I need help

datlex

Looking at your budget and from experience in similar situation. You should be able to get a water meter. If the meter is outside the property then you don't need the landlord's permission. I pay £17 a month for water.

Your gas seems slightly high considering how far you live from work. How warm do you have the flat? How long before you get up do you put the heating on and how long before you get home do you have the heating come on? Also what temperature do you have the flat at. Gas heating doesn't take long to warm a flat. Keeping doors and curtains closed can help keep in warmth. Also things like jumpers and dressing gowns are great. I pay £24 a month for my gas.
I am guessing your council tax is paid over 10 months rather than 12? What do you do with the money in those two months? It could pay you home insurance for example.
Your mobile bill is again slightly high. Go Sim free you should be able to save money.

Am in agreement too regarding the bank fee it is an unnecessary expense at this time. Especially as home insurance often has an away from home personal artificates option.

Regarding presents, cut back your budget to £25 a month or even £20.

I think without too much difficulty you could save the £42 a month short fall you currently have possibly more.

Then you can look at getting those debts cleared. It may take a few years but you will get there.

CapricornLass

Hiya, lots of good advice here.

Just wanted to add: our phones are insured through our contents insurance. Didn't add very much to the overall bill, and was by far the cheapest option. When I did it for my son, it was only an extra £7 for the year ( although I am talking about several years ago.) I too would look for cheaper car breakdown insurance. There will be guidance on what's available elsewhere on this site, and then you can get rid of that bank fee.

Look at the cookingonabootstrap website with Jack Monroe. At one stage she was feeding herself and her small son on £10 a week, and trying to do it as healthily as possible. It might not be doable for that amount now, but she will give you ideas and recipes for cheap and nutritious meals for you.

Will second the wearing of woolly jumpers, but will also add thermal undies and thick socks to the list! Ordinary longsleeve t-shirts will also do. Also possibly a blanket over you (or even a dressing gown if its long enough) when you are sitting on the sofa. Then you can delay/reduce the temperature of your heating. Also, can you adjust the temperature of your hot water? Even a degree or two downwards will help towards reducing costs.

With regards to presents, are you crafty, or a good baker? I'm thinking along the lines of homemade biscuits, flavoured oils or chocolate truffles as gifts, which should be relatively cheap. When my younger son was at college and had absolutely no money at all, he drew vouchers giving my parents four days of his labour in their garden and gave them as their Christmas present - they were absolutely thrilled as it meant they could progress with a project that they could no longer physically do themselves. Are you able to offer something like that - babysitting, or offering to look after a dog for x days holiday, or gardening, or even jobs like x hours of ironing or cleaning the oven? Is there a family spending limit - eg £20 per person - if there isn't, why not suggest one? Friends may also be happy to agree to a price limit or even a no-present pact, especially if they are also feeling a bit skint.

Good luck. As Datlex says, it may take a couple of years to clear the debts, , but you will get there.

Dobbibill

Hi - Welcome to the forum.

A lot of good advise already offered here.

The only things I would add is.....

Is your water rates over 10 months instead of 12 too (I know mine is - do the same as the council tax and change to 12, this will help you budget monthly and not give you a false sense during those 2 'free' months.)

How long have you had the car? Are all repairs included....tyres, brakes.
Are you in a position to VT the car and/or get something much cheaper/use public transport for a while.

I agree with EH - ditch the contacts.

Don't succumb to the pressure of buying lots/expensive gifts for Christmas/birthdays. Buy small/cheap/home-made gifts for close family only. Work out how many people you buy for - eg 6 people for Christmas & their birthdays with £10 budget per person/occasion is £10 pm - how many are you buying for at £30 pm, that's £360 a year.

£18 pm for bank fees is way too much. Get breakdown cover through sites like TCB/Quidco, you can huge discount making the net cost almost half price (Unless this is covered under your lease? doubtful though). The same with mobile phone ins if you really need it, depending on how old the phone is.

Are you credit cards both definitely 0% - if so for how much longer?

Can you opt for overtime at work if not can you get a 2nd job?
delivering parcels, stacking shelves, bar work - anything.....just once or twice a week would help.

You need to be brutal with yourself, cut your costs - raise your income. It'll be hard work but just about do-able with some harsh decisions and determination.

Serendipitious

I would definitely ask your supplier about a water meter. Someone will come out to see if the flat has a suitable place for it to be fitted.

