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

Have read THT but if its hasn't already been suggested, check out Beat The Budget on Instagram. She posts lots of cheap meal ideas:
Instagram

No-one, so far, has mentioned tinned sardines, pilchards, mackerel, which are usually v cheap & are nourishing.

Combine with mashed potato, make into patties, fry both sides till golden brown.
Depending on budget & taste, you add: tomato paste; chopped onion; herbs; beaten egg, into the mix.
Create breadcrumbs from a) toasted stale bread if you have it, b) ryvita or similar rolled into crumbs with a rolling-pin. Or don't bother with that.

Hang in there, tears&tiaras.
You're doing a grand job. My heart fills re: your recognition of your daughter's needs at this particular time of her life. Your judgement is sound. Ignore the "know betters".

Not sure if this has been mentioned already, but this website has some good budget meal plans with corresponding shopping lists. The meals are to feed 4 so you could either follow the recipe so you’re cooking once but eating twice, or halve the quantities required: https://www.tamingtwins.com/budget-meal-plan-week-1/

Thank you for your kind words

Could you make a large pot of soup? Lentil
Soup is cheap as chips filling, and pretty nutritious. Add in extra veggies and some other protein and it will keep you going and shouldn't cost a lot to make

Go into your daughter’s school and speak to family liaison/head of year etc - thru can issue you with a foodbank voucher.

Not be able to eat wheat makes it hard - do your GP surgery offer gluten free products?. Mine no longer do, but used to give me bread and rolls. When I was first diagnosed with cancer and we had no money, my CAB called around for me , and as the food bank could offer nothing GF, they asked our local Morrison's and Holland and Barratt if they had any suitable GF food that was near use by date, that they would donate. Morrison’s gave me two bags of GF pasta, a GF loaf, and some GF cereal, and H & B gave some GF Noodles, and another loaf. It maybe worth a try ?

Can I just say OP, you sound like a bloody brilliant mum. It’s awful that in 2024 you have a well paid job yet still struggle to live. My mum was a single mum and would sometimes live on toast so me and my sibling could have a chippy treat. We loved hand to mouth. Some people just do not get it. Ignore all the rude comments. Some people just can’t fathom what it’s like in others shoes.

Tin of corned beef and shop pastry to make a pie

Tinned corned beef and shop pastry to make a pie

I've been where you are loads of times but with four kids but before food became outrageously expensive. It's hard I know. Keep your chin up, sending hugs xxx

Hi OP - apologies if someone has mentioned this, and I’ve not read the full thread - it might not help you now, but it might do in future. There’s an app called ‘Too Good to Go’ and you can set it to the area you’re currently in and they do hot food bags/cold food bags of good quality food that they have to get rid of before the end of the day, for as cheap as £2.50. There’s loads and loads of different shops on there. I really hope have found something useful to help you for now. And you’re doing a great job, under very difficult circumstances, so please don’t let anyone make you feel otherwise xxx

Go shopping in an evening, lots of things are reduced which can be whacked straight in the freezer. Get some cheap cooking sauces with chunky veg in, have that with rice. Big bag of potatoes for jackets, mash, chips etc. box of cheap cereal for breakfasts. You can absolutely get a good bank referral if you’re working, I’ve had one and actually I was in shock at how much we received, and there’s absolutely no shame in it. It’s also spurred me to give something to the food bank every time I do a weekly shop. Speak to your daughter’s school as they should be able to hand you a voucher for the food bank.

Try the zero waste project. They are all over the country and save food from landfill. It doesn’t matter if you are skint or a millionaire everyone is welcome. They shared a photo on December of Bradley Walsh at the Redbridge one. It’s really helped me as a one parent with no support. There is always bread, fruit and veg. You can go to an open event or book a bag.

Is there a food hub in your area? We have one locally and the idea is to stop food going to waste rather than it just going to those who are financially strapped or into landfill. Therefore there isn’t any embarrassment etc.
And yes, I also did have the discussion about whether it is morally right for people to use it who can afford to buy full price and the organisers are adamant that reducing food waste is the primary aim.

Absolutely it's fair game for everyone. Threads like this show people who work full time are struggling just as much. The just about managing or not!

Community fridges near me let people pay a small membership fee to pick so many items per week. Well worth looking into for future op..

If your colleagues bring in lunch get to the fridge at 11.30 and eat it.

And mine on the 19th. It was a bonkers statement just to goad

Yes I didn't even bother replying.

The poster has no idea of my salary or additional income/ benefits.

I posted looking for healthy recipes for £30- they certainly didn't teach me that in my
Social work MA 😂😂 wish they had!

And that is another point. We used to get paid by the council on the 1st of the month then a few years ago (2017 I think), they decided they would pay us on the 17th -which I see as withholding our money for an extra 2.5 weeks while they get a bit of interest on our accumulated wages.

My ideas are a big bag of mince from Farm foods would make a shepherd's pie one meal with potatoes on top or carrot/swede topping. Then the next night it could be used for chilli and rice. . Tuna and pasta would be another meal. As people have mentioned baked potatoes are a cheap meal . Cheese/boiled egg sandwiches .Macaroni cheese another fairly inexpensive evening meal option. porridge for breakfasts .Veg soup is a good lunch option and that is a few meals.

I think this is what you must eat

Did you have to go a month and a half without getting paid?

Yes when they first changed it and it was really hard the first month as it was an extra 17 days to what I had been used to.
I know now it's normal but it was hard at first. It still annoys me though. Maybe say the 5th would be reasonable for them to do a payroll turnaround. But I resent them holding the money back for 17 days. So the money you earn on the 1st of the month it's 48 days before you receive it and the council must be earning interest on everybody's combined wages pot.
I know now it has been implemented the money comes on the same day so it's back to monthly pay but the first month really messed me up.