If you were absolutely flat broke in this situation, how would you make money?

[stressedoutstudent]

Some context - single mum of 3 teenagers. Qualfied as a nurse a year ago, so on the lowest increment for band 5 pay. i work all night plus extra bank shifts to maximise my income with enhancements. Moving up pay scales/banding is impossible at the minute. The extra shifts means my UC entitlement is 0 most months. I get CB for 2/3 of the children. Eldest has autism and whilst he works, he doesnt earn enough to be contributing anything substantial to the household. Ex gave up working and claims benefits, i get the standard £29 a month deduction from his benefits via CMS, he hasnt seen the children in over a decade so doesnt contribute anything further. I dont drive and theres no public transport running at a time that i can get to work, so i have to pay for taxis which are expensive but i have no other options. Its a 2 hour walk before/after 13 hours shifts and i usually do 4 or 5 in a week, im so exhausted i cant do this walk on top of my very busy active shift. We live in a rented house, which is a reasonable rent for the area, but still expensive. 1 child in school who can walk, 1 child in college who cant walk as its too far so i have to ay transport costs for them. I have some "unnecessary" outgoings, gaming subscriptions and streaming services, however my children are home alone 4 or 5 nights a week so they need something to keep them occupied as i dislike them going out and about whilst im at work, as i work in a very busy A&E department, im not easily contactable and like to know they are safe. I have some small debts im paying off from when i was a student and really struggled to get by.

Every month i run i out of money, its just impossible. I cant work more, i cant see where i can reduce out goings. I cant get a third job (my substantial and bank are two different contracts). I cant afford christmas, which i know isnt the be all and end all. But, when i was a student i promised my children a better future when i was stressed writing assignments doing placements and missing important events. But its not gotten better. Infact im worse off each month now than i was when studying. The recent NHS payrise left me worse off, as it bumped me into the next pension bracket, so the little i got backdated last pay, i now owe in pension arrears from April when the pay rise was back dated to. This amount is more than i received in back pay last month.

Life is just impossible. I cant give my children any standard of living, despite working my arse off to improve my career and do as many shifts a week as i am physically able to do.

What would you do? Genuinely? My only potential plan at the minute is the WFH pip assessor roles, its the same money im on now, but no travel costs. Keep my bank job to pick up an extra weeked shift each week. But its a job role i struggle with morally, and i would lose the patient contact element of my job for the most part. And A&E was my dream job, i love it, and the experience is vital for my future career aspirations.

Not guaranteed, but I work for a council and we have pay increases delayed and then backdated every year. For some reason some of my colleagues applied to the student loans company for a refund and they had over paid last year. They got £180 back. I tried and got £100. I just logged on the gov website and it was an option on there. Tbf I’m on plan 1 so might be a long shot but worth a look. Took them 24 hours to let me know.

I’ve also been using a cashback app, I buy gift cards through them for things like my Tesco shop and get 4% cash back. Some times there’s offers and it increases. Been doing it 6 months and have just withdrawn £300 from it. The one I use is Tuck which may be Leicester based but there’s othered like Jam Donut.

I also use Swagbucks to earn small amounts of money but I make most of mine on the apps. Playing games which can be time intensive and boring and doesn’t sound like you have a lot of that. Over the years I’ve had thousands from them.

TopCashback is good for things like renewing any insurance or swapping electric providers.

i understand none of these are real fixes but I’ve found the extra money helpful as it trickles in. Although it is a trickle

I hope you sort something soon.

Don't you have to have earnings of less than 7k or something to qualify for pupil premium?

I feel your pain relief long shifts and transport. I have a similar length journey and just got an ebike off FB marketplace and am finding my hillu pre and post shift cycle surprisingly manageable (not ideal but is cheap!). I've also taken to trying to get as much reduced food as possible, freezable fruit, veg, bread etc. food banks or community pantries may help too. Remember you can opt out of pension (not the ideal in the long term but if ends literally aren't meeting maybe reduce contributions depending on your age until the teens have flown the nest). My little side hustle is selling on vinted. Some charity shops near me have ridiculously cheap clothes and I sell them on for a little profit. I know some would argue morally I shouldn't be profiting from a charity shop but I was in a position where I was going to have to start using charity if I didn't! It's a bit of effort but gives me a small amount of disposable income I wouldn't otherwise have. Bit of an investment in terms of training but looking at going into aesthetics might be an option? PIP, BPAS, ambulance control, universities are all ways of maintaining your pin and using your qualifications and skills that may offer matched income for either home working or different conditions. Sending lots of wishes for a bit of good fortune or a lottery win your way

even the day shift i couldnt use buses. The issue isnt the buses to the hospital, they are regular, but not from the town im in. I would have to get a bus in the opposite direction to a different town, which is about 20 minutes, on a bus service that runs hourly 6am-6pm, to then get the bus to the hospital, which takes about 45 minutes. Its not possible to get these busses to get to work for 7am for the day shift. I can do it for nights. but it takes a long time, plus accounting for delays with rush hour traffic. At a guess, i would have to leave before 5pm to get to work 7pm. I finish at 8am walk to the bus stop which isnt near A&E its at outpatients, bus to town, wait for my hourly service, catch that, a good 10 mins walk from the bus stop home, so would probably get home for what 10am? That leaves me 7 hours between my shifts at home. Even if i just shower sleep and eat, thats a maximum of 5 hours in bed a day. Taxis I get home for 8.30am and leave again at 6.30pm. 10 hours at thats already exhausting.

I have a family member who was a nurse and did the PIP role. It was awful for her morale and mental health as it's the opposite of what you train for so hard.

So you still get the housing allowance, just not the full amount of the rent?

