To feel depressed at how skint I am?

[Smolgoose]

I was furloughed for 8 months over the past year and a bit on 80 percent pay and it has tipped my precarious finances into total shit. Money is tight anyway on full pay (I only earn 16000 a year) so I've had to make up the shortfall with overdraft and credit card.

Endless expensive things keep happening, like the car needing repairs and it's starting to really get me down. I have £50 to last till the end of the month which is doable just about, as long as I stick to cheap food.

I've taken on an extra part time job cleaning that starts later this month, but I have no idea how I'm going to physically do it on top of full time work, as I've had health issues recently.

I just feel so depressed with it all.

Exactly. I did precisely that: living off pasta for years. I'm sure it dicmy health no favours.

Much of the thread seems like some kind of competitive poverty rather than trying to offer the OP advice on what would be the best long-term route out of her current situation. If it was me, I'd be taking the long-term view and looking at night classes and potential career paths to something I'd like to do that would earn more money. That's the best sustainable solution to take this financial stress off her.

*did my health no favours.

@PolkadotHedgehog

Exactly. I did precisely that: living off pasta for years. I'm sure it dicmy health no favours.

Much of the thread seems like some kind of competitive poverty rather than trying to offer the OP advice on what would be the best long-term route out of her current situation. If it was me, I'd be taking the long-term view and looking at night classes and potential career paths to something I'd like to do that would earn more money. That's the best sustainable solution to take this financial stress off her.

Agree with this plus picking up a night or two a week in a pub or bar for a bit extra. Two jobs is how I got through uni.

Are you getting the 20% discount on your council tax for living alone?

I haven't RTFT OP so forgive me if this has already been suggested.

You need to think of the long term plan...

How much is on your credit card OP?? Is the 150 the min payment?
It's that 150 that you want to get out of!

So...what I would do is cancel, Netflix, audible and Labour Party FOR NOW and use that extra 28 to pay towards your credit card. I know it doesn't seem like much BUT every little bit "extra"you have needs to be thrown at that right now. Get rid of it!!THEN you will have 178 free to save. Spend 6 months saving 1k as an emergency fund and you are in a much better position. THEN I would stop saving and use that 178 towards a night course or something to improve your skills somehow.

My main point is...yes it's tough but it's NOT going to change overnight OP. You need to think of the bigger picture and work towards a goal. Sometimes a hard graft for a year or two is necessary to move forward.

OP, that’s really tough. It’s a very low income to live on and it’s disgraceful that employers get away with it.

I think you should move in with your boyfriend. Yes, you’d have to find another job but surely the inconvenience of this would be outweighed by the financial benefits.

The once you had a bit more financial freedom, you could look at retraining and getting to a better position for the long term.

Of course only do this if he’s a nice bloke and it’s a safe and loving relationship!

Sign up to prolific and do surveys or psychology research studies from home. Pay is £10 per hr, and so if you do an hour each evening you can do quite well out of it.

How old are you @smolgoose as 16k is massively under the minimum wage for over 22. Most full time retail contracts are 40 hours normally which would make your annual salary just shy of £17400. To only be clearing 16k you can only be doing about 35 hours so there should be plenty of time for a second job (pub work maybe?) If not can you increase your hours at your normal job? If its shift work can you do dog walking or similar to top up?

Really I would recheck your uc claim, you may find you are entitled to something.

I would also look at where you can reduce bills by swapping companies, is your mobile on contract? If not lots of companies are doing cheap sim pay as you got. I get 10gb data and unlimited texts and calls for £10/month with giffgaff for example so swapping might save you a bit.

Netflix...not massively essential but have you checked you are on the lowest pack (5.99/month I think) and cancel your labour membership as you can't afford it and it's not essential.

Good luck!

@Smolgoose

I'm not entitled to universal credit unfortunately, I must warn too much!!

I get roughly 1200 a month pay, then outgoings are

Rent £525
Council tax £90 pay manually
Road tax and insurance £38
Credit card repayment 120
Internet, electric, gas water etc £81.50
Phone £16.8
Netflix audible & labour party membership £28.28

You need to lose audible and Netflix and Labour Party membership

Library will do free audio books.

Also. If there’s only you, lose internet and use phone.

As your biggest expense is accommodation I'd focus on that.

Give up your flat and get a room in a house-share. In my town a room is about £100-£120 pw and that includes Council Tax and all utility bills. You would save hundreds of pounds every month.

Check the price of rooms near you on spareroom.co.uk

@Longestfewdaysupcoming

Also. If there’s only you, lose internet and use phone.

No, internet is essential. I assume you don’t have internet yourself to be offering this advice?

I have been skint and had a phone and just used that. Unless you’re in a shit area for coverage it’s fine. Hotspot to laptop.

Op, where do you want to live with partner, maybe we can help find a place?

@Longestfewdaysupcoming

I have been skint and had a phone and just used that. Unless you’re in a shit area for coverage it’s fine. Hotspot to laptop.

But Netflix wouldn’t work on TV.

You can use a chrome cast

Threads like these are annoying.
It’s often the op describing a desperate situation, extremely low pay and as someone put it “competitive poverty” advice to the op on how they could save £10. When reality is cost of living continues to rise and op needs to think about how they can earn more.

That involves retraining. Like it or not. Not necessarily by studying, possibly apprenticeship? The bottom line is certain work is low paid, with little progression possibility and is only really meant as short term. I consider shop work/retail this type of work and traditionally was done by young people/students.

Op how old are you? You don’t have children and therefore this is the time now to change your life by finding a different path.

That still needs internet.

@PolkadotFlamingos

So many posters focusing on how to cut your monthly expenditure by £10-20 etc. 🙄 The most obvious way to make your life much better is to focus on qualifications and a career and start increasing your earnings, not to cut your already minimal living costs even further.

But it is worth cutting expenditure. The OP isn't going to get new qualifications in the next few days/weeks/months, but she will significantly increase her disposable income if she cuts some costs, especially if she is struggling to buy food, and every little helps.

Likewise if she can get a few extra hours or a better paid unskilled job now. There was a factory on our local news yesterday offering £16 an hour and still being unable to fill vacancies.

It's also very important to look at the debt. So many credit cards with a minimum repayment of £120 pm will be adding £90-100 pm in interest, which means that people can spend years paying thousands in interest and take very little off the debt. If the OP is in this position, this is something that needs addressing urgently as every month that goes by is a load of money wasted on interest.

Do you have time off in the week? I would try to get a private cleaning job, cash in hand. You could probably charge £12 an hour, if you picked up 2 different 2 hour jobs that would be nearly £200a month in your pocket.
Messing about cancelling Netflix isn't going to save you, but £200 a month might.
Realistically you probably need to get out of retail, the money sounds terrible with no prospects for change.

@stackemhigh

That still needs internet.

Data on your phone is internet. I literally did this for years. It is very doable.

Data on your phone is internet. I literally did this for years. It is very doable.

I’m glad if it works without too much faff. What did you use on Chromecast dongle instead of Wifi? It always asks for Wifi log in and password?

Just to add to my previous

Rent £525
Council tax £90
Internet, electric, gas water etc £81.50

Total £716.50

In a houseshare all these things are covered for a rent of about £400 to £450.

What's the point of getting a cleaning job and wearing yourself out, or arguing about saving £4 a month on LP membership when you could save £300 a month by moving into a house share?

Yes I know data is internet, but this is getting Netflix on to a TV.

It just needs to be WiFi.

You set your phone up as a WiFi hotspot and then use it like WiFi and connect the chrome cast to that WiFi.

It literally works. You cast the whole phone via chrome browser (click the view desktop website) and it works the same as if it was internet via a phone line.