Money Makeover Help

Re: Money Makeover Help - MABS Wont

hey Hon

i work for BGE - they wont change there credit/dep required - the best suggestion - is to ring the accouts line and request a token meter - once you request this, a letter will be sent to you to be filled out and a payment of €175 for installing- also a letter from you landlord to state its ok to have installed - advised your landlord that this best thing he could do for the property as it insure the landlord that there will never be any hazzels regards over due bills etc. Also its very common for tenents to but bills back in landlords names and run up high bills - in some case landlords are held responsible for bills.

a token meter is 1 off payment €175 - no dep required and since you have paid your debt off with BGE there is not probelm. it a smple machine and you can control how much you can afford on gas etc. - i would recommend that as there is a increase in gas comin in Oct almost 19% possible more depending on the CER

You can also request one for ESB but i dont know price or anything

at least ring bge and request the form
 
Re: Money Makeover Help - MABS Wont

Fair play to you for the honesty of your OP. Some great suggestions so far, especially shopping, cooking, eating well.

Your ESB bill seems very high - mine is less than half of yours (€98 due in mid-July). I have the usual lights (CFL's), radio / CD, computers (lap-top and desk-top), big telly, electric showers this time of year, cooker every other week-day and week-ends, micro-wave (porridge in the mornings, re-heat chili con carne / casserole / curry / etc. at night) dish-washer, washing machine (I line-dry clothes), vacuum cleaner, power tools (DIY nut, but pretty useless, lol), phone & iPod chargers, iron (rarely, as I'm male). So maybe check out your usage as suggested previously and by ESB CS.

Last year I bought a cheapie LIDL / ALDI (?) slow-cooker, complete with mini-cookbook. I can load it up in the morning with meat, spuds & veg, water / stock and eight or so hours later bingo! a home-cooked dinner which feeds me for two nights with zero effort and very little electricity used.

Best of luck with your financial and personal health.
 
Re: Money Makeover Help - MABS Wont

This might sound a bit dramatic but...

I had some money problems a few years ago caused by a combination of an employer going into liquidation while owing me a lot of money, and me not slowing down my expenditute when I was out of a job.

I got rid of my TV and instead spent my free time building up a web business. You don't need many technical skills to do this - I outsourced most of the work. I also gave up alcohol, lattes and that sort of thing.

The net result was I dramatically decreased my expenditure and added more income. Also the thrill of seeing my business grow, and the confidence I gained because "if I put my mind to it I can do it", was immense.

If you remember when you were back in school, when you were in the routine of studying, it was easy to study. When you were out of the routine, it was impossible... Building a eat healthy/etc routine will be hard at first, but it'll get easier.
 
Re: Money Makeover Help - MABS Wont

perhaps if checked out sites like jumbletown.ie, you might pick up an oil filled heater or a slow cooker/smoothie maker/george foreman for free this would help you deal with your heating problems and encourage you to cook a bit more without spending money on equipment. Also talk to BOI they might put your loans together to make payments easier.
 
Re: Money Makeover Help - MABS Wont

Knock off the sky and watch the 3 channels and get Other Half to join the library - he can do the maths regarding what appliances use more energy than others. Also the TV is such a brain drain and the 4 local channels are more than enough of that for the time being - I think anyway.

For the outstanding bills, I don't think anyone suggested it yet but you seriously should consider allowing St. Vincent De Paul look at your situation and maybe clearing your Gas/ESB bill so you can start again with a clean slate? They are confidential and although you are working you guys are living on poverty's doorstep and thats why I donate to charitable organisations - so it will help folks (and if I ever needed it I would not have a bother asking for it back).

Anything else i would say is covered already.
Best of luck
 
Re: Money Makeover Help - MABS Wont

thanks for all your tips guys.
i might look into that bord gais token.
is this mentioned on the website. can you explain it to me in more detail.
Does someone come out to the house & install it, & then i pre pay for usage etc???

since posting this thread i have paid off the balance that was left on my overdraft with boi. All thats left is the 750 left on the credit card & i'm finished with them completely. I have an accout with aib for my wages to go in. So far i have no overdraft (dont want one) no loans with them, i do have a credit card that is maxed to 2,000, i do pay the 25% every month, but i would like to actually pay the full amount & maybe keep the card but reduce it to 1,000 instead.
My 2 loans are not in arrears but once i calm down on the takeaways i will def put a chunk into the loans & have them paid quicker.
 
Re: Money Makeover Help - MABS Wont

Here are a few extra tips: Sky 98 euros - You say you don't use it much, so cancel it immediately. Once your outside the initial 12 month contract you can keep the Sky box and you will continue to receive over 100 channels for absolutely free including all the BBC's (BBC 1,2,3,4, News, etc), all the ITV/UTV (ITV 1,2,etc.), all the c4's (c4, E4, More4, Film 4, etc.), Sky News and many more. Lots of TV for free

When you start eating more healthy and coking, you should buy the food in bulk (large bag of potatoes, lots of toilet paper, etc.) where possible for Lidl/Aldi.

