Advice needed, please

[NeedMoneyAdvice]

DH and I have just found out we are about to lose £500 a month income.

I had started another thread, but I was advised to come here for some advice. We don't know what we are going to do and I wondered if anyone could help us. Name changed because lots of these details would out us.

We have just taken on an 18 month lease with a letting agent. We have spoken to them this morning, and we cannot break this. We could simply not pay, but we would lose our deposit, and would struggle to find a landlord that would take us on if we did this.

We currently earn about £30k between us, take home about £23k.

Rent is £1000
Council Tax is £200
Gas and Electricity is £190
Phone/Broadband is £50
Childcare is (currently) £350
Car insurance is £60
Car payment is £140
Petrol around £80
Home insurance is £20
Gym membership is £75

Think that is everything. Obviously, this leaves us over budget. I genuinely don't know what we will do without this money?

We aren't entitled to any benefits, including WTC and CTC.

I genuinely don't know what to do.

She said Scotland, she said big city, she said very edge of city where public transport was petering out.

I don't think she actually confirmed Edinburgh.

But surely Edinburgh most expensive Scottish city?

Ah, my mistake.

Hard to keep up!

Even before you lost this £500 pm you were still living beyond your means. Gym membership, expensive mobile phones and high rent, were unnecessary expenses. I don't understand how you can commit to those things when you are on such low income and working 2 or 3 jobs and already in debt.

Now you are in this situation, however difficult or uncomfortable this may be, you have to make some drastic changes very quickly. You have been given loads of advice about getting our of the contracts but you also need to look at work. Not sure how much your DH earns (11 or 20k) but maybe he needs to quit the study and get a better paid job. If you are unwilling or unable to move house, then you have to change school. That will save loads in travel. If you give up work (I have no idea how much you actually earn) you will save travel, car and childcare. I suspect that would leave you better off, especially if there is some work you can do from home.

There's no magic wand here.

Edinburgh is expensive, but no so expensive that you have to pay that much per month to be near a decent school. Unless you live in a palace.

*not so expensive

If it is Edinburgh, you don't need a gym do you? Everything is on your doorstep, it's a tiny city, plenty of free exercise (plenty of free everything really). You'll get free education, dentist, prescriptions, eye care.

You could set up a cleaning business tomorrow - stop your other jobs (whether it's two or three), make more than the pittance you're getting and not be in a position where your next stage of relying on someone could blow up in your face too. What happens when your 'friend' with the newborn decides she can't take yours for free for 2 days a week? You could take all of that out of the equation by becoming completely self-employed (and, after all, you are very fit and deny that anything could possibly derail you with pregnancy or post-pregnancy).

I was in Edinburgh a few days ago - I'd say I saw ads for shop staff in about 10 places on Princes Street, more on the outskirts (Livingston), and there is always a demand for seasonal staff.

Accept your rent and council tax, as you don't want to do anything about that. Get all your baby stuff on Facebay, start a cleaning business (you can do that pretty much immediately - again, advertise on Facebay), get cheaper phone contracts and get out of the gym ones (you can do this - get advice if you can't do it yourself, stop saying it's impossible).

Oh look we're back to the palace theme again. Must be balmoral!

Balmoral isn't in Edinburgh. It is 100 miles away - too far for anyone to commute for the school run.

OP I just wanted to give you a big hug. I am sorry that this has happened to you, and I am sorry too that people on mumsnet have been unkind. I think some people are impatient and blunt, and others just enjoy being a cunt. (That rhymes!)

There are some good suggestions here amongst the dross - particular debt/housing charities - so I have nothing substantial to add to that. I just wanted to wish you good luck and enjoy your new baby when it comes. I hope this situation is temporary and that when your DH gets sorted things will get easier. xxx

Can you check your post-tax pay? Even one person earning 30k should take home just over 23k: with two tax free allowances then between you you really shouldn't be paying so much tax - unless there is something else coming out of the gross? Do you know why you are not entitled to any help? e.g. is it because your total hours aren't enough to qualify for help? Your total hours may make a big difference (a good reason to see CAB - even a small change in your hours could make a difference to entitlements if you are close to a threshold - they will be able to explain properly to you why you aren't entitled to anything and if there is anything you can do to change that).

You can definitely do better on energy. We are in an old draughty Victorian terraced house with mainly single glazing and a large flat roofed extension that leaks heat like crazy. We just switched to Ovo and will be paying less than 100/month (about 2/3 gas, 1/3 elec). For a 2 bed flat even if it's in an old/poorly insulated building I'd be amazed if you can't halve what you are paying. "Which" have a good switching site to find out if you can get a better deal: but it may also be a case of really cutting your use. We do wear jumpers inside quite a bit in winter, and in the summer only have the heating on quickly in mornings and evenings to give us enough hot water for showers/washing up, but it's no hardship - it will just take a bit of time to adjust what you are used to.

I would also try to push again on the gym and phone. Ask to speak to managers - explain you have a problem for a year and need to lower outgoings. If they have any sense they should prefer to keep you as a good long term customer by cutting you some slack now than to screw you over for a year and then lose you forever. I have read about lots of people managing to downgrade packages for example, even if they can't get out of them altogether.

