tentative SOA

niksyg

Hi,

You are paying £35 for landline and £35 for TV - I currently pay £31.50 per month for TV, Phone and Broadband so I think by looking at a bundle and contacting your supplier you could halve these costs.

Cornwall_Girl

Just wanted to say well done on getting rid of some bits for money. Very good idea! A bit of initiative and positive thinking goes a long way with debt. I hope it goes well for you.

honey10

Hi, I don't have much to say that hasn't already been said, but, I just wondered if you are basing your knowledge on tax credits from the HMRC or something you have read?

dfwsometimesoon

I think your getting confused re the Working Tax Credits.... yes your payment for this year is based on your income for the previous year BUT only under the provision that nothing changes..... if your income has increased at any time you have to inform them immediately so they can amend the payment accordingly....if you wait until you are next due an assessment you will be owing money to them due to the overpayments. That is why they always, always say if your income/circumstances change in any way you MUST inform immediately ...... you are wrongly assuming that your income now will only make you unable to claim from the date any new assessment is due.... this is wrong if you know the money you are earning now is too high to be eligible to claim anything, you have not been eligible to claim from the date you first received new salary.... please contact them asap and advise of your new income details to avoid a huge over repayment bill

igaveupnowimback

Hi, just posting to try to keep myself accountable for this rather than taking my eye off the ball ! Have reduced NTL phone/broadband/TV package to save £29 mthly, may save another £3-£4 if I can figure out how to go Freeview, think my TV may have that built in, but is running via cable source just now and I need to figure out how to remedy that lol ! Paid off minor debts not listed on SOA as 'only' few pounds, plus cancelled Lovefilm. Some companies make it so hard to cancel, they already put me on payment holiday etc, had to be very firm about cancelling and as soon as I did, found out I could have had @ 1000 Clubcard points had I realised before I left them Overall, still few pounds I can pay to debts every month. Actively seeking (yet more) ways to reduce outgoings and increase payments to reduce debts. Did payment snowball. Trouble with me is I reduce stuff then feel I've moved away from the edge a bit so I spend. MUST NOT do this this time, I want a contingency fund and I want financial peace of mind. Cannot go into next January the way I went into this one, need solid foundation, not precipice.

365days

I earnt around 13k last year and am still getting CTC and WTC this year.(Around £75 a week) My DS is 11 if that makes any difference.

igaveupnowimback

Sorry not posting earlier, didnt see 2 pages of replies on phone. Thanks all who have read and replied, appreciate this. Re WTC, based on HMRC and only applied after three months in new job, I should actually have applied sooner. HMRC are fully aware of income, only reason I am entitled is because of 2011- 2012 pt wage being so low. Was full time uni and pt work. This year's tax credits based on last year's income and they have all relevant data. Am aware of reporting changes and can see how this seems to contradict this but apparently ac Entitledto.co.uk, DWP calculators and HMRC I am entitled just now. However, if I had earned last year what I am earning now I would not be entitled. Therefore I will lose entitlement once it's based on this year's income of £12.6k. Appreciate suggestion of trying for better paid work as have qualifications, will do, unfortunately this IS with degree. Had to retrain in completely new field following recundancy few years ago. Thanks all : )

igaveupnowimback

dfwsometimesoon wrote: »

I think your getting confused re the Working Tax Credits.... yes your payment for this year is based on your income for the previous year BUT only under the provision that nothing changes..... if your income has increased at any time you have to inform them immediately so they can amend the payment accordingly....if you wait until you are next due an assessment you will be owing money to them due to the overpayments. That is why they always, always say if your income/circumstances change in any way you MUST inform immediately ...... you are wrongly assuming that your income now will only make you unable to claim from the date any new assessment is due.... this is wrong if you know the money you are earning now is too high to be eligible to claim anything, you have not been eligible to claim from the date you first received new salary.... please contact them asap and advise of your new income details to avoid a huge over repayment bill

Hi dfw,
Thanks for reading & taking time to reply, HMRC were fully informed and indeed I only applied in October despite starting job in July. They granted it and backdated 3 weeks without me asking. Online calculators show same entitlement and that's what prompted me to apply. They know my current income. I know the risks re overpayment with HMRC, having had to point out incorrect advice from them years ago when they assured me I was entitled to continued CTC as my son was still at college not uni. They were wrong and it could have led to a massive overpayment even though I gave them correct info. I will recheck current entitlement. Thank you.

igaveupnowimback

niksyg wrote: »

Hi,

You are paying £35 for landline and £35 for TV - I currently pay £31.50 per month for TV, Phone and Broadband so I think by looking at a bundle and contacting your supplier you could halve these costs.

Hi, thanks, managed to do this today, reduced to basic packages, that will do just fine : )

igaveupnowimback

Stingy_3000 wrote: »

Could you work a few extra shifts? I can see you studied part time last year: will it help you apply for a better paid job?

With surveys, cashback and co, I spend about 30min a day (usually when i cannot sleep or am drying my hair!) and have been averaging 70GBP a month since i started 4 months ago. This is unlikely to be enough for you, but could help alongside other sources of income.

Selling your unwanted possessions is a good idea and can help get rid of any clutter as well.

Hi Stingy, gosh I didnt know it was possible to make more than a couple of pounds re survey sites. I actually think that's a great amount to make, although I apreciate it takes time and consistency. I got confused by all the points systems I saw on survey sites, or I'd get weeded out cos of ineligibility of some sort. Will need to try this, cheers for that : )