To ask how people afford plumbers or new fridges?

[coldinside]

I need a plumber to look at a drain blockage in my bathroom (have already tried to clear it myself to no avail) and my fridge has broken so needs replaced. But I’m wondering how I can even afford these things. I earn £1979 per month and my bills are as follows:

Mortgage £620.48
Council tax £125
Income protection insurance £17.48
Car tax £16.62
Gas £20
Electricity £40
Broadband £23.99
Mobile phone £10.50
TV licence £29.08
Counselling £100
Petrol £150
Parking £80
Dentist £20
House management fee £20
Car insurance £45
Home insurance £43.25
Credit card £200

This leaves me with a total of £417 per month to feed myself and a dog, to buy clothes, shoes and toiletries. I can’t save any money each month and I have no idea how I will pay for a fridge (£530) and plumber. AIBU?

I would say the BBC are morally bankrupt....
They created a fee to watch a TV, increased that fee year after year until it is a significant bill for a lot. Pretend they have vans parked in streets that can tell you have the tele on and will send people to your house. All to keep people in line and now it's all unravelled and people are cancelling in the millions, theres no vans, no one can come into your house. I'm happy to be morally bankrupt if it means not paying a made up fee that fund paedophiles 🤷‍♀️

But obviously keep paying it if you want...

As a PP said, it's expensive living on your own and on a fairly low wage. I made a list of all my outgoings and I reckoned it costs me about £300 a month more to live on my own compared to if I lived with another adult (and that was assuming we both still paid the same amount of mortgage).

How I afford these things if quite simply I earn more than you and have done for quite a long time and have savings accrued! I earn £3300 a month and compared to yours my outgoings are:
Mortgage £620.48 - £600
Council tax £125 - £213 (includes water & sewage charges)
Income protection insurance £17.48 - £88.55 (that's life insurance too)
Car tax £16.62 - £17
Gas £20
Electricity £40 - £90 (gas & elec although might be cheaper, i've just switched supplier)
Broadband £23.99 - £46 (includes TV)
Mobile phone £10.50 - £45
TV licence £29.08 - £14.50
Counselling £100 - £0
Petrol £150 - £40 maybe, a tank lasts me weeks
Parking £80 - £0
Dentist £20 - £30
House management fee £20 - £55 (includes buildings insurance)
Car insurance £45 - £21
Home insurance £43.25 - £7
Credit card £200 - £0

I also pay:
boiler cover £27.50
savings / ISA £450
gym £65
amazon prime £8.99

which gives me a total outgoings of £1800 a month which is nearly what you earn. But my savings each month would buy a fridge if needed! (I haven't included bus fares to work)

Stop paying and STOP WATCHING LIVE TV, STOP RECORDING LIVE TV AND STOP WATCHING IPLAYER

Don't play the system and don't encourage others to play the system

Doing this makes you morally bankrupt, like....oh yes....like the BBC 🙄

Maybe OP is a honest person though, and/or doesn’t like the idea of a huge fine if caught.

I too don’t have a TV licence. That’s because I don’t watch live broadcasts on any device and don’t own a TV.

If I were doing any of the above, I’d buy the licence.

The fact you can't be 'caught' is not a reason to break the law. I find your posts quite offensive because someone will have to pay those fees to fund the BBC unless it changes to subscription.

You could use the same 'logic' to steal all sorts of things simply because you don't like the people running the organisation.

There never were detector vans.

The fact your TV is in full view is nonsense because they can't demand entry to a house anyway. TV in view or not. Having a TV on show doesn't equate to watching it.

Try Mr Muscle drain and sink unblocker for the sink. If it doesnt work then you may need to clean out the sink trap - video here

Right ladies, I'm not here to discuss the pros and cons of TV licences, i need a bit more cofee before that. It's a fact that it's all made up nonsense and people pay out of fear of 'being caught'.
Let's not derail this ladies thread by turning it into a thread about TV licences, it's not, she's asking for help paying for extra expenses.

In your shoes I would stop the counselling or go half as often.

Can you move the credit card debt elsewhere to reduce the payment?

Fridge I would get on interest free if possible, and I would get a cheaper one.

But you started the conversation about not buying the licence. If you really believe what you've suggested, the fact your TV is visible form the road isn't an issue all.

