omg I have £25 to last til payday - help!

[fraggletits]

due to various large bills last month and this - plus subsequent bank charges from being overdrawn - we are now left with £25 to last til 27th August

so before I commit financial suicide and go for a payday loan I was just wondering if anyone had any serious money crunching inspiration they would be willing to share?

I have lots of pasta in the cupboard, some mince, some pork chops and salmon in the freezer - that should last all next week. I also have some frozen veg. But that's about it - and obviously we're not making any plans for the weekends!

thanks very much

ha ha no that sounds great browneyes - I'll have a look at it.

Thanks so much virgil/Don't eat your tea with no knickers! and everyone else, I really appreciate all your wise advice -

I think I'm going to get a big pack of lentils, some onions and more potatoes and a factory load of eggs, cheap bread and cheese. Then I'm going to give the kids all the good stuff and stretch it out for 2 weeks, and me and Dh will have loads of egg type meals possibly with the added luxury now and again of some value beans.

I'm also going to have a bash at some baking!

Check eggg prices at local corner shops.
I think one near me has 18 eggs for £1.80

Our local Turkish shop has cheap sugar, lentils, chick peas 25 pence/can

my kids eat chisk peas from the can on a side (I used to peal skins before giving it to them), some mashed potatoes and some meat

Personally, I wouldn't buy battery farmed eggs, even if they are cheaper. Our local butchers sells free range eggs for £1.15 for 6, so it might be worth checking out. Also farm foods sell Quorn products very cheaply - you can often get the quorn equivalent of chicken nuggets for a £1, so much cheaper than meat and you don't have to worry about it being mechanically recovered meat from animals kept in poor conditions.

Sorry, I know I sound a bit preachy, but I have a thing about battery farmed eggs.

karma I have seen the chickens that come out of battery farms and would also not buy a battery egg, however cheap, so you don't sound preachy to me.

Milk and more give a ten pound free when you open an account

Thanks Carrots

Spanish bean pot recipe: 1 tin butter beans, 1 tin chopped tomatoes, 1 onion, 1-2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1/4 pt stock or water. Fry onion and garlic, add chilli powder. Add chopped tomatoes and drained butter beans. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then I usually put in slow cooker for 2 hrs but you can simmer on low for about 40 mins. Serve with rice. Very cheap and nutritious.

Whoever mentioned babysitting might have hit the nail on the head for instant cash raising. It's the summer holidays, some people are desperate for a sitter if their regular one is away. If you can cope with ironing a card in the newsagents should get you a couple of loads.

Lego sells really well on eBay even just bags of mixed bricks.

Packets of herb seeds can be picked up for pennies in some places, they grow rally quickly and will add to your meals. Parsley is great also the mixed Salad leaves.

Good luck.

I love your attitude with this. I second trying to get your bank charges reversed. Once, thinking I had money left in my English account and forgetting a cheque I had written, I used my debit card three times at the airport, for a total of 12 quid (therefore 10 quid overdrawn). They (Halifax) charged me 90 quid, three times 30. I phoned and got them to reimburse 60 quid. They really are quite understanding, and they know that their fees are dodgy at the best of times, so don't want customers to kick up a fuss.

Making the food stretch, nothing to add to the others, but it is surprising how far you can make your 25 quid go in the supermarket if you bring it right down to the essentiels. And don't take the DC with you when you go shopping.

I bulk up bolognese or curry with sweet potatoes - nutricious and makes it last longer, and you'd only need one to make one meal for four into two. Adding extra water and more dried seasoning can make it stretch for another meal.

Not sure about in the UK but here the blackberries are out - and I for one always make the most of that. The kids would enjoy picking them too.

Just an idea but could you have one of those yard sales where you lay out all your unwanted stuff in the garden? I have seen lots recently, mostly kids selling unwanted toys. There is a man who lives in the next street who always has something to sell on his drive- he puts it out with a big sign and it stays there until it sells (last week he had a jacket for an immersion heater).

Baby/pet sitting good idea too. Obviously if you like pets. People go away and need someone to go in every day and feed the cat or goldfish for example.

And don't be shy about letting people around you know that you're going through a tough patch. People like to help (look at MN) and in this current climate understand all too well.

Remember in Poundland you can get a big thing of milk (at least 4 pints if not six) for £1!

Morrisons often have 6 types of fruit/veg for 45p but to ensure you get them need to go first thing in the morning really.

DW recently got a 2 kilo bag of potatoes in Morrisons in reduced section for 31p. At this time of the year because a lot of people are on their hols, it seems that you can finder much better bargains, even during the daytime, than normal so just shop around....

Good luck and I can well empathise...Also type in 'free film codes' (moneysavingexpert.com) and you might be lucky enough to get freebie tickets for a film for you all (if you live in big city...)

