Renting a smaller place

[share a book]

I recall you saying you eat takeaway a few times a week... Ending that would be cost effective. Im sure your shopping will be a lot cheaper now there's only 2 of you!

I guess unnecessary spending on yourself will help... It all comes down to what you can afford not what you 'want' for example many people would like to get tattoos and piercings or a new wardrobe but you have to work out what's a priority and what's not

Yes, I want a tattoo, but need to feed this child. lol. Take away is expensive.

[SpecialPatrolGroup]

Thanks for all the advice ladies, much appreciated. I am going through my finances and seeing what I can cut back on so if I do stay here I can pay rent, though I am not sure how much would be left over. I am getting rid of pay tv (though it's a year contract but only had it 6 months so not sure how much it's going to cost to get out of it), still keeping Nathan in swimming cos I think that's important, plus with the pool he goes it's $17 a fortnight and we can go anytime, I don't really have any hobbies myself, child support and part of my c'link for the girls goes to them (I put it into sil's account each month until we get it sorted into their name), bills etc I am getting centerpay or whatever it is, I have my rego due this week but don't have all the money until next week so I will just not drive, I pretty much walk and use public transport most of the time anyway.

If you see a financial counsellor they may be able to help you get out of your foxtel contract on grounds of hardship. They should have hardship provisions anyway but an FC will possibly have a bit more clout.

You seem to have so many changes happening atm it might be a good idea for you to see a counsellor and a financial counsellor so they can help you map out what you want/need for yourself and your kids and how to get there.

[insanity]

Actually... I thought most appointments were free or very cheap if you have a pension card? I understand not everything is but I would of thought special needs appointments would be

[sweetseven]

There's no room

Plus my bil is trying to get custody of his son form a previous r/ship (he's in foster care atm, long story) and they are going to move (same area though) and get something bigger. We have spoken about this too, so it's not as though I don't want to live there or anything just as I said, no room. I will just keep looking for a two bedroom for now and hopefully find soething soon or a part time job.

How about a caravan in their backyard? You should be able to pick up a cheap unregistered one for $500-$2000 or a registered one for $2000-$4000.

[share a book]

Actually... I thought most appointments were free or very cheap if you have a pension card? I understand not everything is but I would of thought special needs appointments would be

No, I pay roughly $300 for each appointment. As for pay tv, contracts are hard to get out of, and often expensive to cancel.

[ItWasntMe]

No, I pay roughly $300 for each appointment. As for pay tv, contracts are hard to get out of, and often expensive to cancel.

My DS1 has health care card and his last paed appointment was bulk billed. Usually $300 but get about $220 back from Medicare. Psych appointments will be around $150 each but again a lot back from Medicare. Speech and occupational therapy are free thru community health! Might be beneficial for you to move here!

[Dannielle]

How about a caravan in their backyard? You should be able to pick up a cheap unregistered one for $500-$2000 or a registered one for $2000-$4000.

Dh & I did that years ago way before the kids. Stayed in a caravan in a backyard. We had a good set up and all sorts of cooking facilities except an oven. Had a proper fridge with freezer in the garage plus the little bar fridge in the caravan. Had a TV, bed area and then lounge bit had a table for dining etc. We fixed it up, made it comfortable. Worked out really good. We saved HEAPS on rent and they got a bit extra money.

eta: I do get it with the appointments etc. We are waiting to see someone for one of our girls. I have been told I will have to pay $1,000 for those intial 2 appointments up front (will get some back from medicare) and that he may want some extra assessments done from other people which will cost extra.

[share a book]

My DS1 has health care card and his last paed appointment was bulk billed. Usually $300 but get about $220 back from Medicare. Psych appointments will be around $150 each but again a lot back from Medicare. Speech and occupational therapy are free thru community health! Might be beneficial for you to move here!

No thanks, I do not like moving lol.

[Myztiks#1Fan]

Cassie, i would say no less than 2 bedrooms. Have you also got your name down on govt housing? Its a long wait but its down at least.

Are you able to downgrade your pay tv service? I think we can upgrafe or downgrade to suit our needs on the contract we are on(not 100% sure as its not in my name and i dont pay for it). That will help aave a little bit. Even the basic package has an ok amount of channels to watch.

How do you do your groceries? Do you buy as you need or weekly/fortnightly? I always found it cheaper to do it fortnightly with just grabbing the odd thing here and there.

If you use public transport alot, is there a weekly or monthly ticket you can buy? When briabane had them i was buying monthly tickets and got more use out of it if i had of bought a single, daily or weekly ticket.

And def start looking for a job. Who cares what its doing, a job is a job. Even if you have to volunteer your time somewhere to get your foot in the door.

Good luck. I hope you can sort yourself out, get the right support behind you and succeed. It took a long time for me but i am doing ok now with everything and in a really good place compared to a few years ago.

Sent from my GT-I9000T using BubHub

[MsMummy]

If the OP is persecuted every time she posts, she will no longer feel comfortable asking for help.

Obviously entering into a pay tv contract is not a great idea on a low income, but who knows the circumstances - whether it was leftover from a relationship, or high pressure tactics from a salesperson or just a bad decision. But what is done is done.

As to the accommodation, I think the caravan idea in the SIL's yard has some merit, if you can can get over the hurdle of the initial purchase price. Perhaps the inlaws could buy it and you could pay them rent for it. I'm not sure how that would work with Centrelink rent assistance, or how you would feel about living in the confines of a caravan though.

I think that you can try to trim your budget a bit here and a bit there (food, rent etc), but the fundamental problem is that centrelink payments are very hard to live on, so it's probably better to try and increase your income by getting a job. My mum had a long time out of the work force and lost her skills, so she does cleaning and babysitting work which she can do quite flexibly.