here is my soa :(

borkid

Do you need a mobile phone contract? Could you manage with PAYG and get people to phone you? Depending on how much you use the phone it could save you £20 per month.

specialkthefirst

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

If your groceries are £160 then this should be more than enough to cover other things like nappies as well.

Try popping over to the Old Style Board and look at the Grocery Challenge for tips - families of 4 can manage on £220 (incl toiletries, cleaning stuff & nappies) so I'm sure you'd be able to shave a bit off this. YOUR RIGHT I DO NEED TO GET THIS DOWN!!!

Also, car maintenance - you need to put something in here to cover servicing, repairs & MOT etc. Is there no public transport where you are as (I'm sorry to say) that trying to afford a car when a f/t student on benefits is a big problem.
mot etc my brother is a car mechanic so he fix's and does eveyrthing for free - i am very lucky

Also missing is contents insurance which is a must (and will only be a few £s). everything of worth in my house is covered by my bank £6.50 a month - laptop, tv's etc

Haircuts you should be able to get down a bit, ask a friend/relative or you could cut your child's hair and switch to an easy/low maintenance cut for you so it doesn't need done as often. this includes hair cuts for both of us, but i do try to go every other month to keep it down


Above all, try to keep plodding on - I know it must feel never ending just now, but finishing your course and securing a better job and future for yourself and your child will be worth it in the long run.thank you it will be worth it

Do you have any friends/relatives that could maybe watch the LO in the evenings so you could get a p/t job?

i have tried but it is not worth it because of my rent. the council will take more off my wages to pay for rent and i will end up with less income! SOO FRUSTRATING!!


also i am doing nursing so i will most likley get a job as soon as ive finished....hopefully anyway lol. i finish year 1 of 3 this june

thank you everyone for reading and replying x

lamarsi

hiya I'm at uni, just wondering can you not take on an extra job? I'm doing a full time course (nursing) which unlike a lot of uni courses means it really is full time (37.5) a week and only 7 weeks holiday a year (3 weeks in summer unlike others who have 3 months ha) but I work every weekend which brings in about £850 a month .. could someone babysit for you? I know this may not be possible, but trust me even if you can't the three years will fly by and well done for trying to improve your life good luck

Debt-Free-Dave

What course are you doing?

lamarsi

oh just seen your post your doing nursing to !!!

lamarsi

I'm confused about your incomings, my bursary is £550 a month and I haven't any children, I think its about £750 for those with a child how come your income is so low? are you getting everything you should be getting?

McKneff

Does father work full time, it really doesnt seem a lot at £30 a week.

You really should ask him for more help.

MonkeyMad

Since you have a child who needs to be cared for should the worst happen, why do you spend more on a mobile phone than life insurance (unless that is the 'other insurance')?

Even ignoring the insurance the cost is this is comparable to some of your essential costs ie water/power and you can't afford it.

rising_from_the_ashes

MonkeyMad wrote: »

Since you have a child who needs to be cared for should the worst happen, why do you spend more on a mobile phone than life insurance (unless that is the 'other insurance')?

Even ignoring the insurance the cost is this is comparable to some of your essential costs ie water/power and you can't afford it.

Note that there are no landline / internet costs .... so therefore assume that the OP doesn't have these & these costs are incl with the mobile contract ..... so actually £25 / month isn't bad.

helphelphelphelp

Hi there

I am also doing a nursing degree so get my bursary plus child tax credits (works out about £50 per child). I am also able to claim mileage to travel to uni each day. Are you able to claim milage to and from placement (think this can be done if the placement is further away than your place of study).

Also, I am on a scheme with my water supplier as I am in receipt of benefits that means no matter how much water I use (I am on a meter) they cannot charge me more than a certain amount. With Anglian Water it is the Aquasure scheme, so may be worth seeing if your supplier has one.

Also, your uni should have an Adult Learning Fund (think thats what they are called). Someone on our course has just been awarded £4k, so definitely hang on in there, keep all the receipts and apply as soon as possible.

Also, speak to NHS Bursaries as there may be a limit you can earn before your bursary is affected and then maybe you could get some bank shifts during the summer holidays.

Hope it all works out for you. Definitely not easy being a single parent living on a bursary

x