You know you're truly skint when...

[ratflavouredjelly]

I've decided to humour myself and start this thread laughs hysterically. Anyone care to join me with their stories. Maybe we can out skint each other...

So, you know you're truly skint when:
Shopping in charity shops are no longer ironic.
The middle of the month arrives and you panic about feeding the family.
You can not afford the petrol to work.
You're growing your own veg but cannot stretch to compost to enrich the soil.
DS and DD's shoes are too tight (something you never thought you would allow to happen)
Your bra is too tight, buying a new one is out of the question, so you just 'get used' to the pain.
Yadda harumph harumph

What is a roomba please?

I want to sell my car but know dh will go made but it would clear most of our debts.

I also want to sell my beloved kindle dh got for me 2 xmas's ago but it would really hurt his feelings

A Roomba is a vacuum that does it for you

Badvoc a piece of card, some tinfoil and an Alice band make a reasonable tiara.
Otherwise, ask local shops for cardboard, cut to crown shape and cover with tin foil.
Stick on boiled sweets for jewels.

Badvoc, where are you again?

Perhaps you can sell me your pram?

star you can have it darling x I am in derbyshire.

rat try banana peel, t bags, apple cores for soil enrichment. Or collect black bags of dead leaves in autumn, wet them, stick holes in the bag and leave them till spring. Instant compost

Twllbach On that thread pretty I think every suggestion I made included the word 'cheaper' which also showed off my skintness!

You know you're truly skint when no-one but no-one can make any suggestions about how you can save money because their 'strategies' are your lifestyle and have been for seemingly forever and you STILL can't make ends meet......

Thank you Bad. That is really kind, - although I'm not sure that I'll be coming through Derbyshire any time soon.

Having said that we are going to camp in the UK a bit over the summer so could always factor it in, - although it probably wouldn't fit in the car with all our stuff.........

For super cheap birthday pressies - we wrap up 'activities' for the kids, things we'd do anyway but make it look nice:

A cookie cutter (these are usually 19p in our Oxfam) and a jam jar with sugar/flour in = a homemade cookie kit.

A piece of tinfoil, string and tealight = make your own hot air balloon kit (disclaimer - maybe a bit old for a 4 year old that one!)

Sachet of hot choc + mini marshmallows + teaspoon from charity shop = make your own luxury hot choc kit

Empty cardboard boxes and sticky tape = make your own junk model kit

Etc....

Also we buy 'special' food e.g. jam or shape pasta and wrap that, extra things to unwrap. Ours are always happy with these as stocking fillers or extras and I would buy food anyway.

SummerRain I have pm'd you.

When you walk the extra distance to get to 99p land rather than £1 land... for the esxact same thing you could get in the latter.

Being made redundant. I think your thread has prepared me... meybe too much.

terrified.

Hugs and good things to you all

star where are you, roughly?

Mibby We're in SW London but we'll probably be okay in the long term (not rich, but okay). We've had a shocking number of essential expenses due to an ongoing legal battle which has meant having to move house and pay for things we weren't expecting but it is hopefully temporarary. We are expecting a baby in a couple of weeks but we are a bit unprepared and a bit skint RIGHT NOW iyswim, but not in the desperate situation that many are and will get by with a sling, some second hand girls clothes for our boy and co-sleeping for a bit.

Now if someone could post me a midwife however I'd be mighty grateful. We are STILL not booked in with the local hospital and I'm 37 weeks today !

Ok star, hope things improve soon. Ive got a work trip coming up, leaving from Derby and wondered if I could get the pram to you but sadly not going near London

Another one nearly weeping at this. I have girls' school summer dresses, red gingham, age 6, plus other girls' clothes 5 to 6, and boys' clothes aged 3. If someone can use them, PM me and I will send through.

I have bags and bags of good quality girls clothes cluttering up my cupboard. I keep considering putting them on eBay but never seem to have the time. I've been so poor before but now things have improved. A lot of these clothes were passed onto me.
If anyone wants some of them, please pm me. It would be good if they could be put to good use.

Sorry age range baby up to 2 years old.

Gah, this thread is depressing but there are some handy hints I've made note of which will hopefully save me a few pennies

I've just been looking on the 'I've got x if anyone is in need' and I'm going to have a think about what I have that I don't need. Its a reminder that whilst we are skint there are others worse off that you can help, karma and all that.

Have been so skint in the past I knew which shops would accept Switch card for under a tenner even if there was no cash in my account.

Good things to you too, mumble

Last weekend, I had a huge clearout (I'm going to admit to the reason in a minute so bear with me). I filled bags and bags for the charity shop, masses of it new with tags on, took them all in at the start of the week and left very quickly when the woman said to me, 'oooh, lovely stuff, we'll be pinching lots of that!'

I wanted to cry for lots of reasons:

that's NOT why I was taking it in, I want people who need it to get it;

and I was nearly crying and had to leave quickly rather than point this out as I was trying to bring a missed miscarriage on, which was why I'd spent the weekend lifting and clearing out.

So - I'm crying even more now reading this.

I know I'm lucky and I'd really like to help if I can. If anyone really is in a position where they need clothes, please please do PM me. I have so many things still to get rid of, my own, children's (teenage girl and boys, also have baby clothes that were never used for my youngest, some with tags on, even if someone needs them to give as gifts because I know that can cause stress when you feel you have to magic up a gift out of nowhere). Bras, t shirts, I can probably find anything that would make a difference - please do ask. Shoes are size 5 if they're mine, I have masses of lovely bras that are 34Ds all with tags on (as I'll never be that size again!).

If you live NE Scotland, I'll feed you and your kids if I can - it won't be fancy, but if it'll help, let me know.

Have had a root around and I have 2 bras that are too big for me, hardly worn.

They are Triumph, black, 34D and 34DD if they are any use to anyone, just PM me. Have listed them on the ''I've got x if anyone is in need'' thread too.

twirly {{{hug}}} when you feel upto it, maybe complain to the Head Office of said charity shop?