Please help me with a plan to get out of my overdraft

[Justmeagain81]

Hi all

Im a single parent, struggling with money despite having a good income! Please can someone help with a budget to get out of my overdraft in next few months?
Current bills:
Student loan 132 (will be paid off by christmas)
Eon 55
Sky 39 (cant further reduce need wifi & only provider inrural area, tv is basic package)
Car 255 (includes services)
Mobile 29
Rent 585
Loan 190 (11,500 left to repay from consolidated joint debt with exh)
Exh 40 (half child benefit)
Gap ins 10
Dvla 12
Gold card 60 (2800 on 0%)
Hcpc 45 every quarter
Car ins 32
Lloyds 10 (930 on 0%)
Gym 67.50 (i know, am tied into contract until march)
Water 20
Council tax 45
Prof fees 26
Tv license 13
Merlin pass 12
Approx 35 per week fuel

I take home 2100 pcm, receive 82 child benefit, no further benefits or tax credits, i have a 2 year old. I pay 200 childcare per month (free hours from april)
Im currently 700 od
HELP!!!

Thank you in advance

I know this doesn’t help just now but check when you need to give notice to cancel your gym membership. I know it ends in March but if you need to give three months notice then you need to do that prior to March. Or they will ask you for it in March and keep charging you until June!

If you have a medical condition you can also get out of a gym contract now but you have to prove it.

Thanks everyone! So much info!

@TemporaryPermanent thank you - i realised ive put my council tax wrong should be 95 ... if you could email the spreadsheet that would be amazing!

No i dont own a laptop ex took it

I tried a debt charity but the budget they suggested was as im currently spending, the offered iva but that would affect my credit rating, which is currently excellent.
Good point re gym - i will find out! On upside i use it loads.
Re ex if i dont pay the 40 he stops me from seeing ds. I clearly cant afford court. If i filed for residency his behaviour would escalate. I cant deal with that right now.
Think ive answered everything! Thank you all again

But he can’t stop you seeing your son. You just pick him up from school or his house.

He wont let me in & wont take him preschool anyway i have to meet him to take ds in (dont ask, long story) so i can't just pick him up. If i dont send the money he hides with ds, wont answer phone or tell me where he is until i send it

Have you had your flu jab by the way? You must look after your health, it's another huge asset. That doesn't mean I think you can afford to keep the gym on

I think personally YNAB should wait. I've heard great things about it but you don't have any money to spare at all, not even pennies.

Hi @Justmeagain81 - lots of great advice on here about saving money. If you want to get a bit more in then try these sites. I have been doing online surveys for years and here are my recommendations.
I joined Swagbucks 3 months ago and have made £325 so far. I'm a bit evangelical about them tbh! As well as survey income, you get loads of tops up at the end of the month for all the days you hit your daily goal and then they give you extra points when you hit points levels called Swag Ups.Now is a great time to join as when you earn 300 points in the first 30 days, they give you a 300 bonus.
www.swagbucks.com/p/register?rb=59151827
Second favourite: You Gov as you never screen out :
yougov.co.uk/refer/5n4orle6y-iGn-xFyNEk-w/
Now is a great time to join these too as there will be lots of easy surveys with the election coming up.
I use a few more panels too but try those and let us know how you get on as they are the best. Best of luck!

I did swagbucks for a bit. I remember 'working' all evening every evening for a few days, and at the end I had £5. None of the 'work' was hard but tbh given that you have saleable professional skills it makes absolutely no sense to go down that route IMO.

Absolutely @TemporaryPermanent - it is not a second career but the OP is restricted in what she can do she says and she can do this in the evenings at home. You were very unlucky with £5 for hours and hours of work. These are my last three orders - £75 in 2.5 weeks and that includes the half term when we were away for 5 days.
Order Number 28359643
Order Date 2019-10-29
25 GBP
Order Number 28233191
Order Date 2019-10-17
25 GBP
Order Number 28162515
Order Date 2019-10-10
25 GBP
It does take a bit of effort but I have found you can pick up points very easily on there and at the start of each month you get a bonus too plus the swag ups when you hit levels. Each to their own I suppose but it certainly works for me.

