Please help, less than £0 untill feb

sp1987

I read your other thread about Santander being not much help. Have you tried ringing your local branch? At least the person will be English speaking and local.

Your main problem seems to be actually getting to Tesco etc where you have a voucher you could use? Can anyone give you a lift there?

Does hubby have anyone in work he can ask to borrow £10 from? It is a bit cheeky and a bit undignified but if it is to feed your children then dignity can be the last consideration. Most people, despite a small majority who won't...want to help people. Lots of people like to think they have done something for somebody. One day we will all need some help in some way (whether the car has broken down and we need a lift or need to borrow a few pounds). Does he have any 40+ yr old women (most likely group to have had kids at one time or another) there?

Do you have enough tinned fruit to puree for the little one?

debbym

Just noticed you have the Sealed Pot Challenge on your sig - does this contain anything you could raid?
My OH just suggested going freegan - not sure I would want to feed my kids anything out of a bin especially if they have been poorly.

On a more practical note if you can get eggs then you can use them to bulk out your supplies with extra protein. Think pancakes and Yorkshire puddings (don't have to use milk to make these but they are nicer with). Also eat the eggs themselves boiled, scrambled fried. Can't get the image of Shirley Valentine making her egg and chips out of my head...
Check out Weezl 's posts as someone already suggested - she manages to feed people on something like 50p a day- she has also started a great website
http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/
it has recipes and meal plans (http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/recipe-risiebisi.html?opt=p1m1 is based around rice with very little other bits and bobs added and is yum in fact we had it last week)
keep posting everyone is rooting for your family

Lou3000

I don't think anyone has mentioned CAB (Citizen's Advice) yet. I think you'll find they would do their best to find help for you.

I was shocked to read this story. How come we never read about this kind of poverty in the papers? The only stories we read about are those people who manage to fiddle the system. We don't hear about the folk who fall between the cracks.

Good luck.

freyanneke_2

One of my friends had a deal with the local bakery.After closing time he would leave a bag with leftovers of that day next to the bin at the back. She could pick it up and have free bread and cakes.

Pitlanepiglet

Lauren, it sounds like you've had some practical offers of help, take people up on them. From what you've listed you don't need too much on top to survive.

When you're through this crisis, you need to come back to the OS board and work on how you build a stockpile of food and to avoid having a freezer based on convenience foods so that you can protect your family from these problems.

I've got a £10 Morrisons voucher I could send you but it sounds like Tesco is a better solution.

Post this morning and tell us how you're feeling, a problem shared and all that!

Buddingblonde

While you are waiting for an appointment with the CAB, I would ring your local council tomorrow and see if they have a Welfare Rights team - they tend to offer emergency appointments and are often able to help you access payments from Social Services. For funding you have to have been turned down for a Crisis Loan - it sounds like you havent applied (why you werent allowed to I have no idea as it is for everyone!)

You need to look at your bank statement and found out what made you overdrawn - has it been a banking error? Charges cant just appear, there must have been other periods when you have been overdrawn to get the charges (or you have written cheques or made payments that you havent had the money for). If it is an error write down everything you want to say so that you dont get into a panic and start losing it at the bank. It doesnt matter how right you may be, as soon as you lose it it becomes very difficult to make your point.

CRANKY40

Scotch pancakes are easy to make if you can get hold of some eggs. You seem to have the rest of the ingredients.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=24734197#post24734197

You also need to ditch the nightmare that is S@ntander. Lots of my friends are having problems with them at the moment.

miradene

Could your OH arrange a lift to work for the rest of the month which would leave that petrol money for some essentials?

Some great advice already on here. Do you have anything to sell in free ads / cash converters for instant cash? Freecycle is worth a try for store cupboard ingredients / dried / tinned food. By placing an ad you have nothing to loose...

Do you have family near by? I don't know much about crisis loans, but surely this is a crisis? You need to phone social services first thing Monday to hopefully sort some money out.

gailey_2

laurenjs88 wrote: »

i just typed out everything and lost it! stupid laptop

In the cupboards I have:

500g rice
500g pasta
500g soup & broth mix
500g red lentils
500g chickpea
4 cans of beans
1 can of tuna
4 packets of cheap noodles
1 small jar of red pesto
1 tin of sweet and sour sauce
and some tinned fruit for the kids

In the fridge:

1 tub of butter
about 100g cheese
about 500ml of milk

In the freezer:

7 sausages
10 fish finger
half bag of chicken nuggets
3 chicken breasts
1 pack of stir fry turkey
1 batch cook of mince (enough for the 4 of us)

Fruit & veg:

1/4 bag of potatos for mashing

herbs & spices etc:

mixed herbs
cinnamon
turmeric
corriander
tomato puree
sweet chilli sauce
gravy granules
bags of flour/caster sugar etc..


Oh and i have a pizza base, i made a sausage pizza for lunch today which was a little different but the kids liked it, so will try another one of those i think.

I have a seperate cash card linked to my paypal account so will see if they can set the CB to go there instead on monday. Were already on a DMP with payplan and all the oh's finances are seperate to mine. i have no debt apart from this OD malarky but OH has quite alot.

I had to sign off for a bit and have a little cry and woe is me moment!

i think ive got enough "tea meals" for us for 5-6 days, but ive got nothing for breakfast or lunches. I have 1 bagel and 4 scotch pancakes in the bread bin and half a 375g box of crunchy nut cereal.

we'll be getting a joint account with the new one as i think thats why we've got into trouble this month our baby has been really poorly was rushed into hosptial so i've not been doing the swapping around money very well as we just havent been able too.

Tescos is out nearest supermarket about 13 miles away Morrisons is about 1.5miles furthur than that.

OH has got £2.69 to put petrol into his car which will get to to and from work on monday, He gets his wages on the last working day so on 31st and ill get my ssp on the 29th.

I have 2 little girls too but bit older than yours eldest nearly 5 in 1st year primary/reception and youngest 16months so slightly older than yours.

I make your youngest about 10months now.
I assume shes on forumula.
I breastfed my 2nd however found out was was expecting no 3.
My 2nd was large for her age, healthy, eating good amount of solids at 11months spoke to hv and she said I was ok to introduce cows milk then which or course is much cheaper but most babies switch over at 12months.

With my 1st I mix fed, now shops not allowed to offer any deals on infant milk up to 6months but noticed often money off or multibuys like 2 for 10quid on follow on milk suitable from 6months.

With weaning weaned 1st at 5months and turned into pureeing queen and made all my own purees mainly any veg I saw reduced in supermarket cooked it and pureed it down with cheap handblender and froze in pots or icecube trays. This did cause problems at around 10-12month as it was hard to get her onto lumpier foods.

With 2nd did baby led at 6months no weaning and 2nd eats loads more and pretty much what we having.
Unsure what your baby can manage but good things she could manage from 7months was

mashed banana on toast or added to porridge.
well cooked scrambled eggs with grated cheese on top.
mashed potato or even mashed cooked carrots.Sometimes with gravy.
fromage frais.
toast fingers with cream cheese or butter.
weetabix with cows milk
pancakes
bread and butter./jam
cheats pizza basically its normal slice of bread toasted then smear over tomato puree, sprinke with little grated cheese and herbs and micro for 30sec until warm and cheese melted both mine love this.

maybe a little late now but this year when thing grow join the foraging thread.
Also noticed quite afew squashed looking berries always in reduced section ideal for you as you might mash our puree anyway.
Strawberries, rasberries, blackberries and plums all freeze ok in freezer when you defrost they do go mushy but ideal for baby and maybe a smoothie for your eldest. The supermarkets sell bags of frozen fruit in their frozen section.
I have a few pots of pureed fruit in freezer even now as add some mashed up digestives have mini crumble, mix in with natural yougurt greek stuff better as thicker stiicks to spoon less mess or icecream.
Could even smear on toast so very versatile.

