I am not very good with money

[turquoiseamethyst]

There's my confession. I ignore matters pertaining to money because it scares me. I am reckless. I do not budget. I do not know HOW to budget.

I need to because I am now a single parent; soon to be ex-wife of a profligate earner and I need to tighten my belt.

So:

I have approximately £800 p/m in income from properties I let out.
On top of this I have CB for two, soon to be three, children.
And I have £800 from STBXH.

That should be more than enough. Here are the essentials:

CT - don't know how much this is. Need to check.
Other bills - same
Car insurance, when I've bought a car, petrol.
Food (obviously)
My 8 year old has music lessons, these cost £50 a week
We have animals. Lots of animals. 2 cats, 4 rabbits, chickens, a sheep and 3 ponies. Oh and fish.

I suppose I'm looking for hand-holding as I HATE HATE HATE dealing with money and finances but know I need to.

I'm with expat. Are you sure £800p/m is right? You say XH is a very very high earner...

My ExP 'gives' me similar for 3DCs, he is an expat earning $$$$$, and was mumping that he was doing me such a favour giving me what he does (controlling so and so). When I mentioned that he was obliged to pay 15% (he has a new family too) he shut up v.quickly, and pays the money without complaint now! So I guess the £800 isn't touching his earnings.

FWIW we wouldn't survive without TC.

Apart from the finances - you going to be OK, OP? Anyone to lend a hand when the baby arrives? I had 3 with similar gaps and took any help I could get?

Just a thought op make sure tax credits now that £800 is child maintenance and not your "income".

Sorry know not now.

I'm sorry to keep banging on about this but it's very unclear from your posts whether you've actually applied for tax credits or not. Don't go by any website or whatever anyone is telling you, even their own advisors. Have you actually completed a form and sent it back? You've said you have upthread but in later posts it doesn't sound like you have or if you have you've referred to the £800 from your dh as income...? It needs to be counted as maintenance not income.

I don't see how you wouldn't be entitled to some tax credits. My dh earns 15.5k and I receive maintenance from my ex of £200 a month and we still receive £120 a week in tax credits with 2 dc.

I really think you need to push and push for tax credits and see where it leads you. It would make a huge difference to your overall income.

In the meantime I would definitely work out in comings and outgoings. Find out who your energy supplier is (via the direct debit or quarterly amount going out via your bank if you don't know) and check you are on the cheapest tarrif via comparison websites. Same for broadband / phone etc.

Whittle everything down as much as you can.

When you work out what you have left allocate an amount for food from this and withdraw this as cash for the week and try to remain within budget. I try to leave £10 extra floating about for kids school stuff or emergencies.

I'd want to know about the discussions you have had with your solicitor about the financial aspects of divorce.

I'm no expert on matrimonial law and divorce when at least one partner is a high earner. But the general idea is that children should suffer as little as possible - even though the fact that there are two households to be paid for rather than one mean that both partners take some sort of financial hit. So arguably if it's been agreed previously that it's important for the children to have a musical education, then it might be that the maintenance paid should reflect that. Again I'd expect a solicitor to be advising about the eligibility - or non-eligibility of benefits. On a messageboard you can't really give us the information about property, assets, income etc for anything other than general advice to be given.

Once the nature of the financial settlement is sorted, so you're clear about what's coming in, that's the point at which the decisions about how to manage your household income and expenses have to be made - and adhered to.

as a landlord you hopefully know all this (which doesn't square at all with 'not good with money' as you are running a business) but do you have all the right insurances etc for the tenanted properties? Can you pay to fix a boiler if it conks out? do you have legal cover if the tenants stop paying? Are you budgeting for gas certificate etc?

if your ex has been dealing with this and it is now coming to you, time to get informed, rapidly.

I agree, best you can do is detail all your outgoings and what you need to save per month for contingencies (Boiler breaks in rental, animal gets a long term health problem, something breaks in the house) and take it to the solicitor to see if you're getting everything you can argue for. Selling off the rental properties is also a good option if they get hard to afford to maintain. I think you have options and just need to pick through everything slowly and carefully.

