im so broke..i ran out of food today.

[penniless]

and i cant afford to buy anymore
im a regular but ive changed my name because im a proud person.
my dh walked out on me a year agoalthough he hangs around a lot still..he pays maintenance which takes me over the is threshold. so i only get tax creditsbut when we were together i took out a loan..a few years ago when i was earning and now im left with the payments to manage..ive just registered as self employed but im not getting any worki spent a lot of money getting my business up and running now im not getting any return im 500 pounds overdrawn at the banki cant stay afloat anymoreive no money for christmas prersents, no money for anything, the fridge is empty, i cant put petrol in the car,o told my mum today because id got so desperate but she wasnt interested, im so unhappy, how the hell did i end up like this, i dont want sympathy, just wanted to posdt it and get it off my chest

Asked the 'Tesco oracle' about the vouchers, she thinks that if you hand one voucher in without a clubcard it would be accepted in whole or part payment, she thinks that if you paid with loads of vouchers that had diff numbers on they would be refused, also you can't use a voucher and a clubcard in the same transaction of different numbers (!) She is not management or anything, she just works there, Tesco themselves may say otherwise!

Pixiefish I respect you for not saying who penniless is.

Obviously we all wonder who she may be, but it really shouldn't matter.

We're all mums together, and most of us who have come across hard times over the years, will know just how she's feeling right now.

Probably feeling completely shit about the whole thing, maybe even depressed as well.

Those of us who are able to help, should do so, as hard times could be upon any of us, and we may be grateful for kind words or help in the future.

penniless people who post negative words do not even deserve to be acknowledged, so if i were you, i'd ignore them completely.

Also, if you do qualify for DLA and are in receipt of housing benefit, you'll also get the disability premium.

If you are in a position at any time to return to work then you'll also qualify for disability premium of working tax credits.

Good luck penniless and take care of you and your kids. xxx

fussymummy- thank you for your kind words. Penniless is exploring avenues she didn't know existed thanks to posters on here. As said previously the CAB were pretty bad with ehr and gave her no advice really. Thanks to MN she is exploring avenues so that she doesn't get into this position again.

She is very embarrassed and as I have previously pointed out she never asked for money and even when people were kindly offering she was refusing. I persuaded her to accept the help and she has done.

It is testament to the generosity and humanity of the people who have sent money to help her that they have done so without knowing who she is although I am 99% definite that if they did know they would still have sent the money.

Pixiefish i know she was refusing all help, this shows just how proud she is.

Like i said it makes no difference who she is.

Others should be thanking her, because without her initial post saying how bad thing had got, soapbox wouldn't be helping in the kind and generous way that she is.

And all the other MN's who've been nominated, wouldn't be receiving help either!!!!

This really is the true spirit of christmas!!!!

Peniless I feel for you, what an awful situation

I know you said that your maintenace takes you over the threshold, but are you totally sure that you arent at least entitled to a top up of Income Support, even if it was a couple of pounds you will get council tax benefit and help with the mortgage interest (if endowment).

Makes sure that you are getting what you are entitled too, im not sure how many children you have but say 2 for instance. It not entitely true that if you had your maintenance lowered to £40 you would only get the same in income support, what would happen is you would get a top up, and being a lone parent you can earn £20 in addition without losing the IS, what you could get is

maintenance £40
IS topup £17.45 ?
2 x child benefit ?
2 x tax credits ?
part time work £20

It might be worth having a chat with your ex about the maintenace to see if he can lower it, so you can claim maximum benefits and get yourself out of this little mess, once you get yourself straight then go from there.

hope you are having a better day today hugs

Not nameiong anyone but i got some money and an argos voucher through the post today for Penniless. Thank you to the kind lady. I am going to go and see penniless tomorrow and will take it with me xx

thats great penniless has discovered avenues she didnt even know existed

i wouldnt know where to start with situations like this either

whoever said "its not easy. its not meant to be" is right

Havent posted in the lone parents bit before, as well I'm preggars with my first and have a wonderful dp. Have to admit I was just filling in some time at work. My mum brought my sister and I up on her own, and although at the time I didnt realise how skint we were looking back I know that she must have struggled on so many occasions.. especially christmas. I remember she once told me that she used to start and worry about xmas in April..

