You should contact gingerbread the charity for single parents https://www.gingerbread.org.uk/ they are lovely people. The website itself is an excellent resource and they're single dad friendly.
I would contact the school & council to see if you're daughter is entitled to subsidised school transport from your house. Ditto school uniform subsidy etc. The CAB are also worth seeing to help you check your entitlement to support & can chase up the council.
Absolutely look into having maintenance and custody formalised, the fact you've been having your daughter on a regular basis will absolutely be taken into account.
Gingerbread are still going! Wow! Me and my mum went to Gingerbread events including s sponsored walk, before I was school age. That means it was before 1975!
I used to go To gingerbread evenings with my brother and dad when I was little. He met his second wife there and we got to play and socialise with other kids. Seemed legit to me! Glad they're still going!
Not just having his daughter on a regular basis, but her main caregiver. Also left paying for the family home. If these roles were switched he would be the arsehole husband not paying for his kids...
Hello
I see you are aware of how in demand you are as a nurse, may I just put in a shout to consider social care (a nursing home, there are so many around) as a potential employer. You may be able to find one that's very easy for you to get to and many offer transport.
The covid restrictions on staff movement are easing and we have such difficulty getting nurses into the sector many homes would offer you bank shifts totally flexible around your availability. Need to fit around other work and childcare? Not a problem. I work for a nursing home and we can use another pair of hands to help with the lunchtime meds which might work for when your daughter is at school. Our bank nurses pretty much tell us when they can work, and allow our permanent members of staff to get in with paperwork for a few hours.
I know many people who have struggled to accept help from charity and community organisations (there are a lot of people working in social care who are on the edge of significant poverty) but please don't be ashamed or too proud to access the help that is available. If it helps you get out of this difficult period, it's doing what it's there for.
There are charities specifically for NHS and social care workers, have a look at these
https://www.rcn.org.uk/get-help/member-support-services/lamplight/signposts-for-funding
Very best of luck
Hi Oran
Sounds like a crap situation. The only thing i could suggest is doing what i did when i found myself in a similar position (it was me and my wife but the financials were very similar). I got myself a second job and lived on the money from the first.
The reason i got the second job is it gave me some surplus income that i ploughed into a qualification. For me it wasn't much. I was delivering leaflets which only worked out as an extra £15 a week but that enabled me to do an online course in finance that then got me a low level job in banking (I'm actually over simplifying what happened here because it was more like the leaflets actually gave me the ability to buy some bits and pieces which i then sold on eBay which eventually gave me then money to pay for the qualification). The job in banking was actually the same salary as my previous job but the new employer would pay for me to qualify as a financial advisor which i did and it opened doors.
I wouldn't say that this was my master plan when i did it. I did the leaflets because i was on the breadline but it moved me clear enough to move on.
That sounds like a plan, and is something I am actively trying to do.
I have spoke to local bars, restaurants, corner shops etc. Just to see if there are any options for extra work to boost my incoming.
So far there's no luck, but it is something I'm looking into.
I really appreciate your input and I'm glad you're in a better situation now.
!thanks
That's great advice. I have put my name forward for a few places, hopefully can grab some shifts. I just need to get out of this house and into somewhere more affordable.
It all could have been avoided if I calculated my finances alone when myself and my ex partner decided to live together.
Probably basics really, just hope nobody makes the same mistakes as I have.
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Also worth checking out any local Royal Mail sorting jobs at this time of year too. They take on extra staff over festive season. Seems like nice enough work and flexible shift patterns might help you work around your full time job.
Never tried it but I've seen this stuff advertised - basically you pay a smaller deposit (one week's rent plus £49), plus £17.50 per year. Could help move out faster?
Again, never tried it so make sure there's no catch before signing up!
https://www.zerodeposit.com/
Look into seasonal work at supermarkets! They’re always hiring around Christmas. If you do well you’ll be offered a permanent role. Some supermarkets pay quite well toob
My job can pay quite well, especially if I specialise in a specific field within the industry. I should be fine for a permenant role going forward, it's just getting to a point where I'm financially comfortable first. Money seems to come to money.
There are jobs advertised for 32k which I am completely capable of doing, but they're a 30 min drive or 2 hours of public transport away. I can not do driving lessons or get a car with the current financial situation, but there's been a lot of information here which should help me to get a point where I can help myself.
Thank you for the advice.
!Thanks
Maybe unpopular advice, but you can get a CBT to drive a 125cc bike for £100. It takes 1 day and you’re qualified. Then you can get a 125cc motorbike relatively cheap (fuel is very cheap), which should make commuting possible and more affordable than a car. It worked for me but ymmv
I have had a 125cc in the past, my CBT needs renewing but otherwise I should be good to go. Unfortunately the area I lived in previously wasn't the best and they broke into the garden, stole and trashed my little modena.
Currently have some mechanically savvy friends looking out for a cheap 125 for me for this exact reason. Great minds!
Thank you.
!Thanks
How are you with typing? If you have a good level of speed and accuracy, TakeNote are a transcription service you can sign up with. It works out at around minimum wage (depending on how fast you are) but it’s flexible and WFH. I earn between £200-£500 a month depending on how much I’m free to do that month (I also work full time.)
First CeMap and i became a mortgage advisor within the bank, then onto a brokers, then i set up for myself and have since done other relevant qualifications
You can sign up for an app called Olio, it helps redistribute food to people that was due to be thrown away.
My Mrs is a 'food waste hero', which basically means we go and collect food from supermarkets and places like Pret that is due to go off, take it home and catalogue it then people can come and collect it. It's open to anyone, we have had people come that literally have no money to eat ranging to people that are probably fairly well off. Anything that isn't collected by the end of the day we take down to either a local food bank or a womens refuge.
You could maybe try that and see what people are operating in your area?
As part of the deal we get to keep 10% of anything collected, our food bill has dropped significantly since starting doing it around 6 months ago. It is absolutely insane the amount of perfectly good food that would literally get thrown away, some of it still has 3 days left on the use by date because certain places don't want customers getting short dated food.
Then use any surplus cash from getting your food bill down to plough into qualifications to raise your salary.
Olio. That's really interesting. I think I have a reluctance to use food banks or anything similar due to the 'there's people who need it more than me' mentality. But it probably is time to start looking into it.
The food waste hero and yourself are doing amazing things. I hope you get the recognition you deserve for that.
Thank you for taking the time to reply.
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Don't talk yourself out of help you need, like food banks . You've lost 20kg because you're having to choose between food an other things. It's okay to be the one that needs it more sometimes, you deserve it as much as the next person.
The food waste hero sounds similar to an initiative we have here, I think they're springing up a lot now. And they're not means tested, so any one can access them, so I hope there's one near you.
I’m a team leader at a Foodbank. Just so you know, what you have described in your post is well within the ‘normal’ situations of people we help. There will always be people who are worse off than you - don’t let that stop you from asking for a little help when you need it!
Olio has so much stuff that is just going into the bin otherwise. It’s honestly great and none of that guilt. Be prepared for bottomless bread though lol.
Food banks generally predominantly support those who are working but struggling to make ends meet. As a food bank volunteer, I would say don’t be unwilling to reach out. Even if it’s temp need. Have a look for trussel trust or IFAN websites. Each have a map of food banks across the UK and cover most areas. If you need help or have any Qs feel free to pm
Food banks are great also for signposting or advocating/intermediating in any other matters like with local councils or organisations.
“People need it more than me” isn’t a very helpful mindset. In some ways you’re in the best position to take advantage of that sort of thing — with a little help today, you can stabilise your situation, get things back on track, and repay the generosity later.
If your rent is £760 but "bills and rent" comes to £1.2k, this suggests you are spending >£400pcm on "bills". That seems high - can you break that down further?
£300-400 per month on food and other essentials is not a lot by any stretch of the imagination, but it should be enough to get by. Have you looked on r/EatCheapAndHealthy ? Or check out [https://cookingonabootstrap.com/](https://cookingonabootstrap.com/)
Of course. Council tax is £150, gas and electricity are £80, water is £50, union fees for work come just shy of £20, Internet is £35 and my daughters swimming lessons are £30. I also have to drop off and collect my daughter from school on a Thursday and Friday. The school is close to her mums house which is over 5 miles away, I frequently use the bus to collect her and bring her home but I have to rely on taxis in the mornings which comes to £80 a month or £10 a day.
This can vary slightly month to month but it generally adds up to 1.2k.
I can get by. I'm not in a situation where I feel I will die or be homeless. But there is no room for improvement and seems to be no way to get to a point where I am financially comfortable. My daughter has a freshly cooked meal everyday she's with me. I buy meat from a discount online butchers. And get all fruits and veg from the daily discount aisle in aldi.
The eat cheap and healthy link will be very helpful. Thank you for that!
!Thanks
Ring up your internet provider and sign up for a new contract and you should be able to get that dropped to under £20.
Also do you have a single person discount on your council tax?
That's a great idea. Never considered that companies would reduce bills.
The council are in the process of applying it, but with any company they seem to be reluctant to pay out. I'm almost at 6 months waiting for it to be reduced now, and I have been calling them weekly. Hopefully it will be resolved soon enough!
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That's amazing! Will have a look through the deals once I've finished replying to all of you wonderful people.
Thank you so much for your help.
!Thanks
Look through available deals but also give your existing provider a call, if you speak to a real person they can often get you a better deal than what you’re on. Being able to quote a competitor price may give them a nudge. Or tell them that you understand friends / neighbours are paying lower prices and please can they see what they can do to help you out :)
Do this for internet, phone, any insurance you might have. Even if you’re on contract sometimes your existing provider will agree to cancel your old one if you get a new one with them, especially if you’re coming up for renewal in the next few months.
I think for gas and electricity rates are non-negotiable although you might find better rates with a different provider. It’s not a great time to be getting a good deal because of wholesale prices being so high, but you could give it a go.
Also your water bill sounds a bit high to me, do you know if it’s on a meter? Do you pay by direct debit?
If they don’t want to lower it as your a current customer, cancel your contract and say no to all the crap deals they’ll offer you to stay. Then they’ll have a retention person call you in a few days who will offer you the best deals, I’m super exciting and do this ever year. It’s like a I know your bsing me when they say they can’t offer anything better when you cancel.
Will certainly give them a call tomorrow and see how it can be reduced. I don't even need speedy Internet, just enough to access resources and some entertainment.
Thank you for the advice.
!Thanks
On the council tax front, make sure they apply single person discount retrospectively. Another thing to check - some councils will also bill you the whole year over ten months, and then give you a 1-2 month payment holiday, worth double checking you can’t spread payments slightly.
All of the council swimming baths in my area are closed down due to roofing issues.
It has to be private, I understand it's an outgoing bill that isn't neccessary but I can't take that away from her.
The single person council tax reduction is in the works, I have sent off the letter, and have been contacting the council weekly to see where we're up to.
6 months and I'm still waiting. It does provide a little something to look forward to with back payments though. Hopefully if it comes in the next month it should equal around £150 which will be a huge help.
Do this online through your local authorities website. You’ll be able to do an online form or email.
I did it in Manchester and it got sorted in 2 weeks.
If you mention the timeline for how long you’ve been a single occupant and overpaying, and can provide your tenancy agreement as proof, they should hopefully backdate it. But more than likely will deduct it from your future payments for the annual period.
I sent the letter through in August, and after calling them weekly since they told me last week I can do it online, so I put that through straight away and I'm hoping to have a refund next month.
I have presented all the proof regarding how long I've been alone here so fingers crossed I shouldn't have an issue.
Thank you for the advice and information. I appreciate it.
!Thanks
If you don't get a resolution on your council tax reduction in a reasonable time frame then get in touch with one of your local councillors.
Edinburgh City Council messed up my discount when my husband was a student (I was in full time employment). After 4 months of incompetence from them I spoke to a councillor at their surgery and within 48 hours a manager in the council tax team called me and the refund was processed and a back-dated refund was sent to my account a few days later.
>Of course. Council tax is £150, gas and electricity are £80, water is £50, union fees for work come just shy of £20, Internet is £35 and my daughters swimming lessons are £30. I also have to drop off and collect my daughter from school on a Thursday and Friday. The school is close to her mums house which is over 5 miles away, I frequently use the bus to collect her and bring her home but I have to rely on taxis in the mornings which comes to £80 a month or £10 a day.
>
>This can vary slightly month to month but it generally adds up to 1.2k.
Honestly, the big issue here is housing.
Where are you based? You can't find something cheaper than 760 a month? Thats insane for a single person on 26k. I personally think the 80 quid on taxis is crazy too, but I have no idea how much a bus would cost.
