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Original poster

Raising cash. Am I missing anything?

31 replies

Randomun · 04/10/2018 10:51

Husband is ill after an accident. No wages for the foreseeable. We can either manage on tax credits alone £80 a week, or get nowt for 6 weeks and put in a UC claim. I'll jump in the Clyde before I volunteer for UC.

So, computer and tech stuff going to CEX.
Books all going to we buy books.com
All old clothes, curtains, shoes etc going to that clothes weight place.
I'm doing online surveys. Not much but gets us the odd £5 amazon voucher.

What else?
Like to make clear I won't accept anything other than advice. Tia

OP posts:
Original poster
Randomun · 04/10/2018 10:52

Trying to change gas and electricity but on pre payment meter.
Cancelled all dd apart from rent, council tax and Internet (which is 13 a month on a deal)

OP posts:
Ifailed · 04/10/2018 10:55

Train a homing pigeon and keep selling it on e-bay?

Nesssie · 04/10/2018 10:55

I use 'prolific', its an online survey site, and I've managed to raise a bit of money in my spare time, £20 a month. Could probably raise more if I went on it more.

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Benefits
Original poster
Randomun · 04/10/2018 10:56

That made me laugh. I'm avoiding ebay as they don't protect sellers. Plus with cex and the book place i do it all in one go and I'm not waiting on dribs and drabs and paying postage costs.

OP posts:
YoureAllABunchOfBastards · 04/10/2018 10:58

Do you have any old toys no longer played with? I have spent the summer selling the kids' Lego and Thomas trains and they go really well on eBay.

Original poster
Randomun · 04/10/2018 11:01

I'm on prolific! I'll be hitting it hard.

No to the toys, we do have stuff that eldest has outgrown but they're put by for the youngest.

I do have a musical instrument though, so if i select cash and collect there's not much can go wrong there other than it not selling.

OP posts:
user1471459936 · 04/10/2018 11:01

Do you work? Can you take on overtime? Extra work such as bar work? Babysit? And budget with what you have got.

PickleNeedsAFriendInReading · 04/10/2018 11:03

spend any points on loyalty cards if you have them

PinkHeart5914 · 04/10/2018 11:06

Do you work? Can you start looking for a job?

Can stat sick pay not be claimed?

Any children’s toys, clothes? Facebook local pages can be good for selling these and things for dc in my experience soon get snapped up.

Thing is selling your computer etc is all well and good but if your dh can’t work for a long time, that money is soon going to run out and the rent will be due........

I understand your reservations about universal credit but if you started the claim not in 6 weeks when you situation could be worse you would be due some money, rather than have to start from then with a claim

Original poster
Randomun · 04/10/2018 11:09

I don't work but the cv is out.

Budget is tighter than a gnats arse. Borrowed £300 off my Da, so that's most of the rent and i just need to find a bit more plus council tax. Cancelled car insurance, no fees luckily.

If dh company get their finger out their arses and pay him basic sick pay we'd manage. I can feed the 4 of us on nowt, I've got a good store cupboard, and we're frugal with gas and electricity.

OP posts:
Original poster
Randomun · 04/10/2018 11:13

Loyalty points! I've got loads with tesco, thank you!

No baby toys as we charity shop them but i DO have a full set of cloth nappies! Going to try one of the cloth fb groups.

Cheers guys, this is why I started this, when you're having a panic you can't think straight.

I now what you mean about uc, but it means when he's back at work we'd be stuck on it and as he's paid weekly we'd have 5 months a year with "being paid twice" and claim getting stopped.

OP posts:
Howmanysleepstilchristmas · 04/10/2018 11:17

Car boot sale may make more than clothes by weight place. You can still take what doesn’t sell there.
Any old mobile phones? There’re online companies that buy them.

Lwmommy · 04/10/2018 11:18

BAbysitting? October half term is coming up and people may need that help

Temporary bar work or admin work through an agency.

