How do we get out of this mess????

tanmu

This mystery shopping thing....how do you do all the tax stuff? I assume you have to declare it yourself, but I am a novice at all that as have only ever had tax deducted from wages. Any advice?

tanmu

another question about mystery shopping - I was just signing up to TNS -http://online.tns-global.com/ and it asked for my NI number. I am suspicious of this because 1. None of the other sites requested it, I had to apply first and wait to be accepted and 2. there was no security symbol for the page. Does anyone else work for this company? Can anyone confirm that it's above board?

thanks again

lynzpower

Apparently TNS ask for NI no as they pay tax & NI, whereas the others need the shopper to do it themselves. read this yeasterday on here, someone else asked

david_hellier

According to my calculations you have £19.41 per week to spend on food and nothing else. You are effectively bankrupt. For the sake of your children I would file for bankruptcy. If you are renting, then definately go for it.

You are both still young enough to recover and it's not the end of the world.

Good luck.

The calculations are as follows:

income weekly monthly
self
partner 1145.00
benefits 126.00
tax cred 140.00
mother 100.00




total 0.00 1511.00
348.69 divided by 4.33

348.69 total weekly income

spend weekly monthly
rent/mortgage 302.89
council tax 98.00
elec 25.00
gas 30.00
water 24.51
secured loans
TV licence 10.99
fines
bb 40.00
car ins 55.00
petrol 200.00
mobi 25.00
house ins 9.00
virgin loan 116.00
a+l 175.00
car loan 195.00
egg 43.00
a+l 5.00
hsbc 10.00
morgan 36.50
halifax one 26.00









total 0.00 1426.89
329.28 divided by 4.33

329.28 total weekly spend

Start= income - spend = 19.41 per week

elizw

have you read the benefits calculator on the latest email from Martin - maybe you can check your benefits there. Would your husband do some extra weekend work for say three months max toget a lump sum payment towards your debts. Pubs etc offer long hours over the weekend. I know its not great but if it can make a difference then worth it.

I think the nursery was a good idea - but I dont think they pay very well.

inkie

I think that the bancrupcy sugguestion can be completely avoided if the OP up sher income, from what she has said, there are distinct possibilities. With regard to the mystery shopping - you have to declare the earnings on a self assesment form from the tax office.

tanmu

I did do a benefits check but, as a married couple earning above the paltry threshold of £15000, we are not entitled to anymore. As for bankrupcy, my OH would NEVER do that unless there was absolutely no other way. We both have too much family around who would be more than willing to help if things got that bad, so we'd really rather avoid that route.....
I am still researching other opportunites for myself, as far as working from home goes....

fairylights_2

Hey tanmu, and welcome to DFW! I don't post a lot on this board any more (thankfully :rolleyes:) but really wanted to respond to you. We were in a similar position to you before I found this site, and we're in the clear now which is almost entirely thanks to the guys on here. I have two kids as well, same age as yours, and stay home with them.

Did you know, for starters, that your three year old is entitled to childcare sessions free from the term after they've turned three? So you could start them in a preschool/playgroup and potentially it won't cost you a lot, if anything at all. I know that still leaves you with one child, but a lot of work from home jobs are easy enough to do. I've sent you a private message with some other ideas about work from home.

Your SOA is pretty good, really, we're pretty much the same as you for most of our outgoings - although your food bill is big for a young family of four. Might you try cutting that down a bit?

I'd also suggest (and this will probably wind you up, since it's normally the most difficult one) that you move house, or your husband changes his job. It's great that he earns what he does but once he's paid for his petrol to get to work and back, then he's bringing in less than £1k per month, which is not so great. I know it's a big one, but what are the chances?

Can you get rid of the mobile? It's an added expense that you don't really need to spending out on at the moment.

As far as your debts go, have a look at https://www.whatsthecost.co.uk - they have a debt repayment calculator (called a snowball) which you can put all your debts into and how much you can afford to pay, and that'll tell you what state you're in.

Do you get the special 0% anniversary offer on your egg card? if so, when does that come up, because you're going to be hurting with the interest on all of those cards. Have you called the card companies and asked what rates they'll give you for balance transfers to see if you can cut the interest on them across the board? if you do manage to get a good deal from any of them, then cut the cards up as soon as you have, so you don't then spend on them again.

What about the car? Seems like a lot of loan left - can you sell it and buy a cheaper car instead? At the end of the day, if it's not pretty, that's fine, so long as it saves you some money and still gets him to work. Can he car share, or train/bus to work? anything to stop the spends going up. Your budget doesn't allow for servicing, repairs or new tyres, all of which are going to come round quicker if he's driving to work and back every day.

I'm not trying to be rude, just putting ideas out there for you. I know you really want quality time with your family, and there are solutions but you have to be really willing to go for them. Good luck!