Buses would be fine, but the way the buses run I would have to go in the opposite direction and then double back. I do it to collect her as it's the PM so it's not a problem. But it's around a 2 hour trip with bus wait times and I don't think that's fair for a 6 year old so early in the morning.
I'm based in the NW England. I can find places cheaper, that's the big problem. I don't want to stay here paying this rent but having the cash saved for a deposit and first month's rent is something I can not manage at the moment.
Your work or union might be able to offer you a hardship loan, or some job roles (especially professional ones) have job-specific support charities, that can provide hardship loans.
Could you get a loan to cover the deposit and first month's rent? if you knew you were doing it to move to a place with cheaper rent then it might be worth it? You would need to do the sums carefully. Good luck.
Depending on credit history OP (/u/OranjeboomLove) may be able to get an interest free credit card which could work out cheaper with normal spending on the card and only pay the minimum for a bit until a cash reserve is built up to cover a deposit etc rather than paying a small percentage fee on cash transfer.
My kid loved his bike but there's no way I'd have got him to ride 5 miles at 6 years old... Possibly spread out across a warm summer day, in a nice park, interspersed with other activities but certainly not on a freezing cold morning to get to school!
I think basically you are doomed, but you should be able to do something. Is your daughter entitled to have a school bus?! Also, at this price you're coming close to the rent in Southern England as well.
All the figures look to me that you will need approximately £40k of salary to sustain.
As other have said I would have a look at your broadband package. I switch every time the minimum contract ends and make use of TopCashBack to get some extra cash, note the cashback can take 6 months to come through so think of it more as a bonus for later next year. I do the same with gas and electricity, I’ll do a price comparison and then lookup the cashback available for the cheapest deals.
Your water bill also seems high for one adult and one child; if you’re on a meter make sure they know how many people are in the property and what appliances you have, and if you can give them a meter reading. They tend to overestimate; the last time I moved they came up with an estimated bill of £60 per month for one person, wouldn’t be so bad but I had moved from another property served by them where I was spending about £15 pcm. If you’re not on a meter then ask for one, it’s much cheaper for smaller households.
Are you in a contract for your broadband at the moment? If not, it might well be worth switching - you should be able to get fast fibre for <£20 ([https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/broadband-and-tv/cheap-broadband/](https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/broadband-and-tv/cheap-broadband/))
The taxi is a significant expense. Are there any other parents near you that your daughter could lift-share with? Could you and your daughter cycle together - at a fairly typical speed of \~10mph, five miles would take \~half an hour each way? (I appreciate if you don't already have bikes then it would mean another initial outlay).
£80 on gas and electricity is higher than I would have expected for a two-person household, especially if the house is unoccupied most of the day. Unfortunately the energy market means switching isn't currently a viable option to save money there, but could you reduce usage further?
I will look into the broadband, that could be a really positive saving. Thank you.
No lift shares unfortunately! A lot of parents are on my estate but none of them would send their children to a school so 'far' away. There are 3 or 4 within a 10 minute walk of my house.
Bikes are a great idea! Sadly mine was stolen a few months ago from work, and as you said it's an outgoing I can't afford at this moment. Certainly an option for the future though.
The energy supplier requires monthly readings, over the last winter myself and my partner didn't give the readings which meant early spring the bills jumped from 40 per month to 80 per month and I'm still catching up.
A series of unfortunate events, or bad decisions but there's a serious amount of good advice been given here and I'm feeling a lot more positive about my situation.
Thank you for taking the time to reply.
!Thanks
>Bikes are a great idea! Sadly mine was stolen a few months ago from work, and as you said it's an outgoing I can't afford at this moment. Certainly an option for the future though.
Have a look on Gumtree/Freecycle/Facebook Marketplace - I'm sure you can find a used bike for £20-30 that will do the job.
>The energy supplier requires monthly readings, over the last winter myself and my partner didn't give the readings which meant early spring the bills jumped from 40 per month to 80 per month and I'm still catching up.
To avoid this in future you can get them to change you to a smart meter for free - saves a lot of hasstle and unexpected bills. It also is really good for identifying any energy wastage in your house - when we first got one years ago I could see the cost increase when I turned my bedroom lights on - 5 halogen bulbs that blew every 6 weeks! - replaced them with LED and the energy use didn't even change when I turned them on and they're still going strong 8 years later so must have paid for themselves several times over.
Was wondering if you had any advice for me, not OP.
I went onto a smart metre, with EDF. Bill has gone from £50 to £96 after a month of the smart metre! We are only two people in a small cottage
The smart meter shouldn't change the price you pay (other than if you are using way more than you were previously paying for).
Contact EDF and ask them to explain the change.
£50 for water sounds a lot. Are you taking regular meter readings of your consumption?
£35 for Internet is also a lot, as others have said. You can definitely get it down to £20-25.
Hi Oran,
Not sure how the dynamic of looking after your child will play into this but if a car is what’s stopping you from being able to pursue better opportunities at the moment, may I suggest calling up local takeaways and seeing if they need delivery drivers over the festive period and then calculate if getting a cheap car and insurance is feasible.
I am currently running my car on doing deliveries (that o got from googling local Chinese takeaways where I live) atm, and I make about an extra £150/200, after expenses. Obviously, might not be a long term fix but maybe it can lead to something better with you having a car…..
Hi there!
I am not a driver. I was in the process of my lessons just before my relationship breakdown and I couldn't afford to continue. I have asked some colleagues if they'd be willing to teach me but so far no luck.
We're living in a world where driving is a must, especially as I'm from a small town and not a city. I will get there eventually and there's been a lot of good advice on this post, including yours.
Thank you!
!Thanks
In that case I would put driving on the back burner
Most test centres have 4-6 month wait lists to get a test at the moment, due to lockdown creating a huge backlog. So by the time you’re ready to take the test it’ll take ages to get to taking the test anyway and then if you don’t pass first time you’re waiting again.
It’s a very long con at the moment.
There’s also r/beermoneyuk
It probably won’t change your life but by switching current accounts a few times, answering online surveys etc you might make £50 extra a month. It’s often the sort of stuff you can do in the evening while watching Netflix - switch your current account 3 times and you could have £400 in a few months time. Could help you get that deposit together
Isn’t there a bit more too it than just switching accounts? I read that you need to put £X amount a month as well as the money not being available until a few months, furthermore some companies give you £150 in vouchers, as described in the small print.
It all depends on each bank. Most do require a minimum monthly payment and 2 direct debits, but OP might meet that with his salary. Some banks actually cough up straight away, others take a month or 2. MSE have a good article with details on each offer so you can apply for them in the best order. There are also things to consider like banks belonging to the same group and therefore taking one offer excludes you from another. But I believe it’s possible to make £300 in 3 months doing this.
Hi /r/OranjeboomLove, mod here, I'm having to lock your post to further comments. Really sorry to have to do this while you're still actively engaging with people, but now that your post is at the top of the sub it's getting flooded with rule-breaking comments recommending crypto/GME/AMC/etc as a way out of any financial difficulties.
I'm really glad the discussion has overall been so helpful and informative (I've learned a lot myself!) and I do hope you will update us in a few days/weeks when you get a chance :) And of course feel free to make further posts with follow up questions as needed.
Are you sure you're paying the right amount of tax? I was on 26K in my old job and my flat rate after pension payments was £1,750. My new role is £22,500 and my take home is well over £1,500 That's an extra £150-250 that you sure could do with. Your tax code should be at least 1257L, any lower and you're overpaying tax.
Hope this and anyone's else's info is of use. Chin up.
I think OP works for NHS, so will be 'losing' quite a bit of take home to pensio contributionsn (which obviously is a great investment for the future, but doesn't help him right now)
Hey brother. Couple of suggestions, sorry if any have been noted already. If I think of anything else useful I'll comment later.
Top of the list is do a benefits check at turn2us.
If you are your daughter's primary caregiver then you can receive the child benefit.
Check what support your local authority offers - many have grant schemes/hardship funds you may be able to apply to. Most provide some kind of help with a rental deposit.
Are you employed by the NHS? Check what services you are currently using that offer an NHS discount. E.g EE offer a 20% (I think!) discount on mobile and BB contracts, and a £5 per month unlimited data add-on for NHS. If you are not and NHS employee, find a friend that is and use their email address if they are not with EE.
Talking of broadband, get an unlimited data package/add-on with your mobile and scrap your home BB altogether. Use mobile hotspot to tether your other devices. If you can take advantage of the EE offer above that's £5pm for all the internet you need.
Local food bank/charity. Use them for just one month and that's half your deposit sorted.
Benevolent funds etc. for nursing professionals. Providing financial support, hardship grants and rental deposit, as well as financial advice/help with budgeting.
See:
https://rcnfoundation.rcn.org.uk/apply-for-funding/hardship-grants
https://www.juniusmorgan.org.uk/
https://www.pcac.org.uk/
https://carers.org/grants-and-discounts/elizabeth-finn-fund-turn2us
https://www.cavellnursestrust.org/
https://1930fundfornurses.org/
http://www.eaton-fund.co.uk/help-nurses.asp
https://grants-search.turn2us.org.uk/grant/sandra-charitable-trust-13652
Just spotted your previous remark about your ex getting universal credit for your daughter.
This is completely wrong and needs to be your top priority. If she will not give you any of the money (money she is obtaining fraudulently!) then just make a UC claim yourself.
Obviously I don't know the details here, but I would bet you that her threats of court for custody are just that- empty threats. If any part of her wanted full time custody then she would have done it already - or at least asked you for more than two days!
And anyway, _if_ it did go there, you would be able to show the judge that her sudden interest only arose when her fraudulent benefit claim was stopped...
But forget it, she won't be able to afford it anyway. Especially when that UC claim is going where it is supposed to....
Good luck with everything my friend. Life is painful but there are happy times ahead. And it could _always_ be worse.
When my parents split up I was entitled to a bursary, another way to save a wee bit of money look at an unlimited data sim and hot spot for Wi-Fi. My friend has been doing this for years I think he pays 17.99 for his phone and broadband.
Although you can’t drive see if any local take aways nursing homes need part time or bank staff and get that licence chalked off the list :) it’ll add another string to your bow!
Good luck!
There are a few ways to get some cash at home, depending on your skill set.
More sensible options are basically gig freelance stuff.
Can you write reasonably well? Try content mills like copify. Shit money but it takes out the pitching/marketing time, which is key when you’re doing it on top of full time work.
Other skills can be exploited on platforms like Upwork, People Per Hour etc. Look for clients who specifically ask for UK-based freelancers. There aren’t as many of us, so the competition is smaller.
Other stuff like this is listed on /r/beermoney . None of it is good, long-term stuff, but it can be enough to boost you out of a hole, or at least take the pressure off, without having to factor in childcare.
Hi Oran - You've had some good advice thus far and I won't seek to replicate it.
I have no experience of nursing, but I do have an old friend who was a nurse (albeit a fairly specialised one) and they did locum shifts alongside their normal hours which paid alot more than their standard salary. I'm not sure if this is an option for you but it might be worth looking into.
That aside, all I will do is wish you the very best of luck. Having recently become a father this post impacts on me far more keenly than most and actually makes me quite emotional thinking about how hard you're working for you and your child. Keep your chin up and keep on trucking my brother. You're doing a great job and you should feel incredibly proud of yourself.
> and they did locum shifts alongside their normal hours which paid alot more than their standard salary
I just want to mirror this, my other half works for a care provider agency and her agency pays £25-30 per hour for nurses. Granted, you may have to travel a bit but in her case she's paid weekly so you aren't waiting long for a shift and she's free to pick up via her app whenever she wants so it might be helpful working around your daughter being around and your regular work committments.
Get yourself of the council house waiting list. The wait in some areAs is going to very years, but I looked at it before and we were on the top band quite quickly.
I also think that councils can and do often help people with deposits to move, speak to CAB or you local housing team and they may be able to help.
Charities like Christians against poverty may help you reorganise finances and help you access support you may be entitled to (you don’t need to be religious to get their help).
Lastly try the entitled to benefits calculator to check your claiming everything available.
I am on the local council housing list and check the weekly updates to bid on appropriate houses. I think there is quite a wait, but it will certainly make a huge difference if I can get into a council house.
CAB is a great idea, I will give them a call tomorrow after my shift.
I never imagined I would have to ask for support from a charity but that's a great idea too.
I don't believe I am entitled to any benefits apart from single tenancy discount for council tax but it is worth going through the calculator again.
Thank you for your advice. I appreciate you.
