Help with universal credit

[MissMummy20212]

Little bit of a back story all of my bills come to £1,590 a month this includes everything but food shopping and anything else I will need during the month. So universal credit give me £1444 a month as you've probably already been able to work out my bills equal More then how much I receive. My partner who has his own house and does not live with me kindly gives me £600 a month for weekly food shopping and to stop myself using my unarrange overdraft. I'm worried as I've seen seen that uc are asking for bank statements, will I get in trouble for having my partner send me money? I can prove that my partner has his own house, pays his own bills extra

That's normal. Water and sewage charges must be paid. If you get a full CT discount you may also get a 35% deduction on them.

@MissMummy20212 You may need to look at moving to a cheaper location if your rent and property value has put you in a CT band that is over £100 just for water and sewage. Assuming this is private rent and your local authority is much cheaper to cap the housing element fairly low.

Are there any play groups you can take your child to a couple of times a week and not need as many paid nursery hours? Or work while child is in nursery then you can at least claim some costs back.

Cancel tv licence, pick netflix or Disney plus (can change different months) for £5 a month with ads. Cancel tv box. Internet you can get for around £25.
Phone contract you can get for £10 with refurbished phone online when replacement needed once your current one is paid off.
Stick to free nursery hours, once you get a job you can apply for the 30 hours funded.

Market rate my rent is low. Any 2 bed is £1200-£1400 pm. My local housing allowance is £845. I've been on the council housing list for over 3 years and no luck. I'm actively looking/applying for work daily and have been since my son was 2

I'm not working currently (LCW) and pay about 90% council tax.

@MissMummy20212 get rid of Netflix/Disney and whatever TV package you have unless you're tied into a contract. It's only a tiny saving but it helps.

Why have you got nursery fees if you aren’t working? Same for Disney plus.

Regular unearned income needs to be declared to UC

Get a Firestick. There is tons of content on them.

Have you applied for council tax reduction? I don't understand why you are paying so much? Are you getting the single person discount?

You can get the social tariff for your broadband. If your provider doesn't have one, they will usually allow you to move to one that does. BT is £15 a month. Others are around that. See the link.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/saving-money/social-tariffs/

Are you getting the healthy start vouchers?

You can check if the local council have discretionary housing payments/homeless prevention fund. They will sometimes be able to support with rent over the LHA for a few months.

You still have to subscribe to Netflix, Disney etc

You don't. There are free apps like freevee, Pluto, Plex, Tubi, ITVX, My4 and 5 on demand.

Yep, I have one and the amount of free content is overwhelming. Unless there is a specific show you want to see on a paid service, I don't see the point in them.

Nice partner tbh

how long have you been out of work ?

how old if your child ?

why are they in childcare if not working /Havnt even for a while I assume I’d partner pays you each month

WiFi and tv box can be cheaper

ct should be lower as not working

go to food banks if can’t feed your child

where is dad - cms - tho may be a pittance

Even paying £3.99 for Amazon Kids would still be a huge saving for @MissMummy20212
No TV subscription or TV license.

There may be waiting lists for nursery places - there are here, if I took my son out, he’d not be able to get a new space until November ‘26.

UC won’t be contributing towards it if OP doesn’t work, though.

Yea I bet spaces get filled

which is why I asked how long been out of work as the partner sounds like been paying £600 for a few months

You do indeed have to still subscribe to Netflix and Disney which is what I said, because OP pays for Disney.

Which she can cancel.

Well obviously… there isn’t anybody suggesting she can’t.

£600 a month is a lot of money for food shopping for you and (assuming) one child. That can be drastically improved by making cheaper choices and batch cooking from scratch and freezing.

Why is your child at nursery if you're not working?

Cancel the tv licence and tv box, keep either Disney OR Netflix. You can get internet for around £25 a month.

Make a claim to CMS for maintenance for your son. His father should be paying for him.

I have put a claim in for CMS the day my son was born but his dad is doing cash in hand jobs so in the eyes of the them he's not employed with no income as he doesn't get uc ever. He keeps changing his address and phone number so they can't contact him. He's a prick tbh

I think they might say that you need to do a joint claim with your partner as him giving you a significant amount of money on a regular basis means you have joint finances. It doesn't matter that you don't live together. Couples can live apart for various reasons (work etc) and still count as a couple for UC if they share finances in any way.

Is there a reason your son goes to nursery also if you're not working?

Regular gifts are fine. They won't be questioned as its not earned income. Its if you were working two jobs and still claimed that would be the problem but UC know that anyway as they'll be able to see what earnings are reported.

You're in a very vulnerable position if you and your partner split up OP

hey what happened here please I’m in the same sort of situation

Look at Olio & other "reduce food waste apps"
Where you can get free or reduced price food & non food items

Too Good To Go

Community pantrys where you can fill a bag of food weekly for a ser price
Ones that do not need a referral

Can you move in with your partner ?
You save
He saves

£600 a month from your partner is a lot of money

OP would have her UC stopped, and as she does not work, would be totally financially reliant on her partner. Not an ideal situation to be in.