If it gives you any hope my friend's daughter has only been qualified about three or four years and is already a sister in A&E, so at least band 6.

I haven’t read the whole thing so apologies if this has been mentioned already. Can you opt of the pension for say 2 years? Use the pension money to pay for life insurance (around £12 a month if no heath issues with a generous payout) and invest a small portion into a private pension just for a couple of years until rejoining when things are settled?

sorry to hijack thread, OP!

@BackinBlack24 could someone who is totally useless with tech use Canva? I just had a quick look- how much is it once the free trial is over? Thanks for the suggestion- really interesting

Sorry have just reread your initial post. Fucker (him)…that’s all I can add to that.
Well done to you to getting qualified as a single mum with three children. Other posters have given some good advice and I hope some of it will work for you.
I don’t want to patronise you because you have work so hard…but please find out about local food banks near to you. I work with food banks…not only the ones where you have to be referred. We also supply local community hubs where you can ‘buy’ good food at a nominal fee. They are run on a ‘no questions asked’ basis. The hubs are supplied with ‘free’ food and charge their customers a nominal fee.
With three teenagers I think you would definitely benefit if there is this kind of hub in your community.
As others have mentioned the electric bike might also be an option, but only if you have secure parking at home and at work.
Is there an option of the two younger ones working for a bit of pocket money to contribute to their interests and hobbies?

Your biggest problem it seems is the cost of taxis to and from work. I think you need to rethink and move. Most folk couldn't afford taxis every day even on a reasonable wage.

My last one was like this. She listened to what I said, wrote the report truthfully and actually treated me like a human being. she told me about her sister who has one of the same conditions as me and actually gave me some useful tips on dealing with it. The phone call lasted nearly 3 hours and she was so kind to me...

Your long term strategy to progress bands is the right one. In the mean time getting travel costs down must be a focus. As well as the moped option have you thought about an electric bike? I don't know if it does work with the distance but they really do take the effort out. Plus they are available via salary sacrifice schemes..,.

Can you move closer to work to cut transport costs? Change place of work to closer to home?

If your parents could loan you the money for an e-bike, you wouldn't have to commit to using it every single day. Even if you only rode it to work one shift, left it there and got a taxi home, got a taxi in to the next shift and rode the bike home, you'd still be saving 50% of the taxi fares. You might find you enjoy the cycle as a time to mentally unwind from the shift (equally, you might not, I admit). Could you maybe borrow your son's bike for a couple of shifts to see how it is in practice (with the idea that you'd by an electric bike so it would be much easier uphill than a push bike)?

I'm really sorry you're in this position. I remember a Tory MP (possibly even the Health Secretary) a couple of years back basically saying that he didn't think nurses should have to earn enough to support a family. He viewed a nurse's salary as essentially pin money, always a second income to supplement the man's 'proper' job. I used to work in a profession with exactly the same attitude - female dominated and the view from the top was that it was just something the little women did while their husbands earned the real money. I really hope some of the ideas on here can work for you. You deserve to be able to make the most of your life.

Firstly thank you for all do for the NHS, secondly I’m so sorry you’re going through this.
I cannot believe this is the state of our country.

Could you find a placement in a GO surgery local? Then it would be mon-Fri.

Have you spoken with Citizens advice? They are brilliant and I here may be things yours entitled to that you were aware of.

If I had money I would share it with you x

I just want to say you and your kids are awesome. They obviously get their work ethic from you and obviously not their useless father! Thank you for all your hard work for the NHS. I'd pay you double if it was up to me!

OP just to say that if you can grit your teeth and get promoted to band 6, you’ll notice a big difference.

My husband works as a paramedic and between his student years training and the first year when they’re paid at band 5, we hadn’t realised how much difference it would make but it’s much much better at band 6.

a big hug from me. In the meantime don’t feel bad about doing a job you love

Why would you opt out of an NHS pension, into which the employer is contributing, and instead invest in a private pension? Makes no sense at all.

As a car driver, I’d be very wary about driving a moped especially as the OP hasn’t driven one before or driven on the roads for some time. The standard of driving is horrendous these days and moped drivers/motorcyclists and of course cyclists are extremely vulnerable on the roads. I certainly wouldn’t let my DC use one. The OP is a single parent to 3 DC, including one with a lifelong disability, so I certainly wouldn’t put myself at risk in her position.

I’d definitely advise taking the PIP assessor role as it is something that will immediately free up cash, the OP will have more down time with no commuting and she can do extra nursing shifts when necessary and for keeping up skills. Probably more beneficial physically as well if 9-5. It’s a necessary job (or no one would get PIP) so I wouldn’t be prioritising the morality of it over finances, quality of family life and safety in trying not to get knocked off a moped!

Can’t you do it for a year or two until your DCs have finished school/college and then review it when you’re hopefully in a position where you’re not run ragged, exhausted and less stressed from finances? Go back to A&E then?

I hope you are signed up to the Money Saving Expert email. Comes once a week and some people make great savings, bank account switching etc.

I know nothing about bank roles, but take it they pay more than your main role.
I see that NHS 111 has bank type and WFH roles. Plus you are qualified enough to be a supervisor.

I don't get it but I know the OP said she loved her job. That's why I suggested a part time business. She could fit it around her shifts and not give up the job she loves.

People saying move closer to work do not seem to understand that when you have no spare cash and are living month to month, even DIY moving and hiring a van (that’s if you can drive one yourself), and putting up another deposit if renting can run into thousands and is impossible. The OP said rents are more expensive closer to work anyway and she won’t know if a new landlord will want her as a tenant long term so better she stays where she is.

Could you save for a car if you take the PIP assessor job OP?

E-bike or e-scooter? Perhaps a compromise/variation on the moped ideas.

Botox?