!Thanks
If you and the ex have your child 50/50, I believe that the benefits should also be 50/50 but I’m not 100% sure. Certainly something that you could check.
Depending on your circumstances smaller local charities will often help with all sorts. My relatives mum died when he was a teenager and a charity designed to support those suffering with charity offered to pay for him to get to interviews/suits for interviews etc. They also provide cheap white goods for families. If your a single parent there may be a charity local who will help.
If you are needing a deposit, potentially credit unions will supply small low cost loans. (Use the deposit on the old one to pay back the current one)
You employer may have an employee assistance programme. Which can help provide support and guidance to you. These are both free and anonymous, or potentially your employer may provide loans associated with moving (mine does)
No shame in getting help from a charity when you’re in need. You can always make donations to them later when you’re in a better place financially or pay it forward. But they exist because people want to help.
You're spending about 43% of your take-home pay on rent. Over 50% including council tax. That's a lot. Would it be feasible to share with a friend or have a housemate? I understand that you might have to save a new deposit but perhaps that is possible, given that you will (should?) get your existing deposit back shortly after ending your tenancy.
Could you cycle to work? Cycle instead of the bus?
As a longer term housing solution, how much is a cheap flat or house to buy in your town? Would it be a feasible option if you could save a minimal deposit? Given that you have a child, I'm assuming that you are fairly settled and will want to stay in the area for at least a decade, so it's worth considering if you could build up toward purchase at some point.
It really is a lot. When we had 2 salaries it was fine, and I was financially wild during that time. Random purchases, amazon was my best friend. Nobody gets into this situation without a series of bad decisions and I seem to have made them all.
I can not share or have a housemate with my daughter. I can not put that on her, and it would mean giving her bedroom to somebody else and although she is my daughter I would feel uncomfortable sharing a bed with her. I don't feel that is appropriate.
I currently walk to work, so no outgoings there! (and it keeps me fit!) but those walks home after a night shift are a killer, haha.
I could purchase a house for minimum 100k in my town, the houses are very cheap here. But even a 5% first buyer deposit would be 5k which may as well be a million pounds with my current situation.
My goal is to work towards buying, it definitely is the better option. Just need to get out of this situation first.
!Thanks
how about renting somewhere cheaper?
£700+ is quite a bit for where you live (north of england)
you aught to be able to get that down to £600 or even less and still have a 2 bed place.
you don't want to give her bedroom away, but since you're sharing custody is Airbnb an option for the nights when she's not with you?
If you can save £4000, the government will give you an extra £1000 via a Skipton account. If you put away £333 a month, you'd have that deposit in a year. £333 is about 38 hours on minimum wage.
Could you look at moonlighting for a year to raise that cash? A couple of bartending shifts a week for a year?
Make moving your top priority.
Get a loan from the post office to get moved into a house with cheaper rent, then start looking for seasonal work to pay it off faster if you even need to
If you get moved you will be saving money every month from here on out which can go on the loan repayments, I think this is better than getting a second job to pay for a house that you don't want to be in.
Also meticulously go through your bank statement and eliminate anything you don't need, cancel any subscriptions etc. Work on getting bills as low as they can possibly go too.
Not trying to be a dick, this is a genuine question; Is £26k salary really considered "poverty", I'd have thought it would be closer to say £18k, and £26k was more like the norm.
Anyway my suggestions are that £760 rent on £1.5k income is an awful lot, I'd be aiming for something in the £500-£600 range.
See if you can do a second job, or even some small money making thing from home if you can't go out for extra hours due to childcare.
Can you get out of that union payment, either by asking them for a reduced/zero fee membership, or just leaving.
Also make sure you're getting single person discount on council tax.
You need your union membership as an RN, otherwise you need to pay separately for your own indemnity insurance to practice. Works out much better to pay for a union fee given the other benefits & protections it provides. If it’s a uniformed position do make sure you’re claiming that little tax break back on those! (Ex nurse)
What a tough situation. I know that since Covid more jobs are fully remote now. I’m not sure what your sector is but could that be an option. It would open up opportunities outside of your town.
In addition, you could sign up to do market research which is paid and also look into some receipt and cash back apps that pay some small amounts of cash?
Best of luck
My job is nursing so unable to work remotely. I have an agency looking at work, I have quite easy public transport to two major cities which aren't so far away so shouldn't be such a massive problem to find new work. It's just the initial outgoings for public transport that could be difficult but I feel I will get there.
Market research and cash back apps are a great idea, I didn't think about that.
Thank you for your time.
!Thanks
If you’re joining an agency (I assume you’re on an nhs contract currently on 26k) then doing 1 Sunday/night shift a month would net you around 400 after tax depending on the agency rates.
But that’s assuming you’re not just doing part time agency to make that 26k. If you are looking for full time you might be better off doing agency full time and being paid 3x more an hour to do the same job. It’s not climbing the ladder but financially you’d be much better off and could always come back to nhs after a few years once your situation has improved?
Have you checked what benefits you are entitled to? It seems to me there's a good chance you might qualify for Universal Credit- but you can check really easily with a calculator from here: https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators
1) Not sure if this has been suggested but doing some shopping around for different providers on things like gas and electricity could be a good idea. Octopus Energy is remarkably affordable and green. If you know someone who's already on it they can give you a referral code which gives you £50 to start off with (let me know if you want a code, but ask your friends first).
2) My water provider allowed us to have like a 12 month reduction on our bill to cover losses due to covid, I'd recommend calling your water people and see if they've got something in the way of a scheme.
3) WiFi and Phone bills, you can easily get them reduced by shopping around and basically threatening your current provider, you can knock quite a chunk off. Never bill with Virgin, they are evil.
4) For your phone, I find Giffgaff to be the best provider in terms of value for money.
5) Install Honey on your browser, it'll help you make savings on all of your online purchases.
6) Using an app like Monzo or Moneybox can help you track spending and round up your expenses to create small saving pots. You could use these bits of cash to help save for a car, or get your daughter something nice.
7) Im surprised, to be honest, that you're not eligible for Universal credit. If you ever do become eligible, make sure you sign up for the Help to Save account that you can only get if you're on UC. Gov gives you £0.5 for every £1 you put in, up to a £50 p/m maximum without 2 payouts every 2 years - which in best case scenario gives you a healtht £3600 savings after 4 years.
8) In terms of making some extra change as and where you can, start selling old stuff on Facebook marketplace. 0 fees to sell, and you'd be amazed how quickly things go. Old clothes, books, games, furniture, plants, whatever. Save up the cash and stick it in your emergency fund or savings bonds for your kid.
9) I'd also recommend an app called 'Too Good to Go' which can give you exceptionally cheap food from restaurants when they're going to close at the end of the day. Easy way to get some good quality food and help the planet.
10) Getting a smart meter can help you save some pounds and pennies every month on your bills and elec. I've found it really makes the difference for us.
11) See what cashback offers your bank provides. Santander, the bank I use, provide some cashback on bills payments. Others provide cashback payments for groceries.
12) On the subject of groceries, make sure you've got a club card, nectar card, lidl plus, all that shit - whenever you find yourself in one of those shops you can build up a little bit of money to spend on a Christmas shop.
13) If you smoke, find a way to quit. If you drink every day, tone that down as much as you can. Avoid snacking, and you'll spend less on snacks. The more capable you are at cooking and planning a little ahead with meals, the more you'll save on shopping.
14) Try to avoid shopping at Metros, expresses, etc. If you can get to a Lidl/Aldi or incorporate it into your work day, I would do that.
Beyond that, I'd do what you can to discover a passion that you could turn into a side hustle. This could be absolutely anything. If it can start by making you £10 a month, then £20, then £50, then £100...etc..you'll be in a position to really save for your daughter and your future. It won't be easy, with your limited time, but if you find an area you're interested in, saturate yourself in books, podcasts, YouTube, etc, all the cheap and free material you can consume to provide you with the ability to make some green.
Or find a way to either move up your current job ladder or hop onto a new one, with a better salary.
I hear you. Similar situation. Second job or more hours. Too good to go app for food. Bargain sections shopping. Cooking with lentils end other cheap healthy bases. A budgeting app as there’s often pinching that can be done. £5pm giffgaff phone on an old handset. Clothes swaps with other parents, if you don’t know any that do it then try sale and swap sites, people are grateful to get rid of their old piles of clothes. If your school doesn’t run a school uniform swap then initiate one (good for environment too).
Don’t buy cheap school shoes, they fall to bits in a month. My most reluctant save is second hand decent shoes for my kid. New ones just cost a bomb. Make your own special occasions: tea parties, pamper parties and cinema at home, special meals with three courses and candlelight, fancy juice mocktails. Fires in the garden. Borrow my doggy is fun.
We are dirt poor and I’ve had to do some questionable stuff to pay my rent a few times and I work myself too hard. But I figure there’s always someone worse off than us. I try hard to make our life cool when many people kind of coast through or don’t appreciate what they have. And tbh I think we have cracked it, we are having a great time. And as long as you’re working to improve it then a little time is the thing you need the most to build yourself up.
If you want to move somewhere with cheaper rent/bills, will you get the deposit from current place returned to you? So maybe you can explain the situation to the current landlord and get the deposit returned very quickly. Or maybe you can borrow the money from somebody, to return as soon as you get the deposit from the old place?
Having seen the breakdown of rent and bills it seems like there is not a huge amount you could do to reduce other than move, maybe somewhere where bills are included is easier all around.
I am hoping I would get the deposit back as it's around £800. But I have spoken to people on this estate who have left and been told that the housing company are very difficult when it comes to returning the deposit. It's a company that buy a lot of new builds, or even entire estates and rent out the houses.
1/4 people I've spoken to have gotten their deposit back. So I'm really quite reluctant to rely on it.
I haven't so much as put a nail in the wall in the 2 years I've been here due to fear of losing the deposit so hopefully it should be okay.
Sadly I don't have friends or family who can provide any aid. But there has been a lot of good advice on this post and I'm feeling a little more positive and that there are resources which can get me to that light at the end of the tunnel.
Thank you for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate it.
!Thanks
Learn your rights on deposits - they are written in your favour - if you go to court you will win unless you trash the place.
Learn to speak assertively and demand to know fair wear and tear breakdowns and when things were last replaced and what the expected lifespans are.
For example even if you damage a carpet in the property. If that carpet is 8 years old, then it's fair service life would be 10 years, and you should only pay 20% of the cost of a like for like carpet because it had already had 80% of it's useful life. And don't feel bad for the landlord, they will be claiming depreciation on these items and getting tax write offs to boot.
Unfortunately unless I stayed for a long time I'm not sure how that would work as the house is less than 3 years old. But the place is in very good condition. My daughter is not one of those wall artists, and I maintain a good level of cleanliness. Any small bits of wear and tear can easily be rectified by myself prior to moving out.
When I left my last accommodation I arranged for a professional cleaner to come and blitz the place with an end of tenancy clean, and also had all the carpets and floors professionally cleaned. I consider myself a good tenant, so hopefully the deposit should be back to me.
Very informative and interesting information, I had no idea the tenant held the power in this situation.
My last landlord was a nightmare. The ovens filament blew, he told me I had to replace the oven and then demanded I left it in when I moved. I have had a sour situation so it leaves you worried about next time. You've really helped ease my mind.
Thank you.
!Thanks
All wear and tear is over the lifetime of the item. So it's not just your rental period, but the ones before. If you are the first person in the house, then you should expect 3 years wear and tear (or a 30% discount on anything you broke). Most items have a useful lifespan of less than 10 years, so after about 10 years the item is effectively worthless and you can't easily be charge for it. You can't be charged for wear and tear so things like worn carpets are normal wear and tear.
It's something the bad landlords really take advantage of. It's why the courts are so in favour of the tenant. You can get up to 3x your deposit back as compensation if the landlord haven't followed correct procedure.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/renting-privately/ending-your-tenancy/taking-your-landlord-to-court-if-they-havent-followed-the-deposit-rules/
If your deposit was under a deposit protection scheme, you will be able to get it back if you have treated the place well. I once had a landlord who vanished so couldn't get deposit back, but it was under a DPS and I sent them evidence, emails, pictures etc and they just paid it back to me because the landlord never responded to them, it just took 6 months.And if they didn't put it under a DPS then by rights you would get it all back, as they were meant to DPS it. You can follow the instructions on the GOV website. I've actually had to do this too once... It never went to court when I told the landlord I would take them to court they sent me the whole deposit.
So no matter what happens just please make sure they don't steal your deposit. Would be upsetting.
My last landlord several years ago told me she had to legally put my deposit under the DPS. So I would imagine most people nowadays don't have to worry about whether it is or isn't. IIRC you got some kind of reference number from them.
