To ask you how to make £30 last

[tearsandtiaras]

I have £30 to last until Wednesday
Im ok for petrol for work
My DD needs £8-10 on Monday
I have £22 to make meals from tomorrow - Tuesday night and one packed lunch Wednesday

Please help. I have porridge, brown rice , eggs, and a little bit of pasta

People think everyone’s lives are exactly like their own and can’t understand why other people may need to do things differently to them. It’s really bizarre!

if your rent was£1800 you’d hardly have any money left over from a SW salary - it is certainly not substantial by any stretch of the imagination

also as a sw I’m very surprised that you do not know the answer to your own dilemma given the nature of your work

im also very surprised that any council pay salary on this Wednesday as the majority pay at the end of the month

I think car use is listed as essential criteria on the adverts for social workers at my local authority (exception for disability)

I think the were only talking about walking to the Olio collection (Olio doesn't work for me at all, sadly, neither does tgtg, because l live in a village and any offers are ten minutes drive away so unless I'm going that way anyway it's counter productive).

But I see they later said you should give up your car which is clearly nonsense and unworkable.

@Thisbackwithavengeance I'm not sure if you were directing UB dates at me but I either eat, refrigerate or freeze everything that comes from Olio with SB, UB or BB labels. I was agreeing with you and supporting you.

@MobilityCat I meant the general "you", not YOU.

I have friends who are on the breadline but won't touch Olio because the food is at its sell by date 🤷‍♂️

Make pancakes - people think they feel special but cheap as chips- useGF flour, add jam, cheese, squeeze an orange over etc -

Buy a cheap chicken, roast it - use it for 2 main meals with some cheap veg plus Yorkshire pudding ( again cheap) - although you might need to get eggs if you've made pancakes!!

Iceland have a 10 items for £10 if you live close enough at the moment, has everything on it from veg to Birds Eye fish fingers to pizza to aunt Bessie's Yorkshires -add in a loaf of bread and some cereal and milk and you could easily do it based on that - I walked past one today and noticed it in the window-that of course is presuming you have a freezer

I wasn't sure, are you a FWH like me? I have over 200 different people requesting food from me at different times, most of them really glad as they're struggling to feed their families. My collections are very popular because all the food comes from Sainsbury's.

Here's the link to the Iceland offer I mentioned- we aren't talking gourmet but will keep you fed

www.iceland.co.uk/offers/frozen-offers/easy-teas

Yes Iceland is very good at the moment

@tearsandtiaras I just started listing a plan for you....but then scribbled it out. Go and look on instagram at two accs; BeattheBudget and CardiffMum, both make nutritious meals for the week very cheaply. £20/25 without loading you up on just carbs ❤️

Yea that's a good shout, I find Iceland not as good value as they used to be do do a whole shop certainly not but that's a good deal

Check out food waste apps and local food waste charities. You don’t need to be referred to use these. You can sign up immediately and start to get food that’s gone over its sell by date but not unfit for consumption. Are there any community fridges where you live? If there are find out when they receive deliveries.

Make vegetable soups and bulk out/thicken with lentils. I also use lentils in dishes like spaghetti bolognaise, vegetarian pasta bakes.

Vegetable stews, casseroles etc.

Buy couscous, quinoa instead of rice/pasta. It’ll last. Flavour it with herbs, spices etc.

Bulk cook meals and freeze.

Stewed fruit. Fruit crumbles. Banana bread with overripe bananas.

Reduced section in supermarkets. Find out when they start to reduce food items and frequent them at these times.

I pretty much feed my DC and myself from food waste apps, local food waste group and the reduced section in supermarkets nowadays.

Lidl have the Too good to waste boxes. They’re great for soup and veggie tray bakes etc https://corporate.lidl.co.uk/sustainability/food-waste/too-good-to-waste

Bag of spuds beans and eggs

Thanks for making this post OP!

I am in a similar situation although have a slightly bigger budget but need to make it last another 2 weeks. There have been some really useful tips posted I will definitely be following.

I hope you manage to feed you both until payday! I too would prioritise your daughter’s outing.

If you’re on Facebook have a look at a page called fyf for £20

theyve actually just posted an “emergency” meal plan for a week that comes to £23 (although you’d have to change some stuff for dietary requirements

Hi, in the past I have been in a difficult financial situation due to suddenly losing my job when my employers firm collapsed so I have been in your situation.

The best advice I can give you to avoid this situation again is that going forward, work out a proper budget for all your outgoings, food, bills, and regular monthly expenses, but then allow for saving something each month for regular annual big items, eg car insurance, servicing etc (if you have one), holidays, birthdays, Christmas, an emergency fund and savings (however small that amount, it will build up).

if you have the money to pay big bills up front you avoid paying interest.
once you know how much you have to spare each month after that, what’s left is your disposable income, but you will have covered the basics and have money put aside to cover the expensive months.

I advised both my children to do this, and they have said it was the best advice they ever had.

Really? My council pay me and all other employees on the 17th of the month. That's next Friday.

Not judging, only trying to be helpfull! When I had some days of the month left after my budget ended, I went to my staple foods in the cupboard : always a few cans of sardines at the ready ...... nice on toast or with a bit of lettuce and tomato. Healthy too!

Aldi, you can get some oven chicken that’s flavoured for 2.99 even have it with some naan bread, sour cream and rice. Might even mean some aldi pizzas

@onwardsup4 indeed- it does mean a few days of beige and requires a decent sized freezer but hopefully may well help someone on this post who is a bit tight for cash- especially with kids as it's a lot of things children like

And pancakes one evening home made, get a lemon and some cream