How to live on 65 per week?

grumpyoldwoman41

I am not going to get into a slanging match on here.

I am asking for advice and irrelevant, agressive posts do not help me.

£65 per week is MY income and I am asking for myself, not for anyone else thank you

HappyMJ

We are all trying to help you as long as you have cut every luxury out of your budget there is no shame is asking your daughter or even a lodger to contribute something towards the household gas/electric and water bills.

hannahO_2

grumpyoldwoman41 wrote: »

I do not have a car so no expense there but just my gas and electric are 100 per month at the moment, with water rates that is 2 weeks of JSA already gone each month.

Wear 4-5 layers of clothes or jacket, gloves, socks, hat and indoor boots, seal any draft coming into your flat and switch off heating. You've only got another 3 months of winter and save yourself £100 immediately there. My electric bill is £15 for quarter by using slow cooker (batch cooking). I do get a little bit of luxuary of warm air when I dry my hair twice a week for a few minutes and when I use a cooker for a very short time.

There is always a Mcdonald if you've got 24 hour branch or your local library if you need warmth.

grumpyoldwoman41

Just changed my mobile from £35 to £25 per month, took off 2 boosters I had. So £10 saved here.
Sky from £61 down to £43 so £18 saved here.
Cats insurance cancelled so £34.58 saved here.

Total savings so far: £62.58

dmg24

grumpyoldwoman41 wrote: »

I am not going to get into a slanging match on here.

I am asking for advice and irrelevant, agressive posts do not help me.

£65 per week is MY income and I am asking for myself, not for anyone else thank you

To be fair, you are the only one that is coming across as aggressive. I understand it it a tough time for you, but you are going to need to be open to different ideas in order to get through it.

HappyMJ wrote: »

We are all trying to help you as long as you have cut every luxury out of your budget there is no shame is asking your daughter or even a lodger to contribute something towards the household gas/electric and water bills.

Absolutely - if people were more willing to be open and honest about their finances they would be far less likely to fall into debt.

hannahO_2

Forgot to say, if you are on an income-based JSA, you can change to BT Basic (line rental £4.50 per month). http://bt.com/btbasic

Lokolo

grumpyoldwoman41 wrote: »

Just changed my mobile from £35 to £25 per month, took off 2 boosters I had. So £10 saved here.
Sky from £61 down to £43 so £18 saved here.
Cats insurance cancelled so £34.58 saved here.

Total savings so far: £62.58

Your eleccy and gas. Do you give meter readings or do you go by estimate?

If the latter, might be worthwhile looking at your actual readings with estimated. You may have paid more than used, and could help by giving them your readings and making the future bill less.

mummalove

grumpyoldwoman41

I just want to wish you luck and success in your new circumstances. I am sure it is a very scary and daunting world for you right now.

I have not been in your situation personally, but my husband was made redundant a couple of years ago (it only lasted 3 months thankfully) and when we rang sky, they instantly offered to reduce our payments for 3 months (nearly by half!) and we were allowed to keep our full package!

I find it very disappointing that several posts on here are not helpful and constructive - you do not deserve any negativity.

However, there has been some wonderful advice given too :T

All the best x

grumpyoldwoman41

I have meters reqading, all correct

I am paying the same amount 12 month per year and it evens out by the end of the year but yes, it is a lot and need to look at this.

Will call EDF now and see what they can do.

If I put my BT line on incoming calls only - the broadband would not work, would it? As it needs outgoing line?

SKY told me if I took a phone line from them that would be £11.25 per month and Internet would be £7.50 per month.

Will call O2 now and see if they bring my Internet down to match the SKY price.....

Sigh......

Penny-Pincher!!

Hi OP!

This is going to be difficult for you, but you CAN do it. Many have been in your position and have managed.

Firstly, you need to cancel any DD's that you may have forgotten about...mag subscriptions, charity donations etc etc.

Secondly, you need to contact Sky, mobile, BT etc and explain the situation. With BT, you can go onto a basic package which is about £4pm but has no internet. If it was me, I would cancel all the above and write letters explaining your situation.

Gas and elctric need to be reduced urgently. Wear more layers, socks etc etc.

Are there any friends or family that may foster your animals for a while until you get sorted? TBH, you can't afford them.

If I was in your position, my priorities would be:

Water
Gas & Electric
Food
BT
TV

PP
xx