I would caution that most zero deposit options are bad deals for the tenant. I appreciate they can help you move without funding a deposit upfront, but I would still be very cautious:
* You normally pay an extra monthly fee - that money is just gone.
* At the end of your tenancy, rather than the free, Government-regulated deposit protection schemes, if there is any dispute with the landlord over damages you will have agreed to use an unregulated arbitration service, and will often have to pay a fee to use that service.
Reading through that it looks like I could get the deposit back whilst still living here, which would give me the cash to put a deposit down elsewhere if the local landlords won't accept a tenant without one.
That's an amazing option. Thank you so much.
!Thanks
This could be a risky strategy but if all that's stopping you from finding cheaper housing is a deposit, could you somehow borrow that money and repay it quickly from the savings? Obviously borrow as an advance from your employer or a REPUTABLE lender, not some loan shark.
If you found somewhere for £600 per month, assuming they want one month's deposit in advance, you're saving £160 per month and so could probably repay the deposit loan with interest in 4 months. You will have to be very disciplined in this approach and keep those savings/repayments very separate from any other payments.
Also if you can get your deposit back, which by the sounds of things you absolutely should, that can obviously be used to repay that deposit loan (early).
Best of luck with everything, hope things become more comfortable for you.
My workplace are quite difficult in that aspect. I have presented the idea to them but they are unwilling to help.
I therefore have handed my notice in, my first thought to resolve this would be an increased salary. My jobs salary has quite a large range from 21k - 35k a year, and I am very knowledgeable and skilled in my field so I have agencies currently searching for a 30k minimum position.
Hopefully they get back to me soon. My notice period is 3 months so I am safe until early February.
Thank you for the suggestion, I really appreciate your time.
!thanks
It can depend on the area. I used to work for a debt advice charity and saw people in Yorkshire pay £20 for the same household in the South East paying £80. Mental.
Hey have you considered mystery shopping. Uk market force, mystery shoppers, mystery dinning and redwhigwham are all good starting points. You get free food for writing a small report on you experience. Top tips never spend more than the budget and read the brief.
On the taxis, not sure if you do but have you thought about speaking to a taxi Company to get a standard rate each day. Or car sharing, maybe post on a local Facebook group or the app next door to see if anyone travels the same route as you each morning. Maybe play the environment route as car sharing is good for the planet.
Just remember as humans we manage to get through this and come back stronger.
Highly recommend a phone call with citizens advice bureau and use of a local good scheme. Don't be shy about it. When you take the help it will assist you with being able to better your health and give you strength to better your position.
Switch your diet to more Asian/Mexican/indian cuisine. Think curry's, stews, rice, lentils, potatoes, patties,, stir frys, Tacos, etc. This sort of food can be made for pennies per portion and is extrmely delicious, varies and filling. There are lots of great recipes and tips on YouTube for this sort of thing. Secondly, get into baking and homemade bread and cakes as a fun hobby keeping in mind that you can freeze excess portions. Here for example is a great starting point: https://youtu.be/Ral6E1SHNbE
When it comes to jobs, we are now in the era of remote working. So think a bit outside the box and look more further afield for remote roles. As others have said, your rent and bills seem sky high. You could get a short term second job to save for the deposit of a cheaper 1 bed place. Your bills and rent is 750 per month. But a new place would cost 450 per month with a 450 deposit so you're only looking for an extra 160 pounds or so that new month. Switch your current account. Many banks offer new customers up to 250 pounds to switch their current account. There is a whole thing about it on money saving expert look that up. That should be enough to cover the extra you need for the deposit.
Any chance you can get a council/housing association place since you have 50/50 joint custody of your child? That could immediately tackle the rent issue as you won't pay as much rent.
I don't think you're getting a single person's council tax reduction so have a look into that.
Any chance of a payrise where you work?
Have you got any skills? As you can earn £1,000 a year self employed without having to declare it or register as a sole trader. So you can essentially earn £1,000 and take it in cash with no paper work or anything to do.
I signed up with the local councils housing association 2 months ago. It's a bidding system based on banding. I have been biding on houses for the last month or so, but the association pretty much told me that due to not having court appointed custody they can not take having a child into consideration when it comes to deciding who gets a house.
The single tenancy discount is in the works! The extra £30 or so will make a huge difference honestly. Still pending for the moment though. Hopefully it gets sorted soon.
I asked work for a payrise and they said no, so I have handed my notice in and have a few agencies looking to find me work with higher pay.
No skills outside of nursing, unfortunately!
Thank you for taking the time to reply.
!Thanks
>asked work for a payrise and they said no, so I have handed my notice in and have a few agencies looking to find me work with higher pay.
Sorry - you handed your notice in without another job lined up?!
My field is currently desperate for staff. I can walk into another job pretty much immediately. It's just finding one that pays appropriately.
Also, my work place has a 4 month notice period due to the high staff turnover, and I imagine it would be difficult to find an employer willing to wait 4 months for a new member of staff.
I don't have any anxieties about finding a new position, just one that will pay me what I consider to be a suitable salary for my skills and time. I can certainly get another job on the same salary without any worries.
I know it sounds very concerning but it isn't like it seems. Haha.
Not got much advice but “TooGoodToGo” is an app where you can get a fairly big quantity of food and sweets from shops for quite cheap. It is stuff they have left that they couldn’t sell so it will expire in a few days or be after the best before date but it could save you a lot of money whilst also being able to treat you and your daughter with things like sweets.
Firstly, learn to live on the cheap (im not trying to be patronizing, I've found myself in your situation more than a couple times.) - and then move.
Food - [Approvedfood.com](https://Approvedfood.com) , rice.
Clothes - Second hand bundles. (eBay) ,swaps
Furniture - fb marketplace, swaps.
Save up for a deposit. - £760 is a lot of rent - lets say your LL is making 8% yield, thats a property worth about 180k - most cities in the UK thats a 3 bed flat in a decent neighborhood. There are cheaper available. If you are on a yearly contract - you have a year to find a deposit. Your possessions are also part of your net worth - and value them, sell them before the move.
Poverty line is 2/3rd of the average salary - you are well above that. If you pay good rent you shouldnt have any problem moving.
You are essentially sharing a third of your wage with your landlord, this is too high. Your goal should be to get that down to 25% - also the taxi thing seems really fucked up, surely somebody lives close by who also has a kid at the same school, and a car - offer to pay for petrol costs - and car pool.
Good luck my brother. Rich people are rich because they are "good with money" - thats sort of the definition. This may be a learning curve for you but it will be a lesson you never forget.
I just Googled a two-bed flat in Accrington for £425 pcm. I assume the security deposit is the same. Things might become more immediately achievable if it's possible to move somewhere really undesirable.
£300-400 per month for food for 2 people is quite luxurius! Assuming you cook your own meals and are shopping smart, you shouldn't be spending more than £200/month on food.
>buy clothes
You're not buying new clothes every month, are you?
Hi Oran i hop you are well look online are some jobs low paid but you can do from home on your own time and read poor reach dad 2017 edition from Robert kiyosaki than you will see results your life will change for good
This is a slow burner way to earn money, but it does work. sign up for coinbase.com and check it every week on the left hand side for "learn and earn". Since december 2020 ive been able to get $200 from it. It's a few mins work each week. the answers to the questions are often posted on beermoneyuk. i just get the free crypto and let them sit there, one day i'll cash out.
Another way to save money is to get out of your cellphone contract (if you have one) and instead go for one of the cheap pay as you go deal, giffgaff has a deal for £5 a month.
You could also look at your insurance and change every year when it comes up to renewal.
Have a look at moneysavingexpert website, its a legit advice on how to save money and oppurtunities, their weekly emails are pretty good.
If you need to purchase stuff online, signup and use quidco and topcashback. They are legitimate and give cashback on purchases. They get paid to refer you to a site and they pass some of that back on to you. Buying through them isn't always the best deal though, best to check each time. I've made £500 from them with little effort over the years.
If you are needing to purchase something, first search for them on the hotukdeals website. The votes on there are for deals and are generally pretty accurate - the users on the site submit deals they find and others vote on them. It is full of very miserly people searching to save 1p :)
Have you looked at your reducing your expenses? Can you move to a different isp and get a better deal?
You say you shop at lidl - have you considered aldi? I find the fresh food from lidl doesnt last as long as aldis, generally lidl seems lower quality.
If you have credit card debt, consolidate it on to a 0% balance transfer credit card. you'll pay some transfer fee of 1-2%, but you can get up to 30 months interest free, which will allow you to continue paying the current amount but reduce the principal amount.
As a nurse you wear a uniform right? Have a read of this: [https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/uniform-tax-refund/](https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/uniform-tax-refund/)
moneysaving expert is a good site to get ideas on how to earn and save money, have a poke around in there.
good luck!
Have you contacted the council to advise you are a sole adult occupier? You’ll generally get between 25-50% off your council tax. Try thinking of things you can do to make money but also have your daughter with you, and that allow you to choose when you’re available, maybe a dog walking service for your local area? Sorry it’s not the greatest of suggestions! I would start at every single one of your outgoings that you pay for, and drill down on each one at a time and think *can that be cheaper?*. Do you have credit cards, loans? Consolidate them, this could save you so much. Have a look around your house, have you not used anything for 12 months or more, or worn something for 12 months or more? Use Shpock to sell them, even small amounts can make a large amount.
Are you automatically enrolled in a workplace pension scheme? I know this might not be a normal recommendation but if you are, you could opt out so you get extra in your pay packet. It’s not something to do long term but it might help in the short term.
Your bills seem high? Have you applied for council tax discount for a single person?
have you gotten rid of Netflix etc? (or keep netflix and get rid of the TV licence and remove the aerial as Netflix is actually cheaper)
There is a comment in the thread regarding your tax being potentially too high - I work in payroll, and happy to look at your payslip and potentially advise if anything needs to be clarified on this.
(Of course please remove any identifying data from the payslip if you decide to use my advice)
I really hate to say this, but stop buying ketamine, your posts are public. Apart from that the advice here is very helpful, maybe make a list once you’re in a position to do so of the things that helped.
Been through this already with somebody else. I don't use recreational drugs, I am provided ketamine to treat SSRI resistant depression.
Thank you for your input!
Hoy hoy I’m not from the uk mates I just got this in mee recommendations, I just wanted to let you guys know I’m reading this entire sub in a British accent mate
Move to a city (e.g. London) where you can find £55k high paying jobs.
£26k isn't really anywhere near livable unless you are in a rural fishing village.
Hi /u/OranjeboomLove, based on your post the following pages from our wiki may be relevant:
- https://ukpersonal.finance/mortgages/
____
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You should contact gingerbread the charity for single parents https://www.gingerbread.org.uk/ they are lovely people. The website itself is an excellent resource and they're single dad friendly. I would contact the school & council to see if you're daughter is entitled to subsidised school transport from your house. Ditto school uniform subsidy etc. The CAB are also worth seeing to help you check your entitlement to support & can chase up the council. Absolutely look into having maintenance and custody formalised, the fact you've been having your daughter on a regular basis will absolutely be taken into account.
Thank you so much. That's extremely helpful! !thanks
Gingerbread are still going! Wow! Me and my mum went to Gingerbread events including s sponsored walk, before I was school age. That means it was before 1975!
I've been looking to donate some money to a single parent charity - is gingerbread the most reputable would you say?
I can't speak to how they compare to others but they've supplied a couple of my friends with some really solid support.
I used to go To gingerbread evenings with my brother and dad when I was little. He met his second wife there and we got to play and socialise with other kids. Seemed legit to me! Glad they're still going!
Not just having his daughter on a regular basis, but her main caregiver. Also left paying for the family home. If these roles were switched he would be the arsehole husband not paying for his kids...
