If you were absolutely flat broke in this situation, how would you make money?

sorry to hijack thread, OP!

@BackinBlack24 could someone who is totally useless with tech use Canva? I just had a quick look- how much is it once the free trial is over? Thanks for the suggestion- really interesting

I haven’t read the whole thing so apologies if this has been mentioned already. Can you opt of the pension for say 2 years? Use the pension money to pay for life insurance (around £12 a month if no heath issues with a generous payout) and invest a small portion into a private pension just for a couple of years until rejoining when things are settled?

If it gives you any hope my friend's daughter has only been qualified about three or four years and is already a sister in A&E, so at least band 6.

So you still get the housing allowance, just not the full amount of the rent?

I have a family member who was a nurse and did the PIP role. It was awful for her morale and mental health as it's the opposite of what you train for so hard.

I feel your pain relief long shifts and transport. I have a similar length journey and just got an ebike off FB marketplace and am finding my hillu pre and post shift cycle surprisingly manageable (not ideal but is cheap!). I've also taken to trying to get as much reduced food as possible, freezable fruit, veg, bread etc. food banks or community pantries may help too. Remember you can opt out of pension (not the ideal in the long term but if ends literally aren't meeting maybe reduce contributions depending on your age until the teens have flown the nest). My little side hustle is selling on vinted. Some charity shops near me have ridiculously cheap clothes and I sell them on for a little profit. I know some would argue morally I shouldn't be profiting from a charity shop but I was in a position where I was going to have to start using charity if I didn't! It's a bit of effort but gives me a small amount of disposable income I wouldn't otherwise have. Bit of an investment in terms of training but looking at going into aesthetics might be an option? PIP, BPAS, ambulance control, universities are all ways of maintaining your pin and using your qualifications and skills that may offer matched income for either home working or different conditions. Sending lots of wishes for a bit of good fortune or a lottery win your way

Don't you have to have earnings of less than 7k or something to qualify for pupil premium?

Not guaranteed, but I work for a council and we have pay increases delayed and then backdated every year. For some reason some of my colleagues applied to the student loans company for a refund and they had over paid last year. They got £180 back. I tried and got £100. I just logged on the gov website and it was an option on there. Tbf I’m on plan 1 so might be a long shot but worth a look. Took them 24 hours to let me know.

I’ve also been using a cashback app, I buy gift cards through them for things like my Tesco shop and get 4% cash back. Some times there’s offers and it increases. Been doing it 6 months and have just withdrawn £300 from it. The one I use is Tuck which may be Leicester based but there’s othered like Jam Donut.

I also use Swagbucks to earn small amounts of money but I make most of mine on the apps. Playing games which can be time intensive and boring and doesn’t sound like you have a lot of that. Over the years I’ve had thousands from them.

TopCashback is good for things like renewing any insurance or swapping electric providers.

i understand none of these are real fixes but I’ve found the extra money helpful as it trickles in. Although it is a trickle

I hope you sort something soon.

I don't think people understand the adrenaline junkie nature of being an A&E Nurse. There's also a camaraderie of the staff in A&E, not found elsewhere.

Being on wards or out-patients, injecting faces must feel very flat in comparison. If money were the object, they wouldn't choose nursing.
They do though need paying commensurate with modern nursing, which is more on a par with a Junior Doctor, than the the old mopping brows and taking temperatures.

It’s such a shame you don’t have that financial help. Nobody doing such a worthwhile job should struggle and find life difficult. 😞

I don't really have any ideas on how you can save any more money. However have you applied for pupil premium? That would at least help with school meals & trips & visits.

I think a small car would be better - at least you could fit kids in & do food shop in it.

Your kids sound lovely & they're lucky to have such a hardworking Mum.

I might have missed this but could you not work day time shifts? You could then travel on public transport rather than needing taxis.

It's frustrating when you're borderline & probably not actually getting much more spends than someone not working. Long term you will be better off though.

I have known a few people who have been PIP assessors and all seem to have been broken by the job so i wouldn't recommend that to be honest.

Are you sure you should be getting £0 UC? I have you double and triple checked? Your earning feel quite low to not qualify considering you have three children xx

Are you sure it's not worth trying? My 18 year old DS has dyspraxia and gets PIP.

Cutting the taxi fares seems the most obvious way to reduce your expenses if you can find another way to get to work.

I was going to say Car Parking at hospitals for staff is ££ andparking.
doesn't mean you'll get a space . Parking in the streets isn't always easy , the residents don't appreciate the extra traffic and most are permit .

Moped/ e bike is asier to park.

GP Practise Nurse
Blood Donation Service - I bet you are good with needles !

Cycle to work scheme?

He might be able to get some PIP, have you thought about talking to CAB. If you were not around who would support him? It”s non means tested. Worth a punt CAB filled my forms in for me.

Well that's something that needs to change. Buses ought to run a skeleton service to and from hospitals 24 hours a day. Even if they don't go anywhere else. Hundreds of staff would benefit from this.

Are you there Louise Haigh?

I wanted to say a huge congratulations that you’ve qualified into a profession with teenagers at home and a single mum and not a lot of financial backing behind you. That takes a huge amount of will power and determination and I really hope you find the solution you need in the short term to keep going!

I’d reach out to a local charity or food bank for help with food or transport to work. Ask around and see if there are any local schemes you could benefit from - you never know.

Hi OP, you are doing a great job and sorry you are having a hard time financially. To earn a little extra on the side I would suggest looking at private caring opportunities, I know of a lot of wealthy people who care for their husbands / wives but cannot find or are not eligible for carers and would pay well for relief caring (especially from a nurse). Someone who can come in and give them a night off or just a bit of extra help. They might not even mind if you bring a kid with you as often they are lonely and like the company. For your son, I would suggest dog walking, autistic people often are very good with animals. Good luck!

I've only read the first couple of pages so apologies if this has already been suggested - bank account switching. You can make £200-300 a time for switching your current account. Plenty of details on Martin Lewis money saving expert website. I did it 4x in about a year. It's about 15 mins of effort per switch so money for nothing.

You’d get UC on such a low wage and rental costs.

Just a quick warning about the scooter/moped - make absolutely sure you have secure parking for it both at home and at the hospital. A relative has one and it got nicked after a few weeks. Absolutely soul destroying.