Stop spending.....how??

jennikitten

There are a few ways to make money online as well. Check the boards for the decent paying survey sites - you can get £2-4 per survey from the good ones. If you don't mind writing then dooyoo.co.uk is pretty good for review writing. In the past month I've earned about £70 from writing reviews, my average is about £1 per review & min is 150 words.

Again, if you don't mind writing then you can set up a free blog website (easy enough to do), and list yourself on sponsored post websites like sponsoredreviews.com, socialspark.com, ebuzzing.co.uk. Companies will find you on there and pay you to write blog entries about their services (average is usually around £5 for 200 words, although some sites on there are listed at crazy amounts). These would be interspersed with your own blog entries - maybe about being a stay at home parent or something?

Once you have a website you can also set up various different kinds of advertising & affiliate work, some companies pay £30+ for a referral so it's worth looking into. If you can get visitors to your website, then you can make quite a bit extra.

Charlotteicious

LMCD wrote: »

Hi, what kind of nappies are you using and how are you feeding your toddlerv(jars or home made)?! only reason I ask is that where alot of money can go...

where do you buy your clothes bar carboots? I find primark has stuff that is good and if you buy vests and pjs the size up they will always grow into them..

I know what you mean about the cooking thing and being tired but just try be strict with yourself and prepare the meal in the morning and just heat it later.

Do you have a credit union near you that you can save with they are good for lending too so if you were to save enough you could borrow three times or more on your share and paying it back you still have your shares as they were when you borrowed.

I have three kids altho currently on mat leave when I go back it will be work sat and sun so hubby is at home with the kids - needs must. hope you find something on the job front. (cleaning or ironing jobs near you?!)

there is probably other things I can't think of at the moment but hope this helps you a little at least..

In the summer, i use washable nappies, in the winter i use dispoasble - we buy them from a wholesaler type place (where the shops buy from) so we get them at a more reduced rate, and (i think) it's £15 per month for nappies - in the winter...in the summer FREE apart from washing costs.

I do buy vests and sleepsuits from Asda mainly, although occasionally i will go into H&M and pick up one or two things..but i have cut back SO much! I used to shop for him at least once a week....

I cook my sons food from scratch, and then freeze them up into individual portions..i didn't like the baby food sold in shops...it's overly processed and too many Enumbers, plus it's expensive!!

I think i'll start doing this for ourselves, and also use the slow cooker more for stews and such.

I've never looked into Credit Unions, i've seen them but never know what they are or what they are for...i think it's time i learnt!

Charlotteicious

nicjane113 wrote: »

Try not to get too disheartened at renting. My boyfriend and I were only able to afford a mortgage because his granny sold us the house cheaper than it was worth so we were able to get a 100% mortgage.
Save what you can and eventually you'll get there.

I did a programme (although I can't remember the website!) and it was an 11 week challenge of saving money. It was really helpful and opened my eyes to the things we spend money on. For instance if you bought a cup of coffee every morning for £2 it doesn't seem alot but is actually £728 a year!

It might be worth keeping a diary or notebook and write down absolutely everything that you spend, even if it's something small like a newspaper. You might find some trends that you could cut out.

My gas and electricity is £80 per month for both with scottish gas.

I think i will start carrying a notebook with me for writing down, as currently i just try and remember at the end of the day..things get forgotten.
I've decided to start the £2 coin challenge(save every £2 coin you get) and the £5 a day challenge which i can try doing ironing/dog walking possibly-hopefully some people may need it doing!

I think i may need to look at my gas/electric company...i pay quarterly...but seems i may be putting too much away!

PollyBanwell

Hey Charlotteicious,
Just come across your thread and want to say do not feel judged for the descisions you make hun, everyone has to do what they gotta do. Its sounds as if we've had a similar experience in terms of up bringing etc. We were a single parent family for a while, but when Mum got remarried things became a lot more settled financially and I was able to do loads of clubs etc and had pocket moeny each week etc etc. I chose a life in the arts and everyone knows art don't pay unless you "make it big" so I resigned myself to a life a scrapping by and although I'm in debt its not the point that I want to make.