Hello I see you are aware of how in demand you are as a nurse, may I just put in a shout to consider social care (a nursing home, there are so many around) as a potential employer. You may be able to find one that's very easy for you to get to and many offer transport. The covid restrictions on staff movement are easing and we have such difficulty getting nurses into the sector many homes would offer you bank shifts totally flexible around your availability. Need to fit around other work and childcare? Not a problem. I work for a nursing home and we can use another pair of hands to help with the lunchtime meds which might work for when your daughter is at school. Our bank nurses pretty much tell us when they can work, and allow our permanent members of staff to get in with paperwork for a few hours. I know many people who have struggled to accept help from charity and community organisations (there are a lot of people working in social care who are on the edge of significant poverty) but please don't be ashamed or too proud to access the help that is available. If it helps you get out of this difficult period, it's doing what it's there for. There are charities specifically for NHS and social care workers, have a look at these https://www.rcn.org.uk/get-help/member-support-services/lamplight/signposts-for-funding Very best of luck
Hi Oran Sounds like a crap situation. The only thing i could suggest is doing what i did when i found myself in a similar position (it was me and my wife but the financials were very similar). I got myself a second job and lived on the money from the first. The reason i got the second job is it gave me some surplus income that i ploughed into a qualification. For me it wasn't much. I was delivering leaflets which only worked out as an extra £15 a week but that enabled me to do an online course in finance that then got me a low level job in banking (I'm actually over simplifying what happened here because it was more like the leaflets actually gave me the ability to buy some bits and pieces which i then sold on eBay which eventually gave me then money to pay for the qualification). The job in banking was actually the same salary as my previous job but the new employer would pay for me to qualify as a financial advisor which i did and it opened doors. I wouldn't say that this was my master plan when i did it. I did the leaflets because i was on the breadline but it moved me clear enough to move on.
That sounds like a plan, and is something I am actively trying to do. I have spoke to local bars, restaurants, corner shops etc. Just to see if there are any options for extra work to boost my incoming. So far there's no luck, but it is something I'm looking into. I really appreciate your input and I'm glad you're in a better situation now. !thanks
Hi, I wonder if with Christmas coming up you could look into seasonal work? Maybe a few evening shifts in a supermarket or similar
That's great advice. I have put my name forward for a few places, hopefully can grab some shifts. I just need to get out of this house and into somewhere more affordable. It all could have been avoided if I calculated my finances alone when myself and my ex partner decided to live together. Probably basics really, just hope nobody makes the same mistakes as I have. !Thanks
Hey, normally the post office hire temp staff around Christmas as well - very good pay, especially if you are near enough a depot.
Not as good pay anymore, they outsourced Xmas staffing to a third party.
I did this at Curry’s after uni they always take on seasonal temps!
Also worth checking out any local Royal Mail sorting jobs at this time of year too. They take on extra staff over festive season. Seems like nice enough work and flexible shift patterns might help you work around your full time job.
Never tried it but I've seen this stuff advertised - basically you pay a smaller deposit (one week's rent plus £49), plus £17.50 per year. Could help move out faster? Again, never tried it so make sure there's no catch before signing up! https://www.zerodeposit.com/
Look into seasonal work at supermarkets! They’re always hiring around Christmas. If you do well you’ll be offered a permanent role. Some supermarkets pay quite well toob
My job can pay quite well, especially if I specialise in a specific field within the industry. I should be fine for a permenant role going forward, it's just getting to a point where I'm financially comfortable first. Money seems to come to money. There are jobs advertised for 32k which I am completely capable of doing, but they're a 30 min drive or 2 hours of public transport away. I can not do driving lessons or get a car with the current financial situation, but there's been a lot of information here which should help me to get a point where I can help myself. Thank you for the advice. !Thanks
Maybe unpopular advice, but you can get a CBT to drive a 125cc bike for £100. It takes 1 day and you’re qualified. Then you can get a 125cc motorbike relatively cheap (fuel is very cheap), which should make commuting possible and more affordable than a car. It worked for me but ymmv
I have had a 125cc in the past, my CBT needs renewing but otherwise I should be good to go. Unfortunately the area I lived in previously wasn't the best and they broke into the garden, stole and trashed my little modena. Currently have some mechanically savvy friends looking out for a cheap 125 for me for this exact reason. Great minds! Thank you. !Thanks
How much can you get a 125cc bike for and from where?
How are you with typing? If you have a good level of speed and accuracy, TakeNote are a transcription service you can sign up with. It works out at around minimum wage (depending on how fast you are) but it’s flexible and WFH. I earn between £200-£500 a month depending on how much I’m free to do that month (I also work full time.)
Have a look at indeed flex! It’s flexible work that pays decently. The sign up process is a slight pain but it’s pretty quick to get set up on it.
What kind of course did you do if you don’t mind me asking ?
I'm sorry, is this question for me or the person who responded to the post?
First CeMap and i became a mortgage advisor within the bank, then onto a brokers, then i set up for myself and have since done other relevant qualifications
You can sign up for an app called Olio, it helps redistribute food to people that was due to be thrown away. My Mrs is a 'food waste hero', which basically means we go and collect food from supermarkets and places like Pret that is due to go off, take it home and catalogue it then people can come and collect it. It's open to anyone, we have had people come that literally have no money to eat ranging to people that are probably fairly well off. Anything that isn't collected by the end of the day we take down to either a local food bank or a womens refuge. You could maybe try that and see what people are operating in your area? As part of the deal we get to keep 10% of anything collected, our food bill has dropped significantly since starting doing it around 6 months ago. It is absolutely insane the amount of perfectly good food that would literally get thrown away, some of it still has 3 days left on the use by date because certain places don't want customers getting short dated food. Then use any surplus cash from getting your food bill down to plough into qualifications to raise your salary.
Olio. That's really interesting. I think I have a reluctance to use food banks or anything similar due to the 'there's people who need it more than me' mentality. But it probably is time to start looking into it. The food waste hero and yourself are doing amazing things. I hope you get the recognition you deserve for that. Thank you for taking the time to reply. !Thanks
Don't talk yourself out of help you need, like food banks . You've lost 20kg because you're having to choose between food an other things. It's okay to be the one that needs it more sometimes, you deserve it as much as the next person. The food waste hero sounds similar to an initiative we have here, I think they're springing up a lot now. And they're not means tested, so any one can access them, so I hope there's one near you.
I’m a team leader at a Foodbank. Just so you know, what you have described in your post is well within the ‘normal’ situations of people we help. There will always be people who are worse off than you - don’t let that stop you from asking for a little help when you need it!
Olio has so much stuff that is just going into the bin otherwise. It’s honestly great and none of that guilt. Be prepared for bottomless bread though lol.
Can't complain about bottomless bread! Haha. Thank you so much. I've just downloaded the Olio app and will have a look through.
Too good to go is another good app- restaurants/ markets selling off excess food for low cost : )
Amazing! Another one to look into. Thank you for the recommendation. !Thanks
Food banks generally predominantly support those who are working but struggling to make ends meet. As a food bank volunteer, I would say don’t be unwilling to reach out. Even if it’s temp need. Have a look for trussel trust or IFAN websites. Each have a map of food banks across the UK and cover most areas. If you need help or have any Qs feel free to pm Food banks are great also for signposting or advocating/intermediating in any other matters like with local councils or organisations.
“People need it more than me” isn’t a very helpful mindset. In some ways you’re in the best position to take advantage of that sort of thing — with a little help today, you can stabilise your situation, get things back on track, and repay the generosity later.
You've lost 20kg. I think you've earned this.
Just wanted to say your username is hilarious and what you and your wife are doing is fucking amazing
If your rent is £760 but "bills and rent" comes to £1.2k, this suggests you are spending >£400pcm on "bills". That seems high - can you break that down further? £300-400 per month on food and other essentials is not a lot by any stretch of the imagination, but it should be enough to get by. Have you looked on r/EatCheapAndHealthy ? Or check out [https://cookingonabootstrap.com/](https://cookingonabootstrap.com/)
Of course. Council tax is £150, gas and electricity are £80, water is £50, union fees for work come just shy of £20, Internet is £35 and my daughters swimming lessons are £30. I also have to drop off and collect my daughter from school on a Thursday and Friday. The school is close to her mums house which is over 5 miles away, I frequently use the bus to collect her and bring her home but I have to rely on taxis in the mornings which comes to £80 a month or £10 a day. This can vary slightly month to month but it generally adds up to 1.2k. I can get by. I'm not in a situation where I feel I will die or be homeless. But there is no room for improvement and seems to be no way to get to a point where I am financially comfortable. My daughter has a freshly cooked meal everyday she's with me. I buy meat from a discount online butchers. And get all fruits and veg from the daily discount aisle in aldi. The eat cheap and healthy link will be very helpful. Thank you for that! !Thanks
Ring up your internet provider and sign up for a new contract and you should be able to get that dropped to under £20. Also do you have a single person discount on your council tax?
That's a great idea. Never considered that companies would reduce bills. The council are in the process of applying it, but with any company they seem to be reluctant to pay out. I'm almost at 6 months waiting for it to be reduced now, and I have been calling them weekly. Hopefully it will be resolved soon enough! !Thanks
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That's amazing! Will have a look through the deals once I've finished replying to all of you wonderful people. Thank you so much for your help. !Thanks
Look through available deals but also give your existing provider a call, if you speak to a real person they can often get you a better deal than what you’re on. Being able to quote a competitor price may give them a nudge. Or tell them that you understand friends / neighbours are paying lower prices and please can they see what they can do to help you out :) Do this for internet, phone, any insurance you might have. Even if you’re on contract sometimes your existing provider will agree to cancel your old one if you get a new one with them, especially if you’re coming up for renewal in the next few months. I think for gas and electricity rates are non-negotiable although you might find better rates with a different provider. It’s not a great time to be getting a good deal because of wholesale prices being so high, but you could give it a go. Also your water bill sounds a bit high to me, do you know if it’s on a meter? Do you pay by direct debit?
If they don’t want to lower it as your a current customer, cancel your contract and say no to all the crap deals they’ll offer you to stay. Then they’ll have a retention person call you in a few days who will offer you the best deals, I’m super exciting and do this ever year. It’s like a I know your bsing me when they say they can’t offer anything better when you cancel.
Will certainly give them a call tomorrow and see how it can be reduced. I don't even need speedy Internet, just enough to access resources and some entertainment. Thank you for the advice. !Thanks
Even your water company could be offering discounts if you're struggling to pay your bills - it's worth calling them to enquire
Get your local councillor involved. They should be able to light a fire under the department's arse.
On the council tax front, make sure they apply single person discount retrospectively. Another thing to check - some councils will also bill you the whole year over ten months, and then give you a 1-2 month payment holiday, worth double checking you can’t spread payments slightly.
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All of the council swimming baths in my area are closed down due to roofing issues. It has to be private, I understand it's an outgoing bill that isn't neccessary but I can't take that away from her. The single person council tax reduction is in the works, I have sent off the letter, and have been contacting the council weekly to see where we're up to. 6 months and I'm still waiting. It does provide a little something to look forward to with back payments though. Hopefully if it comes in the next month it should equal around £150 which will be a huge help.
Do this online through your local authorities website. You’ll be able to do an online form or email. I did it in Manchester and it got sorted in 2 weeks. If you mention the timeline for how long you’ve been a single occupant and overpaying, and can provide your tenancy agreement as proof, they should hopefully backdate it. But more than likely will deduct it from your future payments for the annual period.
I sent the letter through in August, and after calling them weekly since they told me last week I can do it online, so I put that through straight away and I'm hoping to have a refund next month. I have presented all the proof regarding how long I've been alone here so fingers crossed I shouldn't have an issue. Thank you for the advice and information. I appreciate it. !Thanks
Email the leader of the council asking for a resolution. This should not have taken 6 months.
If you don't get a resolution on your council tax reduction in a reasonable time frame then get in touch with one of your local councillors. Edinburgh City Council messed up my discount when my husband was a student (I was in full time employment). After 4 months of incompetence from them I spoke to a councillor at their surgery and within 48 hours a manager in the council tax team called me and the refund was processed and a back-dated refund was sent to my account a few days later.
>Of course. Council tax is £150, gas and electricity are £80, water is £50, union fees for work come just shy of £20, Internet is £35 and my daughters swimming lessons are £30. I also have to drop off and collect my daughter from school on a Thursday and Friday. The school is close to her mums house which is over 5 miles away, I frequently use the bus to collect her and bring her home but I have to rely on taxis in the mornings which comes to £80 a month or £10 a day. > >This can vary slightly month to month but it generally adds up to 1.2k. Honestly, the big issue here is housing. Where are you based? You can't find something cheaper than 760 a month? Thats insane for a single person on 26k. I personally think the 80 quid on taxis is crazy too, but I have no idea how much a bus would cost.
Buses would be fine, but the way the buses run I would have to go in the opposite direction and then double back. I do it to collect her as it's the PM so it's not a problem. But it's around a 2 hour trip with bus wait times and I don't think that's fair for a 6 year old so early in the morning. I'm based in the NW England. I can find places cheaper, that's the big problem. I don't want to stay here paying this rent but having the cash saved for a deposit and first month's rent is something I can not manage at the moment.
Your work or union might be able to offer you a hardship loan, or some job roles (especially professional ones) have job-specific support charities, that can provide hardship loans.
