I literally can’t afford to live anymore.......

[Beaniebeemer]

Things have just gone to shit over the last year. My DP tried his hand at being self employed after being made redundant a year ago but he’s been ill recently (mental health, sectioned) and the business wasn’t viable so he’s unemployed now. I work part time earning about £800 a month. We have two children. A mortgage and a lot of debt. The house has about £100k equity but it’s tiny and we can’t downsize. I really don’t want to lose the house as the mortgage is cheap and rent would be so much more. We are in the universal credit system but I'm unsure what money we will get going forward. DP is getting ESA and he’s applied for PIP but I believe that takes ages. We probably need £2000 a month to survive 😢

Definitely worth contacting Sky about cancelling due to loss of income. My friend who lost her job due to Covid managed to cancel her £100 Virgin TV and Internet bundle 4 months into a year contract, I think she paid a smallish admin fee.

2 cars are not needed - even if you say they aren’t worth anything - you are paying the insurance and tax etc on them - your husband can drive you to work and the kids to school surely

You could cut the phones down easily too - I only pay 9£ a month

Deffo try to get out of the sky contract ASAP!

Try spread council tax over 12 months

Life insurance, and contents insurance needs to go - (retain buildings insurance).

@Beaniebeemer you need to check your life insurance policies, some insurers will pay out for lost earnings due to ill health.

ilovemydogandmrobama2 Psychonabike

Are they different forms than the ones that I mentioned above (reproduced below)?

Step Change has the helpful Debt in Mind initiative: www.stepchange.org/about-us/campaigning-for-you/debt-in-mind.aspx#
If you're dealing with any mental health issues (including stress and anxiety) while also dealing with debts, it can help to let your creditors know.

You can do this by sending them a 'debt and mental health evidence form' (DMHEF) completed by a health or social care worker. This may encourage them to be more considerate when dealing with you.

DMHEF: www.stepchange.org/debt-info/debt-and-mental-health-evidence-form.aspx

She can't get somewhere cheaper as she only works part time and in debt so scrub that she can't sell or move elsewhere. Her husband can't work as he's not well mentally and wouldn't be in anyones bear interest at moment to find a job, he has to be mentally fit which he isn't

Is your dp well enough to work full time?

It may be your time to work full time and for him to work part time if able

have you been on Entitled to?

things will be ok op.
you are i hope allowed to earn £800 and in the meantime, good luck with your job searching.

And why does he have to get the job? Can’t you search for a full time job too?

Here are some ways to save:

Gas/elec - if you can go to octopus energy as it’s the cheapest. Apply for £140.00 warm home discount. You can get this applied in 24 hours at octopus.

Council tax - claim COVID 19 discretionary payment for 150. 00. Apply for further discount when pip is approved.

Water bill - I don’t think you can save on this fig.

House insurance- this could be reduced. I use John Lewis and it’s a lot less than what you paying.

Car tax/insurance - this is high. When you next renew compare all the comparison sites to get the best deal

Fuel - this is quite high - try to cut down how much you need to go to the shops if possible

Sim - as your on universal credit you can get a new sim on voxy for £10 per month. You do need to prove Eligibility

As you have a house that is mortgaged I don’t think your entititled to housing benefit from what I have heard.

Your biggest issues are your cars and debt. Could you share 1 car between you and get rid of the other one?

Where is your debt - credit card or overdraft or loans?

OP, whatever you do, please don't convert unsecured debt into secured debt - that rarely works and generally results in you being in a worse financial position in the long run.

The fact is that your current situation is untenable given the low income and health issues within the family. You are also living in a property that is small and this, and the next few years struggling though a debt payment plan would make me question why ?

If your debt is not going to be paid in full in the next five years, selling the house doesn't just get you out of the current hole, it gives you years worth of breathing space to get things back together.

If you have £100,000 of equity, consider that even with a higher rent each month, it pays that rent for what, eight years and you have released the mortgage payments to go towards clearing the debt much sooner. Or it clears your debt potentially. It also lets you find a property which suits and lets the dust settle with regards to the health of your spouse.

When people talk about the house giving stability, it's from the point of view that hanging on to the house is always worth it. It isn't. You need to consider that the sale of the house may be the sensible approach and be pragmatic about the advantages and disadvantages. I'm not saying that property ownership is overrated but the price for keeping your equity is that you retain a property that you consider tiny, you struggle to make debt payments and you don't have the time to think clearly about how the future is going to work if you husband can't go back to work. At some point the house gets cashed in - either to fund retirement, fund care or fund an inheritance. There's nothing wrong with cashing it in to get out of your current situation and the benefit might be that life becomes more bearable.

I'm not saying that you should sell the house but you should consider it as one of your options. I know it feels like you don't have choices but you do.