I have to say that not for the first time since joining MN 6 months ago I am totally touched by the kindness of so mny people, and also saddened that genuine people can end up in such a terrible mess through no fault of their own.

Anyways enough of my blethering.. YG, you too have touched my heart with your strength over recent months -is it still ok to transfer money into paypal?

Many Thanks

i just knew that someone would start on penniless. my god have they nothing better to do? i dont care who she is and would not ask. it doesn't matter if she owns her house or has the internet does it? the situaion was immiediate....no food! long term im sure she is looking at her options which is actually none of our business. she must be mortified at having to accept help as it is, without being sniped at!! she didnt ask for help she wanted to sound off (which im sure we have all done at some point) the help was offered and then almost forced on her because some m'netters actually care and want to support people, which is what its all about isnt it? hope your ok penniless x

geordiemacminx- if you can spare it thank you very much xx

ellesbells- she's looking at benefits to see if she is entitled to anything. She's not out of the woods yet but hopefully will be. Yes it was immediate as you say- she had no food to feed her kids and no family to turn to. Well she does have family but her mother turned her down flat and her aunt said it was her fault for having the children- there's charity for you.

If I was ever in the position of having no money I KNOW that I could turn to my parents for help and they would do what they could but i can't even imagine the desperation penniless was in the other day, well I can imagine it and hope to god I never, ever end up in a silmilar situation.

YG/Pixiefish can you give me the paypal address please.

Secondhandrose- it's anna at theheads dot net

thanks pixie..your obviously a good friend! i just find it sad that some people have to question her story and imply she cares more about her credit rating than feeding her kids!! even sadder that i knew it would happen!! if people have the type of personality that enjoy kicking others while they are down, can i suggest they just ignore the thread instead of hurting the very person who is desperatly in need of help and not critisism!

Paypal, on its way, can you confirm it gets to you safely. XXSHR

SHR_ Will ask YG to confirm with you as it's her paypal addy

Money on its way..xxx

some money on its way to YG sorry its not that much but its all that is in there at the moment.

Personally I say thank god Penniless is tied into her internet connection and able to talk on here otherwise nobody would have been able to help or support her like the people who know her are, I also have no wish to know who she is especially as she is obviously a very proud and strong lady its very hard to say you are struggling

I hope things are a bit better for you now and that despite everything you and yours have a great christmas.

Helen

Custardo you wrote:

"but wouldnt you - not pay the internet - or not pay the loan or not pay the mortgage for a month?"

But if you do that, don't they just add it on to next month's bill, which means you end up paying twice the next month?

Penniless, I know what you're going through - stay strong!

Oh, I'm so proud of you lot.

Message withdrawn

good work, yorkie. thank you for administrating this.

It's fantastic to know that penniless will now get some financial help.

Hope you're ok penniless, we haven't heard from you for a while.

So pleased you have the internet connection as who knows where you'd be if you couldn't speak about your problems, as we all do.

Hope you soon get some positive news from benefits agency!!!!

Thinking of you and your family. xx

Have just skimmed what i have missed and i just have to say that there is absolutly no way penniless would geta council home.

I have been homeless and i was told i would not get helped because i was intentionally homeless....i had left an abusive partner and fled to a refuge FFS!
serioulsy it is not as easy as turnign up with a sob story and getting a place.

I will have left my ex exactly 2 years ago on friday and you know what....im STILL not housed properly. i am in temporary secure accomodation. it means that i am housed until the council find me somewhere permenant but that my tenancy is still not a full tenancy and i can be kicked out for farting too loudly.

As she is a hoem owner there is no way she could get help from the housing association or council.

I would suggest possibly selling up and renting in the hope of getting Housing benefit but this would HAVE to be a last resort, things are hard now but that house is a security blanket for the future.

FWIW i have NO idea who you are and really couldn't care that much, all i need to know is that your genuine, your in need of help and that your getting it.

sweety you know where i am if there is anythingi can possibly help you with. I am really pleased you are contacting people with a view to gettig some long term assistance with teh finances.

ta to yorkiegirl for passing on all our help hope it gives her some breathing space and a chance to get sorted.

Do try some of the suggestions to increase income too like doubling up with children to rent out a room, telling us what the business is so we can help you make it more of a success and other work you can do at home despite being disabled. And use those teenagers - they can earn and help.