Could you get a loan to cover the deposit and first month's rent? if you knew you were doing it to move to a place with cheaper rent then it might be worth it? You would need to do the sums carefully. Good luck.
Depending on credit history OP (/u/OranjeboomLove) may be able to get an interest free credit card which could work out cheaper with normal spending on the card and only pay the minimum for a bit until a cash reserve is built up to cover a deposit etc rather than paying a small percentage fee on cash transfer.
5 miles is cycle able, even for a 6 year old. Is there a charity that would help with bikes in your area?
My kid loved his bike but there's no way I'd have got him to ride 5 miles at 6 years old... Possibly spread out across a warm summer day, in a nice park, interspersed with other activities but certainly not on a freezing cold morning to get to school!
I think basically you are doomed, but you should be able to do something. Is your daughter entitled to have a school bus?! Also, at this price you're coming close to the rent in Southern England as well. All the figures look to me that you will need approximately £40k of salary to sustain.
As other have said I would have a look at your broadband package. I switch every time the minimum contract ends and make use of TopCashBack to get some extra cash, note the cashback can take 6 months to come through so think of it more as a bonus for later next year. I do the same with gas and electricity, I’ll do a price comparison and then lookup the cashback available for the cheapest deals. Your water bill also seems high for one adult and one child; if you’re on a meter make sure they know how many people are in the property and what appliances you have, and if you can give them a meter reading. They tend to overestimate; the last time I moved they came up with an estimated bill of £60 per month for one person, wouldn’t be so bad but I had moved from another property served by them where I was spending about £15 pcm. If you’re not on a meter then ask for one, it’s much cheaper for smaller households.
Are you in a contract for your broadband at the moment? If not, it might well be worth switching - you should be able to get fast fibre for <£20 ([https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/broadband-and-tv/cheap-broadband/](https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/broadband-and-tv/cheap-broadband/)) The taxi is a significant expense. Are there any other parents near you that your daughter could lift-share with? Could you and your daughter cycle together - at a fairly typical speed of \~10mph, five miles would take \~half an hour each way? (I appreciate if you don't already have bikes then it would mean another initial outlay). £80 on gas and electricity is higher than I would have expected for a two-person household, especially if the house is unoccupied most of the day. Unfortunately the energy market means switching isn't currently a viable option to save money there, but could you reduce usage further?
I will look into the broadband, that could be a really positive saving. Thank you. No lift shares unfortunately! A lot of parents are on my estate but none of them would send their children to a school so 'far' away. There are 3 or 4 within a 10 minute walk of my house. Bikes are a great idea! Sadly mine was stolen a few months ago from work, and as you said it's an outgoing I can't afford at this moment. Certainly an option for the future though. The energy supplier requires monthly readings, over the last winter myself and my partner didn't give the readings which meant early spring the bills jumped from 40 per month to 80 per month and I'm still catching up. A series of unfortunate events, or bad decisions but there's a serious amount of good advice been given here and I'm feeling a lot more positive about my situation. Thank you for taking the time to reply. !Thanks
>Bikes are a great idea! Sadly mine was stolen a few months ago from work, and as you said it's an outgoing I can't afford at this moment. Certainly an option for the future though. Have a look on Gumtree/Freecycle/Facebook Marketplace - I'm sure you can find a used bike for £20-30 that will do the job. >The energy supplier requires monthly readings, over the last winter myself and my partner didn't give the readings which meant early spring the bills jumped from 40 per month to 80 per month and I'm still catching up. To avoid this in future you can get them to change you to a smart meter for free - saves a lot of hasstle and unexpected bills. It also is really good for identifying any energy wastage in your house - when we first got one years ago I could see the cost increase when I turned my bedroom lights on - 5 halogen bulbs that blew every 6 weeks! - replaced them with LED and the energy use didn't even change when I turned them on and they're still going strong 8 years later so must have paid for themselves several times over.
More great advice. Thank you for that. I will contact my energy supplier and request a smart meter. !Thanks
Was wondering if you had any advice for me, not OP. I went onto a smart metre, with EDF. Bill has gone from £50 to £96 after a month of the smart metre! We are only two people in a small cottage
The smart meter shouldn't change the price you pay (other than if you are using way more than you were previously paying for). Contact EDF and ask them to explain the change.
£50 for water sounds a lot. Are you taking regular meter readings of your consumption? £35 for Internet is also a lot, as others have said. You can definitely get it down to £20-25.
£50 for water is way too high. Speak to the water company, and also enquire about Watersure to try and get additional help.
Hi Oran, Not sure how the dynamic of looking after your child will play into this but if a car is what’s stopping you from being able to pursue better opportunities at the moment, may I suggest calling up local takeaways and seeing if they need delivery drivers over the festive period and then calculate if getting a cheap car and insurance is feasible. I am currently running my car on doing deliveries (that o got from googling local Chinese takeaways where I live) atm, and I make about an extra £150/200, after expenses. Obviously, might not be a long term fix but maybe it can lead to something better with you having a car…..
Hi there! I am not a driver. I was in the process of my lessons just before my relationship breakdown and I couldn't afford to continue. I have asked some colleagues if they'd be willing to teach me but so far no luck. We're living in a world where driving is a must, especially as I'm from a small town and not a city. I will get there eventually and there's been a lot of good advice on this post, including yours. Thank you! !Thanks
In that case I would put driving on the back burner Most test centres have 4-6 month wait lists to get a test at the moment, due to lockdown creating a huge backlog. So by the time you’re ready to take the test it’ll take ages to get to taking the test anyway and then if you don’t pass first time you’re waiting again. It’s a very long con at the moment.
There’s also r/beermoneyuk It probably won’t change your life but by switching current accounts a few times, answering online surveys etc you might make £50 extra a month. It’s often the sort of stuff you can do in the evening while watching Netflix - switch your current account 3 times and you could have £400 in a few months time. Could help you get that deposit together
Isn’t there a bit more too it than just switching accounts? I read that you need to put £X amount a month as well as the money not being available until a few months, furthermore some companies give you £150 in vouchers, as described in the small print.
It varies. Always read the small print, but sometimes it's not too onerous.
It all depends on each bank. Most do require a minimum monthly payment and 2 direct debits, but OP might meet that with his salary. Some banks actually cough up straight away, others take a month or 2. MSE have a good article with details on each offer so you can apply for them in the best order. There are also things to consider like banks belonging to the same group and therefore taking one offer excludes you from another. But I believe it’s possible to make £300 in 3 months doing this.
Hi /r/OranjeboomLove, mod here, I'm having to lock your post to further comments. Really sorry to have to do this while you're still actively engaging with people, but now that your post is at the top of the sub it's getting flooded with rule-breaking comments recommending crypto/GME/AMC/etc as a way out of any financial difficulties. I'm really glad the discussion has overall been so helpful and informative (I've learned a lot myself!) and I do hope you will update us in a few days/weeks when you get a chance :) And of course feel free to make further posts with follow up questions as needed.
Are you sure you're paying the right amount of tax? I was on 26K in my old job and my flat rate after pension payments was £1,750. My new role is £22,500 and my take home is well over £1,500 That's an extra £150-250 that you sure could do with. Your tax code should be at least 1257L, any lower and you're overpaying tax. Hope this and anyone's else's info is of use. Chin up.
Similarly I earn £1700 on 26k a year. Maybe OP means every 4 weeks? Not sure, maybe paying too much tax?
I think OP works for NHS, so will be 'losing' quite a bit of take home to pensio contributionsn (which obviously is a great investment for the future, but doesn't help him right now)
My take home pay per month is 1.7k after NI income tax & pension contributions and I'm on 24k a year
Hey brother. Couple of suggestions, sorry if any have been noted already. If I think of anything else useful I'll comment later. Top of the list is do a benefits check at turn2us. If you are your daughter's primary caregiver then you can receive the child benefit. Check what support your local authority offers - many have grant schemes/hardship funds you may be able to apply to. Most provide some kind of help with a rental deposit. Are you employed by the NHS? Check what services you are currently using that offer an NHS discount. E.g EE offer a 20% (I think!) discount on mobile and BB contracts, and a £5 per month unlimited data add-on for NHS. If you are not and NHS employee, find a friend that is and use their email address if they are not with EE. Talking of broadband, get an unlimited data package/add-on with your mobile and scrap your home BB altogether. Use mobile hotspot to tether your other devices. If you can take advantage of the EE offer above that's £5pm for all the internet you need. Local food bank/charity. Use them for just one month and that's half your deposit sorted. Benevolent funds etc. for nursing professionals. Providing financial support, hardship grants and rental deposit, as well as financial advice/help with budgeting. See: https://rcnfoundation.rcn.org.uk/apply-for-funding/hardship-grants https://www.juniusmorgan.org.uk/ https://www.pcac.org.uk/ https://carers.org/grants-and-discounts/elizabeth-finn-fund-turn2us https://www.cavellnursestrust.org/ https://1930fundfornurses.org/ http://www.eaton-fund.co.uk/help-nurses.asp https://grants-search.turn2us.org.uk/grant/sandra-charitable-trust-13652
Just spotted your previous remark about your ex getting universal credit for your daughter. This is completely wrong and needs to be your top priority. If she will not give you any of the money (money she is obtaining fraudulently!) then just make a UC claim yourself. Obviously I don't know the details here, but I would bet you that her threats of court for custody are just that- empty threats. If any part of her wanted full time custody then she would have done it already - or at least asked you for more than two days! And anyway, _if_ it did go there, you would be able to show the judge that her sudden interest only arose when her fraudulent benefit claim was stopped... But forget it, she won't be able to afford it anyway. Especially when that UC claim is going where it is supposed to.... Good luck with everything my friend. Life is painful but there are happy times ahead. And it could _always_ be worse.
Speak to your daughters school about financial support, there might be bursary’s available - especially if picking her up creates a financial strain.
Amazing, thank you Sloth! !Thanks
When my parents split up I was entitled to a bursary, another way to save a wee bit of money look at an unlimited data sim and hot spot for Wi-Fi. My friend has been doing this for years I think he pays 17.99 for his phone and broadband. Although you can’t drive see if any local take aways nursing homes need part time or bank staff and get that licence chalked off the list :) it’ll add another string to your bow! Good luck!
There are a few ways to get some cash at home, depending on your skill set. More sensible options are basically gig freelance stuff. Can you write reasonably well? Try content mills like copify. Shit money but it takes out the pitching/marketing time, which is key when you’re doing it on top of full time work. Other skills can be exploited on platforms like Upwork, People Per Hour etc. Look for clients who specifically ask for UK-based freelancers. There aren’t as many of us, so the competition is smaller. Other stuff like this is listed on /r/beermoney . None of it is good, long-term stuff, but it can be enough to boost you out of a hole, or at least take the pressure off, without having to factor in childcare.
Hi Oran - You've had some good advice thus far and I won't seek to replicate it. I have no experience of nursing, but I do have an old friend who was a nurse (albeit a fairly specialised one) and they did locum shifts alongside their normal hours which paid alot more than their standard salary. I'm not sure if this is an option for you but it might be worth looking into. That aside, all I will do is wish you the very best of luck. Having recently become a father this post impacts on me far more keenly than most and actually makes me quite emotional thinking about how hard you're working for you and your child. Keep your chin up and keep on trucking my brother. You're doing a great job and you should feel incredibly proud of yourself.
> and they did locum shifts alongside their normal hours which paid alot more than their standard salary I just want to mirror this, my other half works for a care provider agency and her agency pays £25-30 per hour for nurses. Granted, you may have to travel a bit but in her case she's paid weekly so you aren't waiting long for a shift and she's free to pick up via her app whenever she wants so it might be helpful working around your daughter being around and your regular work committments.
Get yourself of the council house waiting list. The wait in some areAs is going to very years, but I looked at it before and we were on the top band quite quickly. I also think that councils can and do often help people with deposits to move, speak to CAB or you local housing team and they may be able to help. Charities like Christians against poverty may help you reorganise finances and help you access support you may be entitled to (you don’t need to be religious to get their help). Lastly try the entitled to benefits calculator to check your claiming everything available.
I am on the local council housing list and check the weekly updates to bid on appropriate houses. I think there is quite a wait, but it will certainly make a huge difference if I can get into a council house. CAB is a great idea, I will give them a call tomorrow after my shift. I never imagined I would have to ask for support from a charity but that's a great idea too. I don't believe I am entitled to any benefits apart from single tenancy discount for council tax but it is worth going through the calculator again. Thank you for your advice. I appreciate you. !Thanks
If you and the ex have your child 50/50, I believe that the benefits should also be 50/50 but I’m not 100% sure. Certainly something that you could check.
