Help Please

Gemmzie

In_Search_Of_Me wrote: »

I thing what she was saying was can they borrow money elsewhere G! Hugs for you as just caught up!
I think what is required is some tough love on your part...unless people (ie your parents & bro) take responsibility for their actions (overspending) then they will continue as they are because you are taking all the flack (ie lending them money that you can ill afford to lend & charging no interest) and they will never learn. As others have said working so many hours will be doing your health no good and that IS what the grant money is for - any work is meant to be a top up for luxuries.
I do appreciate the dilemma though but if your family are nasty about your refusal to lend then I would look at moving out - shared houses are quite reasonable & it will be an opportunity to stand on your own two feet and not be supporting them all the time!!
I know its hard when you few tired, ill & low to chase people but try & summon some energy to chase things like prescription charges as it will make a differece. If you ring keep a note of who you spoke to, when etc & I would personally ring & speak to the manager to get this sorted.

I am charging my brother interest, just what I'd get if it was in savings as I think that's fair. I can't move out unfortunately, otherwise I'd probably try - I can't look after myself due to my disability and it'd probably make me worse for now.

In_Search_Of_Me wrote: »

Heres my thoughts on your SOA:

Outgoing
Contact Lenses - £22 I dont have them but this seems high
Health Insurance - £22 What is the form on this paying out for current conditions as its alot every month...
Laptop Insurance - £12.99 eek!! Do you really need this? You can get a new laptop for 300!
O2 - £19.99 - seems high - I have PAYG & pay about 10 every couple of months but only use it in an emergency
DVD Rental - £14.99 again quite a lot to pay when youre skint!
Car Insurance - £30 seems good!
Car Tax - £10.50
Petrol - £60+ Can you cut down on petrol at all? Have you done cheapest petrol finder?
CC (3 payments left) - £50 yeah! Nearly there! Well done
Car Repairs - £20 (try if possible) earning lovely interest?!!
Clothes - £20 (try if possible) as above!
Total = £242.47

What about rent , food etc? If you have a disability are you eligible for DLA or money towards car, any extra benefits etc?

I hope you sort this as I'm sure its a worry for you. Like others have said do try & hassle the consultant etc t find out what is wrong. Lynzpower had alot of experience of probs with work so maybe pm her for some advice/info or try your college for some advice. Big hugs for you

* The health insurance I have to continue until June - it was worth it for this year as I got a lot when I was in hospital. Actually, I have one claim I can make at the moment - I hadn't even thought of it so that's £66 to come.
* Need the laptop insurance as it's £1k's worth and I drag it around uni so I need to know it's covered as I'm stuffed without it.
* O2 should be £15 (the simplicity tariff) but they keep charging insurance
* Car Insurance, Tax, Repairs are all saved through the year at 5.05%

I get low rate DLA - this pays for £20 food (intolerances make food expensive so I help out), £20 to treat mum (she's my carer and has to do a lot for me) and £28 is usually swallowed by prescriptions or medical care.
I'm owed about £1000 in Working Tax Credit because I stretched myself (stupid I know) to work 16 hours for three months to get the extra money. Still fighting that one.

Everything just seems to be so hard, I just need a break so I can finish this year at uni. Then the summer I can increase my hours again and get WTC again for four months which will see me through winter.

Gemmzie

floss2 wrote: »

What I meant was the loan you made to your brother, that he's paying back by November....can he pay that direct to your parents to help them out, and allow you to keep the April £1500 to live off?

But thinking out loud, that would mean you have to committ to another term at uni.....

Have you been able to speak to Student Welfare & your tutor yet?

I've spoken to the academic counsellor, am having a telephone meeting with tutor tomorrow.

LilDevil

Gemmzie wrote: »

I'm with Specsavers - they said £22 is the cheapest for dailies, they aren't a particularly strong or special prescription either.

£10 for monthly ones, could you not change over - I know it's a bit more of a faff, but for the sake of £12, it would be worth it!

I'm not sure about DDA, I should be as I do have a disability which makes work difficult, but the main reason they are teasy about time off is because I was off for 8 weeks in the summer for an ortho operation which is unrelated.

If you have been diagnosed with a disability, then you can have them under the DDA. Also, they should not be taking previous illnesses into account.

I am covered as I have adenomyosis (part of the endometriosis family) and cannot stand up at certain times of the month.

You can get more info about the DAA and your rights from www.drc.org.uk/

andan

Hi Gemmzie, so sorry to hear your not well and really hope they get to the bottom of it and you on to the road to recovery. I have no advice to offer you i'm afraid and you always seem to know a lot!

However yes, you can sell your Amazon vouchers on ebay, i do it all the time and you always get near the proper price for them. I'd be a bit careful selling them in high denominations such as £50 as there are some scammers out there. I've had this nearly happen to me twice and they were both on £10 vouchers! They receive the code, use it then claim their money back through paypal. But you can sell any vouchers on ebay so may be worth it if you've got any more as well.

Elliesmum

Hi Gemmzie

I think everyone here has already echoed any advise/help I would have given so I'm just sending you some :grouphug: to hopefully make you feel better.

EM xx

Gemmzie

andan wrote: »

Hi Gemmzie, so sorry to hear your not well and really hope they get to the bottom of it and you on to the road to recovery. I have no advice to offer you i'm afraid and you always seem to know a lot!

However yes, you can sell your Amazon vouchers on ebay, i do it all the time and you always get near the proper price for them. I'd be a bit careful selling them in high denominations such as £50 as there are some scammers out there. I've had this nearly happen to me twice and they were both on £10 vouchers! They receive the code, use it then claim their money back through paypal. But you can sell any vouchers on ebay so may be worth it if you've got any more as well.

They are all £50 ones and scammers is what I was afraid of.

misspoppy

Hi Gemzie

I don't really have any advice but I wanted to let you know I was thinking of you. I have a chronic condition which fortuneatly is under control at the moment but if I over do it, it jumps up and screams at me. I'm sure this is probably whats happening to you right now.

If i'm right you have worked tirelessly helping your M&D to get sorted financially and so I'm surprised you've got to the stage where you are subbing both them and your brother. Their problems are not your responsibility and whilst its hard you should probably repeat that over and over until you stop lending them money which is simply consolidation in another guise which is not very DFW!!

Just another thought are you on the right DLA if you have got worse could you not make another claim?

Take care
M

In_Search_Of_Me

Just a thought - when was your DLA last assesed? It sounds as if things have deteriorated & it may be worth you looking at having a new assesment to see whether the banding has changed & this may help all of you. Would you be eligible for a blue badge, moblity payments etc? If you cannot look after yourself then if you are struggling at home you have even more reason to look at some kind of support package in the community if thats what is needed. Just because you have a disability does not mean that you have to live at home forever! Thats what the benefts system is for to a degree - for people who need it at a time of need! Not like you're swinging the rope but you do have to push for these things...hugs for you!

Gemmzie

I don't think I'd get any further help, as I don't need help at night which seems to be the deciding factor for middle rate.
I'd get WTC if I worked 16 hours which once I've finished studying, I can do. It seems that I'm being punished for studying at the moment.

floss2

Also, do you get the disabled students allowance? See the Student Finance website for details. And does your uni have a disability advisor, as they may be able to help you in other ways?