Anyone else feel they will lose everything now?

[SouthWestmom]

Dh earns a decent wage but with four kids and one at uni plus a high mortgage we have very little buffer. His job will probably go if the economy slows. I can't work because of caring duties. We probably have a full months worth of expenses in savings.

It's not just staying in for two weeks. It's if he loses his job. I just can't see us surviving months of this.

Landlord here. One property, which I inherited with the tenants. I'm core NHS, and also self-employed.

My self-employed income has just collapsed, leaving me with my part time NHS salary. Which I will be risking my health for in the next few months, and which is about a third of what would normally earn. Without that rent coming in, I can't survive.

I wish I could give the tenants a payment holiday, but it's not that easy.

I’m due a baby in seven weeks. I have two other small children. My husband owns a business which employs around 20 people. The government aren’t supporting him to support his staff. They just seem to be supporting big business/insurance companies.

I’m self employed. I feel very nervous.

@Motorina So what are you going to do then if tenants can't pay at the moment? Evict? Good luck in letting a property to new tenants in the next few months.........

If things look bad now, it will effect far more people if schols close and one parent has to stay home from work. Could use up holiday for a week or so but then loss of pay.

Just thinking this would effect so many people government would have to step in and help.

Santander is offering mortgage holidays as are TSB, Lloyds and Nat West. Don't know about others.

Hoping BofE cut mortgage rates again as on a tracker.

I'm self employed, and had 1 of my contracts terminated tonight. Another contractor has cancelled one shift, thankfully not the contract entirely. I'm terrified. Much love and respect to everybody here...I've got no answers

I work part time and my company had us all working from home from today anyway. I get £1100 a month. DP is a physio on a contract with a private clinic. Plus child benefit. He got sent home early today as people had cancelled. Suspect he will soon have no work at all. He can claim UC if not working, so another £290 a month? We have enough savings to pay our mortgage for 6 months. We can manage on this amount. We won't be going anywhere, so it is just food and utilities. So although it will use our savings, we will manage okay for up to 6 months.
But we are pretty risk averse so have always tried to manage our life financially so we can manage for a bit if anything goes wrong.
But something needs to be put in place to help people out. Maybe guaranteed mortgage holidays? Could insist buy to letters only get this if they suspend rents?

Tough times ahead.

@caringcarer Once teachers have to isolate for 12 weeks with certain conditions or who are pregnant, I don't see how they can all remain open as they will be so short staffed. Schools with more kids with a sahp are more likely to be able to cope as they will have less kids attending. But I just don't see how all schools will remain open.

yes- my DH has just completed cancer treatment and in also on ace inhibitors (but has recently run a marathon) but he will be refused treatment and will die. He pays £120,000 a year in tax minimum (max was 300k ) but is fully dispensable it seems.

I am self employed and will probably have no work after next week. I dont know what to do. I will have to make 2 staff redundant next week which is crap.

I’m self employed.
All contracts cancelled
Unlikely to work again before july.
We can’t survive on DHs salary.

No idea what I’m going to do

I got a text from my bank account telling me the ridiculous rate of interest for my overdraft . And this is just the beginning . I have a disability which prevents me from working ( or claiming pip) two kids with asd and self employed partner ..
It’s shit . And we rent . I doubt landlords will pass on any mortgage breaks as it’s probably nowhere near the amount of rental income

I got a letter from my bank saying they will give mortgage holidays, suspend lots of fees on overdrafts, let people access money with no penalty in fixed rate accounts.

Will I be able to claim on landlords insurance if our tenants can’t pay?

We won’t be evicting anybody and will reduce rent if needed.

@Pollaidh Engineering, I hope you are right! He is away interviewing right now and has had a couple cancelled and some changed to Skype. I feel awful, as well as general interview stress he had me crying down phone worried we will end up living in cardboard box (no pressure or anything!)

Aaaand, like Choux I've just had a text from the bank with the increased overdraft rate.

They really pick their moments, don't they?

Sorry if someone has suggested this already. Please send a quick email to your MPs to express your concerns. Hopefully, PM will do what some other countries have done, suspend mortgage payments, rent, gas and electricity bills (although I think the latter is for small businesses). It also makes sense for a Universal Wage to be paid to all those who need it.

Hi all, just to advise we have contacted (well DP has) council tax, car finance company and water rates so far which have all given 2 month payment holidays. All very understanding. We have more to contact but hopefully if they're all as understanding it may not be as bad as I initially thought. I don't know to what extent DPs job will suffer and this is before a total lockdown. I would expect everyone should be able to get the same response. Good luck and fingers crossed for everyone.

Have a large mortgage and outgoings. DH employed and relatively safe.

I'm freelance and an 50.50 - current project due to go live in two weeks and looks to be postponed. If postponed indefinitely, I'll be out of a job, If postponed with a date, I should be ok through the summer as the business is based in the UK and the rest of the team are abroad so I think I will be crucial.

However, I have a very large tax bill coming due in August for a company I closed before Christmas. If I were to lose my contract next week (indefinitely postponement) then we an keep going for six months if I don't pay the taxes.

If I can stay in contract until the summer, we should be ok for six months if the tax bill gets paid.

If we get low, we are lucky that DH can lift his final salary pension and my mum has already looked into getting money out of her house if we need it (only child and its my inheritance/pension)

however, DH and I have worked very hard rebuilding our lives after we both had horrific divorces that left us with nothing (not connected to each other at the time - no affairs). We moved into our first rented flat in 2012 with furniture we bought from a charity shop.

It feels like the secure future and life we've spent 8 years building is about to go bye bye.

I've said it before - and been slaughtered for it. I'm not 100% convinced saving 500K lives is worth decimating the future of the other 59.5 million people in the country,

I think we the situation will be clearer in 12 weeks and we will find a way through. Things are returning to normal in China now. Yes they will have further waves of it, but there is hope. Now is not the time to give up all hope. It has a v high survival rate and people are resilient.

I think people are not focusing on the survival rate enough and just the relatively small (even in Italy) death rate when you add in all the cases that are not known about.

@ACautionaryTale I suspect you would think differently if it was you or DH/family dying of respiratory failure

I'm not 100% convinced saving 500K lives is worth decimating the future of the other 59.5 million people in the country

You would feel differently if it was a friend or family member of yours who lost their life though.

However, as a self-employed person I do agree that the economic consequences of this are far more frightening than a virus that has so far killed 56 out of 66 million people in the UK and has a very high survival rate.

My business is in dire straits already thanks to the current situation and DH and I have no idea how we're going to get through the spring and summer months. I couldn't sleep last night as I'm so stressed that we will lose everything, including our home.

I think we the situation will be clearer in 12 weeks and we will find a way through. Things are returning to normal in China now.

Are the Chinese figures to be trusted though?

My mum is 79 so at risk due to age
My uncle is 79 and has uncontrolled type 2 diabetes and heart problems
My aunt is 82 and has uncontrolled type 2 diabetes and is very frail
my uncle is 83 and at risk due to age

My FIL is 86 and has end stage COPD and by rights should have been dead years ago (his doctors have no idea why he's still alive - he'll probably out live us all)

My DH is 60 and is low down in the high risk group - i.e. mild type 2 diabetes he's only recently been medicated for and low level high blood pressure which he takes medication for but was told he didn't have to yet,

So I do have people at risk - but I'm still not convinced it is all worth it,

Remember - even in the high risk groups, its still only 15-20% risk

I’m starting to think it’s been set up to crash the economy... weren’t we due another rug pulled out from under us, they’ve used the banker one and the war one.

@elizadoeslittle that's brilliant well done