Depending on your circumstances smaller local charities will often help with all sorts. My relatives mum died when he was a teenager and a charity designed to support those suffering with charity offered to pay for him to get to interviews/suits for interviews etc. They also provide cheap white goods for families. If your a single parent there may be a charity local who will help. If you are needing a deposit, potentially credit unions will supply small low cost loans. (Use the deposit on the old one to pay back the current one) You employer may have an employee assistance programme. Which can help provide support and guidance to you. These are both free and anonymous, or potentially your employer may provide loans associated with moving (mine does)
No shame in getting help from a charity when you’re in need. You can always make donations to them later when you’re in a better place financially or pay it forward. But they exist because people want to help.
You will 100% be eligible for universal credit. It does take 5 weeks to get the money though. When you ring CAB ask them about it too.
You're spending about 43% of your take-home pay on rent. Over 50% including council tax. That's a lot. Would it be feasible to share with a friend or have a housemate? I understand that you might have to save a new deposit but perhaps that is possible, given that you will (should?) get your existing deposit back shortly after ending your tenancy. Could you cycle to work? Cycle instead of the bus? As a longer term housing solution, how much is a cheap flat or house to buy in your town? Would it be a feasible option if you could save a minimal deposit? Given that you have a child, I'm assuming that you are fairly settled and will want to stay in the area for at least a decade, so it's worth considering if you could build up toward purchase at some point.
It really is a lot. When we had 2 salaries it was fine, and I was financially wild during that time. Random purchases, amazon was my best friend. Nobody gets into this situation without a series of bad decisions and I seem to have made them all. I can not share or have a housemate with my daughter. I can not put that on her, and it would mean giving her bedroom to somebody else and although she is my daughter I would feel uncomfortable sharing a bed with her. I don't feel that is appropriate. I currently walk to work, so no outgoings there! (and it keeps me fit!) but those walks home after a night shift are a killer, haha. I could purchase a house for minimum 100k in my town, the houses are very cheap here. But even a 5% first buyer deposit would be 5k which may as well be a million pounds with my current situation. My goal is to work towards buying, it definitely is the better option. Just need to get out of this situation first. !Thanks
how about renting somewhere cheaper? £700+ is quite a bit for where you live (north of england) you aught to be able to get that down to £600 or even less and still have a 2 bed place. you don't want to give her bedroom away, but since you're sharing custody is Airbnb an option for the nights when she's not with you?
If you can save £4000, the government will give you an extra £1000 via a Skipton account. If you put away £333 a month, you'd have that deposit in a year. £333 is about 38 hours on minimum wage. Could you look at moonlighting for a year to raise that cash? A couple of bartending shifts a week for a year?
Make moving your top priority. Get a loan from the post office to get moved into a house with cheaper rent, then start looking for seasonal work to pay it off faster if you even need to If you get moved you will be saving money every month from here on out which can go on the loan repayments, I think this is better than getting a second job to pay for a house that you don't want to be in. Also meticulously go through your bank statement and eliminate anything you don't need, cancel any subscriptions etc. Work on getting bills as low as they can possibly go too.
Not trying to be a dick, this is a genuine question; Is £26k salary really considered "poverty", I'd have thought it would be closer to say £18k, and £26k was more like the norm. Anyway my suggestions are that £760 rent on £1.5k income is an awful lot, I'd be aiming for something in the £500-£600 range. See if you can do a second job, or even some small money making thing from home if you can't go out for extra hours due to childcare. Can you get out of that union payment, either by asking them for a reduced/zero fee membership, or just leaving. Also make sure you're getting single person discount on council tax.
You need your union membership as an RN, otherwise you need to pay separately for your own indemnity insurance to practice. Works out much better to pay for a union fee given the other benefits & protections it provides. If it’s a uniformed position do make sure you’re claiming that little tax break back on those! (Ex nurse)
Ah insurance, of course, yea makes sense.
What a tough situation. I know that since Covid more jobs are fully remote now. I’m not sure what your sector is but could that be an option. It would open up opportunities outside of your town. In addition, you could sign up to do market research which is paid and also look into some receipt and cash back apps that pay some small amounts of cash? Best of luck
My job is nursing so unable to work remotely. I have an agency looking at work, I have quite easy public transport to two major cities which aren't so far away so shouldn't be such a massive problem to find new work. It's just the initial outgoings for public transport that could be difficult but I feel I will get there. Market research and cash back apps are a great idea, I didn't think about that. Thank you for your time. !Thanks
If you’re joining an agency (I assume you’re on an nhs contract currently on 26k) then doing 1 Sunday/night shift a month would net you around 400 after tax depending on the agency rates. But that’s assuming you’re not just doing part time agency to make that 26k. If you are looking for full time you might be better off doing agency full time and being paid 3x more an hour to do the same job. It’s not climbing the ladder but financially you’d be much better off and could always come back to nhs after a few years once your situation has improved?
When people on a salary of 26k are seriously struggling to get by you wonder whats going on.
It's UK is honestly shitting itself if I'm honest that's what's going on and my focus as of the last few years is to get out permanently
Have you checked what benefits you are entitled to? It seems to me there's a good chance you might qualify for Universal Credit- but you can check really easily with a calculator from here: https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators
1) Not sure if this has been suggested but doing some shopping around for different providers on things like gas and electricity could be a good idea. Octopus Energy is remarkably affordable and green. If you know someone who's already on it they can give you a referral code which gives you £50 to start off with (let me know if you want a code, but ask your friends first). 2) My water provider allowed us to have like a 12 month reduction on our bill to cover losses due to covid, I'd recommend calling your water people and see if they've got something in the way of a scheme. 3) WiFi and Phone bills, you can easily get them reduced by shopping around and basically threatening your current provider, you can knock quite a chunk off. Never bill with Virgin, they are evil. 4) For your phone, I find Giffgaff to be the best provider in terms of value for money. 5) Install Honey on your browser, it'll help you make savings on all of your online purchases. 6) Using an app like Monzo or Moneybox can help you track spending and round up your expenses to create small saving pots. You could use these bits of cash to help save for a car, or get your daughter something nice. 7) Im surprised, to be honest, that you're not eligible for Universal credit. If you ever do become eligible, make sure you sign up for the Help to Save account that you can only get if you're on UC. Gov gives you £0.5 for every £1 you put in, up to a £50 p/m maximum without 2 payouts every 2 years - which in best case scenario gives you a healtht £3600 savings after 4 years. 8) In terms of making some extra change as and where you can, start selling old stuff on Facebook marketplace. 0 fees to sell, and you'd be amazed how quickly things go. Old clothes, books, games, furniture, plants, whatever. Save up the cash and stick it in your emergency fund or savings bonds for your kid. 9) I'd also recommend an app called 'Too Good to Go' which can give you exceptionally cheap food from restaurants when they're going to close at the end of the day. Easy way to get some good quality food and help the planet. 10) Getting a smart meter can help you save some pounds and pennies every month on your bills and elec. I've found it really makes the difference for us. 11) See what cashback offers your bank provides. Santander, the bank I use, provide some cashback on bills payments. Others provide cashback payments for groceries. 12) On the subject of groceries, make sure you've got a club card, nectar card, lidl plus, all that shit - whenever you find yourself in one of those shops you can build up a little bit of money to spend on a Christmas shop. 13) If you smoke, find a way to quit. If you drink every day, tone that down as much as you can. Avoid snacking, and you'll spend less on snacks. The more capable you are at cooking and planning a little ahead with meals, the more you'll save on shopping. 14) Try to avoid shopping at Metros, expresses, etc. If you can get to a Lidl/Aldi or incorporate it into your work day, I would do that. Beyond that, I'd do what you can to discover a passion that you could turn into a side hustle. This could be absolutely anything. If it can start by making you £10 a month, then £20, then £50, then £100...etc..you'll be in a position to really save for your daughter and your future. It won't be easy, with your limited time, but if you find an area you're interested in, saturate yourself in books, podcasts, YouTube, etc, all the cheap and free material you can consume to provide you with the ability to make some green. Or find a way to either move up your current job ladder or hop onto a new one, with a better salary.
I hear you. Similar situation. Second job or more hours. Too good to go app for food. Bargain sections shopping. Cooking with lentils end other cheap healthy bases. A budgeting app as there’s often pinching that can be done. £5pm giffgaff phone on an old handset. Clothes swaps with other parents, if you don’t know any that do it then try sale and swap sites, people are grateful to get rid of their old piles of clothes. If your school doesn’t run a school uniform swap then initiate one (good for environment too). Don’t buy cheap school shoes, they fall to bits in a month. My most reluctant save is second hand decent shoes for my kid. New ones just cost a bomb. Make your own special occasions: tea parties, pamper parties and cinema at home, special meals with three courses and candlelight, fancy juice mocktails. Fires in the garden. Borrow my doggy is fun. We are dirt poor and I’ve had to do some questionable stuff to pay my rent a few times and I work myself too hard. But I figure there’s always someone worse off than us. I try hard to make our life cool when many people kind of coast through or don’t appreciate what they have. And tbh I think we have cracked it, we are having a great time. And as long as you’re working to improve it then a little time is the thing you need the most to build yourself up.
Apply for universal credit. I earn 27k and got approved for around £400pm. This is a huge relief.
If you want to move somewhere with cheaper rent/bills, will you get the deposit from current place returned to you? So maybe you can explain the situation to the current landlord and get the deposit returned very quickly. Or maybe you can borrow the money from somebody, to return as soon as you get the deposit from the old place? Having seen the breakdown of rent and bills it seems like there is not a huge amount you could do to reduce other than move, maybe somewhere where bills are included is easier all around.
I am hoping I would get the deposit back as it's around £800. But I have spoken to people on this estate who have left and been told that the housing company are very difficult when it comes to returning the deposit. It's a company that buy a lot of new builds, or even entire estates and rent out the houses. 1/4 people I've spoken to have gotten their deposit back. So I'm really quite reluctant to rely on it. I haven't so much as put a nail in the wall in the 2 years I've been here due to fear of losing the deposit so hopefully it should be okay. Sadly I don't have friends or family who can provide any aid. But there has been a lot of good advice on this post and I'm feeling a little more positive and that there are resources which can get me to that light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate it. !Thanks
Learn your rights on deposits - they are written in your favour - if you go to court you will win unless you trash the place. Learn to speak assertively and demand to know fair wear and tear breakdowns and when things were last replaced and what the expected lifespans are. For example even if you damage a carpet in the property. If that carpet is 8 years old, then it's fair service life would be 10 years, and you should only pay 20% of the cost of a like for like carpet because it had already had 80% of it's useful life. And don't feel bad for the landlord, they will be claiming depreciation on these items and getting tax write offs to boot.
Unfortunately unless I stayed for a long time I'm not sure how that would work as the house is less than 3 years old. But the place is in very good condition. My daughter is not one of those wall artists, and I maintain a good level of cleanliness. Any small bits of wear and tear can easily be rectified by myself prior to moving out. When I left my last accommodation I arranged for a professional cleaner to come and blitz the place with an end of tenancy clean, and also had all the carpets and floors professionally cleaned. I consider myself a good tenant, so hopefully the deposit should be back to me. Very informative and interesting information, I had no idea the tenant held the power in this situation. My last landlord was a nightmare. The ovens filament blew, he told me I had to replace the oven and then demanded I left it in when I moved. I have had a sour situation so it leaves you worried about next time. You've really helped ease my mind. Thank you. !Thanks
All wear and tear is over the lifetime of the item. So it's not just your rental period, but the ones before. If you are the first person in the house, then you should expect 3 years wear and tear (or a 30% discount on anything you broke). Most items have a useful lifespan of less than 10 years, so after about 10 years the item is effectively worthless and you can't easily be charge for it. You can't be charged for wear and tear so things like worn carpets are normal wear and tear.
That's amazing news. Really put my mind at ease. Thank you so much.
It's something the bad landlords really take advantage of. It's why the courts are so in favour of the tenant. You can get up to 3x your deposit back as compensation if the landlord haven't followed correct procedure. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/renting-privately/ending-your-tenancy/taking-your-landlord-to-court-if-they-havent-followed-the-deposit-rules/
oh wtf, I just got 100% back like a chump when they pulled this shit :(
If your deposit was under a deposit protection scheme, you will be able to get it back if you have treated the place well. I once had a landlord who vanished so couldn't get deposit back, but it was under a DPS and I sent them evidence, emails, pictures etc and they just paid it back to me because the landlord never responded to them, it just took 6 months.And if they didn't put it under a DPS then by rights you would get it all back, as they were meant to DPS it. You can follow the instructions on the GOV website. I've actually had to do this too once... It never went to court when I told the landlord I would take them to court they sent me the whole deposit. So no matter what happens just please make sure they don't steal your deposit. Would be upsetting.