People aren’t buying £540 fridges is the main thing - you can get a new fridge for under £120 and a fridge freezer for under £200. Second hand is tricky as they are hard to transport and sometimes don’t work well but you can get them from shops second hand (like pp said -BHF).
For me the thing that jumps out is car costs - your insurance is almost double mine plus my tax is £20 a year. The problem with that is you already have your can so trading it in for a cheaper pre 2017 low insurance group car will have a cost attached to it. I would get rid of the tv licence. There are a million things to watch on more4, ITVX, my5 etc. I would also unblock the drain myself - it’s not like installing a boiler, the plumber isn’t doing anything remarkable that you couldn’t learn.

I buy stuff like that from argos or very, and get 12 months interest free, then pay it off over 12 months.

Also 520 for a new fridge is crazy. Check your local frer sites and facebook market place, get one for free, you can often get pretty much new ones.

Yeah I'm always baffled by this, are people buying new clothes every single month? their houses must be over flowing. I don't buy stuff every month and my wardrobe is over flowing with clothes.

I get it for children who constantly grow and are very hard on clothing but barring underwear and shoes (specifically for me because I have a limp which ruins shoes) I could probably go the rest of my life without needing to buy new clothes.

Unless your a capsule minimalist or had massive weight changes then surely most people can live at least several year off whats in their wardrobe/drawers right now (and minimalist are so because they don't constantly buy stuff, only occasionally as replacements when needed).

Sorry you’re struggling.
when my fridge broke at a really inconvenient time, I bought its replacement from John Lewis and applied for the finance option. It couldn’t wait as it died in the middle of a heatwave after more than 20 years faithful service. I miss it. It was a banging and really expensive fridge - my new one isn’t what I would have wanted but I wasn’t in a position at the time to be choosy.
It cost me £25 a month over 2 years. Just finished paying for it. I was so relieved.
This may help with the new fridge

I hope better days are on the horizon for you.

Loses the argument and tells us all to stop talking about the subject.....🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Off you pop and get your coffee, lovey

I said to the OP she doesn't have to pay her TV licence, I didn't say right everyone start discussing TV licences and stop helping OP.
If someone did come to the door, because they do, they can see my TV on before knocking at the door so will have proof I have watched it so could get a fine (a fine they made up but can enforce if they have proof).
I was saying to OP if they can't see your TV there isn't anything they can do, no checks they can do, no entering your house, so many people have cottoned onto them these days.
But again, let's not make OP thread about TV licences.

Why so? Surely it depends on the individual SH one on offer?

Like with SH cars - somebody could be looking to offload a money pit or they're just very comfortably off and fancied the new model or a different colour, even though there's nothing wrong with the old one.

Hopefully she'll pay for the coffee.....

I didn't lose an argument, why are you trying to argue? I was pointing out we were being rude taking over this thread. Seriously, go and try and start arguments elsewhere.

Not a chance I’d risk it, especially if money is tight, because exactly as you say you have no way of knowing whether its on its way out which is why it’s being sold, or whether it was just a case of fancying a newer/different one.

At least buying a cheap one, direct from a Currys/AO etc, if anything goes wrong on day 3 it’s simply back to the shop.

Why are you recommending anyone not pay/steal?

You wouldn’t advise the OP to stick a balaclava on their head and run really fast to steal their food shopping from Aldi. Pay your bills 👍

I'm always astonished by the ways people justify dishonesty.

My "favourite" is "it's OK to steal from supermarkets because they rip off farmers"!!!

If they were actually concerned about farmers they'd buy from farmers markets or something not steal!

I have just bought a new freezer (upright with drawers, white). It cost £248 delivered from Currys - there were fridges at similar prices. Where do you get £530 from?
Your budget is fine but paying so many things monthly is a cost since at least on some (e.g. car tax and insurance, TV licence) you will be paying extra for the privilege. Try to pay such items in full - it will be hard at first but is cheaper in the long run.
You could also buy clothes from e.g. Vinted. Shoes and boots buy the best you can and have them repaired if possible.

How often do you buy new. Clothes and shoes. I bought four work dresses three years ago and I have been wearing and washing them ever since. Won’t be buying new ones any time soon. Shoes and boots I have one pair per season which tend to last a couple of years. Jeans get from Vinted or charity shop.
Food. Is there a community pantry near you? They are all over the country and for a small fee you get bags of food.
look at the olio app or too good to go.
You can cut your spending

In your position I would look for a nearly new fridge locally and maybe investigate further down the drain for the blockage. I have a useful DH, a garage full of tools, drain rods and access to a van, which makes quite a difference. Proving it's expensive to be hard up. Hope you get sorted.