I don't know what to do, loss of income. 30 July 2022 at 4:01PM in Disability money matters 12 replies 1.9K views

Vapegirlclouds

Hello,
Apologies for any errors I'm sight impaired. 
I'm trying not to have a complete meltdown.

I'm disabled, receive high rate PIP. I work over 40 hours a week & manage to juggle everything quite well.
My husband has long covid. He's frontline & we have been very fortunate that he has been on a covid scheme & received  full pay.
We are just about managing financially, with enough money for food shopping each month. We spent years getting out of debt,  now have a good credit score etc. After having our house repossessed in 2003.


From November he will be half pay 6 months then 0 pay.
He's being tested for dementia & parkinsons among other things. 
I can't see him going back to work at all. The memory issues are awful.
His health & wellbeing are my main priority.

However I still have to deal with the bills & how we will live.
When he goes down to half pay we will not manage.
We have no savings, have gas & electricity paypoint meters.
We have a £500 loan payment monthly with Lloyd's & 4 credit cards all with approximately £100 on each, to keep them active.

Our electricity has gone up to £180 a month on the token meter, our gas £90 
This obviously affects everyone. 
Rent & council tax is £650 per month, we live in social housing. 

We're looking at losing £600 then £1200 a month

The only thing I can think of doing is opening up a new bank account while we still have good credit & transferring wages to there.
We'll end up not being able to afford gas & electricity,  let alone the loan payment.we don't have surplus funds, we've lived on beans on toast in the past & will happily again.
There will be things I can cut out to make some savings, sky, obviously. We have a dog & I'll do without everything for him to have what he needs, no other dependants.


I just don't know what to do or where to turn.
Or how to begin planning for this.
This is all on me to sort out.
Do I talk to the bank? Tell them that we're not going to be able to afford payments etc.
I'm terrified for the future & I know we're luckier than a lot currently.

Any advice would be appreciated. 
If this belongs in another forum please advise.

Savvy_Sue

Let's start with how old you each are? 

Are either of you in a union? I know ours has a welfare fund, and they may also be able to offer advice. 

https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/ may be useful, and there are various organisations supporting those with dementia - may be worth waiting until you know what kind is indicated? 

elsien

Have you looked at the benefits calculators see what else you could be entitled to when his wages stop/drop? 

Spoonie_Turtle

It sounds like your husband needs to claim PIP at the very least.

A benefits calculator as suggested above will show any entitlement to means-tested benefits.  You should do two calculations, one putting in your information as if he's on half pay and another on no pay.

RAS

I'd suggest posting on the debt free forum, but basically

You need to pay

Housing costs, Ct
Essential travel costs
Utilities
Food
Comms
Clothing
Insurance
And an emergency fund 

before thinking about paying off consumer credit debts.

Head over there, read up on SOAs and stop paying your shift your salaries to a new bank account (or 2).

DustyBlues

You don’t say who you work for or what you do. However, some employers e.g. the Civil Service have charity, benevolent or welfare funds which provide financial aid in the form of grants, counselling and general advice for those facing such hardship. I think the CS one is called the Charity for Civiil Servants - see www.foryoubyyou.org.uk. So do some trades and professional institutions if either you or your husband are members through your type of work.

They usually require a brief explanation of your circumstances and at least one month’s bank statements to show your income and outgoings. 

Prudent

Is ill health retirement an option for your husband?

macman

How is the property heated and hot watered? If you have gas for that, then no way should you be using £180pm for electricity, and £90 for gas.
If you heat with single rate electricity, then how do you spend £90 on gas?
Or do you have historic debt on your PPM's that you are paying off?
Post your annual kWh usage on each fuel, and proper advice can be given, because £££'s don't really tell us much.
PS: please ignore your credit score, it's a fictitious number that lenders don't even see. What matters is your credit history.
If you are really repaying £500pm (If I read your post correctly) on an unsecured loan then the first priority is to reduce that to a minimum, it's not a priority debt.
Sky needs to go, obviously.

Morglin

Try this site for calculations on things you might be able to claim, as your income drops.  They also give personalised advice/support, if required:

https://www.turn2us.org.uk/

deannagone

Its a tiny thing, but have you tried gradually wheening your dog onto dried dog food?  I buy one with a certain percentage of meat in it, seeable meat bits so it looks better than the pebble stuff a lot of them are.  But it still costs a quarter I'd be paying for canned food.  Dogs are very healthy and do well on it. One of them has a bit of a 'delicate' stomach `so he has prescribed dried dog food but he doesn't eat much so a bag lasts a long time.  Still a lot cheaper than canned food.

Newly_retired

I second those who suggested putting your situation into a benefit calculator. Turn2us and entitledto are good ones. PIP for your husband, maybe support with Council Tax. Help from work- related charities. Contact your energy supplier. Most of them have schemes in place. The Big Difference Scheme will reduce your water bills.