Got a letter from my landlord this morning...

clutton_2

""like spam, tinned food or ready meals either" - but sausages are ok ?

seriously - if you have no money then you can only afford very cheap, sometimes not particulary healthy food for a short time...

i lived on spuds and stuffing for a few weeks years and years ago.......

alasia

No sasusages arent particularly good but better than overtly processed stuff like ready meals IMO...plus Im trying to balance the diet rather than live off one thing, every dinner time for weeks on end.

RE benefits: Ive checked and I am getting all Im entitled to. I do get IS but most of it is taken out again paying off the budgeting loan I had last year.

From speaking to my LL I get the impression I wont be evicted in December but given my notice which isnt evicted? Im hoping he will put on the notice that he has to move back in here, not that it was due to rent arrears...as by then I hope to have paid him most of the rent I owe.

Oh - and on the phone earlier, his exact words when I said I would offer a payment plan, is "I want it all back, £10 or £20 a week is no good to me!".

Colincbayley

clutton wrote: »

""like spam, tinned food or ready meals either" - but sausages are ok ?

seriously - if you have no money then you can only afford very cheap, sometimes not particulary healthy food for a short time...

i lived on spuds and stuffing for a few weeks years and years ago.......

Clutton, I think you are being too harsh with the OP mate. I am no soft touch, but cut her some slack. Looks to me as though the poor woman is doing all that she is capable of.
"There for the grace of god go i "

Colincbayley

alasia wrote: »

No sasusages arent particularly good but better than overtly processed stuff like ready meals IMO...plus Im trying to balance the diet rather than live off one thing, every dinner time for weeks on end.

RE benefits: Ive checked and I am getting all Im entitled to. I do get IS but most of it is taken out again paying off the budgeting loan I had last year.

From speaking to my LL I get the impression I wont be evicted in December but given my notice which isnt evicted? Im hoping he will put on the notice that he has to move back in here, not that it was due to rent arrears...as by then I hope to have paid him most of the rent I owe.

Oh - and on the phone earlier, his exact words when I said I would offer a payment plan, is "I want it all back, £10 or £20 a week is no good to me!".

Contact your local council, see if there have a welfare rights officer who can sit down with you and help you plan a budget.
It can'tbe easy in your situation with 2 young children, work out a plan, stick to it, come back here and ask as many questions as you need.
Good luck.

clutton_2

i am sorry if folks think i am too severe with my responses... but OP is already paying off debts (which is why she is in such a poor situation right now) - and unless she radically changes her thinking and habits she will never get out of this poverty-cycle....


Alasai - of course the landlord wants all the rent back at once .. but in reality he knows he wont get it....

you said "he said I can pay him £100 next week and then the rest "when I can afford it" (thats what he said last time...hence me being in this situation!)"

you are "in this situation" because you have not disciplined yourself to pay off some of the arrears EVERY week... - "when i can afford it" has simply never come.. and never will.. as long as you have that mindset...

i have had many tenants over the years who have promised weekly arrears repayments and with a couple of exceptions i have had to evict them in the end....

have you been to the recipe bit of MSE to find out how to make your food funds go further ?

can you take in ironing ? or do other home-work ?

real1314

alasia wrote: »

Thanks although trust me...I already use barely any washing powder! About 2 (not heaped) tablespoons...then again that maybe be too much anyway, I tend to wash everything on 65 degrees as I think it means I can use less powder - may be wrong on that though!

I cook everything from scratch and try to do things like spag bol (my own sauce which is just chopped tomatoes and herbs with worcester sauce in) and cottage pie with the cheap mince; the only ready made things I buy are the sauces for pasta bake - they do stretch to making 2 meals though as I add water to the sauce

1. paying to heat he washer water to 65' rather than 40' will cost more than the extra bit of powder you are saving.

2. You can have pasta without the mince (onions, tin of toms, few herbs, bit of garlic); also pasta with brocolli (cook the brocolli then dry fry a little with garlic and chilli flakes, add a bit of cheese).

You can use onion/tomato sauce for pasta bakes too.

alasia

Thanks those tips sound nice (the pasta ones).

clutton - I know, you make good points.
Its not about being disciplined as such though; should I really have not bought nappies or something to wash the kids with,and not paid the gas in order to pay the landlord off? Ok so I have a house but then id have my gas cut off - or at the least, huge debts!

Anyway Ive told the landlord that I wont just do a runner in Dec if I havent paid off all the arrears by then; I will leave him a forwarding address and make sure I get the debt paid asap and I will stick to it.

Im not making excuses, but I have less than your average person on benefits; I have one pair of jeans and one black top, and if you really wanna know I only have one bra and 2 pairs of knickers I have to alternate! Tmi I know but my point is I dont buy anything that people would consider luxuries...

I have no iron, no makeup apart from one lipgloss, one saucepan and one cheap frying pan, 2 forks and no knives...oh and 2 spoons

As said before I dont want or expect sympathy as its my own fault I got into rent arrears, but I did think I was trying my best to manage my money...

tbs624

clutton wrote: »

can you take in ironing ? or do other home-work ?

Under the terms of her AST the OP will not be able to use the property for anything other than "residential purposes" - taking in ironing is effectively running a business from the rented property. Her benefits would also be affected.

alasia

Oh and btw I cant do ironing for people as I dont have an iron,Ive tried putting ads aroundlolcally for me to clen for people, walk their dogs and even pet sit but had no replies (apart from the odd one or two that phone up but ask questions then never get back in touch), Ive tried Avon, Tish Tash Toys and Betterware recently and none of those worked out...no sales.

Ive just started doing surveys and mystery shopping now to try and get a bit of extra cash and if I can persuade my mum to have the kids overnight 3 times a week, I can go for the warehouse nights job Ive seen advertised...but whether she will be willing to have the children that much, I dont know.

ETA: just seen the above post; if my tenancy is affected by the MS then...whoops!

LittleMissAspie

wrangler5 wrote: »

I expect OP probably 'NEEDS' chinese takeaways and pizza instead, not to mention a plasma screen tv.

Now you are totally putting words into her mouth, I think that is uncalled for.