You need to get the ex situation sorted. Or you will have another 16 years of being messed around. Do you need him to have your son 3 days per week. You should stop that and let him take you to court. Like others have said claim cms too.

You will regret it as your son gets older so sort it out now. If he has less contact or no contact then so be it as does your son need a selfish testing his life. Also if he is controlling, he will. Not just stop, you will font it changes over the years and often gets worse. Keep the £40 and pay this direct to your overdraft.

Thanks all
I really can't do anything about my ex at the minute - it would cost significantly more than 40 per month!

Have you had your tax code adjusted so you aren’t paying tax on your HCPC / insurances etc?

Agree with PP--apply for UC and see what you get. It may be something or nothing.
benefits-calculator.turn2us.org.uk/AboutYou

How are you doing @Justmeagain81? Making progress I hope. Do try for the UC - you have nothing to lose and you might have something to gain.
Try your local library for a computer to use if you cannot use a friend's one - they are often located in the children's section so you can set your DC up at your feet with a stack of board books.
I'm really willing you on and I do understand the situation with your ex - your decision whether it is worth rocking the boat at the moment - sometimes it is better to bide your time.

Grit your teeth! It looks like several things will improve over the next 6 months
-SL paid off

• gym membership can be cancelled (go running, or look into cheaper PAYG options)

-childcare costs will go ( make sure you apply in plenty of time)

I second seeing if you can get a second income stream going by working while your son is with his dad. Even babysitting or something? I work all the hours I can while mine are with their dad and it has made so much difference.

Also, your car is very exoensive, when does the contract end? I expect you can definitely find cheaper options in future.

It works out at nearly £15 daily for transport - that is a very large amount of your budget, that cost is without any storage costs for your car- is it free? Or MOT cost

If you could reduce your transport costs it would reduce your outgoings, you spend 22% of your income on your car

Thanks everyone I really appreciate all the ideas
I think I probably just need to hang on for a bit longer & have a quiet christmas
There are no mot/service costs for my car, its all in the price, as is AA cover. I live in a very rural hilly area, it has 4x4 which kicks in when needed & was cheapest 4x4 option i could find at the time, I travel 20 miles to work & 20 in other direction to collect ds from his dads. Public transport not an option up here. There are 2 years left on my car.

You may want to think very carefully in 2 years time about transport & fuel costs. If you could look into electric or an alternative it may work out more expensive for purchase but cheaper monthly payments.

It’s not a criticism but an observation from a different perspective, I doubted public transport would be viable but if you can reduce your fuel costs from £155 it would ease your outgoings

OP if your aren’t entitled to anything other then child benefit, then you will be entitled to tax free childcare as you earn less than 100k. 20% of your fees. Just google tax free childcare. You apply online and it’s pretty quick from what I remember.

The cost of the loan, is that just your half of the repayments, seeing as it's consolidating debts with exh? If not, I'd suggest approaching him for his half of the loan for a start.

Private work on the side? I have known dieticians, salt, physio all do this. Pick up some bank shifts in a care home or something on the days ds is not with you?
Even babysitting for other people when you don’t have DS!

Matched betting if you are numerate - but you do need about £100 to start off with.

Double check about sky? We are in a semi rural area and no virgin here but sky use the BT line don’t they? So there are lots of other cheaper internet providers that also use the bt line then just use freeview or whatever.

Anything of yours or DSs you can sell on eBay or fb leading up to Christmas?

Sorry - to clarify, I don’t mean private work in a care home, that was two separate ideas!

You can definitely cancel sky tv and keep Wifi - I did just that a couple of months ago and now pay £27pm. Your package including tv is actually pretty cheap for what it is but try to negotiate a cheaper deal using the online chat. They gave me a 65% discount for a year when I was mat leave, very handy!

Also, matched betting could be another way to generate some income. There's a thread on here with a bit more information on it.