Just when I thought I'd got it all sorted...this is unbelievable

Bumbelina

I spent most of yesterday working out my financial plan and felt really pleased when I'd done it. There was enough left over after covering all the essential outgoings and a bit of spending money to make quite good progress with the debts.

Today, three things happened which made me think that someone up there is laughing at my futile efforts to get back in control of my life. With astonishing timing:

1. A letter arrived from the tax credits office saying that they've been overpaying us by about £200 a month and will therefore be withholding that amount until it's been recouped.

2. I bounced a cheque on my parents. They lent us £500 a few weeks ago when my husband was changing his business from a company to a partnership and for 'technical reasons' the bank closed his business account so he couldn't pay himself for 2 weeks. I wrote them a cheque as soon as I could and the bank bounced it because there were uncleared funds in the account when the cheque was presented, although these have since cleared. There can't have been more than a day's overlap - banks are such f****** b******s.

3. I got an email from my main customer saying that from January they are reducing the rates they will be paying to freelancers (of which I'm one) on my most lucrative product, so effectively I will be another £200 a month down.

I can't quite believe that this has happened the day after I sorted it all out. Yes, I do feel sorry for myself and yes, the fact that I'm in this financial situation is mostly my own fault, but will God/life/the universe just please give me a break? I've had breast cancer and bowel cancer, and I've lost a baby to cot death 9 years ago and people keep telling me I've had my share of s**t but it just keeps on coming and coming and coming....I've been driving around today with tears pouring down my face - it's a miracle I didn't crash - I don't know how much more of this I can take.

The saving we were due to make in Jan by the end of the childminding fees has now been more than swallowed up by all this stuff and now we won't even be able to meet our essential outgoings, let alone pay any of the debt.

My mum and dad, bless them, have written off the £500.

Nelski

Cant offer any real advice here bumbelina though I know there will be lots offered very very soon. I just wanted to say cos I figured you needed one.

Just a thought if you are a freelancer is there anything you could do between now and Jan to secure another client? How do you sell - are you dependant on one client?

Bumbelina

No, I have others but the publishing industry is not very well paid and that was my best-paid regular job by a long way. The other work I have is paid at a lower rate but I can't afford to tell them to shove it - publishers tend to have fixed fees that they are prepared to pay to freelancers and are not willing to negotiate because they can just get someone else who will do the job for less.

Maybe it's time to find another job, but don't know what else I could do.

Shadowplay_2

Can i just ask... are you a freelance writer?

both me and my mum are writers and the pay is petty bad. we both have other day jobs. maybe you could hit the industry for a while... office work etc. rubbish i know :mad:

Bumbelina

No, I'm a technical editor on legal journals and texts. Normal rate of pay for this kind of work seems to be about £14 an hour, but I've been getting around £20 for the job I mentioned. Sorry if this upsets people who are on less - I know that I'm probably getting more than the average - but I spent 5 years at uni and am a qualified lawyer. I had to leave private practice as a solicitor because was heading for a nervous breakdown so please don't tell me to go back to that because I couldn't.

I currently work about 25 hours a week because have a pre-school child but am planning to increase this to full time in January. The increase will not be enough to make up the shortfall now, however, so I don't know what I'm going to do. Can't think about it rationally at the moment.

johannamse

Hey Bumbelina,

Sorry to hear things arnt going so well. I could offer some platitudes, but what the fact is that Life is just !!!!ty sometimes.

I remember reading your other post - but cannot remember - are you and hubby dealing with this together?? Talking this through with him (and us) will help you get your head clear.

Sorry cannot be more help.

GGGGGGGRRRRRRRRR....why do the tax credit people make so many mistakes...dont they realize they are messing with people's lives. Maybe in your capacity as a lawyer you shold sue Tony Blair!!!

Bumbelina

Feel like suing God at the moment - sorry God, didn't mean that really...please don't hurt me again....

Hubby has been away on business all day today and won't be back until very late, so haven't had chance to tell him the whole of it yet.

taplady

i really feel for you b ,life can be really sh*t sometimes.Cant really offer any advice other than to keep going and dont let the b******s grind you down!Have been in a similar position through various illness' and just when things seem to look up something happens to kick you in the teeth :wall:
We thought we'd got things sorted and then had a similar spot of bother with tax credits which is still being sorted :mad:

I'm sure you'll get lots of sound advice here and at least you can have a good moan with folks who know what its like!

I hope things look up for you ! :grouphug:

tom_and_barbara_good

You sound angry and peed off in equal measure - time to start kicking back I think. You have been so positive in your previous posts so don't crumble now, you have the determination to pick yourself up and carry on, you've done it before healthwise so you can do it, you're tough.
Firstly, do you have anything to sell? if you have books you don't want get them listed on Amazon, you don't need photos and there is no fee charged till you sell them, you could get some listed tonight, it will take you 5 minutes to get started and 2 or 3 minutes to list each book, if you've never considered it have a look at this thread.
Do you have anything to sell on ebay? there is plenty of help on the ebay board if you are new to it.
Have you looked at the Old Style board? I know that you've cut down on your groceries but you might be able to tweak a little more
What about mystery shopping? you can do this with your other tasks, again there is info on this site, just use the search facility
I know that you've discussed the childrens saving fund before but I really think that you have to suspend this for a year or 2, you can always pick it up again and if you get to be really flush you can make it up later, you can add this amount to the snowballing fund and get out of this hole even quicker. if it will make you happier, just put a token amount away, a fiver or tenner just so you keep the habit.
If you are still strapped for cash when it's time for them to go to Uni there will be help with fees etc so it's not as if they can't go if you don't have the money saved, let it go for a while

ceegee

Bumbelina.......you are not alone, you know......there are many, many people in the same boat as you.......year after year after year of tragedy and "misfortune". Sometimes I feel that everything is so very, very unfair. But things are what they are. Some things you cannot change. You must concentrate your efforts into things that you can change. Please don't waste your energy and effort on things that you can't do anything about. I know that it is hard, but you must persevere. .....and it will take time!

All the best to you....I know what it feels like to be swamped.

ceegee

headchef

Or go to the bottle bank and really shove those bottles down the holes! Don't know why smashing crockery is so cathartic.