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

Came across this thread and thought it would be useful for some people here (although having the luxury of a whole fiver for one meal?! ;) )

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/food/549576-this-thread-is-for-you-to-post-family-recipes-that?msgid=30145271

Well yes, Stressed I would like to come to your house for dinner too, so I can see the appeal.

My DDs aren't fussy really, they dont particularly enjoy junk food. We have really simple "boring" stuff cos that's all I can cook that they like really. Thank goodness for my mum, she cooks them fish without cremating it

I've got a ton of recipes on that thread, Daisy but not the really cheap ones because I don't think many folk would be that interested. I can't remember the last time that I spent a fiver on one meal outside of Christmas.

I have one on their myself which I forgot about as was under another name doh!

So sad and would have been there without our lovely family,very lucky. I have various bits of girls clothing age 5-6 and 6-7 if anyone is interested and boys bits age 3-4, happy to post anywhere.

oh and am in a place famous for roundabouts and concrete cows so can do drop off there

Bumble, I too feel your pain. I am wearing stuff that is years old, but even worse, we were in the supermarket last week and my DD (12) saw a maxi dress that she really, really liked, it was £22 so I had to say no. She doesn't have many clothes and nothing really that could be described as trendy, I just felt so very bad.

This board is tragic. I feel bad that I feel sorry for myself - I have no kids yet, but thought i'd add my own tuppence...

when you and your partner move back in to our respective parents houses to pay off debts, afford to live e.t.c save for a deposit on a house (ahem), instead of starting the family that you had planned for.

Loosing your job 6 months after moving back in with my mother so now completely screwed - dp (who is living with his parents) is just covering both our debts (I chip in my JSA), leaving nothing for him to live on/contribute to his parents - he skips lunch at work and we walk everywhere.

Having to behave like teenagers in a park on a Saturday evening with a bottle of lambrini (a special treat) cos we can't afford to do anything else, and all of our friends are off having lives, families, clubbing e.t.c.

Thinking being out of work is really a good thing as you finally lost that weight :) ('cos you can't afford to eat and walk everywhere, just to do something) that you wanted to before having a baby. :( Oh wait....

Bumble and Stressed - feel free to PM me about clothes for yourselves and possibly teenage DD if it would help. If you're my size, I'm sure I have things.

And verity too!

Badvoc, I agree, I have been incredibly generous over the years but I have found it is more likely to get into the right hands in this area if I Freecycle, oddly enough. Or post parcels to MNetters.

Bumble - most of my clothes are nearly ten years old because I don't care all that much about fashion and try to only buy stuff that I really, really love and that will last for years anyway. So I choose to only buy in the sales and reduced racks and adore the half dozen charity shops in town - they're my spiritual home! I buy maybe four plain white tshirts new every summer and that's about it. I will need new jeans this year but that will be the first time an at least two years. I also don't buy shoes, they've never done it for me - I have less than 8 pairs total, for all occasions. I have summer sandals that are maybe six years old, winter boots that are chasing 12 years old, and I bought a new £16 handbag for the first time in 15 years two months ago.

I just wear stuff to death and then a few miles more before I'll shell out on anything new. Don't be ashamed of wearing old clothes, as long as they're clean and vaguely presentable, other people's opinions don't matter jack.

For those of you who are thinking of using Visaprint as suggested by Boffin if you do so through www.topcashback.co.uk then you can get up to £5.05 cashback, or Nectar rewards points with Sainsburys

Crikey, wish I had known that. I have done about five orders now!!

Morning all.

BoffinMum, Thanks again for your kindness - but I have some good(ish) news...

After posting last night I seriously went through our debts this morning and looked at money saving expert as recommended on here, found Payplan, and after completing a budget sheet and answering a few questions online, recieved some sound recommendations including a template for a letter to creditors offering a reduced payment, for free. Theres a more in depth free service for people with more complicated debts -i.e mortgages.

I've jumped the gun a bit and phoned some of the creditors already - explained that I used payplan and they have helped asses my budget, made (some shocking) offers of reduced payments and some have been agreed - on provision of my budget plan and letter from payplan pack.

Between the 4 companies that I have spoken to this morning I have managed to reduce current out goings by £130 a month, even if it is only temporary, and have a few more to go.

This may sound idiotic - but I really did'nt think people would listen as DP is still working, and we've been trying desperately not to defualt, but so far so good.

DP will now at least get a bus pass. Possibly a night out to boot!

fantastic news purple

purple can you do all of that online or do you need to actually sign up and ring them etc? thats a massive amount (to me!) to get off repayments

Foof -Apologies in advance for the long post.

I did it all online, I think depending on amount/type of debt they probably make different recommendations and have different solutions.

Our debts are relatively straight forward and with myself being out of work/living circumstances being what they are its mainly a case of debt expenditure being more than our combined income. I have made offers of token payments - the recommendation was for £1, although I have offered a little more.

I've done the leg work with the creditors myself - and have had to stand firm in a couple of cases - not surprisingly some of the companies were reluctant to accept a reduced payment at first, or would, but not what I was offering.

When I explained that I had used payplan most understood what i was referring too and agreed, subject to sight of the budget sheet/letter as I mentioned in my last post. Some of the companies concerned were specific about how long they would accept payments for but would expect a 'review of circumstances' in 6/12 months, and obviously will want full payment when/ if I ever get a job.

This may also sound a little odd - but when completing the budget questionnaire I also included costs of things that we are not paying but should be - i.e transport, food, board money to our parents - whilst we have scraped by without these have been adding to our issues. This was hugely scary as now realised we would have been homeless a longtime ago if we were'nt already living with our Parents, and neither set of parents is particularly well off and still working themselves.

I could add a lot more to this - let me know if you need any more info.

Thanks for that purple - just been having a look and got as far as filling in my details then panicked I don't want people ringing me, I can't do sorting this out on the phone (part of the reason I have debt - phone phobia ) it looked like they'd ring me?

I've not had any phone calls - but I did only complete the info this morning.

Thanks again :) I'm a twat about the phone I know

Foof - I also know what you mean about fear of the phone.

I've a few things that helped me in this respect -

1. Before making/answering a call I remind myself that I can always put the phone down,
2. At the end of the day most people will take something over nothing, although they may try to intimidate you in to thinking otherwise. Stay firm and calm, and remember point 1 if it gets to much (I have point one on a post it note for these types of calls)
3. Changing my phone numbers to 000000's - companies won't do this is if you go in face to face or over the phone - but you can do with any online accounts like the bank, credit cards e.t.c. You may have to tell a few white lies with this one though if you do make F2F contact or phone them- i.e I have no phone number at the moment the landline is disconnected/mobile lost e.t.c. Using freinds phone/payphone.

4.You do not have to give your phone number to anyone -If they insist ask them where it says in law that they have to have a contact number. It is merely company policy - and your personal policy is that you don't give out your number. 5.Register for the Telephone preference service, it cuts down on companies cold calling debt remedy services and extortion rackets dodgy loans and some of those crappy ppi calls.

1. Write down what you want to say - sounds daft, but by writing down what i want to say i find that I don't go all flappy brained and start talking for england/giving a whole lot of back story, which they can then turn on you.

Sorry for another long post - feel like I am venting..

Stressed I have girls clothes age 11-12 and 12-13, nothing fancy though, mainly supermarket, Matalan, Primark but hardly used or not worn at all. PM me if you're interested.