Single mum - need advice please (soa posted)

ElleWoods

Hi,
I've been lurking on here since last summer although I've not posted much - guess I've had my head buried in the sand but have had my light bulb moment today after I realised I've hardly got any money in my account even though I only got paid yesterday. So I sat down and worked out my fianances and am really scared and depressed at what a state they are in. I'm really struggling and need advice on how to keep my head above water financially.

Bit of background first, it might help, but even if it doesn't it's a nice bit of goss for you all!. I'm a single parent as my ex partner of 4 years left me for someone else in January 2006, when I was 4 months into a planned pregnancy (in fact I was on The Wright Stuff just before Xmas talking about this and I got to speak to Martin!). My DS is 9 months old and my ex has never bothered to see him and I don't receive any maintenance. I could rant about how useless and inept the CSA are but that's another post!

When my ex left I took over the mortgage which currently stands at £90k. I had to get a mortgage 5x my salary (£18k) in order to keep the house, so I'm mortgaged to the hilt.

After my maternity leave I went back to work full time - had no choice as couldn't pay the mortgage on a part time salary. Due to working I have to pay nursery fees for 3 days a week and my parents have DS for free the other 2 days. I get working tax credits but am not entitled to any other benefits except child benefit.

Here are my financial details, all amounts are per month:

OUTGOINGS
Mortgage: £454.48
Nursery fees: £484.50
Gas: £28.00
Electric: £44.00
Virgin Active Gym: £40.95 (I hardly go but can't cancel until August as have a 12 month contract, but will be cancelling then)
Council Tax: £69.00
Water Rates: £31.00
Mobile: £20.00
Landline (inc. free broadband as on Talk Talk): £25.00 approx.
Counselling: £70.00 (been through a lot of stuff lately so having a year's counselling, this ends in Oct)
Love Film: £12.49 (I know I'll get slated for this but it's my only vice as never go out!)
Contact Lenses: £22.00
Prudential: £22.00 (mortgage cover, but only covers £55k of the mortgage - long story)
TV Licence: £10.99
Egg Savings: £30.00
Groceries inc. food, baby milk, nappies etc: £240.00
Petrol: £50.00
Virgin Credit Card: £50.00 approx.
HSBC Credit Card: £50.00 approx.
TOTAL OUTGOINGS: £1760.31 Per Month

INCOMINGS
Salary: £1110.00
Working Tax Credit: £437.11 (will go down in June when DS is 1)
Child Benefit: £72.60 (just going up to this in April)
TOTAL INCOMINGS: £1620.44 Per Month

DIFFERENCE: -£140.27

DEBT AS AT 31.3.07
HSBC Credit Card 0% until April 2008: £2877.98
(Just swapped this balance to this card from an Egg Card to get a bit of breathing space with the 0% rate)
Virgin Credit Card 15.9%: £4597.76
(I'm very annoyed as had this card at a lifetime rate of 4.9% until this month, but my payment arrived late last month so they've put it back up to the standard rate)
Student Loan: £6k
(This is an approx. amount as can't find a statement. I graduated in 1997 but have never earned enough to have to pay it off so have just deferred every year.)
TOTAL DEBT: £13,475.74 (not including £90k mortgage)

All ad hoc outgoings, such as car/house insurance for example, I just pay as and when they come in. Although I have a savings account into which I pay a measly £30pm, there's only about £200 in it as took some out to live on while on maternity leave.

I really don't know where to start to reduce my outgoings and/or increase my incomings, so any advice at all would be appreciated. Just to let you know, I've already swapped to cheaper gas, electric and landline accounts. Mortgage is on a 2 year fixed rate until April 2008 so will be looking to remortgage then. Think I've covered everything but if you want to know anything else just give me a shout.

Sorry this has turned out so long but really hope you can help. I'll be back online tomorrow to see if I have any replies.

Thanks,
CC
xx

GirlRacer_2

Hi Cuba Cat, Welcome to the board, glad you've decided to post as the folks on here are great at keeping you on the straight and narrow.