You should try and get a Credit Union loan with a low interest rate and pay off your high interest rate debts like your credit card. You should mention your bf's situation as Credit Unions are supposed to take such hardships into consideration.

It is commendable but unfortunate that your bf mentioned that he was living with you, as otherwise he would be entitled to many benefits. It might perhaps be worth your time considering moving to a different location, which would be served by a different social welfare person and your bf trying again.

Also this way you could put the Bord Gais bill under a different name.

Some of the benefits your bf would then potentially get are listed here:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/c...elfare-payments/extra-social-welfare-benefits

Including things like:
- €25 towards your smart bill
- Free TV license
- Electricity and gas allowance - etc.
 
Re: Money Makeover Help - MABS Wont

hey

a token meter is about the size of your normal meter - you ring up customer care and request the form - sent that back with cheq/bank draft of €175

after thats recieved you will be notified of a date of installion about 2weeks later - a guy will come out and install it inside your property. about 1/2hour of work - he will then give you a card size of a bank card with a leflet advising you of shops you can top your meter up on - he will also go through the working process of it etc.

usually all the centra/spars do top ups - you hand them your card and advise them how much you require - €10,€20 etc
Then you place the card into the machine and it registers the amount of money - so your paying in advance (look as it as a pre-paid phone when you top up with them)

there is also a feature on the meter that helps also - say you run out of credit on the meter - shops are closed its frezzing - it allows you to still run the gas in a iou system but only €2/€3 worth- thats like 6hours of heat - its called emergency credit and the next time you top the meter up - you pay it back etc.

i recommend it to anywho - esp people in you sitituation, OAP's and landlords. You only pay for what you want need. The box it self tells you how much gas you use, you can check how much credit you have left. its charged the same as gas on the standard bill (standing tariff)

- can think of the charges now - but a guess its

13cent daily charge and kwh @ 5cent - so @ midnight the machine takes the amout you used that day from your credit to be honest - with them machines your more carefull with heating/gas as you can see how much you use each day etc - about €3 not even.

the website doesnt have that much info your best ringin the customer care centre - and they should explain it to you also -
 
Re: Money Makeover Help - MABS Wont

I don't fully understand this issue with the rent allowance, and I don't know the extent of your partners disability, so forgive me if the following is unfair.

If your partner is entitled to some money which he won't claim, why the heck are you starving and slaving at work to pay for his fan heaters and internet at home all day. Can he not even have a pot of pasta and a tub of sauce ready for you when you come home from work ?

Send him into that welfare office again with the message that you are no longer his girl friend, and get that money.

I don't care that it is a lie. Your health and well being is more important than his principles. Next time he is shopping, let him see how he gets on when he produces his principle at the check out to pay for the groceries.

By the way, you should have a big bowl of porridge in the morning. Leave it to soak in milk overnight, add water in the morning, takes only a minute to cook. Eat it with brown sugar - rich, dark brown sugar, not cheap,tasteless brown sugar. This stuff is rocket fuel.
 
Re: Money Makeover Help - MABS Wont


Well said.
 
Re: Money Makeover Help - MABS Wont

Bluebells said:
Send him into that welfare office again with the message that you are no longer his girl friend, and get that money.

I don't care that it is a lie.
Click to expand...

This is poor advice. Please do not do this. This would be seen as fraud and would make a bad situation worse. What if he ended up being prosecuted for fraudulent claiming?
 
Re: Money Makeover Help - MABS Wont

So much good advice already and I'm not sure I have much to add other than I absolutely agree with the others who commented on the lack of nutrition in takeaways which is certainly making you more tired. I can guarantee you that cooking is dead easy - everything you buy in a supermarket comes with cooking instructions and the most complicated thing is to work out how long to cook chicken or ham as instructions for roasting times are per Lb or Kg.

I also think that your ESB bill is outrageously high as we live in a 4 bedroom house, cook every night, wash laundry 2-3 times a week, iron about 12 shirts a week, hoover dog's hair every other day, my fiance has his office with a server, laptop, copier, fax, 2 printers,etc. in the house and our bi-monthly bill is about €100. We also use electricity for immersion during the summer and we keep it on for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. Do you use clothes dryer? If you do, this is adding a huge amount to your ESB bill and an investment of about €30 into a clother airer would pay for itself within a couple of weeks.

Re Bord Gais - when I lived in rented accommodation, they insisted on either a deposit or a direct debit. I think that the pre-pay meter idea is brilliant but if that fails, I'd be inclined to talk to BG again and offer direct debit rather than a deposit. Speaking to a different person within the same organisation sometimes means different rules. Unfortunately!

