NC. How to survive 4 weeks on £500?

[SurvivingTheMonth]

I have NC as I've posted this on Facebook too.

Due to being off sick for 3 weeks and only getting SSP, I've only been paid £500 from work for 4 weeks. Was paid on Monday.

Live alone, no children or pets, so just myself but my monthly outgoings are £650 a month! I'm behind on my TV license as it is and owe them £30.

I need around £100 a month for petrol just to get to work. No public transport.

I'm also £11,300 in debt which I basically just pay the interest on each month.

How do I survive 4 weeks on no money? No friends or family to lend me money.

Not really though.
If OP usually has £1200 and spends £75 on petrol, but only has £500 this month, that £75 isn't "saved" because it's not there.

It’s not.

OP wasn’t driving to work, that doesn’t mean they weren’t buying petrol. OP seems to live in an area without public transport. How else were they going to get to medical appointments, grocery shops or pharmacies?

They may have been driving less whilst signed off - but not enough to stop buying petrol completely during that time period.

Why should a landlord subsidise a tenant in this way? Particularly a tenant who's already deep in debt.

You need to get a better job, OP.

Do you have any loyalty cards with points / vouchers to use?

"You should have saved the £75"

"Get a better job"

Bloody hell they are all out today.

Hey OP, have you actually tried not to be poor?

Honestly some of you need to take a good long look at the type of people you are. Try for some humanity.... it's nice.

Are you better and back at work now?

If you rent then rent is your number 1 priority - pay that first. If you have a mortgage call them up and ask for a 1 month mortgage holiday.

Then look carefully at energy costs. If you pay on direct debit and have more than 1 months credit on your account then cancel the direct debit payment for this month (you can do this in your online banking) - you'll get a few shitty letters/emails but nothing bad will happen. If you pay on direct debit and don't have credit; have a prepay meter or pay as you use then you need to make this a priority but try and reduce costs as much as possible.

Food is the next priority. Try and work out a menu using what you have in; make it a challenge to use up every scrap of food in your cupboards, fridge and freezer during the month. Other people have suggested good options for free/cheap food as well.

Try and have a think about how you can get a bit of extra income. Have a good clear out in the house and put anything which you don't need any more onto face-book market place? Do a couple of evenings babysitting? Claim any work expenses you're owed? Change bank accounts for the joining bonus? Can you do any overtime at work? Or look at the earn £10 a day thread on here?

Once you've done those things you'll know where you are at financially and can make a decision on the rest of your bills / expenses. A pp has suggested this already but it is a good idea to pay something on every bill / debt - even if its only £1 - as it makes them much less likely to take any further action. In your position I would aim to have a cheap month next month too so that I could pay off anything I hadn't paid this time round.

Once this month is over and you've got past this crisis it would be a really good idea to think about building up some savings so that things aren't this stressful again. The easiest way to do this is to have a seperate savings account and set your banking up to transfer £50 into it every pay day. Over time it will build up into a rainy day fund which is there to help in tough times.

"If you have a mortgage could you take a three month holiday? If renting same with LL?"

I'm sure posters mean well, but honestly...you really think landlords are going to give a three month holiday from paying rent?! 😂Can I move to the planet you're from?

The £11k debt jumps out at me. How has this arisen? Have you been using credit to pay for normal expenses due to being on a low income. You must know this isn't sustainable and by just paying the interest you've come to the end of the road with this.

Have a look at moneysavingexpert, you might need a formal solution to deal with the debt and get into a better position where you have an emergency fund to deal with occasional loss of income.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan/

I am so sorry you are in this situation.

Can this organisation help you? www.turn2us.org.uk/

Others have good suggestions for getting through this month. But long term you need to look at the debt. Look on moneysavirngexpert forum to get advice. You may need to consider a debt management plan, which will ruin your credit rating for a time, but get you out of the hole you are in.

How do you pay your council tax?
We have to pay in 10 installments - ad then don't pay in Feb and March. Will that free up a bit from essential spending?

What does the 650 cover usually?

I've been in this situation and have found that phoning the relevant companies e.g gas/electric etc to explain your difficulties is the best thing to do. They usually agree to defer payment for the month but, be warned, you will have to pay double next month (or at least this was my experience).
Have you contacted stepchange in regard to your debt? Again, I was about £7000 in debt and was really struggling with the repayments but after contacting stepchange and completing a monthly out goings/ incoming budget, they were able to offer a repayment plan which I could afford. They contact the companies on your behalf.
Hopefully that helps a little op. X

If you contact Depher they will provide you with food and some gas and electric. They're a Community Interest Charity in Burnley but they help people all over the UK and send online shops/vouchers. They're really quick but they will ask for some proof (I'm not sure what tbh) but they will help you.

He originally set up to fix boilers for free for the disabled and elderly locally but it's snowballed. Hugh Grant donates £5k a month to them.

www.depher.com/

Twitter - @Depheruk

i would also add that I read a thread on here about matched betting and me and husband have made £100 in 4 days by following the instructions online. You do need some initial stake money (but you get it all back)

you can really sell anything . Join vinted (no seller fees) and get on fb market place if you have stuff to sell.

