I feel trapped and have very few options

dawyldthing

AngelPie78 wrote: »

Hi thanks for your reply and I am more than happy to work at ANY job - sorry if that did not come across in my post.

Currently I get £188 per week in TC and WTC and £82 every four weeks in CB. HB is around £70 p/w so I am required to pay £70 p/w in rent. I get £2 a week Council Tax Benefit so need to pay £35 p/w in CT. I don't get any maintenance from my ex as he has the children half the time and he gets CB for one of our sons (despite me appealing this many times)

My income is literally £188x52 + 82x13 = £10,842.

Rent - £4000
Council tax - £1500
Water - £800
Gas/Electric - £1300
Business loan - £1560
BAYV/fridge & oven - £1144

Leaves me £10 p/w for food, petrol, mobile phone, internet, clothes, car expenses and everything else.

If you can suggest a job which I can get that will bring in more money than that then I am more than willing to take it. That's why I'm here because every option I've looked at leads me back to the fact that there is no other option.

My ex takes care of childcare for his days and I take care of it for mine. He works full time and so the children end up at his parents' house during the holidays but I don't have the same option - I'd have to pay for childcare at around £50 per day during the holidays. There is also no way for my eldest to get home from school apart from walking 3 miles which I don't think I'd like him to do. I'd have to pay childcare after school for three days for my youngest son at £10/£15 per day. Then additional costs for transport to and from work.

If I get a job in the evening, then you need to apply childcare costs and transport OR only work on the three evenings a week that I don't have the children.

Again if you can think of a job that I can get which would enable me to bring home more than £10 per week and give us a better quality of life then I'm more than happy to take it.

That isn't meant to sound glib or passive aggressive - I just don't see a solution.


[STRIKE][/STRIKE]

If you've got kids that housing benefit doesn't sound right as we got more than that when I was younger and I'm going back 15 years.

Why are you paying so much council tax? Have you not got single person rebate? Surely shouldn't be that much with single person rebate

While not ideal could you ask your ex partner to have the kids on a regular few days say every weekend and then you can look after them in the week around jobs? Someone I work with does this and it works for us all plus if you put your annual leave in wise you could have 6 weeks off with them in various holidays.

Water - Id look into a meter. I pay a quarter of that (but I think it's something to do with the piping, but I know metered folk have a good saving normally.

Gas/ electric - that's double ours too. Admittedly not got kids but I'm sure there's ways to save

The fridge and oven were really expensive

dawyldthing

AngelPie78 wrote: »

Yep that's £14482 AFTER tax so around £18k which is where I got the £18k from

Well, I looked into the care sector and spoke to a few agencies as my friend said that this would be a possible option. However, I have a bad back and a very dodgy ankle and was told that this wasn't the position for me as I could cause myself more damage and I might not be up to the physical aspects of the job! I thought it was going into people's houses and keeping them company etc but apparently it can involve lifting and moving older people around which I can't do. We have a care home at the end of the road and I went to the open day. They said the same thing about the lifting etc.

I'd heard the same things about the hours etc and thought it would suit. Someone did say that you also have to drive a lot and that this isn't included in your pay and you don't get an allowance for the car?

I can look at it again and would love your input on my concerns?

Look into support work. A lot of it can be hoisting etc but for some it's supporting them in daily living tasks

dawyldthing

AngelPie78 wrote: »

Hi thanks for your post. My ex is under the threshold (should have mentioned that) which is why my appeals have been refused.

My ten years in recruitment is on my CV, as is my nursery nurse experience and everything else I've done and I have been applying for a LOT of jobs. With ten years in an office, a degree, experience as a team leader etc etc you think I'd find a job easily, right??

So then this is the other issue I have - do I spend a day away from my business and apply for jobs? Then I delay getting paid by the clients I have by one day per week. Is that a good use of my time? Again, not being flippant - this is a genuine question and something I struggle with deciding most days!

I have my own website for my CV (obviously ) and am on LinkedIn, in touch with agencies ten times a day (again something which is the norm for my industry)

I know what you're saying about the barriers and logistics but it is JUST me. I have no family and friends who can help. I HAVE to consider these options because traffic is a nightmare in my area (one road in and one road out of a new build development) and childcare is expensive and not guaranteed. Having said that, I've applied for jobs up to 40 miles away in the last year! I don't think I'm putting barriers up - I think I'm just being realistic.

I wanted to come on here to see if there's anything I've missed when considering my options.

So far, everyone is saying get a part time job (mental health issues, not enough money, have to work around the kids) or get a full time job in anything (when to look for a job vs working for a client and getting paid, childcare, transport, money has to make it worth while).

I applied for a full time office administrator post about 5 miles away for £16k. It would have left me worse off and I would be in negative money after tax, NI, childcare and transport costs, as well as missing out on my kids and I didn't get it because I was OVER QUALIFIED?! ARGH! You couldn't make it up.

Again, more than happy to consider anything but I can't see a viable option.

You'd get child tax credit though etc. have a look on I think it's entitledto website

AngelPie78

dawyldthing wrote: »

If you've got kids that housing benefit doesn't sound right as we got more than that when I was younger and I'm going back 15 years.

Why are you paying so much council tax? Have you not got single person rebate? Surely shouldn't be that much with single person rebate

While not ideal could you ask your ex partner to have the kids on a regular few days say every weekend and then you can look after them in the week around jobs? Someone I work with does this and it works for us all plus if you put your annual leave in wise you could have 6 weeks off with them in various holidays.

Water - Id look into a meter. I pay a quarter of that (but I think it's something to do with the piping, but I know metered folk have a good saving normally.

