May benefit challenge - not going to make it

Emmzi

Today my sofa has collapsed and I am dying to buy a new one. However, I will have a look on ebay etc... afraid |I am too bleedin' old to make myself bean bag chairs... this would be so much easier if I had a van as there are loads of sofas 'collection only'.

Also waiting for results of a first interview for a job which I think I stuffed up.

This is going to be a 4 Mars bar day...

nicola1982_2

This has made me realise that as student I actually have to survive on less than someone on benefits (supposedly the minimum required to live) - how does that work out? Overall my monthly income from student loan is £265.75 and although I'm not required to pay council tax, I don't get housing benefit, therefore rent comes out of this as well - after rent I live off the equivalent of 65.75 per month. I'm also an independant student, therefore this isn't under the expectation that my parents will cover the cost!

Maybe somebody should try the 'Student Challenge'!!

sammy115

Emmzi wrote:

Today my sofa has collapsed and I am dying to buy a new one. However, I will have a look on ebay etc......

Look on ebay by all means, but.... and you will have to pardon the vagueness here but it was five years ago that we got ours.....

Somewhere in Flint (which I think is in North Wales, or up that way) is a Marks and Spencer seconds and cancelled order warehouse. Someone told us and we just drove up there and bought a £1,200 sofa for £120. We then paid £80 for delivery. They have allsorts. I have no address or directions, we just drove to flint and asked someone when we got there if they knew where it was.

I have never been able to find any reference to the place on the internet or anywhere else. It is definitely worth a try. Or you could try freecycle.

You could always try beanbags and become a hippychick.

sammy115

nicola1982 wrote:

Overall my monthly income from student loan is £265.75

I am sorry I find that appalling!!!! You can't live off that! I thought my situation was bad. Are you sure you aren't entitled to anything else. Surely rent benefit.

Sorry - not sure if I will be joining in with the student challenge. LOL!

nicola1982_2

sammy115 wrote:

I am sorry I find that appalling!!!! You can't live off that! I thought my situation was bad. Are you sure you aren't entitled to anything else. Surely rent benefit.

Sorry - not sure if I will be joining in with the student challenge. LOL!

I know - unfortunately the government want to promote the 'ideal student' who has a part time job alongside studying both in and outside their university hours. What the government don't acknowledge is that not all universities provide timetables that can be worked around and furthermore not all students are insane robots who can spend every hour they're awake studying or working!

I've had to do part-time jobs, summer jobs, allsorts. At one point I couldn't go to my lectures for 2 weeks because I had to take a temping job. Hence my ridiculous debts.

Luckily my boyfriend is letting me off the rent at the moment (as I'm 2 weeks away from beginning work) but before that it's been more than difficult. I think this is why alot of students have got so angry at top-up fees, we are offered less in benefits than any other social group over the age of 18 (who isn't working) and yet we are asked to repay it! And charged interest!

Emmzi

£73.02 at start of weekend.

BAD spending weekend!

£20 on petrol. Possibly shouldn't count this, as assujed I would sell car, but if I hadn't driven I'd have had a train fare which would have worked out abut the same.

£10 on booze down pub for mates birthday.

£10.35 in Aldi, but *think* this will do me for the week.

Have back-of-sofa change for trip into town tomorrow.

£32.67 left until month end.

I will survive if I live out the fridge and cupboard until the weekend!

Sammy- am tracking a sofa near me on ebay, but would need to find a mate with a van to bring it over... if not, may be beanbags, right enough!

Emmzi

Listed bundle of kids videos on ebay today.. not sure if they will make much, but it'd be nice to have the shelf space back!!

gallygirl

sammy115 wrote:

I have read both Martins and Alvins and they are both good starting points. The ones I have ordered are 'The Luck Factor' - a chap who says people who think lucky generally are lucky.

I read a really interesting article recently people were asked to rate themsleves for how lucky they thought (or possibly others thought????) they were. Then given a list of 100 surnames and asked to count how many people they knew with those names. People who thought they were luckiest had most ticks. Conclusion - you make your own luck by networking.

I was determined to follow this advice. Stayed in car rather than going with OH for 5 mins - missed a BIG opportunity and have been kicking myself ever since. Will learn from it though.

Emmzi - you are really good at this, am sure luck is on its way! How is it going - have you starved yet?

Emmzi

ali007 wrote:

Emmzi - you are really good at this, am sure luck is on its way! How is it going - have you starved yet?

Heh heh.. no danger of me being a success in the fat free wannabe thread yet!!! Enough in the cupboards to easily last until the end of the month.

Working hard on the luck- another day of chasing job agencies today!

Emmzi

Well, that's me scuppered.

Mobile phone died today. I can get it to work for 5 mins at a time - just enough to pik up messages if I'm near a power supply!

I *have* to have it working for when I'm around the country in current job, for hopefully calls about *new* jobs... argueably there are ways round it, but my tension levels at the thought of missing 'the' call are unbearable.

I have ordered a really cheap phone from orange website - cheaper than ebay, and I get a rebate over the next few months of some of my payg top ups for buying through them - so as frugal as I could make it! But I'm not going to manage the challenge this month. Near as damn it, mumble.

Having a bad day now.