Money & UC

[hipmom1]

Good afternoon,

I’m a single mum.
I have two children. 7 and 2.

I’m currently not working. I lost my part time job during lockdown, and really struggled to find work since. I generally suffer with social anxiety so anything where I have to work in a shop/supermarket (with the public) I struggle with.

I receive a standard allowance from UC of £342 and £517 for my children plus £35 a week child benefits.

I’m really struggling financially. My mortgage is £365 a month, my council tax is £150 a month, Gas and electricity £100 a month, £25 a month for water and £49 for Virgin Media (This is apparently the lowest they can get my WiFi, Phone and TV down too) I also have house/contents insurance, TV licence and phone (£20 a month)

Basically once I’ve paid all my bills I’m left with around £50-60 a week for shopping. I’ve managed to get my shop down to around £45 a week including cleaning and toiletries.

I feel so down. For school this year I relied on a feee charity for second hand school clothes, and have managed to get a couple of outfits from a freely given for my youngest son.

I have their birthday and Xmas coming up and I literally have no money to buy them anything. I’ve explained to my eldest for his birthday we’re just going to watch a movie at home and I’m going to try and budget a take away in so he’s at least done something for his birthday but I can’t afford any presents.

I just feel so low about it all, whenever I do the school run I see all these children with new school bags and bikes and my son is constantly asking can he have a bike or a fancy school bottle (just had a spare one I found in the cupboard)

Tbh I don’t really know what the point of this post is but is anyone could give me any advice or tips I’d really appreciate it. I am actively looking on Indeed and Facebook for jobs that’s are available. I’ve applied for about 10 different jobs over the past week so fingers crossed something comes available soon!

UC is rubbish for people who are not working, even though the standard element is already £80+ higher than normal. I presume you must be under 25 to be getting that amount of standard element, so if you are turning 25 soon it will go up a bit. Even if you can find a few hours work you will be a lot better off as the first £512 of earnings will be disregarded before earnings reduce your Uc amount. there is no specific help with a mortgage until you have been on Uc with no earnings for nine months then you can apply for support for mortgage interest. You are very young to have a mortgage ?
Can you claim child maintenance ? this will not affect your Uc at all as it is completely disregarded.

@Babyroobs I know it’s rubbish :( I used to work 20 hours a week and was so much better off.

I’m not 25 for another 2 years (turned 23 in September) Yes I had my first mortgage at 18 due to inheritance from my Grandparents. I put it straight into a house as at the time I had a 2 year old, so wanted something to secure his future and any other children I went on to had.

I’ve recently put in a claim for child maintenance as he’s been refusing to pay me, I’ve had to contact CM to inform them he still hasn’t paid the agreed amount, I’m hoping it will go to deduction of earnings tbh because I know he won’t pay me. I’m meant to get around £300 a month from him for two children. Yet to see that money tho :(

I'm sure your child would rather a birthday present than a takeaway even if it's only a small one. You can get very cheap toys from b&m, home bargains etc.

If you have a smart tv with the facility to watch YouTube you could cancel your Virgin tv package and get WiFi elsewhere for considerably less.

If you don't already shop at Lidl or Aldi then that's another way to save a little on your food shop and they have great snack options for children.

Have you looked at whether you qualify for a council tax reduction?

@chandlermbing I tried to cancel my Virgin Media package but they paid because I was in a contact I’d have to pay the remaining of the contract to cancel, :/ I couldn’t afford it so just said I’d pay it monthly.

I’m keeping an eye out on Facebook Market Place for any free or cheap toys, I’m sure I’ll be able to find him something on there.

I do shop at Aldi already, try to plan it my neighbour going so I can save on bus fare.

If you are on uc you can get a council tax deduction abs it’s quite a lot

But you need to talk to council and write in journal on uc - ask if you are entitled to a discount - or you have been told uou are entitled to one

Have you looked at the '£10 a day' threads here? The latest one will be called October £10 a day or something like that.

There are lots of ideas there for earning a bit of extra money from home. You probably won't make a fortune but hopefully enough for a few extras like modest gifts and treats.

I hope you find a new job soon.

@Blondeshavemorefun I don’t think I can get a council tax deduction while having a mortgage can I? :/

I think you can get a council tax reduction if you are receiving UC but you have to apply via your local council. Council tax is determined locally and UC across the whole country so there are 2 separate systems in place. Hope this helps, big hugs x

Tbh I don’t know

I don’t think uc pays mortgages but does rent

My friend is on uc as a couple. Have 2 kids under 6 - mortgage free

But gets ct reduction. Was paying about £150 a month. Now £45/50

But

She had to apply for it. No one at uc told her she got get a discount

All the time she is on uc she gets a discount on ct

Oh, and child maintenance doesn't count as earnings! So should not affect what you receive from UC.

I was going to say, definitely contact the council about council tax reduction. I can’t imagine virgin will let you out early - how much longer do you have to go? It’s worth renegotiating when the contract is nearly up, they will reduce it.

Best of luck, I’m freelance and single parent and have times like this. It will improve!

If you're the only adult in your household you should get a 25% council tax reduction. Yes to the £10 a day threads here. And yes to getting the kids a small present rather than a takeaway. Try charity shops or Freecycle for some good stuff. Hopefully at their age they will be appreciative of anything. Maybe have a party in the park with the three of you or a treasure hunt at home to find pictures or small sweets. There's lots of free/cheap things to do. Good luck OP, it's grim but you sound like a lovely mum

You can definitely get council tax reduction with a mortgage. You need to apply on your council website and they will liase with Uc.

@Ihatesandwiches I currently don’t receive anything from child maintenance. My ex is currently refuse to pay anything.

Thank you. I’m going to apply to my local council for council tax support.

Glad you are going to claim Council Tax Support (also called Council Tax Reduction) as I was going to say that you are definitely eligible.

Everyone (well, with a few exceptions) has to pay council tax whether they rent or have a mortgage so the mortgage isn't relevant.

Igmum the 25% discount is the single person discount which is different from Council Tax Reduction, so someone could get both if they qualify for both.

Sorry you're struggling OP, hope you're getting support for your mental health. Have you spoken to local MH charities eg Mind? Where I live the Richmond Fellowship provides mental health and employment support, I wonder if there's something similar near you.

There are usually two schemes for the council tax- council tax deduction (e.g. single adult) and the council tax support (due to low income/benefits). You may have to apply separately for each one, it depends on how your local council has set it up.

Council tax as people have said. Also can you change your mortgage to interest only for a while?

Also you used to be able to claim housing benefit towards the mortgage interest if you'd been on certain benefits for 12 weeks IIRC. That might apply to UC.

If you have any spare time you could try survey sites. They don't pay massive amounts but you could put it towards birthday/xmas presents. I do about 4/5 hours a week on Swagbucks and have made £150 this year.

Are there any lone parent support schemes locally? They can be useful for advice on finding work, childcare etc.

Are you getting healthy start vouchers (gives you a few quid in vouchers towards shopping) and free school meals? Even if they get the ks1 free meals apply for free school meals as well as they then keep them even if you’re back in work and ineligible. Apply on the council website.

www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthy-start-vouchers/do-i-qualify/

And the two year old funding for nursery?

@CodenameVillanelle

Also you used to be able to claim housing benefit towards the mortgage interest if you'd been on certain benefits for 12 weeks IIRC. That might apply to UC.

It is 39 weeks now. It was only 12 weeks temporarily during the last recession. However I think with the current covid situation the government will have to consider bringing that wait time down.

Definitely contact the council to apply for council tax reduction. You can also apply for help with your mortgage from UC.

Are you on water rates or on a meter? Look at going onto a meter if you're not already.