No outgoings taken into consideration?

MacMickster

Gas is £15pw
Electric £15pw (both pre paid meters) Both seem high for a 2-bedroom flat
Petrol £15pw
Water £25pw If you are on a meter you may have a water leak as this seems ridiculously high.
Loan £25pw (morses, rather like provident)
Phone and Internet £10pw
Mobile £3 pw Unlikely to be a contract phone for this amount so put it away in a drawer until your financial situation improves.
Council tax £20pw
Tv licence £6pw Why pay for 2 TV licences?
Sky £6pw Get rid of this (or try to negotiate a better deal)
Medical prescription £5.43pw ( get them monthly but divided it weekly to go with every thing else) Get a prepayment certificate to cut this cost.
Hp for furniture £17pw

Can you get a job?
Can you ask the HA to find you a 1 bedroom flat for a lower rent?

sniggings

I think what the OP forgot to say was they see a lot of people not working and living life as good/bad as them so why when the parnter is working do they get the same/less than someone not...that is how I read it anyway.

OP are you working too? you only mention your partner, a part time job could bring in £100 a week which would really help.

I agree you should be able to have internet etc but it does seem you are paying too much for them, much cheaper plans out there, it may not seem worth the trouble but paying a bill of £20 a month instead of £40 will be a big help.

Also you say your water is £1250 a year :eek: you either have a lot of arrears or need to move to a meter or new area, also do you need a land line? if you can get cable for the internet that is another saving too.

Oh and sky sounds as if you are on the basic package which is next to useless so why not cancel and buy a Humax freesat or Humax freeview box, you get a load of free channels and can record just like sky but it's totally free.

thorsoak

The crux of the matter is - you do have a roof over your heads, you do have money for food, and you can - just about - pay your bills. Head over to the other boards for tips on scrimping and saving more on food bills.

This country doesn't have a magic porridge pot, which is filled all the time with money - there is less money coming in, therefore there is less to go out - we've all got a smaller slice of cake, if you like.

£47 per week for food for 2 is quite do-able - and you can manage, short term at least surely - without buying new clothes.

You don't say why you don't work - can you not get a part-time job - and if there are reasons why you can't, could not your husband get a second job with a few hours each week to top-up your budget?

Things will get better.

nuttyp

Well i see my husband for only 1 day a week, we work completely oposite shifts, not through choice!!! We communicate by ringing each other at 7 in the morning and about 6 at night. My daughter doesnt enjoy being on her own that much, but i HAVE to work.

We dont have sky, cant afford it - have combinded the phone, line rental and internet to £20 per month. Shopped around to get the better deal for the insurnce for the car and house.

If you want to be better off you can, you have to change a little bit of life style. Our council rent is around the same as yours, but our water rates are £56 per month and council tax is over a hundred a month.

In all honesty you can either suck it up and change your lifestyle and shopping habits or get a part time job yourself. Maybe try the local supermarket, even 16 hrs a week will be quite a bit of money.

banner188

Chrissiew wrote: »

Our total weekly income is £305 per week, there is just myself and husband living in the flat, our rent is £96 per week, it's a HA place with 2 bedrooms.

Gas is £15pw
Electric £15pw (both pre paid meters)
Petrol £15pw
Water £25pw
Loan £25pw (morses, rather like provident)
Phone and Internet £10pw
Mobile £3 pw
Council tax £20pw
Tv licence £6pw
Sky £6pw
Medical prescription £5.43pw ( get them monthly but divided it weekly to go with every thing else)
Hp for furniture £17pw

That comes to £162pw plus £96 rent =£258 out goings leaving £47pw for food and clothing.

My husband had a full time job when we moved in 3 years ago but due to the firm losing a lot of work his hours and pay were dropped, we can't get WTC, I applied for HB but it was refused, I appealed but the appeal was not even considered as they said they don't take any outgoings into consideration just earnings and the amount coming in is more than enough to live on.

A money advice lady from the HA came to see us and said we have to stop paying the loan and the HP, as all that will happen is it will go to a debt collector, maybe court and we will be ordered to pay maybe £5 a week but will get a shot credit reference, she said as far as HB are concerned people shouldnt have a tv, phone, Internet, mobiles or anything that's non essential to living, as long as you have enough money for food and rent that's all they consider.

