Help - we feel like we've done everything we can, and we're still piling on the debt!

barbarawright

Since there's no mention of child benefit, I assume there is just the one teenager in the house. Is there a particular reason why you don't work - even a part time job in a supermarket would help a lot.And while you aren't working, could you not not things like making packed lunches for partner and child and doing batch cooking. £100 really is quite a lot for 3 people when in fact is more because of the school lunch card. I'm sure you could cut it without too much difficulty.

r.mac_2

morning! Just wanted to pop back in and say hello.

BTW - I don't think that you are that defensive. Its hard to see it all in black and white, especially if the mess isn't of your making. I really admire you taking the 'partnership' route. It definately makes it easier if you go at these things as a team.

Have you tried martins budgeter on the mse homepage - its great for helping you remember all those little lost expenses into the budget.

Best wishes for the day and week ahead xxx

BlushingRose

barbarawright wrote: »

Since there's no mention of child benefit, I assume there is just the one teenager in the house.

That's correct

Is there a particular reason why you don't work

yes, no-one's given me a job when I apply

- even a part time job in a supermarket would help a lot.

see above

I'm a little confused by 'batch cooking'. What's the difference between doing that and just cooking a meal at the time?

BlushingRose

r.mac wrote: »

morning! Just wanted to pop back in and say hello.

BTW - I don't think that you are that defensive. Its hard to see it all in black and white, especially if the mess isn't of your making. I really admire you taking the 'partnership' route. It definately makes it easier if you go at these things as a team.

Have you tried martins budgeter on the mse homepage - its great for helping you remember all those little lost expenses into the budget.

Best wishes for the day and week ahead xxx

Thanks chuck :-)

Tell you the truth, on the one hand I'm feel ok about all this now as chatting on here is giving us lots of ideas, but at the same time I'm feeling very low about it all today :-(

BlushingRose

Surfbabe wrote: »

Looking at Salary I don;t reckon son will get Education Maintenance allowance as my OH earns about the same and neither of our children got it. You should still get child benefit though mine is £70 every four weeks for DD who is in 6th form.

I shall have to ask himself to ring when he gets home.
Everything is in his name so it makes it impossible for me to do any calling/sorting during the day.

barbarawright

BlushingRose wrote: »

I'm a little confused by 'batch cooking'. What's the difference between doing that and just cooking a meal at the time?

Basically it's cooking several meals at once. So if you are making say, ratatouille or pasta sauce, just make twice as much and then put the leftovers in the freezer for next time. Or just eat it next day if you don't have a freezer. Saves time and also money as you can cook vegetables when they are cheap and eat them when they're out of season. Lots of ideas for this on the Old Style board further down the page.

Good luck with the job hunting. There's a board about that too! Maybe check your local library for details of where you can get free careers advice or to look at books on brushing up your cv?

r.mac_2

BlushingRose wrote: »

I'm a little confused by 'batch cooking'. What's the difference between doing that and just cooking a meal at the time?

batch cooking is where you cook for more than one meal at a time. The idea is that in general its cheaper, and easier, to cook more than one meal at a time.

for example, if I make spag bol, I make enough sauce for two or three meals. I make the same amount of mince go further by adding an extra tin or two of tomatoes, some chopped up, inexpensive veggies (grated carrot is great for this), a handful of lentils or soya mince (your family won't taste the difference!

then with the extra sauce I freeze it for a day I can't be bothered cooking (thus avoiding a take-away or expensive trip to the supermarket) or just another time.

Hth

Running_man

Hi
£19.98 to store boxes of memories?Sorry you need to have a clear out.Otherwise you will always be paying this.Why not take the boxes look through them and only keep what you really want.Clear things out at home.Keep only what you can keep at home.
It will be hard to throw things away but you are creating new memories all the time.
(We still have kids school work in loft)
Daughter worked at weekend all through 6th form could stepson?
Mortgage could you take a payment holiday for a couple of months use this to pay off debt?
One thing to do is write down everything you spend in a notebook

painted_lady

If the son is 16 is it not possible for him to get a PT job and contribute to the family income a little. I am not talking a lot, maybe a small percentage of what he earns. Would also be a good lesson in budgeting for him, which would help him avoid getting into too much debt at uni (does the private school teach this?)
When I was in 6th form, I worked at ASDA on weekends and in the holidays. I bought all my own clothes, shoes and paid for my own entertainment. I even bought a lot of food myself to cook at home. I also used to babysit at least once, but often 3 times a week, for extra cash, I could usually do my studying then as often the children were in bed. I even revised my French by teaching one of the kids I looked after French, amazingly she lives in France now!
I think it would be wrong to pull him out of the school now at this stage, I can totally understand you wanting the best for him, but only hard work can now afford to pay for it.

PENNYWISE_3

Hiyah,

Well done for posting & getting help with your debt, it's all a step in the right direction. I'm sure it all seems overwhelming at the moment but remember you're starting to take control of it now.

I'm a temp at the moment, I find registering with an agency in person seems to work better than online etc, also some of them are notoriously bad at getting in touch so be pro-active, keep contacting them to let them know you're free and ask what jobs available. Also, how about registering your cv on a website so that potential employers can contact u - amazing how many phone calls you can get!

good luck for your debt free journey & keep us updated