really fed up..................what to do???

[smeeinit]

checked my bank account this morn and its £102 overdrawn AGAIN!(i dont have an overdraft so HUGE charges will be wacked on) with not enough money coming in at mo im soooo sick of struggling.

ive held out for so long trying to build up my buisness but i dont know how much longer i can go on,my car payments have been paid since early feb,my phone has been cut off,we eat crap every day and im fed up with it!!

what to do? i really dont want to give up childminding,i have 3 before and after schoolers and i have a baby starting end of may for 2 days a week but its not enough to keep my head above water. i love cming so much and have put my all into making a go of it but 2years on im struggling for mindees.

im so fed up,i simply cant go on like this.

Oh hun, I know how you feel. Are you a member of a Childminding Network at all? Have you recently lost a full timer? Can you look into claiming a sustainability grant?

Here in Bradford, if we lose a child and are struggling to fill the place - we can claim £2 an hour up to 40 hours a week. You get a lump sum of around £1000 just as long as you can prove that you've lost out due to a child leaving. Copies of your register can prove this.

I know it's easy for us to say just hang in there - something will come along, but that doesn't help when you're feeling low.
Keep your chin up.

Sally xx

Oh Honey - i don't know what to suggest

Is there anychance of a part-time job or will that mess up the minding you have?

It is very hard

not heard of a sustainability grant? where do i find out more?
i havent lost a full timer,i lost twins beginning of feb who were doing 3 days a week so financially it was like loseing a f/t.

katy,i have thought(long and hard) about the possibility of p/t work but it would mean messing up what i already have.

Im in the process of claiming the sustainability grant how much you get depends on where you live i should get about £300 for 5 weeks (so roughly half pay) Talk to your early years team they should be able to help you.

dont give up and dont forget to claim back the charges! you can go back up to 6 years - either go to moneysavingexpert.com and go to the drop down bar to banks or email me and I will send you the templates - I recently went against first direct and got back £1400 and now going after cahoot and egg!

would probably help if I gave my email address! [email protected]

oh thanks soak! will email you!!

its on its way to you Smee!

Oh hun I really feel for you I've been there. In the meantime while you fill you're places look into the sustainability grant, and claim back your bank charges (I'm doing this at the mo too). What about a car boot or ebay to raise a little to pay off your overdraft? I did very well on ebay last week .

As for food there are some good thread ideas on here for cheap good food (buying reduced meat and freezing it, cheap meal ideas etc). It gets me down too if I cant afford nice food, but it can be bought cheaply. I can personally recomend netto for meat, fruit and juice etc!

Also my preschool alliance often advertise for casual cover for their staff (to cover sickness and holidays), why not ask around with sure start, preschool learning alliance, children's centres etc, maybe you could fill a few hours that way??

There are other things I could suggest but sure you are doing them anyway - hang on in there hun, it will get better.

my mum just got £1600 back from bank for over charges
it cost £10 for 6 yrs worth of bank statements and you can claim each £30 over fee you have been charged
it would be like winning the lottery

thanks kay, already doing all the buying reduced meals/meat etc and freezing them! amazng what you can concoct with a pound of mince!!

dmo wow bet your mum was pleased!!

Sorry to hear things are not going well. Have added your details to ukchildminder.co.uk (plus see your own website guestbook for more info), so never know may result in more enquiries - though have to say that traffic on the site is a bit low at the moment.

How are other childminders in your area finding things... are children to mind a bit thin on the ground?

I love Aldi - OH never used to go in there til I dragged him in at the weekend and he saw all his favourite treats (but with different names) for a fraction of the price.

some of the things can be more than you would think for aldi but the majority is great - got a full shooping trolley of stuff the other week (only went to get some bread which I forgot to buy btw!) for £30

also at my local walter smith butcher they do 2lb of mince for £2 - i split it into 4 freezer bags so I know I have got at least 4 different meals (there is onyl 2 of us in house)

urm... cant think of any more at the mo so going to go and do some work and then have my break and I will come back with more!

thanks nannynick my friend whos also a cm is struggling the same as me at the mo,we are in a village with 8+ cms and obviously not enough kiddies to go round!

just spoke to my local ncma co-ordinator and the sustainabilty grant is not available in my area!!

smee, do you fancy a move to Fife?. I have had 12 calls this week alone for full time under 5 places. Before the holidays I had another 5. The local childcare place has a waiting list of 85 under 5's, there is a playgroup but they only do 9.30 till 12, and there is a nursery at the school but they only do 9 -11.30 or 12.30-3pm.
Unfortunately I'm moving down south soon so cannot take any more on and all the CM's are full

how about advertising as a babysitter for a while?

when i am eventually registered i have put on my flyer (already drafted ) for late night shopping so parents can have a peaceful shop - is there a late night shopping night where you live??

Not sure what you can do about lack of children in the village. Looks to me as if there are between 12 and 16 childminders in your area (within 1 to 2 mile radius of the school).

Are there many local businesses, where parents may commute to from other locations? I expect that most parents commute from your village to St Albans or other major places, but if you can find businesses in your village with reasonable numbers of staff, could be worth having an advert on their staff notice board.

Redbourn business listing - looks like you can register and add your details. Every little can help.

dmo, how long did it take for bank to reimburse your mum. I sent my cheque and letter off last week.

nick you really are treasure! thanks for all your help.

I'm struggling too at the moment, 2 full timers have left within a month of each other I have put adverts in the local paper (for free) and i did get 2 holiday care children - obviously not enough to keep me going but better than nothing at all. I'm hoping i'll get more calls over the weekend - please send me ((((((((phone ringing vibes)))))))

(((((((((((((smee's phone ringing vibes!!)))))))))))))

Its so fustrating isn't it smee, everyday i wake up and think today my phone will ring and change my fortune then i go to bed and the phone hasn't rung

Im racking my brains to think of ideas.

I did think of sending my brother into town and handing out leaflets but im not sure anyone would take them seriously and they would get thrown away.

Same here, beginning to wonder if it's worth it - pouring money into this for toys, equipment, cleaning stuff, wipes, food - and haven't made a profit yet!

Plus still have a full time and over 5 space available - ugh.

Whinge whinge.. sorry, wish I had some ideas to help you. Hang in there.

Have you spoken to the jobcentre? I am a single parent cm and 2/3 of my earnings are disregarded when working out IS and tax credits. Would this be of any help to you?