please help, please help

justin3779

hi there i hope someone on this site can help me. i live on my own and i pick up £1000 a month after tax, however my rent, council tax, gas, electric, tv license, water rates and the £50 a month to insure the car that i need to get to work add up to £980 a month. i have no credit cards or finance payments as i was hoping that i would not have to start on the horrible road of credit debt, is there any help or payments such as tax credit that i can get as my money just goes on bills. i live in a flat in sutton coldfield and its not a cheap place to live, i have looked at moving but the extra money for petrol to travel to work would cancel out any advantage.
please help me as i dont know what to do, ive been told by a freind that if my outgoings are more than my income then i can get working tax credit or something similar but i have no idea about these things.
any advice would be an absolute god-send.

tigtag02

there is a sticky on the Debt Free Wannabe board called SOA (statement of affarirs).

Take a look and post yours on there - you will get lots of advice as to where you can cut back.

I dont know about the income rules for tax credits but for a single person you have to be over 25 as fas as I am aware.

Hope to see you on DFW
tigtag

elsien

re the tax credits, you have to be working over 30 hours a week to qualify. I don't know the amounts, although I suspect your pretax wages will be too high. The inland revenue have an online calculator you can use to see if you qualify,
http://www.taxcredits.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/Qualify/WhatAreTaxCredits.aspx

- theres a link towards the bottom of the page to take you to the relevant bit.

Hope you manage to get something sorted - good luck.

healy

You would not get any tax credits as you earn too much.

lil_me

ive been told by a freind that if my outgoings are more than my income then i can get working tax credit or something similar but i have no idea about these things.

First of all that is correct, it's based on income nothing to do with outgoings. https://www.entitledto.co.uk would maybe give you an idea if you would be entitled to claim. I also would doubt it due to how high wages are. Have you made sure you are claiming your discount on council tax with being a single occupier?

As you're not in Debt DFW maybe not the most suitable board, have you considered taking on a lodger?

Oldernotwiser

It does sound as if you can't really afford a flat on your own and would be better off sharing. Alternatively you could look at taking a second job evenings/weekends.

Do your SOA on DFW; they're very helpful!

TheWaltons_3

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

It does sound as if you can't really afford a flat on your own and would be better off sharing. Alternatively you could look at taking a second job evenings/weekends.

Do your SOA on DFW; they're very helpful!

This makes alot of sense. Why not get a small studio flat in an area where council tax is cheaper and are you aware of the lone person discount?

tweetyshells

Can you get a car with cheaper insurance? That seems a bit steep.

mah_jong

justin3779 wrote: »

hi there i hope someone on this site can help me. i live on my own and i pick up £1000 a month after tax, however my rent, council tax, gas, electric, tv license, water rates and the £50 a month to insure the car that i need to get to work add up to £980 a month. i have no credit cards or finance payments as i was hoping that i would not have to start on the horrible road of credit debt, is there any help or payments such as tax credit that i can get as my money just goes on bills. i live in a flat in sutton coldfield and its not a cheap place to live, i have looked at moving but the extra money for petrol to travel to work would cancel out any advantage.
please help me as i dont know what to do, ive been told by a freind that if my outgoings are more than my income then i can get working tax credit or something similar but i have no idea about these things.
any advice would be an absolute god-send.

I think doing a SOA would be a start and then prioritising what you want, I live on less but I dont have a car, I walk everywhere.

I dont get tax credits any longer. You might decide to get rid of the car, get a lodger/ move into a different area , are you renting or buying? Can you get a second job? Is promotion likely soon, where can you cut back?


Think outside the box! What ever you do , dont get into debt, I say I cant afford it!

Good luck!