About to be struggling really badly

bogusdruid

Well, signed up to schoolzone. Might get something useful from here.:) A positive in the day.

ALIBOBSY

bogusdruid wrote: »

I've only included information about my expenditure - my OH and I have separate accounts, so he pays for stuff like the house. I think that I've made a mistake with the gas and electricity values, but they have been high. We've just had new boiler, so hopefully the gas will come down a bit.

I'm panicking slightly and looking at the worst case scenario that I can't get another job. I'm in my 40's, been teaching for 20 years, and basically due to health problems this year am being forced out of a job I love. I have two young children (4 and 2) so things like childcare costs have been while I've been working. These will have to continue if I can get supply work.

I've had a look at the cccs website and they suggest a iva. This has totally thrown me at the moment and made think what a bl**dy fool I've been for so many years.

So far today however, I've managed to cut down some of my expenditure (or at least even it out over the year), so I'll carry on trying. Basically, I have a couple of weeks before I find out how hard it's going to be

Ahh so its how I thought. But any decisions about budgets/ivas amy benefits you can claim have to be based on joint income. EG it would be ridiculas for you to trash your credit record by making reduced payment arrangements on your cards if you OH has spare cash each month. Or conversely him spending £100's on say fishing rods/ps3 games whilst you are struggling.

Are you worried you OH doesn't know how much debt you have?

This happens to many families, you really need to face this as a couple after all anything on your credit record will effect your partners. We all have that lightbulb moment and it seems such a mountain to climb, but you can get there. There may be slip ups on the way but we all keep striving lol. First thing is like an addict you need to recognise there is an issue-the lightbulb moment.
Next you need to get out the bank statements and bills and see exactly what you pay, and how often. As well as the totals owed.
Then you work through reducing as much as you possibly can and hopefully end up with a surplus you can save.

Once you finish work you may well find you get JSA cont based and a higher rate of tax credits to cushion the blow.

Good luck
Ali x

BTW not suggesting you are a spending/shopping addict lol. Just that until we realise there is an issue we plod along without thinking about it.

BrownBear9

Have you spoken to your husband/partner about the situation you are in ? -could he help you out a bit while you get yourself back on your feet with another job?

I wish you all the best!

RAS

Hi

You need a full SOA for the household income and expenditure, not just your own.

And this needs to be formatted for MSE. You will have to delete the link at the bottom before you post it, as a newbie you are not allowed to post links.

pmlindyloo

Since you will have the long summer holidays coming up when you have no income have you thought about doing some private tutoring?

iw ould also agree about doing a joint SOA>

Whilst I respect your separate financial arrangements this is a time that you need to pull together financially.

What has your OH suggested about how you can manage whilst you have no income?

mr2jay

At the very start of this road myself - it is scary once you sit back and look at it properly, I know i had been putting it off for a long time. Unfortunately, that just makes it worse....

Totally agree with the guys comments above. I have a saying - "Those who bed together, pay together". My OH hasn't been able to find work for 8 months since relocating meaning my income is the sole income. However, I do not for a minute think of it as MY money, we are both responsible for ALL the debts.

You both should sit down and discuss the bigger picture after all, if you have a future together, surely it should be the same future?

ellesbellesxxx

Ah well done!
I have made well over 150 quid from this in a year - and that's not signing up to everything! Good luck x

dancingfairy

To those questioning the use of format by the OP I believe it is the official MSE version. O.K so it's not the most commonly used one from makesenseofcards but I'm sure people can still make useful suggestions?
df

bogusdruid

Well, it's only a little one but a couple of steps in the right direction.

1 - Cats Insurance dropped by £10 a month - so that's a saving of £20 per month. Not much I know, but adds up to a saving of £240 a year.

2 - Dental Plan dropped completely - cost £20 a month, so that's another £240 per year saved.

3 - Conversation had with OH about money in general and budgeting specifically. He's very anti tying our money together as his previous wife left him in a bad situation with his old house. But we've at least had a conversation about trying to cut back and looking at how we can save money on groceries and things like that.

Got the gas and electricity bills to try and sort out next - Had made a mistake on the sheet - we pay £131 per month for them combined. Just got to work out what our tariff actually is to make some savings there, but in the meantime have decided to update bills monthly to see if that brings the DD down.

On the positive side as well, school have agreed to a payout, just not sure when I'll be getting it, and I have an interview for a new job tomorrow, and another 4 application forms to complete. Signed up with an agency in the interim, and have details of tutoring introduction agency.

Perhaps it won't be so bleak, but really want to remove £30000 debt from credit cards - that's what eats up all my available cash as the moment. Does anyone have any thoughts on debt management plans to try and solve this:eek:

antonia1

bogusdruid wrote: »

Perhaps it won't be so bleak, but really want to remove £30000 debt from credit cards - that's what eats up all my available cash as the moment. Does anyone have any thoughts on debt management plans to try and solve this:eek:

You really need a clearer picture of your debt and expected income / expenditure before making any decisions. So, start by making a list of all the money you owe, with interest rates. Do you know where all your debt came from? You don't have to post that on here obviously, but it is important that you know.

Secondly, complete an SOA using with your expected income and expenditure until you find a job. If you aren't going to be able to cover essentials you really need to discuss with your OH how you are going to split household / child related expenses while you are out of work. You don't have to have joint accounts or anything, but maybe he could take on the utilities, council tax etc until you find a new job.

Once you have an agreed budget with your OH that you can afford and stick to, you can start looking at which debts to focus overpayments to.

ETA - meant to say congratulations on the steps you've made so far. They may seem small, but they soon add up.