I went to University and have worked in a number of jobs where people are surprised that I can even read let alone discuss the theatre of early 1900s Germany! I do these jobs to get by, make do and have never claimed any benefits. I'm not proud never to have claimed benefits I'm just saying that I do what I gotta do.

The morality of prostertution is not something to get into on these boards. And what you suggested isn't that at all and no one has the right to judge you!

My point is that if men are stupid and pathetic enough to spend money then why shouldn't you take advantage? Your problem is that you need an extra income. I have tried something similar to Avon and whilst it can earn you extra you are always dependent on how much other people have to spend! Give it a go though and you might find it really helps. Going back to the texting thing...if you are at home, safe, and retain power over the users of the sex line ie by laughing at them and reaping the financial benefit then I say you do what you gotta do. If its going to make you feel uncomfortable and upset then don't. I know a an out of work actor (yes a bloke) who used to do the same job! Its a fantasy these people are buying into and they pay a lot of money for it.

I am not trying to promote anything here and people shouldn't read too much into it. Hope this helps x

Charlotteicious

jennikitten wrote: »

There are a few ways to make money online as well. Check the boards for the decent paying survey sites - you can get £2-4 per survey from the good ones. If you don't mind writing then dooyoo.co.uk is pretty good for review writing. In the past month I've earned about £70 from writing reviews, my average is about £1 per review & min is 150 words.

Again, if you don't mind writing then you can set up a free blog website (easy enough to do), and list yourself on sponsored post websites like sponsoredreviews.com, socialspark.com, ebuzzing.co.uk. Companies will find you on there and pay you to write blog entries about their services (average is usually around £5 for 200 words, although some sites on there are listed at crazy amounts). These would be interspersed with your own blog entries - maybe about being a stay at home parent or something?

Once you have a website you can also set up various different kinds of advertising & affiliate work, some companies pay £30+ for a referral so it's worth looking into. If you can get visitors to your website, then you can make quite a bit extra.

Thankyou for that idea, i'll make a note of that and get round to investigating it this afternoon, as i already do a bit of blogging!

I think i'm going to have to write all of these suggestions down so that i can keep track!

I think i'm a member of dooyoo but if i remember i wasn't 100% sure how to use it, and didn't have much that i could review...but i will check back with that!

mac2008

Charlotteicious wrote: »

We live on my partners low income, tax credits etc, and i have just started doing AVON to try and up our income.

This is the crux of the matter IMO.

Saving some minuscule amount of electricity by hibernating your laptop etc. is all very well, but my view is that you & your partners situation with regards to income is the most important thing here. No point downgrading Sky packages and never going out etc. if that is only going to give you the ability to save £100 per month - much more radical action on upping your income is needed if you're ever going to get a decent deposit in a reasonable timescale. AVON sounds like a good start, as does you getting a p/t position around your partners hours, but I think an essential part of your plans must include upping your partners income too. What type of work do they do?

I don't mean this to sound harsh or negative, BTW - just wanted to caution against focussing too much energy on doing the small (easy) things and losing sight of the bigger picture. You sound like a forward thinking and hard-working person anyway - so best of luck!

Charlotteicious

PollyBanwell wrote: »

Hey Charlotteicious,
Just come across your thread and want to say do not feel judged for the descisions you make hun, everyone has to do what they gotta do. Its sounds as if we've had a similar experience in terms of up bringing etc. We were a single parent family for a while, but when Mum got remarried things became a lot more settled financially and I was able to do loads of clubs etc and had pocket moeny each week etc etc. I chose a life in the arts and everyone knows art don't pay unless you "make it big" so I resigned myself to a life a scrapping by and although I'm in debt its not the point that I want to make.

I went to University and have worked in a number of jobs where people are surprised that I can even read let alone discuss the theatre of early 1900s Germany! I do these jobs to get by, make do and have never claimed any benefits. I'm not proud never to have claimed benefits I'm just saying that I do what I gotta do.

