £240 is your take-home pay (it'd actually be £260 per month if you're earning £60 per week; there are a bit more than four weeks in an average month). How much do you actually earn, before taking into account tax and expenses?

How many hours a week do you work? National minimum wage is £5.80 per hour - as you're self-employed you don't have to be paid that. You'd get £60 per week on an NMW job if you worked 11 or 12 hours a week - is that an option for you?

Can you negotiate on the £360 fees to your office? If work has gone down, then those fees ought to be negotiable.

DVardysShadow

Annisele wrote: »

I'm afraid I'm getting very confused with those figures - I can't turn them into a weekly income of £60 from taxi driving.

More bluntly, if you take home £240 after tax and then pay £360 xda rental and bookings fee from your take home, you would be at least £120 better off not doing the job.

Are you sure your SoA is correct?

mum2one

pixienix wrote: »

heres my soe so you can see where my money is going:

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1 (taxi)
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 240
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 796
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1036
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 248
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 76 - still the same figure but could you look into paying over 12months and not 10
Electricity............................. 80 - thats high, start checking things like turning lights off when your not in the room, stop leaveing items on standby, if mobile phone etc chargeing do it in the room ur in, your less likely to leave it all night
Gas..................................... 40 - not too bad, but maybe put another layer on rather then heating, knock 10mins off central heating,
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 30
Telephone (land line)................... 21 (needed for work)
Mobile phone............................ 35 (needed for work)-ok you need for work, but when contract up, consider using a sim only package, for £20 per month u get wack free mins, texts, - go via cashback such as Quidco,
TV Licence.............................. 7.25
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 54 - please don't take offence, but this is a luxury that you can ill afford, can you reduce the package or look at freeview when out of contract
Internet Services....................... 10 (neeed for work)
Groceries etc. ......................... 160 - I know you say ur getting essentials, but meal planning, batch mince, chilli con carne, shepherds pie, worth looking at old style boards
Clothing................................ 25 - again try and make that if needed
Petrol/diesel........................... 100 - theres nowt you can really do
Road tax................................ 10.75
Car Insurance........................... 157 - I appriciate that as a taxi the price shoots way up, but at renewal shop around
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 300 - I fully appriciate that u need tyres, servicing etc a lot more than general car user, but that looks a lot to put up
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30 - this is sort of a luxury, cut back the list, the presents theres plenty of xmas threads with ideas to make home made hampers, cheaper presents, that look more expensive
Haircuts................................ 0 we're all girls so have long hair trimmed by moi!
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
fees to office for work................. 360 xda rental and bookings fee - is there any chance you can get a reduction for rental with the quiet period, or maybe consider changing firms
csa ....................................100 - just added the CSA in, can you ask for a review of your case
Total monthly expenses.................. 1844

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 4,000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 4,000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,036
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,844
Available for debt repayments........... -808
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount short for making debt repayments. -808EEeeek!!!
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 4,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. 4,000


hope this helps people looking at my question, thanks for the advice on this

also what wasnt included i forgot to add my csa payments of £100 a month

I've added the CSA in and sorry but that makes it £807 a month, I've put a few suggestions, that would be painless cuts, but from what I see the main issue is the taxi.....

Ins-£157
car care -£300
radio-firm £360
Petrol/d-£100
car tax -11

Thats - £958 per month,

But if this was a family car (est costs)
ins - £30
car care - £30
petrol - £30
tax - £11

That be £101 -saving of £857pm.

---

From what I see you really need to get advice from CAB, their be able to help re the water etc,
your got to pay - rent, council tax, water, gas,elec, food, etc

CSA - that need adjusting to your wages

to an extent the positive is you haven't got od, credit cards, etc (or their not listed)

---

From what I can see the biggest problem is the taxi, is it quiet around the whole area, and is that an average for radio contract?

You've got no accounts costs there - do you do self assesment for tax, is there any tax that you can claim back,

Sent a pm.
x

Oneday77

If your self employed are you declaring all the taxi expenses ie fuel, maintenance, insurance, office fees and comms cost. They should reduce your tax a fair bit.

On the CSA front if they have you paying £100 a month they must think wages wise you clear more than you do. Ask for a review

MrsE_2

pixienix wrote: »

hi,

i'm new here, i was looking for advice to get out of the rut i'm in but cant find any threads with the same situation i'm in.

i work for a company but i'm self employed as a taxi driver and our work load has dropped considerbly in the last year, my earnings after fuel, radio fees and insurance is on average down to £60 a week.
i recieve all the top up benifits i'm intitled to (tax credits, housing/council tax benifit and child benefit) i have 2 kids living with me and 2 others who live with their dad who i pay £25 csa for a week.

If you're making £60 a week you would be better jacking it in & getting a regular job.
My DH is a cabbie & it has been quite since Jan, he has moved offices, which is a shame because he really liked the other area but it was time to move on.

pixienix

thanks everyone,

my taxi costs are flat rate, all drivers pay the same regardless if you do 20 hours or 80 hours a week. i work 9.30am til 3pm while my kids are at school and when i invested in this job, it paid the bills and put food on the table, the only way to do this is to double or triple your hours like all the other drivers are doing. i cant increase my hours because i'm working around my 2 kids.
when i took out the package deal with sky i could afford it, im tied in with a 2 year contact.
i just renewed my insurance, i couldnt afford a deposit on a new insurance company that had lower monthly payments so had to stay with the company i used last year.
my car maitence expenses include servicing, (65, more if its cambelt time)tyres (180 for budget 260 for branded), light bulbs, brakes,(full set cost £360 last time, they insisted i needed new discs aswell, not going to kwik fit again!), 2 mot's a year, engineers report and plate test renewal (currently £195 a year)
i have spoken to the boss and he said if he reduced my fees he'd have to make allowances for all his staff and he wont do it :-( his answar is work more hours then! i have no family close by to rely on to help with childcare, its just me & the girls.
i have asked for csa to reaccess my payments but £10 of that is the csa payment and £15 is for arrears i have with them and im paying the least they will accept
dvardy, you are right, i would be better off being on the dole and this makes me angry because i'm trying hard to support the kids i had and failing miserably!
also if i left i'd be making myself unemployed, not sure how i'd stand there!
thanks for looking at it for me,
pixienix

Emmzi

re: working vs not working - how old are the kids?