My Turn

rchrisp

Council Tax - £93 Can you get a reduction as OH not got any income?

unfortunately no as i earn too much.


Electric - £83 This seems very high, esp when combined with the gas bill

its arrears; they "never recieved" the readings i sent, and reckon i use £60 a month (!!). im trying to get the backlog down a bit and then intend to switch.

Mobile - £25.00 Can you go to cheaper tariff or PAYG?

am on an 18 month contract, that is the cheapest tarriff with my phone.

Water - £42 This is high, would a meter be cheaper?

its mostly arrears, i have RSI so we use a dishwasher which would work out dearer with a meter.

DVDs - £12.49 This could go, there's free trial of DVD rental services on places like Quidco

unfortunately ive used every free trial going and they all know us now!

You also haven't got a budget for birthdays, haircuts, odd expenses like stuff breaking etc.

we dont really buy each other presents; i cut his hair and get mine down once every 3 months or so (about £28, pay on a card usually). anything that breaks the landlord replaces.

I'm disgusted that your OH can't get any sort of benefit when he's got a medically recognised condition - are there any support groups for the condition that you can talk to?

yeah, its awful. im looking at appealing at the moment, however we've been told that as its set in stone regarding the age of education, we dont have much hope. ive got him a pretty good book to get him started, but its just a matter of waiting it seems.

rchrisp

oops_a_daisy wrote:

4. I think there is a web site that you can go to to find out if you are elligable for benefits - hopefully somebody will post the details on here for you to have another try. Seems very unfair that you husband gets nothing.

we spent 3 months of filling out forms and telephone interviews to be told we couldnt get anything.

rchrisp

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote:

I think you could spend a lot less on food for 2 people. Value products are worth a try. I used to be snobby about them but when I actually tried them I was surprised at how good they are. You could probably get the bill down to £100 per month for 2 of you. Cooking from scratch, if you can manage that, is also very money saving.

we cook pretty much everything from scratch; i buy reduced/out of date ready meals and freeze them for work lunches as i dont eat sandwiches, or else take leftovers.

oops_a_daisy

definately look into getting a water meter - I pay £22 per month and use a dishwasher most days and washing machine every day. I think you have a 6 month period to change your mind if it does not save you money - worth looking into for approx £240 saving per year

Biffa

http://www.uk-benefits.org/incapacity_benefit.html

Incapacity Benefit


If you are suffering from short or long-term illness, you may be eligible to receive the Incapacity Benefit. The benefit is not need-based and in most cases depends on your record of National Insurance Contributions. You may be eligible to claim Incapacity Benefits if you are below 60 for women or 65 for men. You must also be unable to work because of disability or ill health, cannot claim statutory sick pay, and have been paid or credited with a minimum amount of National Insurance Contributions in one of the last two tax years.


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Are You Eligible?

You may be able to get Incapacity Benefit if any of the following apply to you:
your Statutory Sick Pay has ended, or you can't get it
you were under State Pension age when you became sick
or you must:

be aged between 16 and 20 (or under 25 if you were in education or training at least three months immediately before turning 20)
have been too ill to work because of sickness or disability for at least 28 weeks
have been too ill to work before you turned 20 (or under 25 if you were in education or training at least three months immediately before turning 20)
If you’ve been living or working abroad
If you have been living or working abroad, this may affect your benefits claim. You may be able to claim benefits if you have either:

Paid UK National Insurance Contributions in the past (or the equivalent in other certain countries).
Worked abroad under an employer who is based in the UK and paid National Insurance Contributions for the first 53 weeks of your employment.
If you haven't paid enough National Insurance contributions
If you have not paid enough National Insurance Contributions, you may be able to claim benefits if the following apply to you:

Are under the age of 20
Or 25 if you have been in education or training for at least three months before turning 20
Have been ill for 28 weeks
Are a present resident in Great Britain for 26 weeks in the year before making your claim

If you have been in the Armed Forces or you live and work within the European Economic Area, you should be treated as resident of the UK.
How Much Can You Claim?

Incapacity Benefit is paid in three different weekly rates. These rates are:
short-term (lower) IB is paid for the first 28 weeks - currently £59.20/week (£75.35 for OAPs)
short-term (higher) IB is paid from weeks 29 to 52 - currently £70.05/week (£78.50 for OAPs)
long-term IB is paid from week 53 - currently £59.20/week
You may be able to receive additional benefits if you qualify for the “age addition” with the long-term benefits if you were under 45 when you became to ill or disabled to work. Additional benefits may also be available for your partner or child caretaker looks after your children.

Don't know if that's any help to you or not but if he was in education before he turned 20 then it may help.

Also, how old are you? If you're over 25 you may qualify for some working tax credits.

Hope this helps a bit. Welcome to the DFW board as well!

rchrisp

he went back to college when he was 21, so doesnt qualify.

we're both 24...

i did a water meter calulator thingey and it came out dearer than what we were paying now... does anyone know a good online calculator?

Biffa

If you can, make an appointment with the local CAB office. They have trained benefit advisors who should be able to help you. I find it ludicrous that he can't get anything at all. However, no-one in the DWP will tell you what you can claim - you have to figure out yourself it seems. We're having the same problems with them at the moment - Hubby's DLA claim got turned down so I've asked them to look at the claim again, which takes 14 weeks :mad: If they still turn it down, we have to appeal. According to them, he can walk 400 meters (ha! I'd like to see him try!), can prepare and cook a meal for one (he'd maybe manage a pot noodle but that's about it!) and needs less than 10 minutes help a day with personal care (it can take me that long to get him upstairs, nevermind undressed, in the bath, washed, out the bath and dressed again!). :mad: Sorry, rant over.

If either of you have been in the Forces, or have parents who were in the forces, you may get help from somewhere like British Legion or SAFAA.

How do you do your shopping? Do you do a bit every week or one big shop a month? As a family of 4, ours rarely hits £200 a month, it's normally around £100 - £150. have a look at the Old Style board for some ideas on cutting back.
It may also be worth speaking to somewhere like CCCS on 0800 138 1111.

rchrisp

Biffa wrote:

How do you do your shopping? Do you do a bit every week or one big shop a month? As a family of 4, ours rarely hits £200 a month, it's normally around £100 - £150. have a look at the Old Style board for some ideas on cutting back.
It may also be worth speaking to somewhere like CCCS on 0800 138 1111.

we do one big shop a week, and OH goes to the local butchers for me if we need meet. go to big market every fortnight for fish and veg and get the rest during weekly shop. it rarely hits £200, thats a rounded figure. bills get paid first, so whatever we have left goes on food. its about £35 a week.

Steven.Chapman6

Check the latest Article on this web site "Council Tax Cost Cutting: reduce your band and grab any discounts". It includes a link to the 5 Minute Benefit Checker, which identifies area are help you may be able to claim.

Dolly_Smith

Your mental health trust will also be able to help OH in getting back to work. I don't know how long he has to wait for psychotherapy but they have people dedicated to developing job opportunities for people with mental health problems

you could also try carers associations to get help with claiming any benefits he might be entitled to