Really struggling

[Rilot]

Try not to worry. I had outgoings that came with a large income. I lost my job recently but it's not the end of the world. Even if it could seem like it.
There are ways and means.

In the mean time, cut back on unneccessary expense.

 

[uv]

I'm paying for her flat, university fees and £100 a week spending money and mobile phone. I lose about 1k a month on her.

So it's not the recession you're feeling at all then.

I can't say I'm feeling the 'Credit Crunch' in the slightest - I'm still splashing cash on things I don't need, but I guess I'm not giving away an average wage every month.

I understand there is a recession, but this situation seems to be your own doing, not the economic climate's.

 

[Knubje]

I promised her I would. She have a social anxiety disorder and a whole load of other problems. She can work, just not with people. She is studying to become a vet, so once that's done, she said she will pay me back. She study 24/7 and is devoting her life to this, I'd hate to throw her life into array and tell her to get a job.

Seems reasonable, as long as you are confident she is working like the trojan you describe. Also paying you back as a qualified vet shouldn't be a problem.

In which case mate, looks like you are DEFFINATLEY cancelling that holiday and tigtehning your belt in any which way you can.

Out of interest, what is the £100 a week spent on (food, clothes, essentials?) and how much is her phone bill a month?

 

[Mull3t]

Think about things you could cut down use of

- Shop at Aldi (me and the Mrs do half our shop there and it saves us £30 per week!)

That on its own, is amazing advice.

Albeit some of the stuff is not the best. But for veg, meats, fruit, cheese etc. even some frozen stuff & the yogurts. dirt cheap & gorgeous too.

Aldi is a lot better that it used to be. IMO

 

[Dj_Jestar]

Mortages? Re-mortgage or multiple properties?

 

[regulus]

Either you do it by choice now, or you will be forced to, she'll appreciate some warning though so explain it to her now?

Yes, but I've been paying for it over two years now and it never really affected me, it's just now with a whole slew of things I have to pay suddenly, an upcoming trip, 3 mortgages payments coming out next week, rumours at work about lay offs, council tax payment for the whole year, etc etc.

 

[bledd]

[IGNORE]why do you have to pay for your sister?

as others have said, we can't jump at you since we don't know the situation, but i don't know of anyone (even people with loaded parents) who had any money in uni, let alone 1k a month!
[/IGNORE]

(i took ages to type this, so it's now void )




any by the way, no credit cards and 20k in the bank, is not struggling!

 

[PiKe]

Yes, but I've been paying for it over two years now and it never really affected me, it's just now with a whole slew of things I have to pay suddenly, an upcoming trip, 3 mortgages payments coming out next week, rumours at work about lay offs, council tax payment for the whole year, etc etc.

JUST TELL HER YOU'RE HAVING FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES.

People who don't take good advice really annoy me. If you're not going to take the advise posted, why even bother making a thread?

She's not going to get everything paid for when she leaves uni, so prepare her for it.

 

[regulus]

Seems reasonable, as long as you are confident she is working like the trojan you describe. Also paying you back as a qualified vet shouldn't be a problem.

In which case mate, looks like you are DEFFINATLEY cancelling that holiday and tigtehning your belt in any which way you can.

Out of interest, what is the £100 a week spent on (food, clothes, essentials?) and how much is her phone bill a month?

Phone bill is £25 a month. The £400 a month I give her goes for all her food, car insurance, council tax and going out (which she rarely does). So you can imagine she lives in poverty already with the pittance she has to live on. I pay her £600 a month rent which include all the other bills. She doesn't even have a TV or Internet since she says it distracts her. She means business with her studies. She realise that this might be her only chance to make something of herself. I cannot really take that away can I ?

 

[regulus]

JUST TELL HER YOU'RE HAVING FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES.

People who don't take good advice really annoy me. If you're not going to take the advise posted, why even bother making a thread?

She's not going to get everything paid for when she leaves uni, so prepare her for it.