I can't offer you any practical advice other than keep on at the CSA and try to get some maintenance as this will help you out an awful lot.

In the coming months there are a few savings to be made i.e gym membership £40, Counselling £70 and I know that there'll probably be a few people who willtell you to stop saving whilst your paying off your debt so thats another £30.

Try and stay positive as there'll be somebody along shortly who will be able to advise you.

ElleWoods

Thanks for replying so quickly GirlRacer. I've written to my MP regarding the CSA and she has managed to get them to prioritise my case, although even if they manage to get an assessment done (difficult as my ex won't respond to them and his boss has lied for him), actually getting my ex to pay anything will be like getting blood from a stone.

BTW, how do I work out a debt free date - that's if I ever will be debt free.

CC
X

Spendi

Hiya

Im a single mum as well so i know how tough it can be !
I've added some stuff to your SOA, these are things i changed so see if it helps

Cuba_Cat wrote: »

Here are my financial details, all amounts are per month:

OUTGOINGS
Mortgage: £454.48
Nursery fees: £484.50 these are high for only 3 days a week even for a baby ?
Gas: £28.00
Electric: £44.00
Virgin Active Gym: £40.95 (I hardly go but can't cancel until August as have a 12 month contract, but will be cancelling then)
Council Tax: £69.00
Water Rates: £31.00
Mobile: £20.00
Landline (inc. free broadband as on Talk Talk): £25.00 approx.
Counselling: £70.00 (been through a lot of stuff lately so having a year's counselling, this ends in Oct)
Love Film: £12.49 (I know I'll get slated for this but it's my only vice as never go out!)
Contact Lenses: £22.00 I assume these are torics or daily disposables - buy them in bulk online - much cheaper
Prudential: £22.00 (mortgage cover, but only covers £55k of the mortgage - long story)
TV Licence: £10.99
Egg Savings: £30.00 Cancel this until your debts are paid off
Groceries inc. food, baby milk, nappies etc: £240.00 this is very high for one adult and a baby, see the oldstyle board for savings
Petrol: £50.00
Virgin Credit Card: £50.00 approx.
HSBC Credit Card: £50.00 approx.
TOTAL OUTGOINGS: £1760.31 Per Month

INCOMINGS
Salary: £1110.00
Working Tax Credit: £437.11 (will go down in June when DS is 1) check this as it seems low with childcare costs as high as yours
Child Benefit: £72.60 (just going up to this in April)
TOTAL INCOMINGS: £1620.44 Per Month

DIFFERENCE: -£140.27

DEBT AS AT 31.3.07
HSBC Credit Card 0% until April 2008: £2877.98
(Just swapped this balance to this card from an Egg Card to get a bit of breathing space with the 0% rate)
Virgin Credit Card 15.9%: £4597.76
(I'm very annoyed as had this card at a lifetime rate of 4.9% until this month, but my payment arrived late last month so they've put it back up to the standard rate)
Student Loan: £6k
(This is an approx. amount as can't find a statement. I graduated in 1997 but have never earned enough to have to pay it off so have just deferred every year.)
TOTAL DEBT: £13,475.74 (not including £90k mortgage)

xx

GirlRacer_2

I know how you feel about the CSA. It took them 11 months to sort my payments out. Can't complain though as he's been paying me every month without fail since the agreement was finally put in place. As for your debt-free date click on https://www.debtfreeday.com/debtfree-day/my_dfd/index.jsp and that should help you work out that.

I'm currently snowballing my debts which basically means that I'm making minimum payments to all my creditors but am paying any spare cash I have off one particular debt (the one with the highest interest rate), once that debt is paid off you move onto the next one.

Have you thought about contacting CCCS or PayPlan as they can be a great source of information and help you set up a Debt Management Plan if they think you are a suitable candidate.

