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Original poster

sick of being overdrawn!

55 replies

ThatVikRinA22 · 13/11/2012 00:03

i got out of my overdraft last month by getting a loan - but my wage just does not cover my outgoings.

i have £81 to last until a week on thursday, but i have one weeks shopping to buy and i will need at least a tank of petrol by then too....

petrol is the bane of my life. i work shifts so cant car share.
shopping normally about £90 for the week - tescos shop and here there is not a budget supermarket, so i find doing an internet tesco shop costs me less as i dont impusle buy....
petrol about £50 per tank and i spend about £250 per month - car is an 11yr old corsa petrol 1.2 litre....cannot afford to change it. i had 6 months car tax to buy in October, if not i would have managed.

pissed off that my wages just dont stretch - on paper they should. We have no luxuries in life at all, we dont eat out, we dont smoke, i buy a box of wine occasionally, we had no holiday this year and my car is 11 years old and fucked

how can i stretch my wage to last without hitting the overdraft again this month? i so want to stay out of it and its pissing me right off. i have nothing in the freezer so cant really save on the shopping,

i have £81
i will need £140.

ideas please as i am determined not to use my overdraft.

OP posts:
scurryfunge · 13/11/2012 00:05

Overtime?

scurryfunge · 13/11/2012 00:07

Can you use the bus when you are on days? (free?)

Original poster
ThatVikRinA22 · 13/11/2012 00:10

not a snifter of overtime here any more and i live 30 miles from where i work.....no buses at all from here to there at any time let alone 6am....its all motorway.

thank you though for the suggestions!

OP posts:
libertychick · 13/11/2012 00:17

How about just eat cereal for breakfast and lunch and pasta with tomato sauce or beans on toast for dinner for a week - no one will be deprived for just a week and call in sick to work Smile - drastic, possibly unethical but you could probably end the week in the black.....

scurryfunge · 13/11/2012 00:19

Can you shave anything off the shopping bill? Can you reduce any tariffs for phone, tv, etc?

Original poster
ThatVikRinA22 · 13/11/2012 00:21

cannot call in sick. thats out.

i can eat cereal for breakfast and lunch but its hard because i work shifts so my lunches and b/fasts are all over the place - i generally only eat one meal a day when im on lates and nights anyway, but DH and DD have to eat and i buy DS food at uni....

i thought my food shop would go down when DS left for uni....but its not! shopping for 3 is much the same as shopping for 4....

i wish i ate meals with the family but i dont, i only eat with them 6 days out of every 10.

OP posts:
Original poster
ThatVikRinA22 · 13/11/2012 00:25

phone and tv etc are covered....my contract is nearly up on my mobile and im going to go for a sim only deal - i dont get value for money from my phone but its not up yet.

tv, internet etc all on lowest packages.

i feel horribly aggrieved that my wages dont cut the mustard when i am doing the job i do - put my life on the line again this week with a suicidal woman on the motorway. it should pay a bloody living wage.

anyway thats another rant for another day.....i reckon we could shave something off the shopping but not sure how much....i think we may need washing powders etc which are ££££

OP posts:
scurryfunge · 13/11/2012 00:30

I know it's a MN favourite but do you batch cook? I freeze loads after cooking several meals at once and live on soups too! I don't want to suggest the 27 meals from a cooked chicken but are you planning economical meals?

Original poster
ThatVikRinA22 · 13/11/2012 00:33

they are fairly economical i guess, we use the slow cooker loads. its mainly mince with things.....or stew with cheap cuts,

i do need to make some soups. they would do me for work and the brood at home.

OP posts:
libertychick · 13/11/2012 00:33

Could you talk to your DH and DCs about having a week of eating cheaply? It's horrible being overdrawn all the time - happens to me from time to time and I find the only solution is to be drastic for a week or two. Have you annual leave you could use to even have a couple of days off work as only getting half the amount of petrol would have a big impact? What is your DH doing to save money? Could your DS at uni get a part time job and buy some of his own food?

Original poster
ThatVikRinA22 · 13/11/2012 00:38

Dh is very frugal - he doesnt spend a penny.

only have 4 days AL left to get me through until April next year so not keen to use them particularly as im working xmas day and boxing day.....may need to take a day to recover and spend with the family at new year maybe.....

DS has a part time job but this subs his accommodatiion as his loan did not cover the full amount so i sub his food.

i think we will just need to live on beans on toast for a couple of days maybe and try to shave what i can off the shop - or shop daily until pay day.

