how do i manage on this

Tustastic

Hi hopeless case, that username won't be accurate for long now you're on this board.:)
Can't see anything on your budget for birthdays, xmas, haircuts, clothes.
You can ask to pay your council tax over 12 months not 10 - just ask the council.
As has already been said, carbooting/eBaying anything you can do without will bring in some money. How about involving the children - they could help you, get rid of some of their unwanted toys and books etc. You could give them some of the money for them to use on stuff they want. Important to carboot now while the weather and the light is better. HTH

Shineyhappy

hopeless_case wrote: »

great never thought about the mortgage interest thing. and will def do surveys every little helps

If you go to the Freebies board I think that theres a list of all the online survey sites with some comments about what they are like as well.

CharliesAngel

floss2 wrote: »

Can your partner get any extra hours or an extra job?

Noooo! don't do it.... I'm so tired I could cry....

floss2

CharliesAngel wrote: »

Noooo! don't do it.... I'm so tired I could cry....

Sorry hun - it was only a short-term suggestion!

hopeless_case_2

dont do what get out of debt or work harder to get out of debt.Either way will be deprived of sleep worrying or working too much.

Tustastic

Update on council tax; SOME councils allow you to pay over 12 months, not all. Just checked and my council (Enfield) will only do direct debits over 10 months. Neighbouring borough (Barnet) will take them over 10 or 11 months.
Still worth checking what your council does though.
BTW does anyone know why it suits councils to take council tax over 10 months?

fiveyearplan

They then have an additional 2 months to chase people who fall behind.

chloebelle

there are lots of ways to cut down. I live in a family of 5 as well and our food bill is always between £80-£100. £160 seems excessive so dig out your receipts and have a really close look at what you are buying. Lots of branded things that could be cut down to economy brands? Processed stuff that could be cheaper to make from scratch? Are you shopping at the cheapest supermarket in your area? What about treats e.g. wine, chocolates etc... can some of these be cut out?

Also think about your shopping behaviour. Are you shopping when you are hungary after work and buying lots of impulsive purchases? Are you using a loyalty card - we have a nectar card and always have enough to get all our christmas food free!!

I can't help with mortgages etc... as I live at home with parents and know nothing! However, after seeing my family cope with redundancy, I know that food is an area which is very easy to cut down on. My dad was out of work for 6 months and we managed to cut our fodd bill down to £50-£60 a month! This was for a family of 5 and pet cat! It was hard; no treats, alcohol, yummy ready meals or expensive meat, all very basic. However, it meant we didn't have to cut down on the things that matter e.g. mortgage.

Good luck, cutting down drastically is hard but better to do it on food, internet, phone, clothes etc.. than the essentials.

hopeless_case_2

Well i will try with the shopping but will find it hard as kids take packed lunch for which my mother buys most of and they take Juice diluted not cans.I also do not eat ready meals but my son is six foot tall and always hungry i make dinners /lasagne /curry spagbol/etc for teas. i will try this week and let you know\how i get on .
Got a letter from welcome this morning saying i had been approved a loan so work that one out if you can.
Dont think i will bother though will try to earn more to pay off bills.