Hari Krishna centres feed people for free.

Go to your local churches, apart from food, they sometimes have grants or contacts with other services that can help you.

Speak with your GP, they can refer you to food banks.

bill priorities have to be a) ones with legal recourse - so council tax and tv license
b) housing - rent
c) Bills but negotiate to pay less for one month or a couple of months

then we get into food - the do an inventory and meal plan is a good idea. I personally would be stopping using as much electricity, heating and or gas for cooking - so if I had a slow cooker a big pot of something that could make numerous meals - a bean/lentil casserole of somekind, portion up and freeze once cooked and easy microwave reheat. I do have stuff like this in my cupboard usually. Could you change some dietary things for a month e.g. no milk in tea or coffee, only water to drink etc. Can you take precooked pack up to work on the same basis if you normally buy something at lunch time.

I would also do a house and wardrobe sweep for things to sell that bring in a reasonable amount get them on vinted or ebay or facebay etc

Can you buddy up with someone short term for lifts to work?

Another possibility is a loan against next months salary from work e.g. 100 quid could make all the difference

Have a use every scrap month - veg peelings for e.g. can be used for stock for a chunky veg soup or noodle soup which is very cheap. Don't buy anything else at all all month - just put it off if you can.

Do you have any skills you could sell on fiverr or similar?
Anyone who could pay you to babysit or pet sit/dogwalk evenings
Any hobbies that could bring some money in? I am a crafter and can do all sorts including card making so I sometimes will advertise cards e.g. for valentines, or also jewellery, gift boxes and bags or I can sew things. If you Garden could you scout out if anyone wants seeds potting up and kicking off.
Could you do food deliveries or something else in the evenings for pay?
Local Carboot or table top sale (some run indoor boots).

Lastly could you relook at your debt and how it is held and move it to get a better rate maybe adding a small amount but also making a plan for how you are going to get this paid down - maybe making this a 6 mth exercise rather than one?

I would also suggest Martin Lewis' website as a way to cut costs but also manage debts

Get yourself down to your local free debt advice charity. They will liaise with your creditors, do a benefits check, issue food bank vouchers and possibly apply for hardship grants.

Do you need the TV licence, in that, do you actually watch BBC (including the iplayer) and live TV? So many people say that they don't any more and if that's you, you could get basic Netflix instead (or your streaming platform of choice - we rotate round and only ever pay for one at a time, and get a deal where we can, Netflix don't generally do deals, but Now often do) and save a few pounds a month.

Do the same for your broadband and mobile and you start to free up a little more disposable income that you'll really start to notice.

Also you can change your bank account for a cash incentive, so really worth doing - keep a second account just for this purpose and have done it a few times now.

Check out the debt free board on MSE - there's a template statement of accounts that you can fill out and post on a thread and lots of helpful people will give you advice on what to do with your debts and how to get through the current crisis.

Food banks can be very helpful and may also have debt advisers. Sometimes they will be able to help with phone/utitilies etc as well as food/laundry stuff/winter clothing.

As for the TV licence....have you been paying it monthly for some time? If so you are currently paying 6 months in advance. You could cancel your DD, let them know and get a refund for what has been overpaid for this year. It does mean that when you start paying again you will need to pay double for 6 months (so £29? instead of £14? a month) to help catch you back up to being 6 months in advance. They are very helpful and prompt on dealing with all of this.

Will you actually be paying council tax this month? It might be your lucky day if you aren’t.

I was the one who advised OP to get a better job. Others are offering advice to get her through the month, but what she needs is a strategy to make sure she isn't in this situation in a six months' time.

If OP is taking home £1200 net each month I'm guessing she'll be earning somewhere in the region of £16-17k pa (I'm presuming she's employed, not self-employed) and that's really not enough to sustain rent and running a car and servicing a debt of £11k. The average UK salary for people working as carers is £24,500 and there's always a need for people to work in the care sector. Obviously care isn't the only option, just an example. Just checked the local council website and they having cleaning and kitchen jobs available starting at £21k. Just an example.

The other option is a second job. I know people who work weekend shifts in a supermarket in order to build up a cushion of savings. My nephew leaves his day job and goes to work in a theatre four nights a week, serving behind the bar and taking tickets. One of my neighbours makes good money by offering dog-sitting in the evenings and at weekends.

Far better long-term to work your way out of debt. What's the OP going to do when her car needs major work or has to be replaced?

What? No i was trying to see if it wasn't as bleak as OP thought!

Good shout.

Also if there's a mosque kitchen near you they can be cheap/ free

Yeah just thought it might make a difference. OP only mentioned income not any carry over from last month

Given your level of debt it seems that even without this reduced wage things aren't really adding up?

Do you already have a debt management plan? If not then contact step change for advice.

In terms of this month, do you pay council tax over 10 months? If so this should be a free month.

You need to look at the priority bills and what can be reduced for this month.

A rough breakdown of your expenses would be useful