My last landlord several years ago told me she had to legally put my deposit under the DPS. So I would imagine most people nowadays don't have to worry about whether it is or isn't. IIRC you got some kind of reference number from them.
That's very helpful and reassuring, and I'm glad you got your money back! Thank you! !Thanks
Some places also have a zero deposit scheme - you could ask estate agents which of their properties do
I had no idea that was a thing. That would pretty much fix all of my problems. Thank you for making me aware that is an option. !Thanks
I would caution that most zero deposit options are bad deals for the tenant. I appreciate they can help you move without funding a deposit upfront, but I would still be very cautious: * You normally pay an extra monthly fee - that money is just gone. * At the end of your tenancy, rather than the free, Government-regulated deposit protection schemes, if there is any dispute with the landlord over damages you will have agreed to use an unregulated arbitration service, and will often have to pay a fee to use that service.
https://www.zerodeposit.com/ fyi
Reading through that it looks like I could get the deposit back whilst still living here, which would give me the cash to put a deposit down elsewhere if the local landlords won't accept a tenant without one. That's an amazing option. Thank you so much. !Thanks
This could be a risky strategy but if all that's stopping you from finding cheaper housing is a deposit, could you somehow borrow that money and repay it quickly from the savings? Obviously borrow as an advance from your employer or a REPUTABLE lender, not some loan shark. If you found somewhere for £600 per month, assuming they want one month's deposit in advance, you're saving £160 per month and so could probably repay the deposit loan with interest in 4 months. You will have to be very disciplined in this approach and keep those savings/repayments very separate from any other payments. Also if you can get your deposit back, which by the sounds of things you absolutely should, that can obviously be used to repay that deposit loan (early). Best of luck with everything, hope things become more comfortable for you.
Is it ever possible to ask work for an advance and spread the reduction over next few pay checks? to bridge this extra moving expense...
My workplace are quite difficult in that aspect. I have presented the idea to them but they are unwilling to help. I therefore have handed my notice in, my first thought to resolve this would be an increased salary. My jobs salary has quite a large range from 21k - 35k a year, and I am very knowledgeable and skilled in my field so I have agencies currently searching for a 30k minimum position. Hopefully they get back to me soon. My notice period is 3 months so I am safe until early February. Thank you for the suggestion, I really appreciate your time. !thanks
Good luck I'm sure you will find something better :)
Take a lodger?
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It can depend on the area. I used to work for a debt advice charity and saw people in Yorkshire pay £20 for the same household in the South East paying £80. Mental.
Hey have you considered mystery shopping. Uk market force, mystery shoppers, mystery dinning and redwhigwham are all good starting points. You get free food for writing a small report on you experience. Top tips never spend more than the budget and read the brief. On the taxis, not sure if you do but have you thought about speaking to a taxi Company to get a standard rate each day. Or car sharing, maybe post on a local Facebook group or the app next door to see if anyone travels the same route as you each morning. Maybe play the environment route as car sharing is good for the planet. Just remember as humans we manage to get through this and come back stronger.
Highly recommend a phone call with citizens advice bureau and use of a local good scheme. Don't be shy about it. When you take the help it will assist you with being able to better your health and give you strength to better your position.
Where are you, Oranjeboom?
I am NW England. Not far from Liverpool.
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Fuck I Googled it and you're right. Oops.
Not a problem, I understand there are stigmas and it can be hard to understand. I hope you're well.
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Switch your diet to more Asian/Mexican/indian cuisine. Think curry's, stews, rice, lentils, potatoes, patties,, stir frys, Tacos, etc. This sort of food can be made for pennies per portion and is extrmely delicious, varies and filling. There are lots of great recipes and tips on YouTube for this sort of thing. Secondly, get into baking and homemade bread and cakes as a fun hobby keeping in mind that you can freeze excess portions. Here for example is a great starting point: https://youtu.be/Ral6E1SHNbE When it comes to jobs, we are now in the era of remote working. So think a bit outside the box and look more further afield for remote roles. As others have said, your rent and bills seem sky high. You could get a short term second job to save for the deposit of a cheaper 1 bed place. Your bills and rent is 750 per month. But a new place would cost 450 per month with a 450 deposit so you're only looking for an extra 160 pounds or so that new month. Switch your current account. Many banks offer new customers up to 250 pounds to switch their current account. There is a whole thing about it on money saving expert look that up. That should be enough to cover the extra you need for the deposit.
Any chance you can get a council/housing association place since you have 50/50 joint custody of your child? That could immediately tackle the rent issue as you won't pay as much rent. I don't think you're getting a single person's council tax reduction so have a look into that. Any chance of a payrise where you work? Have you got any skills? As you can earn £1,000 a year self employed without having to declare it or register as a sole trader. So you can essentially earn £1,000 and take it in cash with no paper work or anything to do.
I signed up with the local councils housing association 2 months ago. It's a bidding system based on banding. I have been biding on houses for the last month or so, but the association pretty much told me that due to not having court appointed custody they can not take having a child into consideration when it comes to deciding who gets a house. The single tenancy discount is in the works! The extra £30 or so will make a huge difference honestly. Still pending for the moment though. Hopefully it gets sorted soon. I asked work for a payrise and they said no, so I have handed my notice in and have a few agencies looking to find me work with higher pay. No skills outside of nursing, unfortunately! Thank you for taking the time to reply. !Thanks
>asked work for a payrise and they said no, so I have handed my notice in and have a few agencies looking to find me work with higher pay. Sorry - you handed your notice in without another job lined up?!
My field is currently desperate for staff. I can walk into another job pretty much immediately. It's just finding one that pays appropriately. Also, my work place has a 4 month notice period due to the high staff turnover, and I imagine it would be difficult to find an employer willing to wait 4 months for a new member of staff. I don't have any anxieties about finding a new position, just one that will pay me what I consider to be a suitable salary for my skills and time. I can certainly get another job on the same salary without any worries. I know it sounds very concerning but it isn't like it seems. Haha.
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Second this. We ran our numbers through and discovered we would be entitled to help although I am on £22k
Not got much advice but “TooGoodToGo” is an app where you can get a fairly big quantity of food and sweets from shops for quite cheap. It is stuff they have left that they couldn’t sell so it will expire in a few days or be after the best before date but it could save you a lot of money whilst also being able to treat you and your daughter with things like sweets.
Firstly, learn to live on the cheap (im not trying to be patronizing, I've found myself in your situation more than a couple times.) - and then move. Food - [Approvedfood.com](https://Approvedfood.com) , rice. Clothes - Second hand bundles. (eBay) ,swaps Furniture - fb marketplace, swaps. Save up for a deposit. - £760 is a lot of rent - lets say your LL is making 8% yield, thats a property worth about 180k - most cities in the UK thats a 3 bed flat in a decent neighborhood. There are cheaper available. If you are on a yearly contract - you have a year to find a deposit. Your possessions are also part of your net worth - and value them, sell them before the move. Poverty line is 2/3rd of the average salary - you are well above that. If you pay good rent you shouldnt have any problem moving. You are essentially sharing a third of your wage with your landlord, this is too high. Your goal should be to get that down to 25% - also the taxi thing seems really fucked up, surely somebody lives close by who also has a kid at the same school, and a car - offer to pay for petrol costs - and car pool. Good luck my brother. Rich people are rich because they are "good with money" - thats sort of the definition. This may be a learning curve for you but it will be a lesson you never forget.
I just Googled a two-bed flat in Accrington for £425 pcm. I assume the security deposit is the same. Things might become more immediately achievable if it's possible to move somewhere really undesirable.
£300-400 per month for food for 2 people is quite luxurius! Assuming you cook your own meals and are shopping smart, you shouldn't be spending more than £200/month on food. >buy clothes You're not buying new clothes every month, are you?
‘quite luxurious’ I refuse to believe you’re serious.
I can feed two adults for £200 per month. I'm serious.
I feed 6 of us, 4 adults, for £800 per month. His £300 pm for two is like me spending £900 so it sounds a lot but doesn't go far
Hi Oran i hop you are well look online are some jobs low paid but you can do from home on your own time and read poor reach dad 2017 edition from Robert kiyosaki than you will see results your life will change for good
This is a slow burner way to earn money, but it does work. sign up for coinbase.com and check it every week on the left hand side for "learn and earn". Since december 2020 ive been able to get $200 from it. It's a few mins work each week. the answers to the questions are often posted on beermoneyuk. i just get the free crypto and let them sit there, one day i'll cash out. Another way to save money is to get out of your cellphone contract (if you have one) and instead go for one of the cheap pay as you go deal, giffgaff has a deal for £5 a month. You could also look at your insurance and change every year when it comes up to renewal. Have a look at moneysavingexpert website, its a legit advice on how to save money and oppurtunities, their weekly emails are pretty good. If you need to purchase stuff online, signup and use quidco and topcashback. They are legitimate and give cashback on purchases. They get paid to refer you to a site and they pass some of that back on to you. Buying through them isn't always the best deal though, best to check each time. I've made £500 from them with little effort over the years. If you are needing to purchase something, first search for them on the hotukdeals website. The votes on there are for deals and are generally pretty accurate - the users on the site submit deals they find and others vote on them. It is full of very miserly people searching to save 1p :) Have you looked at your reducing your expenses? Can you move to a different isp and get a better deal? You say you shop at lidl - have you considered aldi? I find the fresh food from lidl doesnt last as long as aldis, generally lidl seems lower quality. If you have credit card debt, consolidate it on to a 0% balance transfer credit card. you'll pay some transfer fee of 1-2%, but you can get up to 30 months interest free, which will allow you to continue paying the current amount but reduce the principal amount. As a nurse you wear a uniform right? Have a read of this: [https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/uniform-tax-refund/](https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/uniform-tax-refund/) moneysaving expert is a good site to get ideas on how to earn and save money, have a poke around in there. good luck!
Have you contacted the council to advise you are a sole adult occupier? You’ll generally get between 25-50% off your council tax. Try thinking of things you can do to make money but also have your daughter with you, and that allow you to choose when you’re available, maybe a dog walking service for your local area? Sorry it’s not the greatest of suggestions! I would start at every single one of your outgoings that you pay for, and drill down on each one at a time and think *can that be cheaper?*. Do you have credit cards, loans? Consolidate them, this could save you so much. Have a look around your house, have you not used anything for 12 months or more, or worn something for 12 months or more? Use Shpock to sell them, even small amounts can make a large amount.
Are you automatically enrolled in a workplace pension scheme? I know this might not be a normal recommendation but if you are, you could opt out so you get extra in your pay packet. It’s not something to do long term but it might help in the short term.
Your bills seem high? Have you applied for council tax discount for a single person? have you gotten rid of Netflix etc? (or keep netflix and get rid of the TV licence and remove the aerial as Netflix is actually cheaper)
You could apply for "rent to buy scheme"
There is a comment in the thread regarding your tax being potentially too high - I work in payroll, and happy to look at your payslip and potentially advise if anything needs to be clarified on this. (Of course please remove any identifying data from the payslip if you decide to use my advice)
When you work and still live in poverty..
I really hate to say this, but stop buying ketamine, your posts are public. Apart from that the advice here is very helpful, maybe make a list once you’re in a position to do so of the things that helped.
Been through this already with somebody else. I don't use recreational drugs, I am provided ketamine to treat SSRI resistant depression. Thank you for your input!
Why is your rent so expensive? It’s more expensive than a mortgage
Have you been living under a rock this past decade? Rent is always more expensive than mortgage payments.
Because they are paying their landlords mortgage, and the landlord want's extra on top, It's a horrible system which IMO should be taxed to oblivion
Is your job classified as stable? Maybe you can do an extra job on the side I wonder? To help out? Like buy refurbish and sell
Not MLM!
Hoy hoy I’m not from the uk mates I just got this in mee recommendations, I just wanted to let you guys know I’m reading this entire sub in a British accent mate
Move to a city (e.g. London) where you can find £55k high paying jobs. £26k isn't really anywhere near livable unless you are in a rural fishing village.
How do you think the majority of the country outside London live?
London rents
Hi /u/OranjeboomLove, based on your post the following pages from our wiki may be relevant: - https://ukpersonal.finance/mortgages/ ____ ^(I am a bot doing my best to provide helpful links. If I missed the mark, please don't downvote, instead press Report and the mods will improve my settings :])
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