Jo_R_2

Cuba_Cat wrote: »

Groceries inc. food, baby milk, nappies etc: £240.00

You can definitely reduce this - I use cloth nappies for my 8-month-old (reused from DD1!) and breastfeed so don't need to factor in baby milk and nappies but my shopping bill including non-food stuff comes to around £140 per month for me and DD1 (3), and DD2.

Have you thought about using cloth nappies - the initial outlay can be minimised by buying secondhand (ebay were prohibiting sellers advertising secondhand but not sure if this has changed back yet, though there's other places you can look - PM me if you want any info), but it saves me a HUGE chunk of money on my shopping bill. I also made my own washable fleecey wipes and you can use these with water or make your own lotion.

For tips on reducing your shopping bill look on the 'Old Style' board, you can start by doing a menu planner and a shopping list to go with it, and stick to it

hugekebab

my advice:

The two credit cards. transfer them both to a single 0% interest for one year CC. immediately cancel the other two accounts.

can you get to see a councillor on the NHS?

transfer your mortgage to a lower rate/fixed rate (careful with this tho cus mortgage consultants are bloody expensive.)

do you have a history of getting fined by the banks? if so consider taking action to get last few years fines refunded. my housemate did this and recently got 4 years worth back (£1700) from natwest. he used this to pay his overdraft off and close the account. beware though, they will probably take your overdraft off you and/or then close your account.

shop around for a better babysitting deal and stop paying into a a savings account, this is a completely pointless exercise if you have any debt thats paying interest.


hope this helps.

oh another suggestion....make an inventory of anything and everything that you have acquired that you can sell, then shift it all on e bay, if you have enough stuff you can get a large lump sum together to kill some of that CC debt.

JillD_2

as others have said, you can def reduce if not halve your fod etc bill. I spend £250 for 2 adults, ds(3) and dd(2 - in nappies).

Could you stop the contact lenses altogether ? Have you any specs Desperate times, desperate measures etc.

Nursery fees - could you find a childminder ? They are generally cheaper than nursery. Or wold your parents have him full time - you could offer to pay them ?

Are you entitled to any child tax credit (or are you including that in the working tax credit).

Is your mobile on a contract ? Could you go pay as you go and then just only use it for emergencies ? That way people can still call you, you can call bursery etc if you need to. I am pay as you go and it has certainly made me stop and think every time I use it. I hate even replying to texts, they all add up. I bought an Orange SIM card only for about £5 online and stuck it in my existing phone. I was able to have my number transferred for a small fee as well. Minimal interruption to service for a few days.

Gym prob has 30 day or poss 90 day notice in writing poolicy so make sure you cancel in plenty of time.

I just added up - if you make thes changes:
once you cancel gym in Aug (£40)
counselling ends (£70)
cancel Lovefilm(£12),
cancel lenses(£22)
halve yor shopping bill, and you prob could reduce further still (£125)
dont pay into savings (£30)
cancel mobile contract (£20)

... you would be £320 a month better off. Just shows you lots of small changes add up a lot. Thats without reducing your childcare costs.

It does worry me that if you cancel the money into savings you have ni contingency for car insurance, or car problems etc.

Good luck with it all
Jill

tigzem

No other advice to add other that look into child tax credit. It may be that you've included it in WTC but worth checking.

Good luck from another single Mum xx

lynzpower

I too love lovefilm but its one of those things you cant afford.
heres a tip
cancel your Lovefilm
join https://www.quidco.com
then look for blockbuster and join up for thier free trial - theres others too, you get at leat a month free, then you cancel. You also get paid through quidco for this ( sometimes up to 15 quid) have a good look. Could you also get your mum to join up then she will get free months worth as well- you can send them back & cancel it Also in a few months, youll probably get a leaflet through from lovefilm tempting you back . i did and got 3 monthsd free :j

I agree a childminder is cheaper, do look into it

chevalier

Hi there
does your employer run a nursery voucher scheme? this might help you with the nursery costs. If they haven't yet perhaps you can be pro active and ask then to set one up. It doesn't cost them anything, and it saves them and you national insurance contributions.
chev