The morality of prostertution is not something to get into on these boards. And what you suggested isn't that at all and no one has the right to judge you!

My point is that if men are stupid and pathetic enough to spend money then why shouldn't you take advantage? Your problem is that you need an extra income. I have tried something similar to Avon and whilst it can earn you extra you are always dependent on how much other people have to spend! Give it a go though and you might find it really helps. Going back to the texting thing...if you are at home, safe, and retain power over the users of the sex line ie by laughing at them and reaping the financial benefit then I say you do what you gotta do. If its going to make you feel uncomfortable and upset then don't. I know a an out of work actor (yes a bloke) who used to do the same job! Its a fantasy these people are buying into and they pay a lot of money for it.

I am not trying to promote anything here and people shouldn't read too much into it. Hope this helps x

Thanks Polly, it isn't nice having your morals questioned, especially by people who haven't met me.

That (as you've said) was how i looked at it originally, and i find it hurtful that certain people look at it as similar to prostitution, and suggest that 'the father of my child' isn't a very good man for 'allowing' me to do it (I make my own decisions, i'm not a woman from the 50's!!)

I'm grateful for all the other suggestions that people have given me, and i will try them all until i find the one(two or three!) that works best for us..Text sex will most likely be the last resort now that i have all these other avenues to try first though.

It is hard having to adjust to a different way of living, i lived at home up until about 3months before pregnancy, so i'm still coming to terms with being a fully fledged adult as well as a mother

I just want to be able to add to our income, feel useful (other than doing housework and looking after our LO) and help towards a more stable and secure future!:)

Charlotteicious

mac2008 wrote: »

This is the crux of the matter IMO.

Saving some minuscule amount of electricity by hibernating your laptop etc. is all very well, but my view is that you & your partners situation with regards to income is the most important thing here. No point downgrading Sky packages and never going out etc. if that is only going to give you the ability to save £100 per month - much more radical action on upping your income is needed if you're ever going to get a decent deposit in a reasonable timescale. AVON sounds like a good start, as does you getting a p/t position around your partners hours, but I think an essential part of your plans must include upping your partners income too. What type of work do they do?

I don't mean this to sound harsh or negative, BTW - just wanted to caution against focussing too much energy on doing the small (easy) things and losing sight of the bigger picture. You sound like a forward thinking and hard-working person anyway - so best of luck!

Hi Mac, it is true, my partner does need a higher paying job.
He currently works for his parents in their cafe - with the view of taking it over in a few years...but they aren't the most generous of people, he doesn't get a lot of things such as sick pay/paternity leave/holiday pay etc. And he can only get what hours are available..but always AT LEAST 16hours per week.

We are working on him finding other jobs, but he didn't do well at school so we think this is holding him back, as he is only getting rejections from jobs..we are solving this, he is currently re-sitting his GCSE's through night classes and then hoping to do an NVQ/Access Course/A-levels in night classes too. He also applies for jobs that include training (he is looking into carework mainly).

However, i know he does want his parents business, and from what i can see it does well...but there is the factor of how long can we wait, and will they stick to their word?

But i can't force him to change, only encourage and do what i can to help..

olybeast

I love your story and admire the way you are dealing with all your finances. I'm a single guy renting a flat in the city and have a graduate job in an engineering company and I thought my finances were hard to handle lol

I will just add that I do surveys for valuedopinions.co.uk whenever they send them to me.. Its been good for some tesco vouchers over the years

Good luck

Charlotteicious

olybeast wrote: »

I love your story and admire the way you are dealing with all your finances. I'm a single guy renting a flat in the city and have a graduate job in an engineering company and I thought my finances were hard to handle lol

I will just add that I do surveys for valuedopinions.co.uk whenever they send them to me.. Its been good for some tesco vouchers over the years

Good luck

I'll add them to my list too! Vouchers always come in useful!

I think everyones finances are hard, we all have different habits and expenditures. That's why i'm so glad i've started using this site, you get so many suggestions that would have never occured otherwise!

(PS I can imagine your rent is sky high - Being in the city and all)