No money, come and chat

[Bubbublish]

I've got 16p in my purse and £2.47 in the bank . . . life is tough!

Luckily I've got food in the freezer.

How do you survive until next payday?

Bloody hell.can you access a food bank?

Take care

Yep I'm right at the bottom of my (extended) overdraft. It's not even funny anymore. I feel sick.

Ah thanks but I don't need a food bank coz I've got food in the freezer.
Just wondering if anyone else is down to the last pennies and how do you cope?

When is pay day?

I am down to my last £9 of my (£2500) overdraft. Same every single month. Shit isn’t it…!

I get paid on the 5th of each month so not long to go. I'll be fine but it's really horrible to live like this

It shocking. What an absolute pisser.
I live alone and my salary only has to cater to.me but even I have switched to cheaper supermarkets. Refuse to pay ridiculous prices.
Take care

Are you on the app Olio? Lots of people giving away food they don't need.

Thanks BCBird but I'm fine thanks. I have food and don't need money but thanks for the thought.

Really just wondered how many people get down to their last pennies before payday

have you done the budget planner?

you may post your expenses and income.
and let us see what can do better for next month.

I’ve always been like this even before having kids. I’d have £3.17 to last me 7 or 8 days haha. I always have food in my house, ALWAYS. There’ll be ingredients in the cupboards to cook something up and I always have freezer food. I always make sure I spend my last change on fruit and yoghurts for DD so she’s sorted.

No clue how to change it, I budget as best as I can and I’m always left like this until I next get money. It’s not a problem, more so just annoying as I wouldn’t be able to spontaneously go out for a meal with a friend etc

In the same situation, living month to month (barely) it's so so stressful just trying to survive

Hello everyone,
We've had a number of reports from people concerned about this thread so, as we usually do in these circumstances, we're putting our heads round the door with some important reminders.

Right now we can't see any evidence to indicate that the OP isn't above board – if we did, we'd remove the thread straight away. But the truth is that, sadly, we at MNHQ can't know with 100% certainty that any poster is genuine, no matter who they are or how long they have been here. As frustrating as it is, we're not able to vouch for anyone here.

So we always ask users to remember that not everyone on the internet is who they say they are – and remind folk not to give more to another poster, either financially (in cash or gifts) or emotionally (in time or care and support) than they'd be prepared to lose if things went wrong.

Though, we strongly advise against parting with any cash or giving away your personal details, and if you receive a PM which makes you uneasy - report it to us and we’ll take a look.

Sorry to hijack your thread briefly there, OP – we really hope you get it all sorted soon.

I make sure to stock up on tins when I’ve been paid- they’re cheap and can last ages. Keep the freezer stocked so even when i’m down to the last few £ I know we have food.

Same. On average each week 3-4 days with absolutely nothing in the account . We always make sure we have pasta in the cupboard and frozen veg in freezer and tinned tomatoes etc. always have cheap nappies and then if we have nothing we at least have the basics and can scrape through the bad days

We do the same , always have a few tins of the v cheap chopped tomatoes to use as a pasta sauce. The cheap chickpeas are good too and filling

Danikm151, I'm the same. I have lots of cereal, pasta, rice and tins, basically anything that will last a long time and always try to keep the freezer stocked up. Thankfully it's not been too cold but I've got lots of blankets to snuggle under with a hot water bottle if needed.

I think I'm going to save £1 a week (if I can)

happyfishcoco - I have a spreadsheet to see incoming/outgoings. I don't have sky or any extra subscriptions, just the basic bills that need to be paid.

I remember the good old days when I had a bit left over each month, enough for a few treats.

Sorry for everyone else who is struggling each month

Can you budget your money weekly? What do you spend on?

A few years ago I got rid of broadband and hot unlimited data instead. I managed to save 50.quid a month. I not a high user. Is this something you coukld do? The internet providers often do good deals for new customers. Is this worth some research perhaps?

Having times in my life with a lot more month than money, it can feel tough to feel like it is living rather than surviving.

Everyone has different circumstances so no advice will cover everyone.

I used to have cheap nights in with friends, go for walks around the city, head to museums and art galleries. I also used to babysit for friends in exchange for a meal to have a change of scenery. I also used to volunteer for every school trip going

many people do no spend months and it feels different when you say this is going to be a no spend month because I’ve decided to not buy anything not because I can’t.

right now, you would think we are very comfortable but having just moved house to a bigger house, it feels like the list of things we need is never ending having ploughed everything we have into the new house. As a family, we need to be aware not to over extend ourselves.

our shopping is now pushed to every ten days instead of seven.
there are no extra trips to the shops
no online shopping!

my husband lost everything before we met when his business went under so he is on board with no spend days/ weeks and months.

I go into my overdraft, it's not that dramatic

It sucks, OP, I've been there, not in that position any more, but I know it's hugely stressful. I'm not sure if you're after any advice, and some might be obvious, but I'll put it out there in case it helps anyone.

-Check you are getting everything you are entitled to, even single person's council tax etc can make a difference.

-If you are able to be strict with yourself, it is worth arranging credit (e.g. low interest credit card) before you need it. Obviously, you should avoid using it, but if you need it for an emergency it is better to have it prearranged. I think a credit card which you can pay off slowly is less of a vicious cycle than an overdraft, but others may disagree.

-If you can save a small amount of change every day or every week, it does add up and gives you a tiny bit more at the end of the month.

-Do you use any rewards cards? Supermarket points/boots etc can add up!

-Can you do anything to up your income? Budgeting advice is all well and good, but increasingly it's just bills are too high and there's not enough coming in. Even if you just picked up the odd evening babysitting or something, that would give you a little bit more to play with.

But sympathies- it's not that long to go- I'm assuming you get paid on Friday as 5th is a Saturday?