One week til payday - how to avoid dipping into maternity savings

[cheeseandtomatobaguette]

On maternity leave and have £100 left in the bank account and really want to avoid spending any more of our maternity savings as we’ve got our last month on statutory pay next month and want to hold out for that.

I’m only spending what is necessary with a week to go til payday but I know it will trickle out steadily over the next week with DH’s train ticket, bread and milk top ups etc.

How can I make £100 or so quickly to top up - I’ve listed a bunch of stuff on Facebook but no one seems interested!

1. Use up all food in the cupboards/freezer even if it means having some odd meals!
2. Use "too good to go" app if you need more food
3. Sell clothes on vinted (although payment might take more than a week)
4. Reduce the price of things you're selling on facebook
5. Check your energy balance to see if you could request a refund
6. Open a new bank account that offers a joining bonus

Can you do a no-spend? Is there anything you have to buy in that week, other than train tickets (medicine, formula)?

If you can be inventive, sometimes you can get by. I realised yesterday I had run out of sandwich stuff for the kids lunches; I defrosted a small gammon joint from the freezer and they went to school with cheese and crackers, with sliced ham. Grown up lunchables!

At a push, I can whip up flapjacks/cake/rocky road with stuff in the cupboard for lunchboxes, if I'm not wanting to buy lunchbox biscuits/chocolate bars (I have even wrapped 3 or 4 normal biscuits in foil as the 'treat', when either times were tough or I'd not shopped in time). If he is buying lunches you might be able to get through with sending him with stuff (especially if he has access to a microwave at work; leftovers, or cook a packet of pasta with a sauce and split into 5 portions/ Add a can of beans such as cannellini and peas/sweetcorn/mixed veg to pad it out)

I'll bet you have more in your freezers and cupboards than you think - your time might be better spent in saving yourself from spending than trying to make money without a plan.

Thanks both - some fab ideas. I have a colleague’s leaving party on Saturday and a first birthday party Sunday which I need to buy a present for so I know that with those and the other bits and pieces, it’ll end up adding up and suddenly another hundred will be gone. It’s so depressing how basic life just eats it all up!

Will try to continue selling a few bits and try to spend nothing each day - think I’m pretty well stocked in pantry and freezer tbf so should be alright for food!

Can you do a car boot sale? Probably lower profit vs vinted but you’d get paid quicker

Have you got point on loyalty cards which you could spend on essentials, or put on a gift card for the presents?

Make a list of things in cupboard/fridge/freezer. Then either list here or plan meals etc.

You don’t need to buy a present for a colleagues leaving party while you’re on mat leave.

First birthday - I O U a soft play session, where I take the kids and you get to sit with a coffee and book in blissful peace.

Is DH also avoiding unnecessary spending? Your money will go a lot further if he's taking packed lunch and a flask or getting drinks at work raththsn buying lunch and coffee each day.