I’m so stressed with money right now

[Soubriquet]

I have nothing. Absolutely nothing and I have bills coming out of my ears.

I can’t work at the moment due to my mobility and I get standard mobility PIP though I have recently applied for a change of condition as it’s gotten worse and I now need assistance in and out of the bath and other stuff.

My husband works but it’s a cover position at the moment. He’s hoping it’s going to come permanent. He’s also applying for everything he can get and so far not much.

I get child tax credits and benefit. I need to switch over to universal credit but until my dh has steady work, I can’t afford to do this.

I desperately need to pay my phone bill which is 2 months later. It’s £60 and it’s all I have until Wednesday.

I need to get myself a mobility scooter or a power chair but I can’t afford that. Mobility trust are useless. I keep emailing them but getting no where.

I have an overdraft on my bank account which we are never out of

I can’t get any credit cards as my credit is now trashed. I am truly stuck.

Any advice would be welcomed right now. Seriously any advice

If you have worked and paid national insurance contributions over the past 2-3 years can you look at claiming new style ESA ? You can claim this as long as any ssp has ended. Otherwise if you are going to be better off on UC then they can give you an advance payment to tide you over until the first payment.

Can you contact your phone company and work out a payment plan? Maybe you could pay 30/40 now if 20 quid would keep you going till Wednesday? Same with any other bills. It might get you some breathing space! It’s so hard op, trying to make ends meet.

Also it sounds like you should be getting daily living component of PIP as well if you are struggling with washing, dressing etc. If you were awarded daily living PIP then on UC your husband could claim the carers element even if working full time if he is caring for you for 35 hours a week so that would boost the Uc amount.

Write down a list of all the money you have coming in and all the expenses you have to pay. Understand how big the difference is between those numbers.

See what you can cut down on (eg phone bill of £60, can you change contract to something cheaper?).

Also understand whether you are claiming all the income that you can. CAB can probably help here, and help with the claims.

I know you can't work but can you do activities from home that will bring in a little money? There is a £10/day thread on here somewhere: stuff like surveys, competitions, mystery shopping (eg over the phone)... Even a bit extra coming in sounds like it will help.

But number 1 bit of advice is take a deep breath and write it all down, then go from there.

Thanks. I keep looking for things for me to do at home. Even £10 a day would be fantastic but I can’t seem to do it.

I do online surveys every day and probably make around £7 a week.Its not loads of money but really helps me out in skint times of the month.I use qmee,streetbees and a few other ones here and there.
Qmee link
If you want to try qmee,you get 50p just for registering and link.to/streetbees Streetbees with referral code 73773X if those would be useful

Streetbees with referral code 73773X

Sorry,didn't post link properly

I’ll give them a go thanks

£10/day thread for ideas:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/money-matters/4667523-earn-ps10-a-day-new-and-ongoing-thread?page=1

But do consider all the other stuff suggested: get a handle on it and don't panic.

Swagbucks is pretty quick to earn from and pays in Amazon vouchers,

swagbucks link

Cashback apps can help a lot with saving on grocery shopping as well,I use Shopmium where you get money off groceries plus also get to try products for free,also Shoppix,where you get money/vouchers just for taking photos of receipts when you go shopping.Shopmium app

Sell stuff on Vinted?

I would if I had stuff TO sell

We have sold everything we can. My dh had collectibles he dearly treasured and he’s sold the lot which broke his heart

All I’ve got, is a TV and a phone. My kids have a switch between them and that’s it. My dd has an old broken phone that works for things like Roblox

Sell everybody’s spare clothing on Vinted , go through every wardrobe and drawer around the house and try to make a pile to sell.
There will always be shoes / jackets / clothes that are outgrown that can be sold.
I do this every month and make a good bit of money.
No fees on Vinted either , even if you sell ten items for £2 each that’s £20 , it all adds up.

Ring BT, you may be entitled to a social tariff due to getting PIP

Oh OP!! I know how you're feeling. I'm currently job hunting and the job market is shit for everything local and WFH roles too.

Sorry I forgot to add the most crucial part - I have a disability too. Which means my driving license was taken away and this has significantly impacted my life (and work!!)

It's just all gone to shite in every possible way. Pre cost of living crisis we had a lovely lifestyle and I was working part time. I even had a lovely pot of Christmas and Holiday money.

One big seizure and it's all gone :/

Spare clothing? What’s that?!

We have what we have which is the bare minimum. We don’t have anything spare!

When I say I’m broke, I mean I’m broke. I don’t have clothing coming out of my ears.

Have you done a budget to see your outgoings and incomings? What is it that's taking your money and tipping things over into such a dire state? High mortgage/rent? Living in expensive area? Energy bills? Food? Everything combined?

I think it’s everything. We do have a fairly high rental place but we are in the process of trying to find another house. That could increase our budget or fuck it up more.

It didn’t help when dh was unemployed. We got behind and it’s a pain trying to catch up.

Definitely have a look on money saving expert for cheap phone tariffs and general money advice. It's very useful, especially the forums.
I mainly buy yellow sticker food and go to Company Shop which has some excellent cheap food.
We save shower water in the bath to flush the toilet. Saves a fair bit on water costs and for me is the right thing to do environmentally.
Other than that, sorry no advice but good luck, it's a slog.

It’s awful. I have no hot water right now. Run out of diesel for the boiler so hot water is now us boiling the kettle.

Baths are out of the question. The shower doesn’t work so it’s strip baths for us all.

Unfortunately not I rang last week we get pip and tax credits and esa but not eligible its just for people on UC

Try this https://www.turn2us.org.uk/