How much is your debt and realistically how long is it going to take to repay at £600 per month ? Because that information makes all the difference as to whether selling the house is sensible or not.

OP says her husband is getting ESA - which means he is not well enough to work.

I agree about talking to creditors and negotiating them down to minimal payments. Contact Citizens Advice for help if Step Change weren't helpful.

Do you have family nearby that you could live with free or with contributions to bills and food only?

Your mortgage is low - perhaps you could rent out your house, make a small bit of income, save some costs and put every spare penny towards the debt. This obviously has its own risks but your house is your asset. You want to keep it so you have to make it earn income for you.

What about re-jigging sleeping arrangements and taking in a lodger? Yes children might have to share but it's short term pain for a longer term gain. My in-laws have had to do this twice in 2 different homes. It got them through some tricky times.

Agree with cutting costs, talking to companies you have debt with.

Our household income is higher than yours and we only run one car. I estimate a car costs about £110 per month to go nowhere (insurance, maintenance, etc) so you'd save that plus petrol costs. It's taken lots of creative planning on our part but we've managed.

On 3 network sim only I get 12gb data, unlimited minutes,, unlimited text for £8 pcm. Can you shop.for a better deal than £20 each pcm. Sorn one of the vehicles so save on road tax (apply for refund). Ask to work more hours at your work whilst looking out for a full time job for yourself. I know you would rather your do worked full time, but he is ill ATM so you need to step up in short term until he is well. He can pick up the slack taking child to school. Can you claim working tax credits? Not sure how many hours you are working. Once your dp is better he can work again. Chase up his PIP if it takes too long contact your MP who should write to them and magically they jump your dp up the queue as ministers questions must be answered quickly. Contact mortgage provider and ask to extend term which will refuce monthly payment. Cut back on food, buy cheapest stuff. Have you got stuff in freezer or food cupboard you can use up? Go to SKY and tell them do lost his job you can't pay. See what they say. They might let you off contract. How much.longer is your contract? Get Netflix as much cheaper. Better still do you have a friend who will let you have one of their accounts? Get the free channels. Not sure what they called. Have you got any family who can help you out while you get on your feet? If you want to keep your house you may have to work full time yourself untill dp is well again.

@Unsure33

Also surely Sky should help in the circumstances , but I do know they are really bad when people need help . £54 per month is a lot of money. Hopefully someone can tell you how to approach them to get this cancelled .

Op could possibly put the package down to the lowest one . If she can't evd the contact

If he has recently been sectioned and has ESA he isn't in a position to work full time. Apply for UC as you are mortgaged you won't get housing element but can earn up to £512 before earnings are deducted. Then tehy are deducted for every £1 you earn you lose 63p. If he is on esa he could automatically transfer this to LWCRA on UC which gets an extra £341 a month and you can add carers element (unlike carers allowance you can earn anything as long as you are caring over a certain amount a month). You should be able to get a council tax reduction. Consider using public transport rather than 2 cars. And do contact sky. Meal plan amd look at where u shop. You should look into a full time position though unless there are reasons you can't. But your partner sounds like he shouldn't right know. Pip is hard to get it dosent come through although it's a long process appeal.

If Step Change isn't helpful there are other options, remember they are paid for by the finance industry so obviously they want you to pay off the debt as soon as possible.
You can run your own debt management plan and basically offer £1 to each debt if that's all you can afford. I used nedcab.cabmoney.org.uk/dmp.asp for all the letters and things that I needed to send to companies.
But seriously, visit MSE, it's where I got all my info when I had debt problems.

And remember, if you're at the point that you can no longer pay debts and are about to miss payments, defaults are a good thing as they stop adding interest and will drop off your credit report after 6 years, whether they are paid in full or not.

Life insurance ? Sixty per cent of the UK population do not have life insurance. In you situation, it's dispensible.

Your 'life insurance' is the Welfare State. If you have private 'life insurance', then the State will merely deduct any payment you might receive from that, from any payment the State would give you. So, you will be penalised for having 'life insurance'.

Get rid of the life insurance.

defaults are a good thing as they stop adding interest way better to contact the companies you owe and negotiate reduced interest and repayments than just default!

Could you speak to your mortgage company and ask to go on to interest only for 6 months?

You need to contact the companies you have debt with and rearrange the payments.
Tell them your situation and that you can only afford £x per month.

You can't btl if you don't own another property. Mortgage companies won't let you. That is not an option.

Have you got stuff you could sell? It all mounts up. What about old books or children's clothing?

@tanguero Total rubbish. Any widow will tell you that nothing the state offers in anyway competes with life insurance. The OP has a large mortgage and a seriously ill husband. Telling her to cancel her life insurance is very very bad advice.