I am in desperate need of the wisdom of MN :)

[RoyalWelsh]

I have just got myself a job which is obviously fabulous - I have been training for the last three years for it and am very excited about it. The only problem is it is across the other side of the country... we are talking literally 300 miles.

Now.

I need to save money so that we can rent a house from the beginning of September when I start my new job (can you guess what it is??) I do have a job at the moment, but it is only 25 hours (cut from 35 last year, sob.) It is very well paid at over £7.50 an hour, but obviously I have rent and bills at the moment as well.

I have several questions -

I have just taken on a weekly cleaning job at an extra £30, will that be classed as a second job and taxed accordingly?

Can you think of any extra ways that I can make a little bit of money? I make a mean bara brith and was thinking about taking a sample to the local shop and seeing if they would sell any. I know that would literally be pennies, but every little helps!

What are your best most effective money saving tips? We are using this weekend to celebrate our success (DP and me) and by celebrate I mean we had a take away, so we aren't blowing all our wages or doing anything extravagent :) and meal planning will begin in earnest as of Monday.

We already do not go out, no meals out or cinema trips or even day trips to different beaches (we live near a few) so there is very little to be cut there really, not even petrol :(

Please help!

Unfortunately the tax man will want more money from you. When I had a second job though I just paid more tax through my first job but don't know if that's the case for everyone?
Ok, suggestions... could your dp get a cleaning job with you too?

Sorry, clicked post too soon!
Could you change cars to one that is fantastic on fuel?
I'm not sure what a bara brith is?? But definitely try selling it! Maybe do a carboot sale with it too?
Clear out your wardrobes, drawers etc and be ruthless! Get rid of anything that doesn't fit/ you never wear/ use but don't throw it away- put everything on eBay! It is amazing what people will buy! I have sold a bunch of old bras! The best thing is a pair of ballet pumps I bought in the sale for £5 but were the wrong size and they sold for £15!!!! I've made £50 so far and still have loads left to do.
Obviously there's old favourites like meal planning, having a few veggie meals, taking packed lunches to work, changing supermarket to a cheaper one - I actually tried farmfoods a few weeks ago and the stuff is really not bad! You can stock up on meat and fish (make sure you've enough room in the freezer first- I had to seriously cram!) and you can cook everything from frozen which is really useful. The only things dp complained about was the teabags (and I'm convinced that was only because I told Jim they were only a pound! I can't tell the difference! And the biscuits, which I bought the cheapest ones possible but that's his own fault for being a pig and eating a whole packet at a time!
That's all I can think of for now. Hth
What is the job? Oh and are you going to be renting two homes?

I did, and do, some ad hoc babysitting which have helped me out of a sticky wicket a few times. I've made between £22 and up to £60 a week that way but that has meant two-three nights a week though which in turn has meant less time with my own family but when needs must and all that. So I would recommend that. Clear out all your own and your family's unwanted stuff and put on ebay or have a yard sale. I did an NCT nearly new sale and made £450 that way but obviously sold lots of big ticket things like a high chair, pram, car seat but I've got a friend who has had great success just selling her babies clothes and shoes (she says she gets between £50 and £150 which for a few hours work is well worth it). Are you any good at crafts? I think there's a market out there for really well made textile stuff (you know boutique kind of range) for childrens rooms. So things like a nice bedspread for a girl, textile clothes and shoes storage baskets/bags, blankets and bespoke dresses, etc.

Is your dh good at anything? He can offer his services around your neighbourhood as a garderner or handyman perhaps? Or maybe he can help someone out moving or such things?

Not sure about the bara brith - as the shop will probably need to make sure you are adhering to all the food hygiene regulations. Probably best to ask them before you start cooking in bulk!

Thanks everyone :)

I won't be renting two homes, we will be packing up and moving everything down. It's a teaching job, so to me it's like being rich because we've been living on next to nothing for so long. I know that obviously we won't be rich, but the novelty of a regular, reliable wage, two when DP finds a job down there as well, is like a lottery win to me!

I've found a car boot sale that is on a weekday that I can do, I work over the weekends so couldn't do one then, and I am currently going through each room and ruthlessly labelling things to be sold. We don't have anything that's worth proper money, IYSWIM, so I'm happy that I will get 50p or whatever for each item. 100 items is £50, right! And I love the idea of taking cake with me to sell as well.

I do have a tumble dryer that I want to sell though. It was a very thoughtful birthday present, but we rarely use it as we can't afford to run it, so I'm thinking that's another 50 - 100 there.

Unfortunately I'm not very crafty, or at least not. In the way that could earn me any money. I'm an acceptable writer but from what I can gather, it involves a lot of writing for free before anyone will take a punt on you, so not financially helpful inthe short term.

I have also started being ruthless at work. Previously I wouldn't expect to be paid for the extra 15/20/30 minutes I end up doing at te end of my shift, but now I am mercilessly cataloguing anything over 15 minutes extra. I feel really petty, but I'm only there for the next six weeks and already this week it amounts to an extra two hours wages.

I'm not so worried about tax now, as my first wage slip came through and I haven't been taxed as, presumably, I am not earning enough!