Suggestions to help a newly single friend support herself

*miaomiao*

Hello!

First time posting on this thread as at the moment I haven't needed this forum's help but after a quick glance I have realised there are so many talented people on here with great ideas on reducing their debts. Well done.

I'd be very grateful if anyone can please suggest some ways to help a friend of mine who has recently become single. A few close friends and I are trying to help her establish herself, but as we haven't had to go through her exact situation we worry we might miss something important.

So, a bit of background. Dear friend (DF) was living with her partner until recently when they decided amicably that things weren't working any longer in their relationship. DF was not contributing to household costs (as agreed) while attempting to start up her own business. There are some credit card debts to be sorted.

DF would like to now move out on her own into a flat. We are going to be doing our best to find fixtures and fittings from around our houses to make up a new household, and using websites like Freecycle to see if others kindly have items they would like to give away. But as I mentioned above, our friend has no savings, CC debt, and a low income due to new business. Her family is going to try to help with initial accommodation costs.

Any and all suggestions would be gratefully accepted. We are going to suggest the MSE budget planner so that she has an accurate idea of incomings and outgoings. Please help us to turn this into a positive, life changing experience!

Thank you!

Tixy

Hi

Is she claiming tax credits? She may well be able to get these to supplement her income from the business.

Before she moves into somewhere - and signs up for a fixed rental contract - get her to work out a realistic income & expenditure to make sure she can afford it. Get her to factor in council tax (with the 25% discount), gas & elec, water, tv licence etc etc as well as rent to check its realistic.
Suggest she doesn't sign up for long contracts for things like sky / broadband etc to start - if she finds she can't afford to live by herself (or doesn't like living alone) she doesn't want to be tied into paying something she is no longer using.

Did her & partner have any joint accounts? or debts? if so then she needs to get these closed down and disassociate herself from him on her credit files.

Great that you are helping with furniture and looking at freecycle etc.

*miaomiao*

Tixy wrote: »

Hi

Is she claiming tax credits? She may well be able to get these to supplement her income from the business.

I don't think she is. We'll ask her - what is the best place to go to in order to inquire about these? I'll also get her to look at the MSE pages on this.

We are also encouraging her to get a part-time job in the evenings as she is young and hasn't any commitments, so short term pain for long term gain.

Before she moves into somewhere - and signs up for a fixed rental contract - get her to work out a realistic income & expenditure to make sure she can afford it. Get her to factor in council tax (with the 25% discount), gas & elec, water, tv licence etc etc as well as rent to check its realistic.
Suggest she doesn't sign up for long contracts for things like sky / broadband etc to start - if she finds she can't afford to live by herself (or doesn't like living alone) she doesn't want to be tied into paying something she is no longer using.

Great suggestions. We will do this.

Did her & partner have any joint accounts? or debts? if so then she needs to get these closed down and disassociate herself from him on her credit files.

I forgot about this completely. Thank you!

Great that you are helping with furniture and looking at freecycle etc.

It's amazing what you can find when you need to!

Tixy

There is a website entitledto that gives an idea of what benefits she would be entitled to. It can be harder with a start up business as I guess (hopefully) her income will start to increase so she needs to be on the ball about telling them about any changes to her income so she doesn't end up with an overpayment.
I think if she will be making less than about £14k a year (after business costs but before tax) then she may well find she can get some tax credits.

RAS

www.turn2us.org.uk will help her work out what she can get.