I find this incredible in this day and age and think it unfair that people are expected to have nothing to make life a bit more pleasant, no wonder there is so much depression in this country.

We live in a house, 2 adults and 2 children.

You need to combine your gas and electric with one company. We pay £15 per week for both.

You have a water leak. Ours is £6 per week on a meter.

You can negotiate a lower payment for your loan.

Phone and internet and sky tv can be got for £10 per week if you look around.

There are now mobile contracts for £7.50 a month.

tv licence is £3 per week only.


You should be more around £200 outgoings per week.
You would then have about the same disposable income as us, and we are a family of 4 with one working full time.

Good luck, hope this helps.

Chrissiew

Right ok I was not asking for anything just basically venting my frustrations. I have no idea why our water bill is so high, I have no idea why I have to put so much into my gas and electric meters just that they run down and I have to top them up, I cannot work due to disability which I claim high rate both components and the mobility component goes on a mobtorbility car, my care component goes on my prescriptions, extra laundry and washing powder, new mattress protectors each month due to incontinence(double) and pads which for some reason the doctor won't supply.

The money advice lady said we would be much better off if my husband gave up work and went on benefits, something we are considering, and judging by some of the replies by working and asking for a bit of help you are labeled as scrounges looking to take tax payers money and by living on benefits you are labeled the same so what's the difference?

STOCKWIRE

Chrissiew wrote: »

Ah right so someone who has worked for over 20 years is not allowed a bit of help but instead has to go to work, come home, stare at 4 walls, not be able to communicate with the outside world, and get a shot credit file to boot, yea I get it now

You do get help though, or have your disability payments stopped ?.
You mention petrol, but no car tax, insurance, maintenance costs etc associated with running a car. Think yourself lucky op. You are a lot better off than a lot of people in this country at the moment .

Chrissiew

MacMickster wrote: »

Gas is £15pw
Electric £15pw (both pre paid meters) Both seem high for a 2-bedroom flat
Petrol £15pw
Water £25pw If you are on a meter you may have a water leak as this seems ridiculously high.
Loan £25pw (morses, rather like provident)
Phone and Internet £10pw
Mobile £3 pw Unlikely to be a contract phone for this amount so put it away in a drawer until your financial situation improves.
Council tax £20pw
Tv licence £6pw Why pay for 2 TV licences?
Sky £6pw Get rid of this (or try to negotiate a better deal)
Medical prescription £5.43pw ( get them monthly but divided it weekly to go with every thing else) Get a prepayment certificate to cut this cost.
Hp for furniture £17pw

Can you get a job?
Can you ask the HA to find you a 1 bedroom flat for a lower rent?

I pay £6 for one tv licence I don't know where £3 comes from, I got the licence and a form with all the dates on and how much I have to pay, well just looked and it £5.75pw.

The HA will not move us to a one bed as there aren't any, all the one beds are saved for the elderly or vulnerable young people. We were in a 3 bed and asked to be moved to a 1 bed but the best they could do was 2

Chrissiew

STOCKWIRE wrote: »

You do get help though, or have your disability payments stopped ?.
You mention petrol, but no car tax, insurance, maintenance costs etc associated with running a car. Think yourself lucky op. You are a lot better off than a lot of people in this country at the moment .

Explained in another post about disability, that money is not counted anyway when it comes to applying for help, they just count the £305 we have each week

sniggings

Chrissiew wrote: »

I pay £6 for one tv licence I don't know where £3 comes from, I got the licence and a form with all the dates on and how much I have to pay, well just looked and it £5.75pw.

The HA will not move us to a one bed as there aren't any, all the one beds are saved for the elderly or vulnerable young people. We were in a 3 bed and asked to be moved to a 1 bed but the best they could do was 2

I think the TV if paid by direct debit, you pay for this years and 6 months of next years at the same time, anyway something like that and I have always throuht it a daft way to do it, as if you need a payment plan it means you are likely short of money so why make them pay for next years before it's due :mad: