How bad could this potentially get?

Flying_By

Hi Katem, I am so sorry to hear about your situation. We have been there ourselves - ultimately we downsized and started afresh somewhere new but our children were young at the time and I can appreciate that moving your children whilst they are in the middle of their most important school years with exams etc, would be terribly disruptive and should definitely be avoided if possible. Just wondering, do you have any family who could help you? Possibly in the way of an interest free loan if things become really tough, or even offering you somewhere to stay for a while if you find you need to rent your house out? Hopefully your husband will find employment soon and it won't come to that but perhaps worth bearing in mind. Best Wishes xx

Wildchild14

Hi, you do seem to be planning ahead for the worst to happen but the worst might not happen. You say you have a new job in sept but it's temporary. Whose to say you might not get made permanent or have an opportunity to move elsewhere in the company? Also by the time the year is up your husband many have got another job, any job, more than 1 if need be to keep everything going so there is 2 or 3 incomes.

I don't know anything about mortgages as I only rent but is it not possible to move your mortgage to another bank/building society? If not ask your bank about a payment break or even reduce the payments for a few months so at least you are still paying something and when you are back on your feet make it a priority to catch up on the payments.

As others have said and and you've said yourself cut back on food shopping but at the ame time where possible bulk buy some items so you can cook a load of meals and freeze them.

Can you ring up your electric/gas/phone/broadband providers etc and see what deals they can give you or move to someone who can do a better deal.

You mention a tv license. You don't have to pay this if you do not watch live tv. You can not be forced to pay this. There ia page on fb called Active resistance to the tv license. You should check it out as it advises people on how to LEGALLY cancel their t.v license

It sound like you've a lot planned already so things might not be as bad as you think. Good luck

button_box

I am sorry to hear of your problems and I am sure you will get a lot of positive advice from the forums on this site. Communication and planning need to be your watch words just now.


Your children sound as though they are old enough to know what the family situation is without scaring them witless. A family conference to let them know what the situation is will let them know that they will have to do a bit of belt tightening and they might even come up with some cost cutting ideas.
Speak to the CAB about what avenues are open to you with regard to Mortgage Holidays and benefits etc.
As well as your partner getting his CV out everywhere, if consultancy work is drying up can he spare some time to volunteer with an organisation linked to his skills. It is amazing how many people find work through contacts like this and it will also give you something to talk about other than the situation you find yourselves in, which could be very wearing.
Are there any grant schemes to cover school transport for people on low earnings? Maybe you think it is too far to walk but a family conference might have your children volunteering to walk ( to cut costs.)
Do you have any family or friends you can speak to ?
As you are talking about GSEs and A levels I am assuming that you are in England or Wales and the schools are still on holiday. Rope the kids into helping with meal planning and shopping. You can possibly ditch the car and get the children to help with the carrying of shopping.
Ensure the children are aware of why nothing electrical should be on standby when they are not using it.
It is all the small savings which help to cut your costs.
Try and get out and about for some fresh air and a walk. Don't think that you have to do everything. Some of your children are old enough to take responsibility for chores at home and the reality of budgeting.
Best of luck with the new job. I hope things start to improve soon.

Savvy_Sue

Katem wrote: »

Other living expenses which I can't change like bus fares for the kids (£20 a week during school time, too far to walk).

FireWyrm wrote: »

How far precisely? I walked every day to secondary school which was three miles each way. Later, I got a second hand bike which improved things immeasurably, but the exercise did me no harm.

I agree with FW, I didn't have to start paying bus fares for the boys until they went into sixth form, so I made a monthly payment into their bank accounts and left them to get out the cash for their bus fares each week.

DS1 used the bus. DS2 asked if he could keep the money if he didn't use the bus and I said yes, so he walked 4+ miles to and from school each day, leaving at 6.30 am because he liked to get in early. DS3 asked for a bike, so I paid for one and then reduced his allowance until he'd paid for it, so he then cycled 4+ miles to and from school.

Obviously it may take some negotiation to persuade them that it is walkable / cyclable, and you that this is a safe activity (I wasn't best pleased when I discovered that rather than using the shared cycle / pedestrian path along the A4, DS3 was cycling down the bus lane in the morning rush hour!) and it may be that this is NOT possible, but it is worth considering, and I am sure that it did both of them a lot of good.

BTW, something I haven't yet seen mentioned is bank accounts: I don't know where your savings are, but Martin has advice on getting 4 or 5% on some of it (I think there's a 6% savings account linked to one of the best current accounts), and I've been mightily impressed by the Santander 123 account paying 3% on up to £20,000. You don't have much regular income, but you can shuffle money around: I have the minimum paying in amount going round in circles ...

The other thing is cashback sites, I made a lot of big gains initially on TopCashBack, which I've found really easy to use.

Will bank interest and TopCashBack save your house? Probably not, but it may give you a little bit more respite.

And if it's any comfort, we're in a similar and completely unexpected situation, with DH's salary ending at the end of this month. I reckon we could survive a year on our current spending patterns before we run out of money, but the cutbacks have already started. Plus our bottom line is that we were planning to downsize anyway, so if DH doesn't find alternative work then he can focus on de-cluttering, which is sorely needed!

lobbyludd

Perhaps your other half needs to think about getting any job now - one outside of his chosen profession and at whatever reduced salary that entails - it does not have to go on his CV nor do professional contacts need to know about it but it can open up new avenues and insights that could lead anywhere and importantly keeps food on the table. if both you and your other half are working more than X hours (can't remember if 30 or 16, the rules change so much) per week you may be able to get tax credits to supplement a reduced income to the point where you are better able to cover expenses. go to the tax credits calculator page on gov.uk and plug in some ficticious numbers to get an idea.

I had a part-time job term-time and up to 3 part-time jobs in the holidays from 15 onwards and did extremely well academically, it instills a work ethic and helps get employment post university because you understand basic work necessities like time-keeping and the ability to handle/negotiate work relationships and tasks which unfortunately a lot of graduates struggle with. That can help with the family finances no end.

lastly, I really would put up an SOA, it might be difficult but lots of good ideas will be put forward and it previously helped me (anonymously!) understand that a lot of the things I thought of as essentials or non-negotiable were in fact choices, that was immediately very difficult and I didn't like it - but it has helped because I don't feel so broke or hemmed in now - I am exercising the choice to have broadband for example - but I don't have professional haircuts - the former, to me is more important than the latter so that is the choice I make.

good luck

BigAunty

The Shelter website has an excellent website that provides advice to distressed homeowners at risk of arrears and repossession so if you read that now, you may understand some of your current and future options.

The Turn2us online benefit calculator will indicate the benefits your family could receive when the household income dips below the usual thresholds for means tested ones.