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Original poster

So worried about the future - advice needed please

21 replies

mumtomoley · 13/09/2012 10:31

DP is set to lose his job in the near future. He's a contractor with an investment bank and it's been confirmed that his contract won't be renewed so will expire at the end of this year.

We have had a difficult year financially, as he was unemployed for about 6 months 2010-2011 and our finances got in a mess. As a result he has a default for 10k and is in debt management to try and get back on top of things.

When he took on his last job he was credit checked as part of the pre-employment checks. He passed it then but would fail it now so I can't see how he can get another job doing what he does.

This leaves us in a terrible position because he is the main breadwinner. We rent our house privately and my salary won't cover even the rent let alone any bills or anything else.

What can we do? I just called the benefits checker people to see if we would get any support and we would get no tax credits because DP's earnings in 2012 are too high (He currently earns quite well, but this will drop to zero)

Based on my salary (25k) we would get £3 in housing benefit.

What on earth do I do? How do I keep a roof over our heads? (There's me, DP and DS plus two DSS's at weekends)

i'd be very grateful for any advice.

OP posts:

boschy · 13/09/2012 10:52

sounds awful, I hope it gets sorted. we were refused tax credits because my previous year's earnings were too high, despite me explaining total change of situation, so I called them and the money has just started appearing... £100 a week. worth a try?

BlackberryIce · 13/09/2012 11:53

Surely he will be seeking a new job?

Original poster

mumtomoley · 13/09/2012 11:55

Yes of course, but he wouldn't get another job in the industry he is currently in due to the default, and he isn't qualified to do anything else so I can't guarantee that he would get one straight away especially with things as they are now.

OP posts:

PrimrosePath · 13/09/2012 12:07

There will be jobs that he can do that don't require a credit check. Employment agencies may give him some ideas?

BlackberryIce · 13/09/2012 12:08

Jobcentre plus... Quite helpful

Sarahplane · 13/09/2012 12:13

Tax credits are usually based on the previous years income but if your income is significantly lower this year than last then they will base it on your estimate for this year. They did this for us last year as i was on maternity. Hope you get things sorted.

Journey · 13/09/2012 13:26

What a horrible situation for you. I think the retail financial sector are more lenient with credit checks. I also think the FSA rules are changing because a lot of professionals are getting into debt problems and as such they are having to relook at things. It would be best to seek advice on this so you have the most up to date information. I'm sure somebody posted on one of these sites and they said they had to apply somewhere to get approved so they could continue working. I've also seen someone saying that the FSA does still allow then to work but they get monitored more closely. I'm afraid it is all a bit vague what I've written but I think it may not be as clear cut as you might think with the FSA. I hope all works out for you and your family.

vj32 · 13/09/2012 22:07

How would you qualify for any housing benefit on £25k?

You can apply to tax credits. Fill in the form based on last year's income, but once your DH has lost his job then send them a letter asking them to reassess you based on an estimate of this year's income as it will be much lower. You might get a little bit of money. We get about £70 per month with one child and DH earns just over £25k.

Sounds like you need to move into a cheaper house until you get yourselves into a more stable position financially. Your DH can get contribution based JSA but if he currently works for an investment bank I doubt a bit of tax credits or JSA is going to help much.

Sorry, but how did he get that much into debt in the first place, especially if he works in the finance industry??

Original poster

mumtomoley · 13/09/2012 22:14

I don't know vj32, that's just what the lady giving benefits advice told me, we would qualify for £3.00 per week. Looking at the fact we have 1 DC living with us and the area we live in.

Moving into a cheaper house is an option. The cheapest available (looking on rightmove) would save us £200 per month. We haven't done it before now, because of the cost of moving.

With regards to your last question, it's for various different reasons and over a long period of time.

OP posts:

crazyhead · 14/09/2012 08:03

I think I'd be not just looking at houses, but ex local flats with enough bedrooms to cope - anything to really drive down costs. I think that moneysavingexpert is a really good website in terms of budgeting.

And if I were your DH, I'd just any kind of work possible to cover the low period - even if I was working in the local supermarket/doing seasonal cash in hand work.

It is really very tough, but at least what with renting and not tied to a mortgage, and you earning 25k (can you get another job for more cash at all?) you can just live as cheaply as possible until this is all sorted out.

Original poster

mumtomoley · 14/09/2012 12:16

Will they be advertised for rent via estate agents as well? Doesn't matter whether its a house or a flat.

Although I earn 25k I commute to London for that, so travel is £300 p/m. After deductions including childcare vouchers my take home pay is £930, then I pay over £300 more for childcare. So although 25k might sound like a lot I only have about £600 a month for rent/bills/everything else without DP's salary.

DP also pays child support for his 2 DS's which his exW relies on I think for paying her mortgage/bills so when he was unemployed before he continued to pay his same rate of child support. I don't think we would be able to do that this time as we used all of our buffer money on his last period of unemployment and there is literally nothing now.