OP posts:
libertychick · 13/11/2012 00:43

Hmmmm - sounds like you (and everyone else) are doing all you can. Daily shop sounds like a good plan - hope the week goes ok. Much sympathy - living payday to payday is horrible - I hope you can work out a long term solution.

Jemma1111 · 13/11/2012 00:46

How about doing some ebaying?

arghhhmiddleage · 13/11/2012 00:48

I made dents in my shopping bill when I switched from buying everything in Sainsburys, to a combination of Morrisons and Wilkinsons. I havent used Tesco for years so I don't know how they compare. But for food Morrisons is significantly cheaper than Sainsburys, and I think the fruit & veg and meat is actually better quality. Wilkinsons is great for toiletries and household stuff. They pretty much always have a good deal on some kind of washing powder if you settle for whichever brand is on offer.

And petrol - drive more slowly along the motorway Grin. Honestly, just go at 50-60, it really makes a difference and it's the only way you can reduce your fuel costs if you can't reduce how far you have to drive. And check your tyre inflation.

Original poster
ThatVikRinA22 · 13/11/2012 00:49

it is shite. i thought that working full time would alleviate our day to day money problems but its not - i lose so much of what i earn in pension and petrol it equates to the minimum wage!
ridiculous really. but now im stuck....and if i were to change the car i would have a car loan too....but of course an 11 yr old car will not cut the sort of mileage its doing for ever.....

hey ho. i just wanted to avoid going back into the red so soon after getting shut of the overdraft. its lasted all of a month!

the only thing i can save on is shopping. i have a bit of cash that was meant to be for me - i resent not having anything from my wage to spend on me.

OP posts:
Original poster
ThatVikRinA22 · 13/11/2012 00:51

i live in a very small backwater town - no wilkinsons, no nothing in fact. we do have a savers. maybe i can get washing powder etc from there.

OP posts:
BooyhooRemembering · 13/11/2012 00:53

ok, sell anything you can sell. can DH take on extra work or do something in the evenings (could he tutor or babysit or dog walk? same for ds who is at uni?) cheap cheap cheap meals, just tell the family it has to be done for the week, beans on toast, pasta, soups etc. is there any family you could ask to help out moneywise? (sorry, i know you've probably thought of all this, just trying to think of things)

BooyhooRemembering · 13/11/2012 00:56

donmt buy washing powder. get a bar of cheap cheap soap, grate into a big massive pot of boiling water, turn off heat, stir til disolved, add 250gm of soda crystals and stir til disolved. pour into big tub with a lid so it's water tight. it will set into a thick jelly. use the top of a hairspray can (or similar) and fill it halfway with the jelly and put in machine before you load it.

BooyhooRemembering · 13/11/2012 00:57

oh yes, use half a cup of white vinegar in teh fab soft drawer to deordorise and antibac.

BooyhooRemembering · 13/11/2012 00:58

yes and empty the car boot and only fill teh tank half full. all makes the car lighter/more fuel efficient.

NatashaBee · 13/11/2012 01:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

arghhhmiddleage · 13/11/2012 01:01

Go and have a look at Savers Smile, or maybe see if there is a Wilkos en route to and from work you could stop at.

I do know what it's like when the job you really wanted and jumped through hoops to get, turns out to be stressful and unpleasant and doesn't pay what it should to compensate. Not that that really helps, but I know where you are coming from.

BooyhooRemembering · 13/11/2012 01:01

go through freezer, fridge and cupboards. write down everything you have in, see how many meals you can make up with what you have and then write a list of what you need, buy smartprice (or whatever tesco version is), buy yellow label stuff and freeze.

Original poster
ThatVikRinA22 · 13/11/2012 01:01

i really have nothing to sell. Confused unless i sell my jewellery....
no extra work for DH - he leaves for work as it is at 2am, DS has special needs (aspergers) so no more he can do.
neither i nor DH have any family. (not a sob story but we dont - its just the 4 of us in our family unit)
...i reckon we can cut down on the meals, and the shopping if we really look at it.
we have saved some money for xmas but i really dont want to use that - its for the kids presents. there is no one else to buy for them so im not using that. its also DS 21st in Dec.

OP posts:
BooyhooRemembering · 13/11/2012 01:03

are there any car boot sales on thsi week/weekend taht you could take a car load too or DH could?

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