How to Prepare

Taye

Im a single mum and struggling financially, have been for a while truth be told.

I'm in debt but managing to keep my head above water thanks to the wonderful help of this site and the idea's of the wonderful lady's and gents.

Im pretty much fully old school foodwise / cleaning wise .. the slow cooker is my lifeline as a working mum. I've gotten really good at making chickens bounce, i've made close personal friends with lentils and other pulses and i'd like to think im getting pretty good at making food S-T-R-E-T-C-H.

Unfortunatly yesterday i was told i was almost certainly going to find myself redunant within 3 months.

Naturally i'm HOPING to find a new job before then, i've re-done my CV this morning and im praying something comes up pretty fast however in todays job market and with the working hours i have available (kids + no childcare) im not 100% confident. Of course im going to be trying to pay as much as possible off my debt during this time to reduce my interest/payments as much as possible and getting rid of any un-needed expenses Sky-TV etc.

If you guys and gals had forewarning how would you prepare??

SunnyGirl

Sorry to hear about your impending job loss & well done paying off debts it's never easy :T If it was me I'd make sure that the food cupboards are well stocked up (use space upstairs if necessary) with tinned stuff, dried things like lentils, flour, cocoa, sugar, coffee, tea, juice etc that you use on a regular basis. I'd even go as far as juice, biscuits, favourite childrens snacks & shampoo, soap, toothpaste, personal 'lady products', washing powder, fabric softner etc. I'd also put as much as possible into the freezer. Hopefully you'll be able to buy only fresh stuff for a few weeks then which will tide you over.

The best of luck finding another job & hope that helps.

charliee_3

have a look at civil service jobs, they are flexible for people with children (good benefits, flexitime, etc) and pretty stable. look at local council, nhs, blueline jobs (police support), MOD civil service, ministry of justice, educational establishments, etc... there may be something you can apply for now online..
on a practial side yes, stock up on the expensive stuf now, look at all your expenses and get rid of what you can to reduce your outgoings.. look into what benefits you can get and get an appointment set up at your job centre as soon as you have a date for leaving..

good luck!!

Taye

Thanks for the idea's im really torn though, i need to shift some debt, doing this will clear bills and reduce my outgoings which is always a bonus.

On the other hand, if i do end up in serious trouble people might demand what little money i have, but can't very wel storm into my house and steal the food from my cuboards and my priority is to my children before debt collectors.

Bunny200

Sympathies for the situation you are in
check out the Debt Free Board, I know you aren't there yet but they have all sort of advice and tips that will stop you getting there. If you post your outgoings loads of people will advise on better ways to spend it. They might also have a view of on the pay-off-debt/stockpile-while-you-can view and the implications of both.

BTW good on you for being proactive and not burying your head in the sand, times might be tough soon but they would be worse if you didn't make the changes you are thinking about.:T

Barneysmom

Yup they can't take your food off you so start hoarding stuff, tea, coffee etc, anything with a decent shelf life.
Sorry you're going to be made redundant, I hope you find something soon xxx

Butterfly_Brain

I know how you must be feeling my DH was made redundant in October but luckily he walked straight into a job , yes its low paid but benefits have topped his pay packet to about £100 less per month than he was on so we are coping.
Hope Fred Goodwin is happy for the lives he has ruined :mad:
Find out about council tax benefit now because it takes ages to sort out,
Also check out Child tax credit etc the best place to go for advice is CAB or the Job centre if you can actually manage to get an appointment.
Our local Barclays is advertising for counter staff if that is of any use to you?
I agree with everyone else about getting a really good stock of food etc.
Phone your creditors now and tell them your situation and see if they can offer any help, anything is worth a try.
Good luck to you and remember that all us OSers are willing to help as much as we can (Can't get you a job though) x

Bitsy_Beans

I agree with the stock piling. At least this way you will still have some food knocking about the place.
Really sorry to hear you're likely to lose you job. It sucks.
I too am unemployed (gave up my job to try childminding and had 2 people sign contracts and then cancel on me grrrrr). Once I am officially no longer employed by my company then I was going to give the Child Tax Credits a ring to see if the loss of income will affect my tax credits at all.
Good luck and hope you find a better job soon.

FamilyTree_2

Hi Taye,

So sorry to hear about your job but it looks as though your staying positive so well done you.

I agree that stockpilling would be a great fail safe if your out of work for a few weeks, and I know that there is a fine balance between paying the debt and buying extra food.

Perhaps you could see what money you have to spare, allocate half to extra debt payment and use the other half to buy things on special offers over the next three months that have a good shelf life, especially toiletries etc as they can be the most expensive things to replace when your on a shoestring whereas you can always make a cheaper meal like beans n toast.

Hope you get something soon x

Olliebeak

Hello Taye - I'm with the others on stock-piling stuff with a long shelf-life, especially lentils, pulses, tea, coffee. Do you have a HomeBargains, B&M Bargains near you? They often have really good prices on some 'staple' products like stockcubes, lentils etc.

Make a list of what you can use and mark down how many of each you have - so you don't overdo it too much on any one item. 'Lady products' are another of life's essentials (no point in being caught without and money being tight!) and you may get them on rollback or 3for2.

Do you grow any fresh produce - how about planting some leaf salad-type seeds that would get you through the summer months without having to buy any lettuce for salads? Herbs are easy to grow as well and can be dried/frozen for future use.

I would recommend the Debt Free Wannabee board as well - they seem to be a very supportive crowd on there

Good luck with the job-hunting and come and join us on the 5 Pleasures a Day thread if you're feeling a bit down - it can help if you need to find positives .

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

Hi Taye, so sorry to hear about your impending redundancy, at least you have some time to prepare. Good advice so far re stockpiling food and reducing debt. Is there any way you could get together with other mums in a simiar postition and do a child care share? You could look after theirs while they are at work and vice versa?

I think there is a priority list of paying off debt ie make sure you are up to date with council tax whereas credit cards are further dowwn the list.

Have you contacted the job centre to see what beenefits you are entitled to?

Best of luck, keep us posted how you get on