How to receive money monthly

[FateLovesTheFearless]

I am currently on full benefits, lone parent about to start college to hopefully have a good career, anyways...

I receive benefits all over the place, some weekly, some fortnightly, some monthly. What I would love, is to have it all come in around the same time, so I can get all my bills etc paid off. At the moment because of the way things are, some weeks I am desperately short, need to leave bills a bit later until a 'comfortable week'. It's a real juggling act.

I could change tax Creds to monthly, not sure about income support and housing benefit, but if I can change them all to monthly, what do I do the initial month when there isn't anything coming in at all?

I just think it would make my financial situation so much easier. Any ideas how I can go about it without starving for a month?!

Get as much non-perishable food as you can on "comfortable" weeks, make double size meals and freeze some. Freeze milk and bread, stock up on big bags of carbs to bulk out food.
Once your cupboards are as full as you can get them, change over to monthly benefits and use up your stockpile. Set direct debits to go out the day after benefits go in, so you know what you have left for food etc. is not going to leave you short.

you must know how much you recive in a month i take out the bills and divied the rest up into weeks and that how much i have to live on

I do, actually think its probably when my bills come out that I need to sort because they are random through the month. Let's take the first week of the month, after rent has been paid there is £200 in tax credit for the week. I then have to pay bank interest (have an overdraft from years back working on paying it off) council tax, talktalk, mobile phone bill which will leave around £50 which is food for five, pet food, nappies, electricity for a week. Can be very very tight basically. It's not really the income that's the issue it's how it comes in and when I have things going out. Say I was to work out each week I have £50 left to spend on other stuff like clothes for kids etc, that wouldn't work on week one like I say because of how the bills that week fall as opposed to what's actually coming in that week.

I'd just love to have everything come in at the sameish time and everything go out at the same time.

If you're on full benefits you should be exempt from council tax. Look into that, it's a not inconsiderable saving.

I don't get full hb, or full council tax benefit but I do have some paid for me.

Could you contact talk talk and see if they'll put your broadband or calls allowance down for a cheaper monthly cost, perhaps they'll bundle your mobile phone too. £150 a week sounds a lot for those bills.

The thing is CTC and CB are paid either 4 weekly or weekly so even if you switch you will have a similar problem because there isn't actually a monthly option, only a 4 weekly one.

IS is two weekly and HB depends on your local council. I found 4 weekly created the same problem as most utilities/bills want paying monthly on a set date.

If you are on IS your gas and electric provider should give you a tariff that lets you pay weekly, same for council tax.

One way to manage is to budget over a weekly or a two weekly period (the reason most people budget monthly is because they are paid monthly) and have as few DD's as possible on a monthly direct debit. If you are on full benefits but still paying bank overdraft interest you really need to stop using the account and have the interest frozen as it is so that you can pay it off without the debt getting any larger (the CAB can help you do this and the co-op will give you a cash minder account if money is tight/you have had money problems in the past). If you can get your phone on pay as you go that will reduce another DD (most PAYG's now offer a monthly deal anyway, it just means you can buy your top up a day or two later if you need to).

..sorry if my post sounds bossy, I've had to rush!