Gas/ electric - that's double ours too. Admittedly not got kids but I'm sure there's ways to save

The fridge and oven were really expensive

All my benefits are right - had them checked and double checked. The council tax is wrong - the single person is not applied as they have cocked up. My daughter is 19 but moved out when's she was 17. They say they haven't received the dozens of letters I've sent and hand delivered about this but I'll get a rebate when they finally sort it out. I should have only paid from July last year I was a student until then and was entitled to some ct benefit. They charged me for the whole year and I hadn't the bailiffs round trying to take my car so my mum paid them off so I could get the kids to school! I told her to let them take the car as we'd get it back but Shen panicked and paid it. This is an ongoing saga but I have to pay the full whack until they sort it out!

Ex won't change the days at all so not an option there.

Water is on a meter.

Electric and gas might change but I'm in the middle of switching suppliers so bear with me. I'm at home a lot as I work from home and the kids are here a lot too. We have multiple gadgets and use a lot of electric lol.

Thanks for for replying though!

AngelPie78

Fridge and oven were with Buy As You View as I have zero credit and needed a fridge and oven quickly. Only six months left to pay now.

AngelPie78

fiisch wrote: »

Without seeing your CV, it's difficult to say, but cast the net wide - have a few CV's, one aimed at web development jobs, another aimed more at the recruiting side, and see what sticks. Badger recruiters - phone them weekly/fortnightly and ask for updates. What do they offer you? What jobs are they trying to place you in? Don't be overly pushy, but by being the one who chases them, your name will stick and it'll be you they come to when they're struggling to place candidates for an interview.

When to find the time for job-hunting? Make time. It sounds contrite, but if you want it badly enough you'll find the time. You obviously need your current income, but weekends, early mornings, evenings, night times...

I work in IT and I detest it - very well paid, but indescribably dull. I didn't choose it, it found me, which is the sad reality for most people. We end up doing the jobs that pay the best/the career we end up in...

Think I've made the decision to stay with the business. I really want it to work and it's my passion so it never feels like working. I really DONT want a job which is why it feels like a chore and I don't want to look for one. I think this is the crux of the matter. I want to do something j love and do projects I want to do. Lots of mental health issues and counselling have got me to the point where I am now and taking a job just for the sake of it would put me right back into the system which contributed to my illnesses in the first place!

I'd rather work double the hours on my business and make a go of it than give up and work in a job I hate. It's not worth missing out on the little time I get with my kids for that. Just to exist and not have any kind of life.

Just need some supplementary income for the time being to tide me over!

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

AngelPie78 wrote: »

Lol but they don't give me any help?! And they are professionals - just cause you don't believe in them lol. Do you believe in counsellors and therapists then??

I "believe in" medicine that, when tested, can be shown to work. Not in quackery that , when tested, is always shown to have no effect. If you want to continue giving your money to con men, you carry on. but don't go complaining you can't make ends meet. You have children, and you are deliberately paying for these criminals' children to go to private schools while yours go short.

Loanranger

Your priority must be to earn enough to support yourself and your two children. You are wanting to put other more important things in front of that one single most important priority and thus cannot clearly see what you have to do.
I did make a couple of suggestions earlier but you just proved my point in your response.
Get your one priority in place and then everything will be clearer.

fiisch

Admirable, and only you know exactly where the business is and what it's capable of. That said, it's not providing an income you need to support yourself, and being on the brink of bankruptcy, it's sheer madness. Not only that, it's exploiting the bankruptcy system, and I'm afraid if you can't manage personal spending, I hope it's your partner that manages the business' finances...

Good luck, but I'd have a Plan B lined up ready to action if income doesn't starting go up very soon....

As other's have said, your priorities don't seem to be quite in the right order. When children are involved, it's not always a case of just doing what we really want, it's being a provider first and foremost.

skintandfat

Now my bit

I noticed you spoke about direct debit.

May I suggest you do this for sites- do a monthly cost for the site and the maintenance and reduce it after say 1 year / 14 months to a maintenance only cost which covers maintenance and a limited number of changes per year

Then a £500 bill becomes £35 a month for 14 months- and you can start hosting straight away (as you can pull the site any time for non payment). But you will have had some payments rather than none.
You could then reduce it to a lower level.


Do you keep the domains in your name for your sites?


I would check business costs- I have a Godaddy unlimited sites hosting plan that is < £150 a year all in.


Your mobile- I use Tesco mobile and am £17 per month (5000 texts, 5000 mins and 6 G data), once this deal runs out I will go to sim only.


As far as council tax and DWP goes I get a fax number and use that (I use a virtual fax), that makes things better
They don't 'lose' paperwork when you have a fax receipt


I also have an Andriod decent galaxy phone which has an app that records calls- I tell people (call centres / govt departments) when the call connects and it sharpens their mind


As far as LED's go- you are throwing money away by having non-led lamps
One Gu10 LED lamp on for 10 hours a day uses over £75 a year in leccy. Change that to a LED and the cost goes fro £75 to £7.50


Buy one lamp at a time and change them over a period.


I know you have tried a benefits sweep but look at
https://www.turn2us.org.uk/


for benefits info


Also
If you go BR then that writes off all your debts.
If you can not afford to go BR you could stop paying things that will fall in to the BR such as
Council tax
Gas
Electric
Credit cards


Remember BR is a serious undertaking so think seriously and take advice.


Have you looked at a DRO (you need your debts below £20k)
https://www.stepchange.org/Howwecanhelpyou/DRODebtrelieforder.aspx