Desperate for money- help me figure out what I can do, please.

[NCfor2020]

Hello, just that really. I have got £212.09 for the rest of the month. Have to feed three people and a dog. DH vapes. DH has been on a reduced salary since March, back to normal end of this month. I am looking for a new job.
Help. How can I earn more money quickly?

Find all the spare change down sofas and drawers, it adds up.
Check online for discounts and vouchers.
Cereal, bread, potatoes and pasta are cheap.
Look at children’s toys, they’ll be loads they haven’t played with or out grown.
Look for online servers that pay.

@ShadylilFocker Debt? A bottle can be as cheap as £1 and last days. Give the poor bloke a break 🙈

Just for food?

From Aldi:

Cornflakes
4 pint milk
Crumpets
Loaf x 2
Block of cheese
Crackers
Margarine
Jam
Pork mince
Cooking bacon
2 packs pasta
Pizza x 2
Garlic bread
Strawberries
Cucumber
Tomatoes
Sweetcorn tin
Tuna tin
Pasta bake jar
Crisps multipack
Carrots
Beans
Eggs
Fishcakes
Potatoes
Chopped tomatoes
Yoghurts
Chips
Sausage rolls
Ketchup

That will cost £25 and do 3 people for a week. That leaves £112 to feed the dog and get other essentials

It's a comment about a bigger issue, priorities or the perception of whats a priority when money is tight.

@ShadylilFocker

"Vaping is not a necessity. No wonder people in this country are up to their knees in debts"

It's 99p in home bargains and can last a week. The dog is a bigger luxury

What are your DH's suggestions, Op?

"The dog is a bigger luxury".. wow i can see we won't agree.

@Love51

I saw on here a suggestion to use milk and more for a short term cash flow problem. It isn't the cheapest but you don't pay til the next month. Might help stretch the food budget a bit. Also lots of food banks are relaxing the rules currently, you don't need to be in dire straits 'just' struggling.

You now have to pay upfront for milk & more, it changed last year. It used to be a good way to stretch the budget in bad months.

Olio is a free extra food giveaway site. Our local community centre has a community fridge , the shop next door and people donate. You can help yourself.
Don't know what you do for a job but NHS Professionals have been recruiting in 48 hours.
If you get a shift signed off by Sunday at midnight you're paid that Friday. So in theory you could have some money every week.

Hi everyone, thanks for the brilliant suggestions- I will try them all.

DH is great, he vapes but won't if he thinks it would take so much as a grain of rice our of our mouths.

Grateful for any and all advice.

*out of

@ShadylilFocker

Eh? Hes also the one with 3 children, a dog and a reduced salary since march.

Vaping is not a necessity. No wonder people in this country are up to their knees in debts.

PMSL, vaping is cheap, but yes, huge debt, nothing to do with high rents and housing costs, public transport costs going up way above inflation and pushing up the costs of many to get to work, increases in the costs of power and gas above inflation, it's because of . . . vaping.

You can't afford a dog.

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Just to be clear- we've used the majority of our savings since March as reduced salary, I suddenly had no income, ill-health of DS etc.
DH's income back to normal at end of this month and I'm looking for work so the problem only for this month. All bills are paid. I know it'll be a tough month.
We can afford the dog.

TIA

Find out what time your nearby supermarkets put out their yellow sticker reduced foods, ask at Customer Service Desk, and do your shopping then so you can grab a bargain.

Find out if your local churches offer food parcels to families, and get yourself on the list.

What is in your store cupboard/freezer? Make a list and use all of that first. Post your list on a new thread if you need inspiration as to what to make with it.

If it's only this month and only food you really do have plenty. Meal planning helps a lot

I've been using the toogoodtogo app, it's really good, Morrisons are onboard now but I've yet to be quick enough to get a grocery box:) Focus Groups are a good way to make extra cash, I used to use FocusForce, although you might fill out 6 forms and get a reply for one, it's worth it if you're out of work, a lot of them are video calls now

Please don't abandon the dog, op! I can't actually believe that people are suggesting that

@TBHno I didn't mean to abandon the dog!!! I was saying that is a bigger luxury/expense than the vaping for the pp who thinks everyone is in debt due to that.

Both are lifestyle choices. His vaping is cheaper than the dog and a hell of a lot cheaper than fags

What do you have in the cupboards to start with? Go through everything and work out what you need.
Do you have any supermarket points/ boots points to use up?
Look for change everywhere - every bag/coat - it can add up enormously.
Sell what you can.
Make sure to buy things like biscuits etc so the diet isn’t too miserable. Personally I could eat pasta and tomato sauce quite a few nights a week and be okay with it.
I’m sure there are people who can tell you where the best places to get giant bags of pasta etc.

Lots of food banks don’t need referrals (often church run ones) just replace the food when you are better off. Just think of it as a food loan.

I second the Olio app, loads of people giving away surplus food for free. It could easily tide you over. Hope it all gets better for you soon!

I’ve downloaded the toogoodtogo app - does anyone know when they release the Morrison’s bags?

Cut meat out of 50% of your meals at least, this makes a difference.
Bulk out other meals with cheap veg, lentils and pulses.

If you are down south blackberries are ripe already - free fruit. Do you know anyone with an allotment? The gluts are about to start.

OP honestly this is really doable. So £50 a week and tell DH he will need to get the vape thing from £1 shop.

First I'd go round house and check to see how much loo roll, essential cleaning products and toiletries I had to last. Enough for the 3.5 weeks? If not what do you need to budget for within this £50 pw? Will you need any sanitary products/painkillers/hay-fever tablets in this time? If so write that down too.

What dietary requirements and dislikes do you all have (if any) obvs it is so much easier when there is no fussiness.

Do you have access to a car or do you do your shopping on foot? If so which shops do you have access to?
ALDI and lidl are probably going to be great here.

Do you have a freezer?

Have you done the cupboard audit yet someone suggested? If so list what you already have. We can help you meal plan it all.

I was a single mum for years and this was my long term weekly food budget for quite a long time.

Just a note to people saying sell on eBay, if you haven't sold on there before it can take weeks for payments to clear, and sometimes it's can take even more time to deposit money from PayPal into your bank so if you do have things to sell you'd be better selling on Facebook or pay on collection on eBay........ I've been stung with that before.