others opinions on something..

Cazza1

Am having nightmares trying to post due to broken computer so am now on my phones free internet! So I'll try to be brief. I just would like other peoples opinion. I work part time, OH is self employed and earns v little. We get tax credits as well. I was at uni for 2 years and graduated last year, whilst at uni till I started work we got housing benefit. This was suspended last year due to changes in circumstances then my OH submitted new figures tngo them for pretty much the whole of the claim so it has taken ages to sort out. Very frustrating and stressful. It has caused a lot of worry. Anyway based on all the new figures they have calculated that they have overpaid us by £1191, but because our claim was suspended they also owed us £1161 which they paid into my account overnight.

My OH thinks we should keep the money, using it to pay off my one CC which has a balance of £1630. Debt which was mostly incurred when the housing claim was suspended before I started work. He says think of it as an interet free loan??? Making more financial sense 2 use it to pay off CC saving money as it has a v high apr of 27.9%. Ouch. At the month I'm paying off the CC at 130 a month. Anyway my thoughts are that I just want to pay the council back as I think it looks dishonest to spend the money knowing that there's an overpayment which needs to be paid back. What do others think?

I'm a hardworking person and have most definitely had my lightbulb moment regarding money. I follow all the old style tips and 130 is pretty much my limit on the amount I can pay off my CC each month. I also have an overdraft which has a limit of £1750 which is enormously high and I go to my max every month. But my thoughts are with paying off the CC first then starting on that. I also owe £390 to a debt collection agency for overpayment from my old employer just as I left my job and went to uni. Have an agreement to pay this back at 5 a month now I'm working. I hate that debt the most as it was my old employer who got my end date wrong and I didn't even notice I'd been overpaid as I didn't check my balance all the time and wasn't so clued up about money back then.

So what do others think? I feel that spending the housing payment would be morally wrong but OH thinks it makes financial sense given my high apr on the CC. We do have different attitudes towards money, it burns a hole in his pocket and I'm trying my hardest to pay everything off so we can start saving. Differences of opinion re money is a hard thing to manage in a relationship! We also have a little one who is 19 months old and our tax credits will drop by 150 every 4 weeks in april, which is really worrying me. Not been so brief lol. Thanks I welcome your thoughts and please be gentle.

Caz

bottleofred

Hi Caz,

Regarding the terms of the interest, it would make sense to use the overpayment to clear the credit card. However, if you do decide to do this what are you going to do if the housing benefit people take you to court and there are charges etc added. I know you intend using the money as a short term loan, but based on the £130 per month you currently pay to the credit card people, it would be around 9 months and I don't know they would be that patient!

It's up to you really whether or not you use the money, but good luck whatever you decide

Red