help I never have enough each month things get worse

juleswendy

I gather helpful souls may give me tips and pointers here

wage 17164
After tax and at moment paying more tax due to taxmans error with second job no longer have second job .Should be payed of end of march 2014
bring home 1126 per month
rent 493
council tax 121
gas and electric 100
water 50
car insurance 32.50
pet insurance 24.65
life insurance 20.00
house insurance 21.82 up for renewal and this is what company quote was 20.20
mobile 35-45 up for renewal in a month
Bt line 19.50 (not paying at moment in credit)
13 internet
1 n power old debt
15 bank account
plus as I in overdraft every month
30 on top

as you can see I have not included car running cost or tv licence
I got into overdraft when car needed work and nevr get out of by end of month back to owing £800

Can the good people on here please help each month I tighten up on food petrol etc .
But still seems each month more bills than money.
Im hoping electric and gas usage will go down after Christmas when Ive caught up what i owed them .As my sons just gone to uni and he was a big electricity consumer in most of every day laptops games machine and tvs on nearly 24/7 now there's just me and Im at work all day.
I did have a second job to supplement my income but injured my back and had to give that up physically one full time job is all I can do at the moment.

I am left in theory with 139 for food and petrol per month which goes to pot when tv licence is due or car needs taxing.
But I can spend up to 25 in petrol some weeks and I really dont see how to improve stuff.
I am thinking of sim only for phone for a while once Im able
I have to have bt line for internet internet is my only pleasure i could swap maybe cheaper else where but as in credit not paying for it
I dont smoke or drink and dont go out .
Cant afford a social life.
If some one can help me manage better show me where Im going wrong I would be grateful:(

Constantinople

Hi,

I'm really sorry to hear about your situation. I'm not sure if I'm in a position to offer advice as I'm in a debt mess myself, but my thoughts...

Once you're out of your mobile contract, don't renew or start another contract. There's a company called Ovivo who have a free plan, you just pay £20 for the SIM but it's credited back to your account. You get (from memory) 250 minutes, 500 texts, and 500MB per month for free after this.

Could you get rid of the car? I guess this is something you may have thought of, but you said your son had gone off to uni so if it's just you, it may be worth switching to public transport unless you're really out in the sticks.

The BT line for £19.50 - is that one of the more expensive plans with free calls at certain times included? If you're not using them, it may be worth downgrading to a cheaper phone package since you have your mobile as well.

15 - bank account. Is this a premium account from a major bank? If so, do you need the features? Or if it's with a paid card company like ThinkMoney, if the latter I believe you can open a Co-Op basic account pretty much irrespective of credit.. I may be wrong.

Sorry, I'm not really in a great position to offer advice myself but that was all I could think of..

Don't neglect your social life though, could you invite friends over for tea/coffee instead of going out? Don't hole yourself up.

juleswendy

I need car for work I travel around in it to do my job not viable on bus .Get petrol allowance but can be weeks till you see a cheque and isnt much.
I do have a fancy bank account but it comes with free aa cover and mobile phone cover which Ive claimed on and home emergency cover which i also used and did have free over draft for first 300.
I have wondered about bt been too expensive but they said it wasnt and was basically line plus free evening weekend calls but I never use phone . But have to have a line for internet.
I did open second account idea being I would transfere money across to live on I had spare for month leaving other account for all bills. But this last 2 months ive not managed to do this had unexpected stuff and its thrown me .I want to get out of overdraft land but dont see how.
I have looked at second income but lack of jobs around here and ijury to back also limits I need to see ways to make what I have to spend better used.

AdmiralAsda

juleswendy wrote: »

I have wondered about bt been too expensive but they said it wasnt

Which of course makes it completely true...

