Debt advice please

fatbelly

Yes, but a case would have to be made for it.

Might be easier to bump up food & housekeeping

Clouds88

Okay thank you guys. 

RAS

Agreed, add a fiver to some elements, and hope 4 pass muster.

EssexHebridean

So sorry to hear your situation OP - it’s an incredibly tough one. Try to remind yourself that the addiction issues your husband is dealing with are every bit as much of an illness as the mental health side of things - I know that doesn’t help in practical terms about him keeping a big chunk of the benefits but it might help you to let go of some of the resentment which will be better for you. 

Your last post seems to suggest that you may now have split up? If so then that can’t be an easy situation to deal with either, although I imagine that there would be a part of you feeling relieved at not having to deal with everything on that side of things on a day to day basis. Completely understandable if you do feel that relief too by the way - and not surprising as you’ve had that stress as part of your life for so long! 

I’d suggest that you need to put together an up to date SOA (statement of affairs) with your current financial state as a matter of priority - firstly to see if there might be anywhere you can cut back that you have missed, but also because as said, you may just qualify for a DRO and you need to find out! Once you’ve completed the SOA you can post it into here if that helps and we can take a look and see where you might be under-budgeting. (Or indeed if it’s apparent that the DRO won’t work for you, what savings you might be able to make to free up a bit more cash!) 

have you checked that you are getting any and all free childcare you may be entitled to? It sounds like getting your youngest back to nursery is a bit of a priority even if that in itself might be stressful for all parties - the sooner he adjusts to being away from you for a part of each day the better for both of you otherwise when school starting time comes along he’s not only going to be a long way behind his peers, but it will also be even more stressful for you both. 

Clouds88

[font=courier new][b]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet[/b][b]

Household Information[/b]

Number of adults in household........... 1

Number of children in household......... 3

Number of cars owned.................... 1[b]

Monthly Income Details[/b]

Monthly income after tax................ 200

Partners monthly income after tax....... 0

Benefits................................ 2089

Other income............................ 776[b]

Total monthly income.................... 3065[/b][b]

Monthly Expense Details[/b]

Mortgage................................ 0

Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0

Rent.................................... 830

Management charge (leasehold property).. 0

Council tax............................. 195

Electricity............................. 100

Gas..................................... 50

Oil..................................... 0

Water rates............................. 55

Telephone (land line)................... 0

Mobile phone............................ 110

TV Licence.............................. 15

Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0

Internet Services....................... 35

Groceries etc. ......................... 650

Clothing................................ 80

Petrol/diesel........................... 200

Road tax................................ 12

Car Insurance........................... 50

Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 35

Car parking............................. 0

Other travel............................ 52

Childcare/nursery....................... 0

Other child related expenses............ 40

Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10

Pet insurance/vet bills................. 108

Buildings insurance..................... 0

Contents insurance...................... 10

Life assurance ......................... 10

Other insurance......................... 0

Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40

Haircuts................................ 30

Entertainment........................... 100

Holiday................................. 0

Emergency fund.......................... 20

Union fees.............................. 20

Professional fees....................... 10

Pet food................................ 75[b]

Total monthly expenses.................. 2942[/b]

[b]

Assets[/b]

Cash.................................... 0

House value (Gross)..................... 0

Shares and bonds........................ 0

Car(s).................................. 3700

Other assets............................ 0[b]

Total Assets............................ 3700[/b]

[b]

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts[/b]

[b]Unsecured Debts[/b]

Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR

Vanquis........................2000......0.........0

Capital one....................200.......0.........0

Jaja...........................1200......0.........0

02.............................350.......0.........0

Zopq...........................500.......0.........0

Zable..........................500.......0.........0

Clear pay......................240.......0.........0

Nespresso......................200.......0.........0

Another petrol debt............60........0.........0

Qds petrol debt ...............80........0.........0

Benefit overpayment ...........4000......0.........0

A0 ............................1200......0.........0

118............................2800......0.........0

Octopus........................170.......0.........0

British Gas ...................700.......0.........0[b]

Total unsecured debts..........14200.....0.........-  [/b]

[b]

Monthly Budget Summary[/b]

Total monthly income.................... 3,065

Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,942

Available for debt repayments........... 123

Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0[b]

Amount left after debt repayments....... 123[/b]

[b]Personal Balance Sheet Summary[/b]

Total assets (things you own)........... 3,700

Total HP & Secured debt................. -0

Total Unsecured debt.................... -14,200[b]

Net Assets.............................. -10,500[/b]

Clouds88

Just a couple of things to note the income isn’t secure it’s just based on what I earnt in December, I just need to do one shift in every 3 month period to stay on the bank (not a permanent member of staff) and currently there are no shifts available until March and I have one booked for January so although this says £200 it might actually be £80 ish one month.

dog vets is high as he is on medication that costs £400 x 3 a year, recurrent ear infections and allergies. He is also raw fed as he’s allergic to EVERYTHING.

£776 is my CSA payment from ex (eldest daughter)

mobile phones are high as that’s 3 contracts I stupidly took my husbands phone out in my name doubt he will continue to pay me back now.

Eldest daughter gets the train to school and back (out of area) £52 a month 

I think my main priority is trying to get the DRO sorted if they let me qualify as that will reduce the stress of all the letters and one that’s sent me the pre court letter is 118. 

Also I currently have a caring element on my UC for my husband (figures are a guesstimate but I’m good with math so I think it’s correct ) as he’s not living here I can still claim it as I’ll still be looking out for him ect (he’s at his dads currently) but could also get this removed and won’t be causing any fraud or anything and that would reduce my budget by another £198

Cherryfudge

If your children are all under 18, could you apply for single person's Council Tax rate? Check if you can pay less council tax - Citizens Advice

EssexHebridean

Good thinking on the council tax from Cherryfudge - also if you are currently paying that over the standard 10 months look to switch to paying over 12 - that helps with budgeting. Alternatively, make sure that the two months “spare” council tax are stashed away into your emergency fund as soon as they are available to avoid the temptation of that money just disappearing into general spends. (Or you could apply those months straight back against the arrears you mentioned - as it’s an important one to get straightened out when you can)

The obvious area for a lot of savings is your food - which is good news in one way, but of course also bad news in another as I can’t see that being an acceptable level of spend for a DRO either - Sourcrates or fatbelly might have a clearer idea there but my expectation would be that it ought to be a realistic figure for the number of family members - and yours is pretty high. Can you stop and have a think about how you shop, and indeed eat? Do you make a list, stick to it and use a meal plan? Most folk feel that’s about the best way of keeping to a budget, there are some masters of the art over on the Old Style board! Where do you shop, is the other question - it’s definitely possible to make good savings by shopping in Lidl or Aldi rather than Sainsburys, for example!