Pacing myself!

TheAble

My feeling is it's worth taking a chance. Seems a shame to be missing out on benefits you're entitled to.

MovingForwards

How easy would it be to put your ex back on the tenancy when he returns at the end of the year? Or has that changed?

Virgin's current account earns 2% interest on balances up to £1k, the linked savings account is 0.50% and allows 'pots', therefore you could have the current account to carry a float, the linked savings account could be set up as various pots, then the money moved as needed.

enthusiasticsaver

The key to managing money sensibly and keeping out of debt is budgeting and saving.  Motivating yourself to exert discipline to stop spending unnecessarily is easier if you know why you want to be more financially stable.  Always keep that in mind before spending.  A lot of people talk about learning the difference between wanting and needing something and essentially this is all it comes down to. 

One of the main things I did from when quite young  (18) was to never anticipate salary.  If you have a list of things you want to buy and splash out on payday this might be why you run out of money early in the payday month.  Always plan your spends as much as possible and save up for things like birthdays, christmas, holidays and car or house repair costs.  Budget at the beginning of the month and maybe set aside money for food and entertainment, fuel in a separate account from where your bills come out.  You have done well to get out of the overdraft or almost so keep that going and start saving for emergencies or unexpected bills. 

[Deleted User]

Fireflyaway said:

My husband doesn't contribute to rent because he pays the rent where he is living. We agreed we would each take care of our own living costs. If I removed him, I would be paid more housing benefit but I'm too worried to do that as my income is not 31 times the rent or whatever the affordability calculations are. I'm concerned removing my husband would cause the letting agent to see me as not eligible to hold the tenancy in my own name. 

If you were to sever the joint tenancy then you’d need the agreement of your husband and the landlord if you’re in a fixed term contract. If it’s periodic then you could serve notice to end the joint tenancy and try to get a tenancy solely in your own name but from what you say you’d struggle to meet affordability on your own for the property. 

It’s a tricky one. How likely is it that your husband will return to the marital home? (You don’t need to answer that.) As if it’s unlikely you might need to consider moving to a less expensive property or finding some way of upping your income to meet affordability for this one.