I cant afford my rent anymore!!

[Purplecrocsrock]

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?

Let him keep his gym membership. It’s not much in the grand scheme.

Between you you need to earn more money, don’t you? What’s his job? Can he get a day job instead?

When does he go to the gym? (Just curious).

TwoConsonants I didn't realise address impacted the premium. Although the OP sounds like she loves somewhere nice as not many places charge nearly £900 for a 2 bed in the North West. I assumed London when I first read the OP

It's madness how car insurance can vary so much, I have a 2litre gold tdi and my insurance is under £350 for the year, you definitely need to shop around then call up and haggle

Of course address impacts car insurance.
A car is far more likely to get stolen in London or Manchester say that on a tiny island off the top of Scotland.

We recently moved energy supplier (we are now with Out Fox The Market) and it’s now a third of the cost we had previously paying. It might be worth a look at doing that, every little bit can help. They don’t seem to be in comparison sites but a neighbour suggested them to us and I am glad they did!

www.outfoxthemarket.co.uk/Home.aspx

You can afford your rent, it’s the car insurance that you can’t afford. Just get rid of the car! Or at leasput it off the road and SORN it.

I can’t believe you asked the landlord for a rent reduction when you are paying that for car insurance!!!!

Everyone saying 'my insurance is £15 a month' obviously has a lot of years on the op!

With agency care work you could probably find a couple of 12 hour shifts each week. Different locations.

Not to mention that the op says she lives in a not so nice area, that will cause insurance to sky rocket.

True. My friend moved less than a mile, but her post code changed from a Croydon one to a London one. Her insurance went up by 30%.

Changing energy suppliers is a good call. Ask if friends have referral codes for different suppliers as they often give you a discount.
I have one for Bulb if you, or anyone else wants one. It gives you £50 credit on your first bill.

Can you get a Saturday job in a shop. It won’t be well paid but it may make the difference.
I’d speak to the landlord too.

Not just 'rough' areas - affluent areas also have high premiums!

This is because thieves may target these areas more due to types of cars there, also because these customers are more likely to claim for 'minor' things such as scratches and are happy to pay the hit on their premiums the following years. More claims in that area = higher premiums for everyone in that area + people with that type of car.

It is horrendously variable.

It takes him 45 minutes in the car to get to work, cycling would take 1 and a half hours, so that's out of question.
Ive reduced our energy payment this morning to 55 a month, downgraded our phones mine to 7pm, his to 11 pm.
Ive called the insurance and added my name, and thats reduced it by 35 a month surprisingly
Someone is wanting to swap cars, for a ford fiesta which will reduce insurance by an estimated 115 a month. So that's good. His gym will be staying he goes everyday, one hour his lunch break, then another hour on his other lunch.

And we live in Manchester. North. Fhe hoise price is ridiculous, but it was the only one available straight away as our previous Landlord sold the house, without warning us, then gave us 2 weeks to get out- whole different thread.

OP your car insurance makes no sense and it would be cheaper to get rid of your car, buy another second hand and use a comparison site to get cheaper insurance. As other posters have said the catalogue company cannot force you to pay your mother’s debt, so stop paying it.

bevelino op has already said they might be swapping the car.

The debt is in ops name so she does have to pay it (As wrong as that may be)

Well done OP! Shopping around makes such a difference.

As an aside, and it's too late now, but what your previous landlord did was very illegal indeed.

You can afford your rent, you can't afford gym membership and the car. Your budget doesn't allow for petrol/tax/mot.
On a 45 minutes each way commute petrol cost is going to be significant. I do 30 minutes each way on a fairly free flowing road, £25 a week easily.Did you run your insurance quote through the comparison sites? Even the monthly cost for the first and seems high.

*fiesta ggrrrr

I thought it might be Manchester. Is there really no option for your DP to use public transport? You've done well reducing the insurance cost but that's still a massive amount to pay out when you're struggling. Public transport could potentially be less.

You do also need to start meal planning if you don't already.

You're tied in with your rent and the LL can't/won't help.
What else is tied in?
phones?
gym membership?
Get rid/trade down on anything which you aren't tied to, and keep an eye on the contract dates so you can get rid of things as soon as possible. If you are on expensive phone contracts do you actually need wifi at the moment?

You need to work on this in both directions: cut down expenditure as well as try to increase income.

I feel for you OP. It will get better, but it will take time and a slightly different mindset: start with the cheapest of everything as your default rather than going for the closest/easiest option, and then trade up when you have the money to do so.

PPs are right about prioritising rent over debts, but there is a downside to that. If your credit rating gets screwed, it can make it very hard to find a new place. Letting agencies almost always run a credit check (which they make you pay for, of course).

Cancelling the gym, getting a car that's cheaper to run and having one of the debts paid off next month would make a massive difference. The gym fee alone is enough to feed one of you for a week.

Then budget: use uSwitch to get the cheapest deal on your energy, get cheaper phone contracts or go sim only if you've paid for your phones, meal plan and batch cook, don't use ANYTHING disposable apart from nappies - you're literally throwing money away, shop in budget supermarkets, buy fruit and veg in street markets. There's loads of ideas online for saving money.

Getting some p/t work is an obvious option, but if you're on universal credit, you'll lose 63% of everything you earn. By the time you've factored in work-related expenses, you may find the game's not worth the candle.

I’d consider looking at getting a smaller car . What would car insurance for a smaller car? Could you sell/ scrap the one you have and get a small loan to buy a car. The tax will also be cheaper. I know it’s more money but you’d probably be better off. Alternatively can’t your dh cycle /walk to work? Would buses and taxis cheaper?

Yes it’s shit. I’ve been there. Pre child. I had to leave a job I loved with good prospects for one l hated and no prospects as it paid better.

As for the catalogue, the company banked on you being naive and not knowing your rights. I’d be looking into seeing if you can recoup the money from them as it sounds as though you’ve all but finished paying off the debt. The cab may be able to help on that front.

Your DH is being a dick refusing to cancel the gym and now getting a parking ticket

You can afford rent. You can’t afford a dick husband with the wrong priorities

I can’t believe he is being so stubborn to not give up the gym.
He clearly thinks that his needs are a higher priority than that of yours and your child.

If he wants to do something at his lunch break why not go for a run. That’s free.