I couldn't have one fitted for my one-bedroom flat, so they put me on a low-user rate for water. They automatically brought the forms with them when they came out. This took my bill down from 35/month to 23/month, quite a substantial saving.

curiousralphy

Tight budget this one, if I were in your shoes I would -
1. get rid of the tv - can read news and keep up with things on the internet
2. stop using contact lenses and get a cheap pair of glasses
3. no more presents - the people who care want loved ones to be safe and secure financially and if they don't then they aren't someone to be buying presents for.
4. cut the mobile bill to sim only - there are good deals for £10 out there
5. cut out the contents insurance - unless live in a high crime area or flooding area
6. cut out the phone insurance and car breakdown - for a car on that lease price I would be surprised if it breaks down enough for this cost, if the phone breaks cheap replacements are less than £30 (non smart phone is fine when money is tight)

And of course whatever can be done to bring in more money until the debt is gone, second job, overtime, pennies on the street even, anything that helps get things on track.

Potential savings of almost £60 - buy glasses first, pay down debts ASAP and build an emergency fund

For the long term I would move closer to work or find a job closer to home if possible so I didn't need a car or if not possible get a much cheaper car.

I would do everything possible to stay in council housing though, if you give it up you'll likely never get another one. There is also the option way down the track to buy it cheap when finances improve or swap it for another if you want to move.

It would suck for a good few years but it wouldn't be forever and once you got things sorted and had a bit more money left over, you could look at bringing back in the things you really missed the most.

I won't lie, it is a rubbish existence doing without ALL non-essentials but it does get better eventually. We were so broke my OH and I slept on an air mattress for 6 months when we first moved in together - although in truth it was more of a plastic ground sheet come the morning . We lived on cheap food, no tv, broken sofa (free discard from a neighbour) and gifted crockery from a friend, it took a few years to work our way out of it but we are doing fine now. I mention it only to say you aren't alone, there are others out there with the same struggle or who have already been through it, if you can just keep chipping away at it you will get there. Small changes are the trick, lots and lots of small changes.

FBaby

Unfortunately, your issue is that your choice of housing/car doesn't equate what you can afford with your income. You can try to reduce everything else, but ultimately, the two is costing your more than 2/3 of your income. It's inevitable that you will find that you don't have enough left.

You therefore need to tackle the big issues, not the small ones, ie. increase your work hours, look for a job closer, go for a very cheap car, rent a cheaper bedsit etc...

I'm sure these options don't feel great, but nothing is worse than accumulating debts that you then feel have spiraled totally out of control.

frosty

Head over to the old style board for shopping tips.They are amazing at saving you money when on a tight budget.

Lottebear

Have you thought about taking out a Health cash plan for your contact lenses and other health expenses. As typically you can claim more than you pay, it would only be a few quid but every little helps, there is a page on MSE site.

haybel19

Helenforman wrote: »

My SOA
Rent- 319.93
Council tax- 93
Home issurance - 7.16
Electric- 23.36
Gas -30
Water- 35.16
Bank fee for breakdown cover and phone insurance- 17.00
Phone - 22.99
Tv licence- 12.12
Internet-17.99
Car lease - 158.35 I work in the middle on the country side 40 mins away from where I live no other options to get there
Car insurance- 36
Contacts lenses- 23.50
Medication- 9.00
Cc1- 80
Cc2- 50
Petrol- 80

TOTAL 1015
Income 1075
£60 left before any food

first thoughts.. £17 account fee is a lot...

Your mobile phone may be covered on your contents cover and if not can be added or you could take standalone phone cover which is also pretty cheap.

Breakdown cover can also be very cheap and I doubt sorting both your phone and breakdown cover separately would cost £17 a month.

So this £17 a month account fee can certainly be reduced.

haybel19

Helenforman wrote: »

My SOA
Rent- 319.93
Council tax- 93
Home issurance - 7.16
Electric- 23.36
Gas -30
Water- 35.16
Bank fee for breakdown cover and phone insurance- 17.00
Phone - 22.99
Tv licence- 12.12
Internet-17.99
Car lease - 158.35 I work in the middle on the country side 40 mins away from where I live no other options to get there
Car insurance- 36
Contacts lenses- 23.50
Medication- 9.00
Cc1- 80
Cc2- 50
Petrol- 80

TOTAL 1015
Income 1075
£60 left before any food

next thoughts shopping around for car insurance you may well find cheaper and may even be able to earn cashback (going via topcashback or quidco)

the other thing that jumps out at me is your internet charge at £17.99 I would definitely shop around for this- again you may save money AND earn cashback.

Could you lease a cheaper car ie lower monthly payment or a more fuel efficient model and reduced your fuel costs?

Another thing I would suggest is apps like checkout smart and clicksnap where you can earn cashback on normal grovery shopping... all adds up and might help.

Bulk buying when you can on items such as toiletries or cleaning products can help save money- amazon often sell in packs of 6 or 12 and keeping an eye on prices can save lots.

Join lots of money saving facebook groups- there are loads- some good ones are bargain hunters don't get stuffed by Christmas, savvy deals uk and the hot uk deals website and facebook page - all can help eek money that little bit further.