Was also going to suggest Milk and More. I have a health problem which means sometimes i can't get to the shops for several days at a time and it has been a godsend for basics such as bread,eggs and youghurts. If you register you will get ten pounds of free shopping and after that you can use it as and when. I know it's getting food on credit but a few basics will help to tide you over and you can pay it off as soon as you get paid and never use it again if you don't want to.

Do you have a loyalty card? I raided nectar, boots & tesco clubcard points recently! Amazing how much was on there.

Join your local Netmums site (I can't believe I said it!) and get some stuff on there in the for sale section.

Not very good for this month, but we have planted up strawberries, raspberries, salad leaves, herbs, gooseberries and blueberries which all have saved a fortune this year. I just got the seeds & plants from Aldi / Lidl. If you are anywhere near the High Peak I have strawberry plants ready for splitting that you are welcome to. Normally I just leave them by a local footpath for people to take. Peas, mange tout, caugette and beans are all really easy to grow too.

Emergency end of month meals in our house are - passatta & garlic on pasta, bacon & mushrooms with pasta, homemade pizza, dahl, chickpea curry, sausage & bean casserole, bean chilli, tomato & red lentil soup.

The other things we do to save money are - buy meat from the local butcher because they do saver packs and more unusual meats that are less popular and therefore cheaper. Rabbit, phesant & pidgeon are all really tasty, although I appreciate that being in the country makes them easier to come by. Hedrow picking - look out for raspberries, bilberries, walnuts, hazel nuts, pears, plums, apples, damsons, sweet chestnuts, sloes (for adding to gin), wild garlic, fennel, dill, blackberries, watercress. I have also seen cherries and figs further south.
If we lived by the sea I would try fishing too - I have always fancied giving it a go. I am contemplating trying home made wine and beer - I will report back. It may be really rank. The other plan is to buy a friend who already has chickens a few more ( and a bag of chicken food) to ensure a good supply

The credit crunch has certainly made us more creative!

Can't believe nobody's mentioned it yet (or did I overlook it?) but you need the Money Saving Expert website, it's brilliant! It has advice on how to get bank charges refunded, information on all sorts of ways to save money (offers, money-making opportunities, advice on utilities/bills, everything really) and a forum with loads of different boards including thrift, freebies, info about eating for less etc etc etc (I don't work for them honest!).

Something else that might be useful - though it will depend on what your normal financial situation is like as some of them depend on minimum salary (not sure they all do though) is that you can sometimes get free cash for switching your bank account. I'm not sure how long it takes to come through but it might help you - again the MSE site has info on that.

Also if you're not already on Freegle/Freecycle, sign up to your local one - if you have any specific needs you can put a Wanted notice, or else just keep an eye out for anything useful that comes up - with a bit of luck you might be able to get some treats for the kids to make up for having to skimp on other things.

Lastly if you live near a large Asian community I've found there are often local food shops which sell basics like lentils, chickpeas, rice (and sometimes fruit/veg too) in bulk at very good prices - we don't have one near enough for it to be worthwhile but my mum gets all that sort of thing there, plus things like nuts, dried fruit and spices which you might want to stock up on once you are past this (hopefully temporary) pinch.

PS I second the comment about loving your attitude on this!

The supermarkets 'world food' sections often stock things like lentils that are cheaper than elsewhere in the store. My sainsbury's has 'world food' chick peas that are half the price of Sainsbury's own.

Check out your local churches too - there is one near me that keeps an emergency food stock for people in need.

Anifrangapani, my dad has grown blueberries and I am soooo jealous! Do the plants last over winter?

Oh yes of course, fishing!

If you are anywhere near the sea, mackerel is a good catch as you don't need proper bait, only spinners. It's VERY tasty fresh, and VERY nutritious.

Are you anywhere near countryside OP? Sounds mad but there's loads of free food near us if you go for walks. Loads of wild garlic, blackberries obv, a lady who lives in a huuuge house with a little orchard, obv has too many apples, she leaves loads in a big basket by her gate for people. Also a lot of farmers wives near us sell really fresh eggs dirt cheap.

Oh and nettles - you can use in place of spinach. Just make sure they won't have been sprayed with chemicals, use marigolds to pick, and just eat the tops of them.

where do you live I have loads of baking apples and damsons you can have

Some fantastic tips here - i will be following a lot myself. Can i add - don't be tempted to blow payday money on take away as a reward (been there, done that) ... you'll only be in the same position next month....

yy to everyone who's said go scavanging - damsons are in hedgerows as are blackberries.
go on a countryside walk and look out for stuff.

and make stews - you can go far with stews.

if you need to spend the £25 on food, do check out the reduced section of your supermarket - go quite late at night, you'll be able to pick up stuff for 10p or 25p, and get stuff that will freeze.

yes, freecycle might get you some surplus veg from growers - most of them will be giving away courgettes and runner beans like they're going out of fashion at the moment!