Oh SHIT. I went overboard on Xmas presents for family and now I am skint!

[FruitCakey]

Shit, Shit, Shit!!!
DH works, I don't. We have 1 DC.
DH doesn't get a great wage. (23,000 a year) I went over board and spent too much on family for Xmas this month. We're 2 days after payday. I have £110 to last just under 3 weeks. I have a kitchen full of food, did all my food and toiletries shop yesterday. Am I silly? Can we live off this? Am I being over dramatic? Eeeek! I am worried. Tips to make the money stretch? Thank you.

Because they're a family and therefore a team primadonna

Does your DH get paid before Christmas

Not what I was thinking Jeffery

OP you have plenty of food in, your bills and petrol are all paid up.

Plus you've done all your Christmas shopping and have £110 left for anything else which comes up and for milk and fresh stuff.

Wish I was in that position to be honest and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Agree atticus

When do you get tax credits and child benefit weekly or monthly?

He will have to be careful anyway by the sounds of it. I'm just saying he should offer the money if he wants to that's fine but the OP shouldn't encourage it as it was her mistake.

What about petrol? Yourdh needs to getto work

Honestly as long as you only have to pay for food and nothing else you should be fine ! I've had less to live on.

I would be very careful and try to keep the money you have left away where you can't spend it and try to be frugal when you do.

OP what else will you need to but between now and next money income? I am thinking milk bread fruit veg but you have a pretty good cupboard there already and i cant see you needing to spend £110 on food over the next 3 weeks.

That food will last ages if you freeze all the meat. I would divide up the meat first if possible so you only use say half of what you usually do. Chances are you won't miss it.

As for the presents, if it's fairly generic popular stuff could you sell it to friends for them to give other people?

By the way we have the odd cheese/beans on toast meal and stuff like scrambled eggs or jacket spud (normal potato is plenty rather than a big jacket) when things are lean

You have loads of food so I doubt you'll struggle to keep making meals plus you have £110 and another £100 at your SILs.

But seriously where do you live that the shops are 4 hours away. They must have been very very specific shops.

You can't be in the UK. Same fucking shops in every street/mall.

Shetland...?

I agree the food should be enough with some top ups i.e. bread, milk, veg.
Just make sure that you dont waste any so start eating the fresh food, keep the meat and tins for next week.

Fruit - eat now the grapes, freeze the strawberries for a treat next week.

Veg- see what you must eat straight now and what you can freeze.

Lots of potatoes - potato/onion/cheese pie.
Potato and any veg curry.
Spanish omelette.

Flour - no need to buy any treats, just buy next week (when your grapes and strawberries finish) some bananas and make pancakes for treat.

On the third week use the beef and make a tuna pasta bake which goes long way for 3 people.

Mince beef - chilli corn cane with rice which is cheap.

Yes very doable, I quite often have a week or two were if it isn't food or petrol I don't buy it!!

Only use the food you have, even if that means eating beans on toast, when I was very very skint I could do a weekly shop for me and dd for a tenner.

How old is your dc? Is there any seasonal p/t work you could do for a few extra quid?

It may be worth calling up the shops you bought the stuff from and asking if there is any chance you could send some stuff back for a refund.

If you don't ask - you don't get.

Good idea from previous poster about the helpful advice re overspending to be screened after the Jeremy Kyle Show. Everyone knows it's only the kind of people that watch that show that spend more than they should and get into debt. Silly idiots.

Good luck OP. I think it sounds totally doable with a bit of planning etc.

Also have you got any stuff you can sell? Fb buying and selling pages for any old baby/ kids clothes or stuff, ebay etc

I really dont think OP needs to sell or return anything. She has £110 to last three weeks out of which she only needs to buy maybe 4/5 loaves of bread (£6ish), 30L of milk (overestimating tbh) (£13ish) and fruit and veg top ups (no idea of cost as depends on what they eat but i'm guessing not £90 worth) plus she has another £100 with her sister. this really isnt the crisis its being made out to be. In fact i would very much like to have a spare £70/£80 to do me til xmas with nothing to spend it on.

Jeffrey your not speaking for me.

FruitCakey you have lots of food there and with a bit of careful planning you can produce lots of tasty meals. Just make sure you make the gifts you have already bought go round your entire gift giving list and don't be tempted into buying anything else.

Thank you for all of your replies. I really appreciate them all. Even the one implying that this happened because I am a Jeremy Kyle watcher, even though I couldn't even tell you what channel it was on or what happens in it.

I am in the UK, but in the midlands. I used to live in Edinburgh, so my gifts were very specific. I bought them on a girls shopping trip when in Edinburgh on Friday. You can't find these shops in England.

I won't return through post as it would cost too much and the refund would probably get to me once our next pay day arrives.

DH shouldn't have to suffer as other posters have suggested. He has been telling me about this work dinner/night for months. The meal alone comes to £20. He needs the £40. He already lowered it from £60 to £40.

DS is 6. I would rather starve and make sure that he could eat, if ever it come to that.

DH already has petrol and doesn't use his car for work, they have work transport.

All that said, other posters have reassured me and I think we'll be ok.

Oh and just to answer the Q regarding me selling them over facebook etc. I don't have facebook, so it isn't possible to use that. I do have Gumtree but because I live in the middle of fields (my local supermarket is 30 minutes away) not maybe people will come to me.

many*

Did you buy it all in Jenners? If so, no wonder you're skint.