Please see a solicitor before you even bother about the bloody tax credits. It may be that your ex can pay more than £800 a month. It's vital to get good legal help in all this. Tax credits and other benefits are the least of your problems just now.

But even if the ex ends up paying more than the £800 the op is receiving now it still won't affect the tax credits so why not apply for those and do that now too? No harm in it. But yes op really does need to see a solicitor.

Plenty of harm in it if they come back two years later wanting an overpayment back.

Much better not to be reliant on state benefits at all in this Tory era, get a good solicitor and secure independent finances as best as possible,

Perhaps see a financial advisor, too.

The thing I have wondered all along reading this thread is how are some posters so sure she will be entitled to these tax credits when she doesn't have a job?
The 800 is rental income therefore classed as income from property or 'other' income and not wages/salary.
Surely the £600 someone mentioned can't be CTC only? working on a combined estimation of WTC and CTC?
Sorry but this has really confused me.

Does the £800 from property need to pay the mortgage/costs on the rental property or is that pure profit after costs? If so the £800 would be a s/e income wouldn't it?

Have you got a solicitor?

If your Soon to be XH is a very high earner £800 maintenance may not be the correct amount.

Expat maintenance is not included as income for tax credit purposes. If the op receives tax credits under the basis of her income minus the maintenance there will be no error and no overpayment due. They cannot claim back for an overpayment when they have set the rule that maintenance is exempt.

Yes in an ideal world no one should have to rely on tax credits but we do not live in an ideal world and lots of families are living on incredibly low wages and there are not enough well paid jobs to go round (otherwise my dh and I would have one).

The op may not be entitled to tax credits. I don't know all the ins and outs of the property aspect but she should certainly apply and if she does get them then it would be a bonus at a time when she clearly feels she is struggling and if the solicitor awards even more maintenance then that's great too.

I realise that, Fairy, but income is. If her husband is a high-earner it may well be she neither needs them nor is entitled to them. They are a PITA. Far better to get a much better deal out of the divorce and not have to be reliant on benefits.

justjuanmorebeer

The thing I have wondered all along reading this thread is how are some posters so sure she will be entitled to these tax credits when she doesn't have a job?
The 800 is rental income therefore classed as income from property or 'other' income and not wages/salary.
Yes Juan, child tax credits only. When I popped the figures into the calculator I put the rental under other income, not income from.employment. Hope that clears it up.

I do agree turquoise needs to see a solicitor (a good one) but I think it would help take some weight off her mind to put in a full claim (not just phone them and ask if she is entitled to it) for tax credits in the meantime. She can't be asked to pay back an overpayment if they have all the facts, and they decide she is entitled to it - as in that case it wouldn't be an overpayment, she would be entitled to it, as per their decision.

A good solicitor is essential even without needing to thrash out the maintenance, as turquoise owns two other properties besides her share of the marital home, presumably? I just think the tax credits which the rules state she is entitled to claim, would help tide her over in the meantime. It may be a different story after the divorce is completes, maintenance sums agreed and any assets divided accordingly, but she can sort that out when the time comes. Divorces usually take a fair while, I thought?

Justjuan maximum child tax credits ( not working) is approx £53 per child per week.

Okay thank you - I have got a solicitor but some of the finer points aren't yet sorted.

I am aware of tax credits but am reluctant to assume I'm going to get them.

Hi turquoise- I remember your other thread, but didn't post.

First of all - you're doing great. Horse, children, one on the way and an arse of an ex. Well done for coming so far.

There are some great threads on here about budgeting, but also over on moneysavingexpert.com.

The first thing is to work out how much fixed expenses you have.
Then the guaranteed income.

See the difference in the two then allocate a certain amount to all other 'flexible' out goings.

I'm a huge fan of the software of 'you need a budget' or YNAB as it's also known. It has a 34 day trial, so might help focus a bit?

Good luck whatever you decide.