[Dianna1395]

[quote='ArcaneKatana' pid='175518' dateline='1458837635']
My partner works 10 hrs a week to earn minimum wage (£6.70) and has to pay a whole weeks wages just to afford the bus there and back each day.
And our housing benefit got cut by about 16% for the next year because of some bullshit mistake they made overpaying us while i was working
Our rent is about £120 higher than our housing benefit so somehow out of the £200 my partner has left over after his bus fares and the £200 I get from jobseekers allowance we have to pay our council tax (£60), electric(£40), water(£30), insurance (£20), phone bills (£30), laundry tokens (£20), and our rent (£120)
Leaving us £80 or so for the month

£1 is $1.40 or so.
We are very careful with electric and water. We don't have our own WiFi or anything.
I'll admit that we are lucky as our area has relatively low living expenses compared to some others. Part of being in the South West makes it cheaper.
What sort of property are you in? We are in a miniscule 1 bed flat lol
I reckon we both have it bad lol

My partner has a mortgage on a slightly over 1ksqft small house, which is probably much bigger than your flat and also much more expensive. I think he's currently on a ~$600/month there. One thing we have been looking into for saving some is to move somewhere we'd rent. Both similar size and downsize with the added cost of then also needing a storage unit for half our junk or more. So far no luck. What really sucks is he actually inherited the house from his grandmother initially, and owned it outright. But several years of low pay later, a single bad decision to take out a mortgage to pay other bills and several more years down the road this is what we're now faced with. Sadly rent for even tiny flats here is similar to our mortgage.

Abi,
One big thought, having moved ... 10 times in the last 5 years?
MINIMALIST LIFESTYLE!
Sell damn near everything. Books should be electronic format, music snagged from Youtube, etc. Use a tablet or smartphone for ALL communications, etc.
this is coming from someone who pissed away LOTS of money on books, movies, CDs, and other gadgets. It's not worth it, it doesn't appreciate in value, and paper is only useful for some things (I have some manuals, for example, and a few exercise books I want to keep on paper. the rest is going to electronic format or a library for others to use.)
DVDs, CDs, game systems, mostly useless. (E.G., my X-box has not been used in a year or two now, except as a DVD player - twice in the last year.) If you use a Wii, say, for the Wii Fit, that's a plus, but otherwise? Toss.... Waste of time. ;-) You'll look back in a while and think that, too - I used to spend HOURS on computer games and video games. I haven't done so because it's just BORING... So skip to the "achievements" phase and save money. Or, sell it and gain money. ;-)

Artwork and sculptures are a weak point, too, so think that over as well. Pots, pans, dishes, all somewhat "extra" if you have a 4-place setting and enough to cook a meal. Seasonal decorations are worthless (We have three boxes - 3' L X 1.5' W X 2' D - for halloween alone. Haven't used in about 5 years. Christmas, too.)
Slash it to the bone, sell it off, and get the nutrition and mortgage under control. I'd point out sex is always good: Exercise, bonding, time waster. So there's a way to fill the time and space... ;-)

As an aside, I've got a storage unit, obviously, as well as the apartment. For me, it's not a big deal... Most of my stuff is in the house, and most of it is not too important any more. It's HER stuff now...
Don't let it get to that point.

Best,
-D