mum2one

Incoming - 1126 per month

Outgoings
rent 493
council tax 121 - can you ask to do this over 12 months
gas and electric 100 - a[COLOR="rgb(46, 139, 87)"]re you on the best deal [/COLOR]
water 50 - [COLOR="rgb(46, 139, 87)"]would you be cheaper with a water meter?[/COLOR]
car insurance 32.50 - [COLOR="rgb(46, 139, 87)"]renewal def shop around [/COLOR]-
pet insurance 24.65 -[COLOR="rgb(46, 139, 87)"] def agree with this - if the worse happens your covered[/COLOR]
life insurance 20.00 - [COLOR="rgb(46, 139, 87)"]fair enough price[/COLOR]
house insurance 21.82 up for renewal and this is what company quote was 20.20 - [COLOR="rgb(46, 139, 87)"]I would def shop around, even paying monthly your find better prices[/COLOR]
mobile 35-45 up for renewal in a month - [COLOR="rgb(46, 139, 87)"]def look at pay and go theres a lot of good offers out there at mo, make sure you give notice as soon as contract up, as its usually 12mths plus your months notice[/COLOR]
Bt line 19.50 (not paying at moment in credit) -[COLOR="rgb(46, 139, 87)"] I'm guessing you have a call package with this - there are other deals if you tie landline and internet package[/COLOR]
13 internet - [COLOR="rgb(46, 139, 87)"]may be worth looking around - AOL was good value -I was with them for 8 years [/COLOR]
1 n power old debt - [COLOR="rgb(46, 139, 87)"]how much longer have you got on the npower [/COLOR]
15 bank account - [COLOR="rgb(46, 139, 87)"[COLOR="rgb(46, 139, 87)"]]do you get the value for money for the account - maybe cheaper to do the items seperatly[/COLOR][/COLOR]
plus as I in overdraft every month - h[COLOR="rgb(46, 139, 87)"]ow much is your overdraft charges oper month[/COLOR]
30 on top

as you can see I have not included car running cost or tv licence
I got into overdraft when car needed work and nevr get out of by end of month back to owing £800

[COLOR="rgb(46, 139, 87)"]Every month your starting with a £800 overdraft?[/COLOR]

Can the good people on here please help each month I tighten up on food petrol etc .


But still seems each month more bills than money.
Im hoping electric and gas usage will go down after Christmas when Ive caught up what i owed them .As my sons just gone to uni and he was a big electricity consumer in most of every day laptops games machine and tvs on nearly 24/7 now there's just me and Im at work all day.

I did have a second job to supplement my income but injured my back and had to give that up physically one full time job is all I can do at the moment.

I am left in theory with 139 for food and petrol per month which goes to pot when tv licence is due or car needs taxing.
But I can spend up to 25 in petrol some weeks and I really dont see how to improve stuff.
I am thinking of sim only for phone for a while once Im able
I have to have bt line for internet internet is my only pleasure i could swap maybe cheaper else where but as in credit not paying for it
I dont smoke or drink and dont go out .
Cant afford a social life.
If some one can help me manage better show me where Im going wrong I would be grateful:([/QUOTE]

I've put a few thougths by your comments - it might be better if you do the incoming/outgoing sticky from the top as that covers everything, and will a wider picture of where savings ma be made

xx

juleswendy

I am on a water meter and they wanted me to pay 70 a month said Ive used far more than a normal family. Now this new build has had several water leaks and I have spoken to HA about this large bill and the leaks(hopefully now fixed) but they just fob me off.
and yes I m out of overdraft a few days then back in it which I want to sort.

bouncydog1

Virgin sim£15 rolling 30 day contract includes all calls, data and texts.

exarmydreamer

Hi

If you are on your own, should you not have a council tax rebate?. Your son is now at uni and is not resident and is classes as a student anyway. You should qualify for a single person discount and arrange to pay this over 12 months.

When out of contract, try using a pay as you go phone and phone up pet insurance and see if you can get it cheaper, I knocked off £16 a month off my bill recently. Lose the landline for house phone, your in work anyway and have mobile, so wont miss it.

Write to the housing association and water company explaining the problem with the building leaks, im sure there is a complaints procedure and I would definately complain - you have a case.

Can you car share to work or offer lifts to help with petrol costs?.

Hope this helps, good luck.

[Deleted User]

juleswendy wrote: »

I do have a fancy bank account but it comes with free aa cover and mobile phone cover which Ive claimed on and home emergency cover

Can you not get those three elsewhere, for less than £180 per year?

Also, you wouldn't need the phone cover, if you swapped for a basic/cheap mobile.

coopersm

If your petrol allowance doesnt cover what you need to put in your car to be able to do your job phone the inland revenue. You might get more tax relief.

tallyhoh

Try a comparison site for your contents insurance. As you rent you should not be paying building insurance or paying home emergency cover (if its for your home & not car) as your landlord is responsible.