I don't mean to offend and am making an assumption that your partner is visually impared (as he is receiving blind person's allowance). I know nothing about this but I reckon that if his vision is seriously impared he doesn't need Sky or broadband. Again, I don't mean to offend but in my humble opinion, anyone capable of spending the whole day watching TV or on the internet is capable of getting some sort of employment. Furthermore, I agree with the poster who said that your bf is legally not your dependant as you are not married and has no entitlement to your earnings. Hence, the state has to either give him every allowance he is entitled to (including rent, esb and gas) or give you additional tax credits. I think that the girl in your local SW office may be talking through her @rse.

Last but not least, I think you are doing great Mely and keep up the good work. You're very young and under a lot of strain at the moment but you seem to have a good head on your shoulders. Look after yourself and your health, keep yourself motivated and you'll be flying in no time. And if you ever need a quick and easy dinner recipe, lemme know.
 
Re: Money Makeover Help - MABS Wont

thanks guys for all of your help, i really do appreicate it. Since my original post, i have paid off the overdraft. All bills have now been paid & i'm not in arrears with them anymore.
On my next day off i will be opening an account for just bills. This way we can transfer some cash from both our accounts for just bills only & have them all set up for direct debit. As seeing with some companies we will now be charged 2 euros on the bills if we dont. Its funny, i received a printed black/white advertisement slip in my door box this morning about free to air channels. Its says a once off payment & no bills. You can view over 200 channels. Since the original post we now have cut out sky movies & sky sports. The broadband i just love. Were getting 8mb/1mb with smart & free landline calls. No line rental. Have just recieved our ESB bill in the door this morning ( not sure if people quote the ex vat part) but over the course of the 2 months we had only used 530 units which came to 68 euros, but then the little extras such as obligations levy, standing charge & vat etc it came to 90 something in total. Which is not bad considering when we were using the fan heater our bills were coming in over 200 euros. I was looking at a print out that esb had sent me showing all the various electric appliances & how much units they use up. Its amazing to see a slow cooker using only 1 unit in 8 hours. I called bord gais & the customer care agent mentioned that they are not sure about this token meter thing & will look into seeing if its available in Limerick. However they still wont budge with the 400 euro deposit. They said that they were been accomodating as they had previously set it at 800. As for the takeaways, well i'm still learning. We are only going to have our 1 night a week chinese. It is a little scary in the kitchen however we are both making progress. Alot of microwavable containers have been bought. Cheaply i might add in Lidl. We still have a few loans at present, however not in arrears with any, but with the extra money were saving i will start putting it into the loans to have then paid early. I cant beleive that i still have at least 200 left from my last pay day & i'm getting paid again in 1 1/2 weeks time. Were starting to get on form, no more loans, forget about weddings & mortgagtes, just get all the loans paid, keep bills up to date & then go on lots & lots of holidays. From savings of course. I'm done with loans, & i think i'm going to keep the credit card, however cut the amount in have.
 
Re: Money Makeover Help - MABS Wont

Well done - things are on the up for you and i am glad. Regarding your partner is there any disabled group socials - morning etc that he could go to - for his own sanity. just something i had not seen mentioned.
 
Re: Money Makeover Help - MABS Wont


Don't pay anything for this - you already have it!!!
If you cancel sky altogether (after initial 12 months) then you can still receive the free to air channels using the sky box.
 
Re: Money Makeover Help - MABS Wont

Yachtie said:
I know nothing about this but I reckon that if his vision is seriously impared he doesn't need Sky or broadband. Again, I don't mean to offend but in my humble opinion,
Click to expand...

No offence, but you really do know nothing about this. Many blind and visually impaired people do watch TV. Their TV viewing experience is enhanced by 'audio described' programmes, which are more frequently available on digital TV than on terrestrial.

Also, many blind and visually impaired people are avid computer and internet users, via screen reading technology.

Yachtie said:
Again, I don't mean to offend but in my humble opinion, anyone capable of spending the whole day watching TV or on the internet is capable of getting some sort of employment.
Click to expand...
Agreed in theory - but it is very very difficult to find an employer that will see beyond the disability to find the abilities of such a person.
 
Re: Money Makeover Help - MABS Wont

It is a shame MABS couldn't help you, as they can often arrange very low interest loans from the CU. It may be worthwhile contacting your CU directly about this.

Are there any courses or Community Employment/Social Economy jobs your partner could do to increase his income? Public bodies are very keen to meet their 3% employment quota under the Disability Act, so any course should be geared towards that, perhaps an IPA cert?
 
Re: Money Makeover Help - MABS Wont

From your 1st post, I understand it was the MABS helpline you were in touch with, it maybe worth your while going into your local MABS office. It is ofter easier to explain something to somebody when you are one to one rather than on a phone.
 
Re: Money Makeover Help - MABS Wont

Hope things are going well and as the previous poster said, try getting in touch with the local MABS office. Above all mind your own health and keep up the good work you have started. Best of luck
 
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