TIPS FOR HAVING NO MONEY

[BellaElla99]

Hi,

I need help with money as everything is getting so expensive, as a single parent, I am extremely overwhelmed. I can’t afford to top up my pre-payment meter and I can’t afford any new clothes to keep my children warm in the house this winter.

I am struggling so please be kind. If you’ve been poor/are poor or just extremely frugal, please give me your best tips to cope with this winter? Anything from tips to keep warm, tips to keep the kids warm, cheap meal options (have £10 per week left for shopping for December). We will be going to the local church for Christmas dinner and we can watch Christmas films with Christmas shaped toast for breakfast. Kids are young so they won’t know the difference but I need advice for leading up to this!

Thanks so much :)

Just checking you're on economy 7 and using the storage heaters correctly, ie charging up during the cheap period and using the heat in the daytime, and trying not to run them during this because it's far more expensive?

Thanks for the offers also everyone but I really don’t want to take anything off of anybody. I think I have made the post seem as though we have no food and no heating and no clothes. We have food but just the basics so I was looking for quick cheap meals with basics like pasta, the little 39p noodles, beans etc. We also have electrics but just not enough to put the heating on everyday or have a bath but we can have quick showers (my property is all electric). We also have clothes, just not thick winter clothes or coats, I was just highlighting that I can’t afford to buy anymore.

Things are really tough. I am hoping to be accepted into university for next September so I can get out of this situation. I was hoping that this post could give me some good tips for the meantime and for other posters who have very limited money but feel too scared to post and ask for advice.

I have applied for the warm home discount but haven’t received it yet and I’m scared to contact the GP for the food bank in case they report me to social services thinking that I can’t look after my children. I can look after them, we are at the library now because it’s warm and they can play (they have a drawing section of the library).

Sorry if anyone thinks this isn’t genuine. I saw the post from the head team. It is genuine and I wasn’t looking for hand outs, just tips from people who have lived through it and come out of the other side.

Thank you so much everyone

Fortunately now I have money but I lived on a low income when my kids were small.

Food: Jack Monroe has excellent fully costed recipes online, her cook books are excellent too if anyone wants to buy you a gift, the earliest one has particularly cheap recipes. Zero waste is the key and scratch cooking in bulk then freezing/refrigerating is economical, bulk out meat with lentils, chickpeas and lots of cheap root veggies.

Utilities: keep the thermometer at 18 max and wear jumpers, sounds obvious but I know people in really dire financial situations who walk around in shorts in winter and house is like the Caribbean temperature wise.

Buy second hand, Freecycle, hand me downs- my kids' Christmas gifts were often and me downs.

Be honest with family who ask you what you want - kids shoes, underwear etc is better than more plastic tat.

If you do buy new, lay off the brands, supermarkets make excellent clothes, most of mine are Tu which reflects that I'm now more affluent than when everything was George . Much of my clothes are from charity shops

I am on economy 7, the heat seems to run out by around 3-4pm then I have to boost them. Is there a way I can make it last longer? It seems to be drinking my electrics!

social services will not steal your children op

Definitely try citizens advice in case there is anything more you are entitled to. Warm home discount if you don’t already have that. If your kids are still young enough to be under a health visitor they should be able to refer you for clothing banks/Christmas appeal type help.
Wrapping up in what you do have and getting out for parts of the day so you’re using someone else’s heating (family or friends if local, library or cheap/free parent groups in your area?) or just out for the kids to run around and keep warm on a walk or the park? Take what you do have like hot chocolate in a thermos or some cheap biscuits/fruit/veg as a snack. If you have or can get hold of a large thermos, boiling the kettle once and keeping the hot water in there for hot drinks to warm up through the day.

Pls message me, we have lots of good quality kids clothes, they're yours if correct size

Oh and check out if your area has a community pantry - this is not a food bank, it's simply food that would otherwise go to landfill. We can use it every week if we want and it's free (they accept donations which I give, but they literally were begging me to take bread yesterday as they were about to close and I was walking past!)

Sorry if anyone thinks this isn’t genuine. I saw the post from the head team. It is genuine and I wasn’t looking for hand outs, just tips from people who have lived through it and come out of the other side

It really annoys me that somebody always reports these threads.

I make soup with an onion, potato and sweet potato - if you have a stock cube it's a bit more flavoursome but will work without.

I am sure that there is a solution to the Economy 7 thing - a relative of mine has storage heaters and her house is always warm.

I didn’t say steal them, I’m just afraid they may feel that I am unable to look after them. I know you may not understand where I’m coming from because to an extent I’m not meeting their needs but I really do love them and I’m trying my best.

Sorry, I’m trying to reply to people and it doesn’t seem to be working.