I am sure DP will try to get whatever work he can, but I just worry that it's difficult to get any job at the moment let alone if you don't have relevant experience.

I know other people manage in similar circumstances so I don't think we're anything special but I have no idea how to make £600 a month house/feed/and pay the bills.

OP posts:

Sarahplane · 14/09/2012 19:09

This must be tough but hopefully just short term. I hope everything works out for you. How much is your childcare all together? If your dh is not working then that is one place you can save money.

MummytoKatie · 16/09/2012 11:12

If you get the debt paid off will your husband's credit rating improve? It seems to me that you really need to do whatever it takes over the next few months to get his credit score up. Ie cut your bills, try and up your income. (I know easier said than done but if you can face a few months of hell now it may save you from years of problems in the future.)

One small positive I can think of is if your dh is on PAYE then when he stops earning he will be owed tax back (as tax years are April - March and they assume that you earn the same throughout.). It may be worth calling the IR now and explaining the situation and asking what the best thing to do is. When I went onto Statutory maternity it just came back automatically but that was because I still had a payslip. Not sure how it works if you are not earning at all.

rainbowinthesky · 16/09/2012 11:15

You wont have childcare costs whilst dh isnt working remember. I agree with others about moving.

nkf · 16/09/2012 11:19

Whatever you do I think you need to start now. Slash costs. Lodger? Move house? The credit rating thing I don't understand but it sounds as if you got advice. Wouldn't you get working tax credits if your salary is £25k. Is there anything you could sell? Anything you could cash in? Good luck.

Original poster

mumtomoley · 16/09/2012 12:07

But if I take DS out of childcare for DP to look after how will he be able to look for a job? We don't have anyone who can babysit.

Moving is definitely a plan, though it will only save about £200 p/m as there aren't properties available that are much cheaper. I am looking on rightmove - unless there are other places to look?

mummytokatie unfortunately there's too much debt there to clear it. It's a bloody mess to be honest. But if the default is cleared then it does improve things. It's 10k though.. And also I'm not sure if you can do this if you're on a debt management plan as you aren't allowed to favour one debt over the others. (There is other debt on top of the 10k default)

I think if the default was cleared, and longer ago, then it would be less of an issue (it was only in June) Or if he had been on the DMP for longer to show that he is being responsible with his finances, I don't know maybe that would be better.

That's good to know about a potential tax rebate.

We can't get a lodger because we rent our house so you can't sublet.

I can't find a definitive answer re tax credits because even when calculated based on this years earnings, because DP has been working since April we are over the threshold.

I can ask for a payrise at work though (I was going to do this anyway)

OP posts:

MummytoKatie · 16/09/2012 18:36

It's a really hard decision to take your child out of childcare where they are settled. Especially if you are not sure they will get a place again in the future. It feels like you are giving up. (Dh was made redundant last year so I empathise.)

Could you reduce the days she goes? Then if he gets an interview you can try and swap nursery days if necessary. Otherwise do you have any mum friends who don't work full time who could take your dd for a few hours in an emergency? (ie job interview.) or could you take annual leave?

Original poster

mumtomoley · 16/09/2012 18:56

DS is at a childminder so if I took him out she would have to give the place to someone else. She's brilliant and he adores her so I would hate to have to do this but I do know I might not have a choice :( He's such a happy little thing and he's thriving there but that's true I could take annual leave for job interviews. I am being a bit dim about obvious things I think because I can't see the wood for the trees.

Hope your DH has another job now.

OP posts:

MummytoKatie · 16/09/2012 20:49

He has. He had about 2.5 months out of work before he got one but he did.

Our big problem was that when it happened we weren't expecting it (got taken into a room on a normal Monday morning then pretty much escorted out of the building) so we spent weeks alternating between shock and panic and made (and nearly made) some pretty stupid decisions during that time.

The big advantage you have is time to make the decisions you need to make without panicking and time to ask for device.

It does sound like it would be such a shame to loose your childminder.

Original poster

mumtomoley · 16/09/2012 21:33

That's fantastic news mummytokatie I'm pleased to hear things have improved for you and your family :)

OP posts:

Original poster

mumtomoley · 17/09/2012 13:35

Still looking at housing options... we would get help with social housing only if we were evicted, but I would then also have a CCJ against me which as I also work in the finance industry means I would then lose my job :(

Housing is my number one worry, as if DP isn't working then, I don't know where/how we are going to able to live anywhere. There isn't anyone we can stay with either.

I think I can find a way for bills (i.e. salary, and also selling the car will tide us over for a while) but it's somewhere to actually live.

Can you rent something like a caravan for a short period? I really don't care where we live. Any suggestions at all for what to about housing?

OP posts:

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