Do you have anything you can sell, just to tide you over for the next year?

The biggest expense is obviously the car: are you 100% sure about not being able to do without that? It sounds like your OH doesn't use it - it's just for your job and the school run, is that right? That would be a huge expense off your list even just in petrol and insurance, even if it still left you with some kind of repayment to make ... is there any way you can rejig your and DH's hours so one of you does school drop off and the other one does pick up to give you a bit more travel time? Would a bicycle be an option? It sounds like you live in a city, so even if you had to do the occasional emergency taxi that could be much cheaper than having the car (which is costing you nearly 300 a month before you even think about any maintenance, parking or anything else). Otherwise can you apply for jobs closer to home after the baby arrives so that the car could go when you start mat leave?

I would second the advice to go and see CAB with all your details (all your historic expenses, how your earnings split between your two jobs and your OH's job, hours for each of you and the after-school clubs, etc.) and go through it in more detail with somebody in person. I guess if really none of these options work then at some point you may need to simply stop paying some bills (gym, phone) and then arrange a longer repayment plan for the resuting debts based on your earnings, for example - but if your OH works in finance you need to fully work through the implications of whatever you do. Somebody at CAB (or on MSE) will be able to advise much better than anybody here can.

Good luck - it sounds stressful but it's good that your starting to figure this out now and not when you are already up to your neck in debt. Take a few days to let all these ideas settle in - you may find that new ideas occur to you once you are out of panic mode and have had more time to think about it and have spoken to more people.

PrimalLass - I don't think you'd have mobile contracts in Balmoral either, that'd be seen as a bit common (you'd just get staff to carry messages on silver trays), so just ignore all of my top notch advice .

I think everyone's just a bit frustrated because op doesn't seem to be taking any of the advice.

As my mother always said you can't rely on money you haven't earned yourself.

We could have done with your mother right at the beginning of the thread fluffy

I am glad there gave been some kinder posts. This thread is a perfect example about why MN should have a Hide Poster function.

OP, I hope everything sorted. Maybe you should try MSE again. They are usually helpful although also quite blunt at times.
There are dozens of people on MSE that have fucked up made mistakes-- you are NOT alone! The phones and the gym memberships were clearly not the best decision but it's a very common mistake to make.

The main thing is to ensure you fully understand your financial situation and what options are available to you. It takes time and work - difficult when you are so busy and 8 months pregnant.

I don't know if you are still reading this - I probably would have hidden the thread.

Typo
I hope everything gets sorted.

.

I think no matter where she goes the OP is not going to get the help and support she needs unless she is clear, open and honest about the facts and figures here. Nobody can advise properly unless they have that detail.

DreamingAlice has summed it up perfectly.

I don't think we can soverylucky as those facts will never be forthcoming.

The £48,000 from her 'tight' fil has gone and I think we were all meant to say how awful that was, and how to get it back, rather than give practical suggestions.

Just crawled through both threads...argh!

Firstly - your DH job is taking the biscuit. I don't think I can be much different age wise to you guys. 3 years ago when I was graduating I applied for various grad jobs where you do in house training (for accounting). I was offered several of them, average salary for starting out in the accounting ones was £21k. No way no how should he be earning £11k as you've said. He needs to look in to a new job. He needs to find out what the situation would actually be with repaying too - many companies have this in their contracts but don't actually do it (in my industry it's in all contracts but the industry as a whole doesn't reclaim at the moment). Even if they can reclaim, unless he has signed a credit agreement then they can only dock his last pay them come to an arrangement for the rest

Secondly - you need a new job. If you are in Edinburgh as suggested upthread then you need to start applying for new jobs. If you're 8 months preg and only taking a few weeks maternity then start now, getting a job takes time. What about some of the call centres - will pay better than bar work, some quite well, generally flexible hours etc. Get someone to help you who knows financial services and what they look for. I work in the industry in the area, I'll help if you want

Thirdly, if you are in Edinburgh then staying where you are for DS school is pointless, as you will be classed as out of catchment for the high school anyway. Feeder primaries don't really exist - the catchment for a high school is generally the catchment for several primaries but that's it. He's not guaranteed a place.

Fourth - you need to speak to the letting agents. Pronto. It's not debatable, you can't afford that rent. You need to move to somewhere on bus routes (plenty of those in Edinburgh), within walking distance of a school and get rid of the car.

Fifth - as others have said, call the gym and ask to put your membership on hold/suspension. Most of them do this. If not, lie and say you are moving waaay out of the area to somewhere which doesn't have a branch. They'll generally cancel (got out of Virgin this way!!)

As far as the phone/broadband bills and gas and electric. Have you tried the Utility Warehouse? I pay £250 per month for gas, electric, phone, mobile and broadband and I live in a large 5 bed house and keep it very warm due to being a forriner!!! Hope this helps

Can someone link to other thread please?

Two bed flat, Edinburgh, £200 a month council tax?

It's gone up by quite a lot!