NHS band 5

[Fidgety31]

I’m a single parent on NHS band 5 - £32k

My child is soon to turn 18 so my universal credit and child benefit will stop when he finishes college next year .

My outgoings will be more than my take home of £2k per month.
my son is unlikely to work straight after college due to his disability so will have to claim UC in the short term at least .

how do you manage on band 5 as a single person ? I have a mortgage so no housing support either .

Son will have to help out with his universal credit. Im not in this situation but i have made it very clear to my kids that once they are 18 if there is a need to help financially towards the house then they would be expected to do so.

Yes he will be told to help but the amount is tiny that they receive at that age anyway.

I have cut all costs , don’t go out, don’t drink or smoke, no take outs or meals out. No subscription to anything .
It all goes on mortgage , council tax , fuel , utilities and household bills . I can’t even afford a dentist .

can’t move house as can’t afford to . House is old so gas and electric more expensive . It’s always cold . Darent turn the heating up.
Just feeling very deflated with working full time to be left with nothing.

I would probably start by look into outgoings, what can you reduce or remove altogether. I reviewed our monthly subscriptions a couple of years ago and did make savings. Shop around for better food costs, cheaper own supermarket brands. Are you on top of your energy prices, can you switch onto lower tariffs. There are quite a few cost of living sugestions on the Martin Lewis forums which may help.

@Fidgety31 How much is your take home every month?

Can you extend your mortgage?

Oh dear, this must be so worrying.

Do you make the most of the blue light card and buy the supermarket cards? No good if you already shop in aldi or lidl, but you do save somethimg like 3% in asda/tesco.

Do you know what your son will be entitled to?

My take home is £2k … I am considering stopping the pension payments as that would give me a bit extra .
Didnt think about my mortgage being extended … something to look into - but I am in my 50s so there will be a limit . Thank you

I didn’t know you get Tesco savings ? Is that with a blue light card ?
I mostly shop at Lidl but also use Tesco

Does your son receive disability benefits?
Your outgoings seem really high for only two people of you are short 2K a month. I know you say you can’t afford to move but it appears you can’t afford to stay either.

How long have you been paying into the NHS pension, if in your 50's you can draw you pension at 55 (unless it's changed) can you draw down, retire and return, is there a chance of any overtime each week.

Do you work M-F? That wage seems very low. Is that no nights/weekends?

How much is your mortgage?

Yes. You have to log onto the blue light app and purchase the prepaid 'gift' card. It is a bit of a faff, but you do save some money doing it this way.

I have attached a screenshot but it will take a while to show while the image is reviewed.

As you stated in the OP; I misread it as your outgoings might exceed income by £2k. What's the difference after your UC stops?

Is your son on PIP?

I'd seriously caution against stopping the pension. My DP did that when the children came along. Intention was to restart it once the nursery vouchers kicked in.

She didn't and her pension is probably between a quarter and half of what it would have been with those extra years under her belt.

I work on the bank as well. I don’t see much other choice.

Some things to think about:

• What is your mortgage interest rate and how many years left to pay? If you are in your 50s potentially this will come to an end at some point relatively soon? Are you on the standard variable rate or a fixed rate - is there scope to remortgage and reduce the interest rate and associated monthly payments?
• Yes, your son will need to contri with some of his UC if you are paying for his groceries, housing etc
• Can you also claim UC? I don't think having a mortgage rules you out - just if you have a high level of savings?
• Might be worth talking to Citizen's Advice as they will have better information about any benefits you might be eligible for.

Are you a nurse? Or in another band 5 role? Do you work 9-5?
If a nurse, could you pick up a couple of extra bank shifts? A couple of Sundays/nights a month would bump your wage up. No, you shouldn't need to when working full time, but the situation is what it is

I work Monday to Friday no shifts . I haven’t paid into the pension for long as I used to work in the private sector So I’m not sure if it’s worth paying the nhs pension /. But I don’t have any pension pot from elsewhere to fall back on either . I’ve always worked lowish paid jobs to fit around caring for my son etc

never had what you would call a career .

there is no overtime available on my job .

my son gets pip but that goes straight to pay for a specialist disability group he attends - I would never take that from him . It’s the only thing he does .

How much is your mortgage?
Most other bills can be squeeze smaller to a degree if needs be but it’s a totally different scenario if your mortgage is 1,300 vs 600.

By the sounds of it - looking into changing my mortgage might be the best option . It had ten years left on it . But I could ask to extend to lower the monthly costs . It’s currently £700 pcm

Fuel costs are a killer now too… the commute to work etc . My car is 11yrs old so probably not economical to run though . But can’t work without transport .

Life was more manageable financially when I was in a relationship and sharing the costs … as it is for many people I am sure .

Could you join NHSP and earn extra that way?

An early shift on a Sunday would really help if OP could do it twice a month.

If you lost your outgoings, that might help. I do realise that’s quite a personal thing to do though.

List! Sorry

I’m not sure what NhSP is ?
I work in the talking therapies so no weekend or overtime available

@Fidgety31if you work in talking therapies could you do a few hours a week private work to top up your earnings?

Mortgage - 700
council tax - 155
house insurance - 35
life insurance for mortgage - 25
gas / electric - 300 - maybe more in colder months now prices have gone up
water - 70
internet - 30
mobile - 10
sons mobile - 12
swimming pool - 35
dog - 35
tortoise - 10
vets ? Varies
fuel - 100
breakdown for car - 12
road tax - 30 - my car tax is very high but I can’t afford to change my car
mot/ repairs ? Varies
car insurance - 26
son bus pass - 35
old gas debt - 30
Food/cleaning/toilet roll etc - 400 - estimated
credit card - 100 (4k owed )

these are the fixed outgoings … have not included any car repairs / service/ mot or any vet fees as they can vary so much