It's not that simple, maybe in your life it is, not ours. She takes the smallest changes in her life, very badly. She is unfortunately one of those people that need A LOT of help.

 

[bledd]

regulus, could your sister move into your house? or is that out of the question?

would save a butt-load of cash

 

[Knubje]

Phone bill is £25 a month. The £400 a month I give her goes for all her food, car insurance, council tax and going out (which she rarely does). So you can imagine she lives in poverty already with the pittance she has to live on. I pay her £600 a month rent which include all the other bills. She doesn't even have a TV or Internet since she says it distracts her. She means business with her studies. She realise that this might be her only chance to make something of herself. I cannot really take that away can I ?

Looks like other things need to get tight and you aren't going on that holiday.

As bledd said, situation still isn't THAT bad if you have no CC debt and 20k in the bank

Paying for 3 mortgages? Call me naive but if times are that hard try and sell one and see if you can break even on it?

Other than that it's old fashioned belt tightening I think mate. Good luck

 

[DanTheMan]

Phone bill is £25 a month. The £400 a month I give her goes for all her food, car insurance, council tax and going out (which she rarely does). So you can imagine she lives in poverty already with the pittance she has to live on. I pay her £600 a month rent which include all the other bills. She doesn't even have a TV or Internet since she says it distracts her. She means business with her studies. She realise that this might be her only chance to make something of herself. I cannot really take that away can I ?

Surely you can find somewhere cheaper than £600 a month for 1 person?

You don't sound like you're truly struggling anyway. I can guarantee that there's a million and one people that would rather be in your position at the moment.

Why do you have so many mortgages?

 

[Rich_L]

Not exactly poverty! £600 a month is more than I pay for rent and bills here in London! Plus as a student she doesn't pay council tax btw. Does she not get a student loan? But tbh fair play to you for helping your sister out because you can, better than spanking it up the wall in the pub I guess.

Have you thought about stuff like getting a lodger in your main house if you have a spare room, a mate or something is a pretty good bet if you can work it.

 

[uv]

You don't sound like you're truly struggling anyway. I can guarantee that there's a million and one people that would rather be in your position at the moment.?

Yup.

I don't feel like I'm struggling at all, yet I'd love to have
a) no Credit Cards
b) a positive bank balance.

 

[regulus]

Looks like other things need to get tight and you aren't going on that holiday.

As bledd said, situation still isn't THAT bad if you have no CC debt and 20k in the bank

Paying for 3 mortgages? Call me naive but if times are that hard try and sell one and see if you can break even on it?

Other than that it's old fashioned belt tightening I think mate. Good luck

Can't break even, looked at it already. Will take a hit. Not struggling in other peoples eyes, but knowing my expenses to savings ratio, I'll be wiped out in 5 months. If I lose my job that is.

 

[tisonlyme]

But it's not your responsibility to pay for your sister, no matter what you've promised her. So how is she going to cope with being a vet if she has social anxiety problems? It's very much a social job...

 

[regulus]

Surely you can find somewhere cheaper than £600 a month for 1 person?

You don't sound like you're truly struggling anyway. I can guarantee that there's a million and one people that would rather be in your position at the moment.

Why do you have so many mortgages?

I have more to lose than others. I took on two holiday homes and a house here. Wasn't expensive at the time, it's starting to become so now.

 

[LiE]

Downsize.

 

[Raymond Lin]

How does it bite hard now that isn't say 6 months ago?

You have a job, your wife has a job.
Your mortgage I suspect is the same as it was before.
Your monthly outgoings are pretty constant.

Unless all of the sudden you starting to spend money on things that you WANT rather than you NEED. How does the recession all of the sudden bite hard?

With the interest rates going down, your mortgage surely have gone down too. That surely have free up some money, that is if you were on a tracker. If you were on a fixed rate, then you knew when you signed up that was what you were paying.

Just wondering what chanaged?

EDIT - with £20k in the bank, and world trip planned, you are not "really struggling", getting an eviction notice from the bank after failing to pay the mortgage for 3 months is really struggling (not me).