No money!!!!

sophiasmummy

I think you are right dollybeads, I have loads of stuff and one of my friends doesn't even know whether she's having a girl yet (due in 2 days!) so if she doesn't I can still give some to the other friend and have a binbag full left over. Some other friends of ours do car boot sales so I'm sure they will sell the stuff for me. Thanks for the advice.

missworks2jobs

Just wanted to say to keep your chin up Sophia's mummy. If you confide in some close friends i'll bet they'll be super understanding (and possibly even offer some gems of advice or offer to help). My friend offered us her childrens savings when we were struggling and were having to sell the house. I point blank refused but was so appreciative of the sweet gesture.

Have you tried; the NCT sales, they're brilliant you can get rid off all the things your little 1 has grown out of and buy her things that are barely used for really good prices too.

*Can you iron for friends - (can do this at home while the little one is in a bouncer or playpen),
*Deliver yellow pages/flyers - while pushing her in the stroller? Anything for a few extra pennies. *Could you do AVON/bodyshop or something like that with some of the mums & toddlers groups?
*Sell DVDs - (if you've already got rid of the player) there are some places that exchange them for cash/credit including blockbuster.
*boot sales are brilliant for getting rid of odds & ends (even better if you can rope in a friend, half the entry fee, twice the stock and nice company for the day)
*can you make anything to sell on ebay? i.e. can you knit baby hats/blankets -something you can put down and pick up again whilst looking after the little one?
*night time jobs - (when little one is asleep) what about a job in a pub/hotel or shelf stacking.
*ebay your maternity/holiday clothes - out of season & pregnancy fashion is hard to get hold of so sells well. plus the maternity/holiday clothes are always good condition (you're not in them for long).
*Do you have elderly neighbours - could you offer to do their housework/gardening for them for a couple of quid.
*can you bake? nurseries & school summer/easter fayres are perfect for this type of thing
*Does your local pub/club have a weekly quiz? - you could cut pictures out of magazines/newspapers and make up a batch of picture quizes and sell it to them. Saves them having to do it and it doesn't require any quiz type knowledge!
*Dog walking - could you walk a neighbours dog for a small fee again if you can balance pushchair in one arm & dog with lead in the other.

Good luck and keep us posted!

PS - RE your mum, you dont remember when you were a baby, my guessing is that when you were small she was in exactly the same situation (first time mum with reduced income and small baby at home, struggling to pay the bills). Her criticism is probably her way of trying to help you avoid the same situation/mistakes she made. Everyone has had a tough patch at somepoint in their life, if they haven't then their either 1)a big liar 2)in denial 3)are rolling in it! If you never make mistakes, you never learn and you never get to "live and learn"

I'm sure you'll get to return the favour for your little one, one day it'll be her saying "mum i'm skint!"

koloko

deleted deleted deleted

elvis86

sophiasmummy wrote: »

Thanks Dollybeads, I actually have masses of baby clothes but have agreed to split them between two friends that are expecting soon and I've said they don't need to give us any money! Think this may be why we are always poor. lol x

I hate to sound harsh, but from looking at your SOA, this really isn't why you are always so poor. From the sounds of it you're poor because you borrowed money that you couldn't afford to pay back and because you/OH are unable to compromise on things that you think you "need". IMO, trying to justify why you "need" things that you want is often a major factor in getting into debt.:(

Saying that, I do really feel for you. Your OH's income does look fairly low. His priority should be to provide for his family. If he wants Sky Sports then I'm afraid he needs to put the effort in and get a better job. As Koloko said, he should be ashamed that the mother of his child hasn't got a penny in her purse and is worried sick whilst he's paying £45 a month to watch Fooball! And if I were you then I would be teling him that.:mad:

Don't feel intimidated or that he should have more say because he works. You're supposed to be a partnership, and by looking after the baby you make just as significant a contribution to the household. All income should be thought of as yours together, not his.:cool:

joshua_blue

hi sophiasmummy,

all i want to say really is that i think you'll eventually sort out your current situ simply by the fact you have confronted the debt issue & are now trying to deal with things....most people i know struggled worst when they were starting a young family....

most people you talk to if you scratch beneath the surface are either struggling financially just now or have done at some time in their lives

very best of luck

easiest free money i would say is doing surveys... it's not a lot but every little helps

snoop2008

just a quick note Sophiamummy, well done for cutting down on the groceries and making meals from scratch!!! I do also agree a little post office account and putting some savings away will help when need be. And I'm glad you did borrow from your mum. As for selling on Ebay, that is good idea too, although I have no idea how to this yet:). Hope things get better for you, I'm sure they will!!!!

sophiasmummy

thanks for your brilliant suggestions missworks2jobs, will look into those straight away. My partner lets me sort out the bills (doesn't even have his bank card) and I should have put my foot down over sky sports but as the whole package was still half what we have been paying BT I thought it was okay - he never goes to the pub or anything like that and he is a fantastic partner and dad. I dont want to make excuses and we both need to start prioritising better ( I have never been very good with money either)
I'm looking at this as time for us as a family to start taking responsibility and getting things sorted before my daughter is older so I can show her the right way to do things. Many thanks for all the words of support and encouragement and advice.
x

Allie_Ballie_Bee

Sorry to hear you are finding things so tough.
I agree with the others. Ask your mum to help and pay her back at 0% interest. There is a saying that 'you do for family'. I am sure your mum would rather you ask her than rely on a massively inflated loan. Its only for a couple of weeks.
Best of luck xxx

sophiasmummy

Just a quick update, have called Park motor who own the car finance debt to get figures:
O/S bal £3019.05 APR 31% (ouch!)
Monthly payment should be £93

They have agreed to accept £20 per mnth until April when my mat leave ends then it will be reviewed.

Next call-Welcome Finance
SM xx

sophiasmummy

Right I'm scared to ring Welcome-they don't have my current address and I have heard nothing from them for over 2 years, I know I need to pay it back and I want to sort it out but am scared I will start getting threatening letters/calls/bailiffs to the door????