Not cash but do you have any loyalty points you can use - boots, tesco, sainsburys

If you are city based do you have a parking space you can rent out?

Howmanysleepstilchristmas · 04/10/2018 11:19

Rent driveway space if near a railway station etc?

Dermymc · 04/10/2018 11:20

Why isn't he getting sick pay? Id be chasing that like mad.

TwllBach · 04/10/2018 11:22

I know you said you didn't want to use eBay, but I very recently took clothes to a place like you mentioned and got £4.85 for two bags for life full of baby clothes and another crate of adult clothing - some with tags still attached. If I was doing it for the money I wouldn't have touched them with a barge pole still wish I had sold them individually on eBay

MrsSquiggler · 04/10/2018 11:35

Sick pay - has his employer said they won't pay? You can go to HMRC and get a determination on whether he is entitled. The deadline for asking HMRC to do this is 6 months from the first day he was off sick.

If he can't get SSP / when it runs out, there is always contribution-based ESA based on his NI record ("new style ESA"). This is separate to UC.

Council tax reduction - this is still run by the council and is separate from UC

UC - you can get an advance payment to tide you over the first 5 weeks. I understand that the weekly pay issue is annoying though. Are you definitely in a full service UC area? Haven't got 3 or more children?

Original poster
Randomun · 04/10/2018 11:38

Registered to rent out driveway. We're outskirts of a city and i dont pay if he doesn't rent so no risk.

Employer is meant to pay. Last week was nowt and same this week. It's being chased. They never paid on time or accurately when he was working.

OP posts:
PurpleCrazyHorse · 04/10/2018 11:51

A room to rent for a lodger? Could the kids share in the short term? Ours share in the master bedroom and DH and I are in the middle sized room. Just a thought.

We've sold CDs, DVDs and console games via Music Magpie. Really easy with an app on your phone where you scan the barcode with your camera. It gives a price and you can decide to sell or not. You'll need a few boxes though as you can only put so many in a box (I use wine boxes from the supermarket).

Sparklyfee · 04/10/2018 12:05

Coupon threads on moneysavingexpert. Freebies from TopCashback, Shopmium etc.

Sell the goods at a car boot, the clothes etc instead of weighing in.

Offer cleaning, babysitting, ironing?

Buy food at whoopsie time in supermarkets

Batch cooking

TwllBach · 04/10/2018 12:14

Oooh you can advertise on sites like Monday to Friday.com if you have room for a lodger, that way you can still have the weekends just for family. My mum did this and it worked really well for her.

Undercoverbanana · 04/10/2018 12:15

Find out when the supermarkets do all their discounting on dated goods.

Friend with allotment - exchange food for babysitting, cleaning .... whatever skill you can offer.

Don’t eat meat or fish - you don’t need it.

Shop at Aldi/Lidl - buy seasonal ingredients for curries, stews and soups as this is cheapest and batch cook to save fuel.

Do cleaning, ironing, dog-walking, leaflet delivery.

Petrol is so expensive. Only go places you can walk to or car share.

Shout for your friends in times of crisis. Good friends will never see you fall.

FESus · 04/10/2018 12:16

Are you definitely in a UC area? Can’t you adjust your TC for the time being if not?

Peopleperhour, if he has skills he can use from home whilst sick

Is he in a union?

Almostthere15 · 04/10/2018 12:19

If the curtains etc are good quality I'd try Facebook selling groups first. I think you'd get more that way.

I know everyone says get a cleaning job or ironing but it's not that easy to get clients. However, if you have a cleaning agency nearby they are always short of cleaners and although you get paid less it's pretty much immediate and you can quit whenever you want.

Do the kids have any money boxes, can you iou and take the money out?

See if the gp/school can refer you to.food bank. I know you said you have a good later but every little helps and the money you save on food can go to energy for example.

Enter comps online, if you win prizes you don't need you can always sell them.

Id try and see citizena advice about the sicj pay, its terrible! Good luck.