I always used to buy my kids second-hand gifts. They never knew the difference.
Clothes from charity shops
layers of clothing rather than central heating
Food - I bought potatoes by the sack from a local farm, made:
potato curry
cheese & potato pie
potato goulash
chips
baked potatoes (very nice filled with baked beans)

make soup - as much as you can! lentils are cheap and make great soup. packets of root veg for sip from supermarkets. Lidl's do great boxes of fruit and veg for £1.50

Most kids like cheese/egg/beans, don't they? All very tasty and nourishing.

I would caution against Jack Monroe’s later books - Miguel Barclay does some fantastic £1 recipes

OP some food banks don't need a referral from your GP.
Look on Facebook if there is anything in your area.
Contact salvation army. They can provide toys for the little ones
and even warm clothes.
Social services will not remove your children they will be able to help you making sure you are getting the right bennifits.

Don't worry about being referred to a food bank as a lone parent, that's exactly who they are for and no-one will think it odd that you asked- please do this one thing as this will put some slack in your money system. Food banks are for families and lone parents, so don't be shy about asking. Everyone knows prices have gone up and I'm sure there's lots of people asking right now- so be one of them!

Food bank, or a food waste scheme near you. We have one for any income, it's not means tested and they give you a huge box of fresh & cupboard food each week for about a fifth of th price

Maybe I can move a mattress into the living room and just live out of there for the time being. Kids will probably think it’s a massive sleepover and sleep better anyway

We regularly did this when we were kids, for the same reason. Very cosy and always felt like a bit of an adventure.

Ok I’ve been stung badly by two of these threads before but if you post your child’s age OP I literally have two bags of winter clothes ready to go to a charity shop and will happily send some stuff your way.

Food banks are for anyone in need not just family or parents. Social services won't take your kids because you need to use one.

If you get some free food maybe you can buy a coat second hand for £5. Lots on Facebook. I put one into the clothing bank, good as new nothing wrong with it just outgrown, still being sold in the shops £65 couldn't even sell it for £5. If you put a wanted ads for a coat you'll get loads of people wanting rid, they take up space and having to go somewhere to give away is a nuisance.

It's horrible these threads get reported, OP didn't ask for anything except advice.

Can you set the storage heaters to start giving out heat later in the day so they don't run out so quickly?

I managed to get hot water bottles for £2.50 at sports direct. They don’t have covers but I made some out of an old fleece.

As you’re in the library look out for this. The recipes are genuinely delicious (pasta daily? I’d rather eat newspaper) and the kids like them.

Single mum solidarity to you.

Fwiw, my friend’s mum phoned SS and said “you need to take the kids this afternoon as we’re out of money”. SS did not take the kids - they did however offer LOTS of help.

Can you get a referral to food bank for food and check that you are claiming everything you are entitled too?
For warmth, hot water bottles. Layer up- so vest, T-Shirt, jumper, dressing gown. Leggings under trousers etc. Look out on FB marketplace etc for people selling bags of children clothes cheaply. Bubble wrap or newspapers on the windows to keep the cold out.

Social services won't take your kids because you use a food bank....they are over stretched, if they removed every child whose parent used a food bank, they'd have an absolute nightmare on their hands!

On a different note, charity shops are absolutely useless imo...they are not cheap...places like primark and Asda are probably better value.

OP, I've just been reading about how cheap electric throw blankets are relative to heating a room, but I completely appreciate that you might struggle to find an affordable one or a secondhand one.

Will you receive any gifts at Christmas, possibly from family or friends? Could you tell them that you're struggling, and that a supermarket voucher would be really appreciated?

I really sympathise OP. I grew up in a family with very little money, but (possibly unlike my family), it sounds like you're doing everything that you can to improve things.

Ok thank you, I think maybe I will try a food bank. Does anyone know how I can contact them? Do I have to go through social services or can I go through another route? How does it work? Thank you x

Oh op storage heaters are just awful, I used to be £80 a week in the winter for electric when I had mine. I got a little oil filled heater which made a massive difference.

If you're on UC you may be able to get a budgeting loan for a heater and pay it back a tiny amount each month.

Please don't buy these cruel caged hens eggs. I'm assuming they are at this price? Apologies if not, but I think some things are inexcusable. I say this as a lone parent on a tight budget.

Despite this stupid post (who would rather see a kid go hungry than buy eggs ffs) these eggs have seen me through some awful times, that and potatoes and supermarket beans, and porridge oats. Also own brand weetabix with warm milk is great.

For a treat that goes a long way own brand chocolate is 30p for a big bar and you can get very cheap cornflakes or crispies and make crispy cakes, about 15-20 of them for less than a pound.