Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

I cant afford my rent anymore!!

232 replies

Purplecrocsrock · 10/08/2018 21:00

Me and DH, and DD whos 14 months signed contract 4 months ago £875 a month, DH earns around £1600 a month, but we have been constantly living in the credit card since we moved in, paying energy/council tax/water and car insurance has just increased by 40 per month.
What will happen if we find somewhere cheaper, with the contract we have signed for 12 months here?

OP posts:
AdoraBell · 10/08/2018 22:03

Does your DH understand how tight the finances are, or does he have his head in the sand? Can you sit down with him and go through everything ?

Then look at getting a cheaper car, cut out the gym unless he is using it almost everyday, try to get better deals on utilities and contact someone like Step Change for advise or just someone to talk through the finances.

LonelyStranger · 10/08/2018 22:03

Purple- the car insurance is a lot, but I moved from the south west to the north west and the insurance sky rocketed for me (10 years ago), I couldn’t believe it.

Also, I would have a friendly chat with landlord, FIL had a tennant who was going through some hardship, and FIL kindly took less rent for a while. Worth a shot maybe?

lalalalyra · 10/08/2018 22:03

Your car insurance is mad.

Also, speak to the two debt companies and negotiate that down. £250 on an £1800 a month salary is very high. It'll take you longer but will give you a bit of breathing room.

Chalady · 10/08/2018 22:04

Your local hospital may be recruiting bank staff, if you have experience. You could probably earn a fair bit there.

MissCharleyP · 10/08/2018 22:05

Across it can be hard to find p/t work like that though. Assuming he works 3 days pw, it might not necessarily be the same three days. My ex’s EXW worked 3 x 12 hour shifts but would be Mon, Tues, Wed, off Thurs, Fri, Sat, in Sun, Mon, Tues and so on. Very hard to fit in a job when you can’t commit to the same times week in, week out.

OP your rent is huge, I paid less than that in a well-heeled commuter town in the south east half an hour from London. Your car insurance is insane! Gym need to go, is there a Pure or Gym Group near you? They’re usually about £20 per month.

AudaciousCockerel · 10/08/2018 22:05

I really think you need to go and do something about that insurance. We had a 3ltr Vectra and we paid £50 a month for two drivers. Granted we've been driving a while, but you shouldn't be paying anywhere NEAR that for the car you have.

It takes 5 minutes to do a comparison, please, please check. And maybe consider having a frank discussion about the gym membership too.

arethereanyleftatall · 10/08/2018 22:06

If your husband is asleep at 7pm but home, I can't understand why this means you can't get an evening job?

Original poster
Purplecrocsrock · 10/08/2018 22:08

Thanks everyone really appreciate your advice, going to go to sleep now and hopefully get things sorted tomorrow- the phones/wifi and energy can and will be reduced. No one ever died from not having wifi or a phone!
He uses the gym daily yes- I've just text him and asked him to look for a cheaper gym max 15.
He also replied to tell me he has just received a parking ticket woohoo.
Goodnight all

OP posts:
lazymum99 · 10/08/2018 22:09

Rent arrears are a priority debt. they come over all others. Send a budget sheet to your creditors and negotiate the payments down. Switch energy suppliers. If your DH just bought a diesel car that is going to be difficult to sell now. But your car insurance is huge.
Use Turn2us website to check you are getting maximum benefits.
Take ironing in.

AudaciousCockerel · 10/08/2018 22:09

Sorry but I think you're bonkers to get rid of your wifi if your partner is still paying £35 for the gym.
He needs to go running, because that's free.

LifeImplosionImminent · 10/08/2018 22:11

Are you allowed to sub let or take a lodger for the 2nd room? Just till the rental period is complete?

IVA if your back rent builds up?

I don't know but fingers crossed to you.

hibbledibble · 10/08/2018 22:12

At that insurance price it would be cheaper to scrap the car and get a cheap old banger that is cheap to insure, eg a Peugeot 206

Also you could try to sign up to your local hospital as a bank healthcare assistant. The pay can be very good, and you can choose your own hours.

avuncularis · 10/08/2018 22:13

So many posters are adamant the gym membership has to go, but it could be a false economy. He's the current breadwinner working long shifts, and how do you know the gym isn't a very important part of how he manages his mental health as well as his physical health, helping him to keep his job down and honour other commitments to his little family? I don't mean to suggest that the OP doesn't need something for herself, I know being at home with a toddler and keeping a home is a full-time job in itself. But I do think it's too easy to say the gym membership is an unnecessary luxury. We don't know how important that space might be to him, how much it might help their coping skills as a family in this stressful economy we're in.

Longdistance · 10/08/2018 22:14

What you’re paying in car insurance in a year is more than what the car is worth. Gym membership can fuck off too. You need a roof over your heads and that comes first.

Stick it out for the year, and then move on elsewhere, somewhere cheaper.

speakout · 10/08/2018 22:14

You have a baby, a man who goes to the gym every day and a "trophy" car that he can't afford.

Hmm
arethereanyleftatall · 10/08/2018 22:16

@avuncularis
You can get all of those health benefits you detail from the gym, by going for a run.
Or, depending, cycle to work and declare the car otr. double win.

ReservoirDogs · 10/08/2018 22:16

My phome package from Virgin is £7 per month

SometimesMaybe · 10/08/2018 22:16

Cancel gym
Sell car
Use reusable wipe (get a couple of bamboo ones from amazon and wash). Over 3/4 months you will have enough.
Try to reduce food budget (but if you can have enough for a Friday night treat).
Try and get any sort of job you can.

Are you claim8ng everyth8ng you are entitled to?

Keep WiFi if at all possible.

Original poster
Purplecrocsrock · 10/08/2018 22:16

Not exactly a trophy car it was the cheapest he could find at 320 pounds. He was trying to do his best.
We aren't in arrears its just very very tight but we will be ok.

OP posts:
LeftRightCentre · 10/08/2018 22:19

Oh, fgs, avun, they can't pay their rent! The gym and anything besides essentials has to go. Mental health is not improved by homelessness.

Nicknacky · 10/08/2018 22:23

Your £320 car is 3k a year in insurance?!

QuestionableMouse · 10/08/2018 22:24

Third party insurance isn't always cheaper. I always check and it would have been more then fully comp for me.

SoftSheen · 10/08/2018 22:27

How on earth can you be paying £240/month insurance on a car that cost £320? Surely £240 is for the whole year? Even my 17 year old niece pays >£1800 per annum, and she has only just passed her test!

SoftSheen · 10/08/2018 22:30

Sell the car, buy a bike with the proceeds, cycle to work, cancel gym membership. That saves £280 pcm.

Warpdrive · 10/08/2018 22:31

OP someone else has asked, does your tenancy have a break clause?. Please check your contact. You may have the ability to give notice at the 6 month mark, you’d be able to leave then with no penalty.

If you really can’t afford the house, speak to the landlord and ask if he would agree that you leave before the end of the contracted period.