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.

DH earns £20k (before tax)
I earn £10k (before tax)

We aren't entitled to WTC or CTC!

We applied for HB and CTB but we were told we would get something like £1.60 a week?

Now intrigued as to where you can get childcare for a newborn or £200 per month for full time care?

Can you get childcare vouchers through your work?

Also, if you apply for housing now, you will be already on the system should you find yourself in a rent arrears or eviction situation.

If you were always overdrawn except on payday, then you were already living beyond your means. Old fasioned phrase, I know,but that's what it was. With the loss of £500, you will slip further into debt unless you make some decisons. Look at your options. There aren't any magic solutions. Just tough decisions and compromises until you get back on your feet.

Most people don't go to the gym when heavily pregnant or with a newborn. Especially when their OH is out of the house 13 hours per day. In fact, my gym was happy to release me from my contract when I got pg second time.

You have to take a few steps back from the situation and look at it all and see what you can change.

Move house
Move school
Consider whether your job/s are worth it
Advice on benefits
Extract yourselves from contracts

Don't assume the things that you think of as fixed cannot be changed.

Is there any family that you can ask to help? I'm sure you've thought of this- but it may mean that you need to go cap in hand for a few months, to tide you over. Then, in short- you either need to find more cash (promotions etc.), or move to a different area as soon as you can release yourselves from your flat.

We did break out lease once, by doing exactly as others have said- finding a new tenant- and that was very tricky, as it was a large ugly house in a VERY rural location. But we managed it (through out own Facebook advertising!).

A friend of mine did move out of this area just recently. We live in the SE, and she has now moved to the Norfolk area, with lower rent- and close to her DCs school so that she doesn't need a car.

Its horrid to think that you've been squeezed out of where you live- but that is now the reality.

Are you both willing to upsticks (dependent on finding new work)?

I can't think of anything more than others have suggested I'm afraid.

We need the landline for the broadband.

We don't spend much on food.

We don't live in the SE either

I could try extra work, would be happy to.

I understand about the schooling situation but you have to look at how you will feed your DC first.

And accept the £1.60 a week, every tiny bit helps, especially if you don't have to earn it and if you keep your situation updated it might well increase without a large paperwork burden.

sleb it wasn't full time childcare, I have a friend who will do 2 days a week and I am going into condensed hours so will have 1 day a week off.

rumple sadly, the money we were getting was from family, and is stopping. So we obviously can't ask for help there.

Meryl Fair enough, but I do. I still run as well, and cycle.
Move house - we can't, we are tied into our lease. I have explained.
Move school - I would really rather not, but even if we did, I would still have to travel to work?
Consider whether your job/s are worth it - are you suggesting quit work and live on benefits?!
Advice on benefits - we've had this! told we were entitled to nothing.
Extract yourselves from contracts - we tried.

There is always somewhere cheaper than where you live now though.

Okay, if not Avon- then how about Phoenix Cards, Jamie at Home etc. Not easy work, but may bring in a little more?

What is Phoenix Cards / Jamie at Home?

You need to walk away from house. You simply cannot afford it or the expensive gas and electric.

Suspend your gym membership.

Move nearer to school to be reduced car costs or get rid altogether.

Get rid of phone and broadband. Use you mobiles and make do with library access for essential internet stuff like banks, or use free hotspots.

OP Sorry to sound so harsh but needs must you cannot afford to live there.

OP if a good friend of yours was in the same position, what would you advise them to do?

WE CANNOT MOVE.

I have said so many times.

If we stop paying rent, we will be evicted. Maybe end up with CCJ's. We will lose our deposit, and won't be able to move into somewhere new without that money.

We need the broadband as I am going to work partly from home, which is a hell of a lot cheaper than another days childcare.

growing I don't know.

I think I would tell them to try and earn more money.

That is what I need to do. Get another job, somehow.

On your other thread you said your DH earns £11k from his job, you have 3 jobs earning £9k, £9k and £4k

well it seems like you're a bit stuffed then. There isn't a magic wand that somebody will wave to come up with a solution - everything seems to have already been suggested and shot down.

Just looked into Jamie at Home - it's selling his stuff. I don't think that's really for me, plus there is a start up cost which we don't have the money for.

Phoenix cards seems to be selling greetings cards? Again, this isn't something for me. I don't have the right contacts to sell personal products like that.

OP, I don't think you are hearing what people are trying to tell you.

You are up shit creek.

There is no easy answer, only hard choices.

Now the benefits advice; have you just had it for your current circs (one child, once set of childcare to pay) or have the calcs also been run for your situation in two months time (two DC, two lots of childcare)?

Apply for housing benefit & council tax benefit now - was that £1.60 after the £500 stopped? It will increase once the baby is born either way. As I said it may help you access other things at reduced fees (like local council gyms at reduced fees and summer holiday playscheme)

I know you want to improve your credit rating but you may not have a choice. You many have to ditch your phones, gym membership and overdraft and use one of the charities to help you with a repayment plan. You need to eat somehow!!!

You should become eligible for CTC once the baby is born too - again it may not be much but it will be something.

I am not trying to shoot down solutions.

So far I am going to try to look at why our G&E is so high, as loads of people have been surprised by this.

I'm sorry, but I can't just say 'ah yes, move house! I didn't think of that' and leave it, as this isn't a solution. I am not shooting down suggestions, just pointing out that they won't work for us.

Childcare vouchers are basically paying for childcare pre-tax, so you take £240 per month out of your pre-tax income, which means your actual income decreases by about £200 but you have £240 to spend on childcare.

The £500 was never included in anything, as it was a gift and not 'income'.

And again, we aren't eligible for CTC. or WTC.

Ah okay, so I could ask DH to see if his work do these childcare vouchers. That's really useful, thank you.