Finally, here is my S.O.A...

donnap83

Summer, you came here asking for advise, however at every helpful suggestion, you have a reason as to why you are unable to make a change. Your groceries bill is astronomical. Tesco and Asda both take debit card, as I use both on a near weekly basis. When I was living with friends, we could put £200 in the kitty and feed 4 adults for a month.

Living on benefits isn't ideal, I should know, my mother is living with a debilitating motorary illness, which will never improve. I do agree with what someone posted about your financial position impacting on your mental health. Mum was in the same position, debt wise, and suffered with depression.

You need to start helping yourself i'm afraid.

clemmatis

summerstreetallotments wrote: »

I am considering our food shopping...still pretty sure that I cant use a debit card...but will try again.

summer, I buy groceries online using a debit card. I've never had a problem. I just checked what Sainsbury say about this, it's

"Payment must be made with a valid credit or debit card acceptable to us".

You could ring them, 0800 328 1700, to check.

eta -- sorry, donna, didn't see your post. Tesco take my debit card too, so that's Tesco, Sainsbury, and ASDA.

koloko

deleted deleted deleted

Spring_Time

gingertips wrote: »

I work incredibly hard & have done for past 25 yrs. I simply cant afford to shop at waitrose so I dont - so I shop at Asda & tescos and buy cheaper foods. we also buy produce & make our own meals instead of pre-packet rubbish.

Go onto the supermaket comparison website & put in your weekly shop & see how much cheaper it is in other stores...in fact with all the time on your hands you should be able to buy some stuff from tescos & other stuff from Asda - the supermarket comparison will tell you whats cheaper at each store. The fresh air and exercise will I have no doubt improve your depression...

Surely there is some work your partner can do - when I was a lad, my mum used to stick labels onto envelopes for a mailing company because she could do it from home & meant a little more income for our home. We all chipped in & helped her do it too during evenings and weekends.

What is the fact that you work yet can't shop at waitrose have to do with anything? Oh...silly me, you were "getting" at the fact the op is on benefits?! Maybe you could get a better job? or cut down in other areas of your life so you can shop in waitrose?

As for there being "some work"...have you seen how hard it is right now for able bodied and fully fit people to get work? Take a peek at the employment board, there is a thread where a bunch of people are supporting each other whilst they look for work, there are people on there with very good degrees and other qualifications and its just not happening for them. 300 applicants for an asda check out job!

We are a forces family not in the UK right now, I am dreading our return!

I really cannot stand to see people who are in genuine need of benefits be made to feel even worse then they already do! At least the op is trying to help herself, some people's attitudes on here would have you believe she couldn't walk about in her own house because of her plasmas everywhere! :mad:

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Op,

You will get a lot of help on this board from a lot of very knowledgeable people. Read through the suggestions and see what can fit for you. I wish you the very best. There is a way out of the dark hole you are in, there is always a way out, hopefully now you have reached out, you to believe that you will find a way out of this. I will say though that online shopping is the way to go. I use a debit card (my delievery fee is HUGE as have a friend bring my bulk shop over lol still works out cheaper then shopping where I am) with no problems.

CH27

donnap83 wrote: »

Summer, you came here asking for advise, however at every helpful suggestion, you have a reason as to why you are unable to make a change. Your groceries bill is astronomical. Tesco and Asda both take debit card, as I use both on a near weekly basis. When I was living with friends, we could put £200 in the kitty and feed 4 adults for a month.

Living on benefits isn't ideal, I should know, my mother is living with a debilitating motorary illness, which will never improve. I do agree with what someone posted about your financial position impacting on your mental health. Mum was in the same position, debt wise, and suffered with depression.

You need to start helping yourself i'm afraid.

When you are depressed, even making the slightest change is terrifying.

I think the OP has taken a huge step posting on here & I hope she continues to make progress tackling things.

donnap83

CH27 wrote: »

When you are depressed, even making the slightest change is terrifying.

I think the OP has taken a huge step posting on here & I hope she continues to make progress tackling things.

I don't think anyone is disputing that. However, she has rejected all offers of advice on money saving.

CH27

donnap83 wrote: »

I don't think anyone is disputing that. However, she has rejected all offers of advice on money saving.

Because she is scared.
Give it time to sink in & hopefully OP will make the changes needed.

Superbiatch

CH27 wrote: »

Because she is scared.
Give it time to sink in & hopefully OP will make the changes needed.

Precisely! And depression makes you doubt any decision you make about the smallest things, so tiny steps summer until you're feeling more confident. Depression is a horrible and misunderstood illness, but with the motivation you've shown on the forums over the last few weeks, i've no doubt you will start to turn things around soon.

Believe in yourself, YOU can do it! xx

oldtractor

summerstreetallotments wrote: »

Hello...could you have a look and tell me whether this is realistic...I'm hoping to apply for a D.R.O. eventually...at the moment my credit file isn't showing all my payments, so it appears that I owe more than £15,000.
thanks c.x

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household......... 2
Number of children in household...... 1

Monthly Income Details
Benefits................................. 1334
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.............. 1334

Monthly expenses
Rent........................... paid by Housing benefit
Council tax...................ditto.
Service charge/Ground rent........22.00
Repairs/maintenance.................11.00
Electricity................................ 80.00

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this is very high
Water rates............................. 30.00
Telephone,mobile,internet.......... 40.00
TV Licence............................... 12.90

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get rid of the tv and watch programmes on iplayer
Satellite......................................6.00

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get rid of this
Internet Services....................... 12.49
Groceries etc. ...........................406.00

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reduce to £250 a month,learn to cook and grow veg see the Old Style board for tips
Medical/accident insurance..........13.00
Travel......................................... 26.00
School meals/meals at work.........35.00

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take home made sandwiches
Other child related expenses..........8.00
Medical (prescriptions,dentist etc)..19.00
Pet insurance/vet bills.................. 22.00
Contents insurance...................... 13.00
Presents(birthday,christmas etc).... 6.00
Laundry/cleaning..........................41.00

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very high,stop using the dry cleaners
Clothing/footwear..........................54.00

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very high use what you have for the time being and then spend £15 a month on clothes you can always buy second hand
Entertainment/newspapers............23.00---cancel the papers read on line allow £10 for entertainment\going out
Loan from family/friends................44.00

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see if you can reduce this
Emergency fund.......................... 20.00
Other expenses(my therapies).....286.00

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pack these in,learn to cook make bread,very satisfying.

Total monthly expenses...........1230.39


Assets
Cash..................................... 0
Total Assets...........................0.


Unsecured Debts
Barclaycard.............................7277
Partnership card......................6052
Argos.....................................1365
Total unsecured debts.........14,694

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1334.00
Expenses ....................................1284.00
Available for debt repayments........... 50.00

I've made suggestions on your SOA, should save you approximately £600 a month.

OverRated

Dont forget to check out the computer insurance! I'm not so sure I understand the health insurance... is it too personal to explain in detail? Who is the policy with and that does it give you in detail?