Universal credit

[brokenladyxx]

Morning. I just wanted to ask how lone parents budget there money. I'm in receipt of universal credit that is worked out for the 26th of every month £1115.67.

Out of this I pay
£575 rent
£134 car insurance
£14 tax
£124 gas and electric (previous bill and new month bill)
£40 for a loan
That's without paying things like council tax, water, internet and everything else.

My kids dad works but not on the books it's cash in hand no tax nothing and some weeks he can earn £500+ all he gives me is £60 per week for 2 kids. Is this about right?
Is there anything else I can do to make my situation better.

My rent is high because I'm private renting, I'm bidding every week on the council with no luck at all I'm in band 4!!! I need my car to get my kids to school and nursery and back. I just feel like I'm drowning in debt and bills but have no way or means to survive unless I miss a payment here and there on something.

My daughter (single and no kids) is on Universal Credit and it is extremely difficult to manage financially. She rents a housing association flat and after all bills is left with £33 a week for food/clothes etc. She does not run a car as it is just not possible. She is unwell and can't work and we help her out when we can.

I did a quick calculation on your expenses and estimated internet and council tax. I estimate you have around £50 a week left to feed and clothe you and your children. Clearly this is extremely tight and long term probably not manageable.

The only way I can see out of this is to get rid of your car. Also your gas and electric seems high-is there any way you can get this down?
If you are in band 4 then I suspect it will be a long time before you get a council home but could you move somewhere smaller for now just to reduce your rent a bit.

Basically-you are right, as things stand you can't manage so you will probably have to make significant sacrifices. I feel for you as it's very tough.

He is actually paying about the right amount. Cms (child maintenance service) amounts are poor. As he is not registered as a wage earner and there's no record of his income, you would not receive anything from the cms.

In your shoes I would pay less to the old gas and electric bill.
op as you are doing well.

It's a hard slog and UC made it harder but that's what people in this country seem to want. They keep voting the tories in.

Go to money saving expert to get the cheapest rates for everything like Internet, gas, electric, mobiles, etc and if you are not in minimum contracts change them.

If you are in minimum contracts ring them and let them know that you are in hardship and see if they will drop things down a level for you. Good luck.

Is there anything else I can do to make my situation better.

Get a job or get rid of the car. That's where your income is low and your outgoing are unnecessary.

You pay £134 a month gor car insurance??! That is insane, why is it so high?!

Why are you paying two months gas/electricity at once?
And yes your car insurance is insanely high.

That's a ridiculous amount of car insurance unless it is your first year driving. It is what it cost my 17yo DD but by the second year, she'd managed to get a quote for half that amount.

On this cost, and I assume petrol at least if you don't have car payment, it's a lot that goes on transport. Do you actually need the car or is a nice luxury?

@madyogafan yes your right my rent is high and I am going to be bidding for years. I am looking for somewhere cheaper but rent prices are quite High where I live and it's finding the deposit and months rent in advance again.

I really hope your daughter can sort her situation out xx

@flirtygirl thankyou I'm trying to manage as best I can x

@joblotbubble yes obviously getting a job but as I've said I've got 2 children. Where can I get a job from 1pm-3pm Monday to Friday because my son is only in nursery for 3 hours. If you have any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated

@Lazypuppy @MyDcAreMarvel @swingofthings car insurance is ridiculous but it's my first year of driving. The car is beneficial only for school runs as I have to take my DD at 8.30 then my DS to nursery at 12.30 and then collect them at 3.30 and there school isn't just down the road it's a good 3 miles away, purely because the area I live is quite rough.

I actually think trying to get work in your current situation on top of being a lone parent and doing all the school runs etc is only going to give you more problems. Unless you’ve got family who can help a LOT with the kids (how often do they stay with their Dad OP?)

I think once your youngest is in full time school you might be able to get something term time (at the same school perhaps?)
The UC will be reduced in line with what you’re earning, but it could leave you a little better off?

Unless you can go out and earn a high wage then working full time on min wage will be around £1,260 monthly, I wonder if you’d be able to claim any extra help alongside that wage? Because it’s not much more than UC is it? Then you’ll likely have childcare costs to find too.

I’ve no idea how people cope! I’m sorry, that’s not helpful.

Also, how’s the public transport in your area? It might be cheaper than your car in the long run.

The first year car insurance is high for anyone no matter what age. In lots of areas there are no proper joined up bus services, even in cities, and what there is is expensive, so, once the first couple of years of insurance is out of the way that expense will go down.
For a monthly bus pass, plus a kids pass (over 5) in my area, you would pay around £70 a month, and services are so bad you would sometimes have to supplement that with taxis. You wouldn't be able to get to cheap supermarkets either.
Cars are not always a "luxury" sadly.
Oh, and also, many of you with 17 year olds, comparing the insurance cost:
It's often MORE expensive for a 35 year old single parent in a bad area , especially if you live in a council flat, than it is to be a 17 year old driving the little runabout mum and dad bought you (that is parked on your driveway in leafy suburbia).
I just wanted to get that out there, before the onslaught of judgement based on ignorance.

OP, the old gas and leccy bills can be reduced. The companies have to agree to this, you just need to ask.
Is there anything you can do from home? Have you looked at the £10 a day threads on here? They have lots of good leads on genuine ways to earn extra cash.

@00Sassy that's my thoughts exactly, I don't have a big family to help with school runs. My dad works full time, my mom is no longer here and my sister has 3 kids of her own.

My DS unfortunately doesn't turn 4 until 29th September 2020 so won't start full time untill 2021 which is a very long time to be stuck in this situation. I have tried to apply for weekend work where the kids can stay with there dad but I'm not having much look even in home bargains, Iceland etc I'm stuck x

@ChevyCamaro thanks for your support. You do get some people that just say the old words get a job, if only it were that simple. The buses as you say are very unreliable at best and would be a 3 bus there and 3 bus back mission lol.

I felt quite bullied into paying the gas and electric off at that price, £85 per month and £40 per month for the unpaid bill. As you can imagine some months I've had to prioritise things like kids uniform or new shoes than paying bills. I'm in such a mess I'm going to try CAB see if they can help me x

I do sell a lot of my DCs old clothes and toys on eBay to replace and upgrade them but still hard to make ends meet x