At my wits end... (Help with debt and finances)

SlinkiMalinki

It might be worth taking a look at Amazon prime for cat food. I have a subscription set up where I get a large (4kg) bag of royal canin food for 18.99 every month (same bag is 30.99 in pets at home!). I sometimes mix in a bit of cheaper food to make it last the whole month for my 2 cats. You have to pay 7.99 a month for prime membership but this also gives you access to prime TV and movies as well as prime music so you can still have some entertainment for less than you were spending on cat food �� I also find the wood cat litter lasts much longer as it just turns to sawdust (you obviously have to scoop the solids out!) Good luck with your debt free journey

Arleen

Tv tax: you only need this if you watch/record live tv and/or BBC (this either live or through iplayer). If you don't do that - cancel it. Even without Netflix subscription, you can get a lot of content on youtube etc.

Broadband: 45 quid looks like some very expensive one, like the 200Mbit one. For normal home, you can safely reduce it to slower speeds, especially with Netflix out of the way (you only need such speeds for 4k content anyway).

As your GF is not working, there is no excuse for easy eating anymore, she can perfectly fine pick up cooking everything from scratch - and there are plenty of tutorials available on youtube for a lot of stuff, from simple dishes to bread, pasta etc. When you have the time to cook, you can save a lot of money compared to buying things, including cheap but tasty desserts etc. After some practice, you will not only save money but also actually increase the quality of food you guys are eating .

Spatton

Agree with others here Amazon Prime can work out very well if you plan ahead - e.g. free next day delivery. I can be easier to buy essentials in bulk and have them deliver than try and struggle home with it if transport is an issue.


Only thought re cat food is that a pure dry diet can lead to irreversible long term kidney problems even if you leave out plenty of fresh water (speak from experience, and the associated costly long term vet care!) so some fresh meat such as plain boiled chicken, fish, or offcuts every so often can work out much more cost effective than tinned. It does take some effort / time to prepare (lots of advice from good sources online) but as it doesn't have to be steak you can get good value.

middleclassbutpoor

Does the broadband include line rental, telephone and any tv services?

I have 2 cats - costs me approx £30 per month. Buy 2 x 40 pouches of catfood and a bag of dry catfood. Mix of 1/2 pouch and dry food per cat per meal. Fed twice a day.

The tv licence is required if you watch bbc or watch iplayer.

I would be looking at a website called 'entitledto' for ensuring you are getting everything you can get support wise.

Would consider the debt management route. You are already in arrears and you are sinking fast. You are roughly £4k in debt and no security - there will be options. Speak to stepchange for their professional advice - a debt relief order may be an option for example.

Other options may be better though so definitely speak to them as they will help you.

leanne12345

middleclassbutpoor wrote: »

The tv licence is required if you watch bbc or watch iplayer. .

Tv licence is required to watch any channel live, not just bbc, also if you watch bbc on demand/iplayer. Just wanted to add that so you don't cancel it and end up getting fined!