Do checkout family board-mse pregancy and freebie boards.
Lot of the big companies that do nappies/babyfood you sign up to their clubs on their websites and they send you free samples or money off vouchers.
tesco, sainsburys and boots have parenting clubs which give you extra points and money off vouchers if you not joined up already.

For elder child ideal snacks I found that were cheap

cherry tomatos
cucumber- try to get half cucumber or when reduced
value bread sticks
toasted fingers.
raw carrot sticks
use to get value cream cheese like phili abd she used to dip stuff in them.

boiled egg and soldiers fab breekkie for older toddler.
pancakes filled with grated chese and chopped tomatos or ham rolled up into a wrap.

Fairy cakes easy to make.
value choc bars approx 30p a bar melted onto cheap crisipies or cornflakes make in instant cakes.
small bag of porridge oats and golden syrup could be made to make flapjacks or twinks hobnobs for lunchboxes/snacks.Also porridge good filler if everyones really peckish as fills you up could add just chopped fruit or mashed up biscuits to give it bit more texture taste.

Looking at updated list.

7sausages I would do

bangers and mash with gravy.
But you could also do a sausage stew with some sausages, 1tin chopped tomatos, chopped up onion, herbs and stock and put in casserole dish for an hour serve with potatos or chips.

pizza with tomato puree, base, herbs and cheese

mince-spag bol fry mince add cheap chopped tomatos or passata with red lentils to bulk out the mince, dried herbs and simmer for 30mins serve with pasta.

tuna and sweetcorn mixed in with cooked pasta and grated cheese.

The red pesto make fab pasta sauce with little cooked pasta.

use the turkey with seet and sour sauce and serve with rice.

lunches
baked potato cheese and beans
beans on toast.
soup and broth, one thing did try last week was chucking in some pasta to soup like minestrone made it very filling.
cook rice in stock and then add whatever veg got lying round tinned sweetcorn or chickepas could even try egg fried rice.
Noodles- I love supernoodles mild curry but try to add chopped tomatos or peppers to mine to make it more interesting.Sort of anything i can do to pimp my noodles.
Fishfinegrs maybe served with cheese or butter sauce and mashed up.

re banks accounts
shut santander agree repayment plan and complain through cab,
get tax credits and cb moved to your onw new basic account.
Would keep seperate from partner if he has lots debts.

I have paypal top up card if thats what you mean and find it great

costs 1pound to top up at paypoint in shop but allows me to pay bills online or over phone so thats why do it.

2quid for each cash withdrawal at machine.
I do lot of ebaying also sell on mums forums and everyone pays by paypal. Used to take 5working days to transfer money between paypla account into bank but can top up my card free of charge from my paypal and as lomg as done before midnight then its usually on my card by 3pm next day to spend been lifesaver when we been skint and needed petrol.

Also lightspeed surveys allowe dme to covert my points into paypal money.

Dont forget local free ads/netmums as maybe sell things you dont need then and buyer pay cash.

check out voucher codes board and food/groceries board.
im sure for new customesr to tesco online theres free delivery so maybe you could get shopping delivered.

Im saving saving stamps for co-op 1pound aweek if i save 48 get 2quid free in dec.
iceland and farmfoods do similar.
doing sainsburys too but they have a card, think asda do same.
Not sure what tesco doing these days they used to do saving stamps but may have updated to cards might be worth doing for xmas or potential emergances.

Petrol we fill up at sainsburys and get nectar points at same time.
Could your bloke maybe fill up car at tesco earn extra clubcard points surprising how they add up.

No ones mentioned seeing if theirs credit union near you as they loan cheaply and help you save for rainy day.

maybe points for future-check accounst reguarly hubby does santander online i do telephoen banking or whenever near machine check balance on mine.

start saving either in account somwhere or even emergancy money tin at home.

we have naughty car too maybe put some money aside each month when partner gets paid specifically for car.

come back to os build up/stockpile storecupboard
join a few challanges of dfw and grocery challange
check out all the cheap recipies to keep costs low but meals healthy.
Check you entitled to everything you can get.

good luck, dont cry nothings beyond help.

livermum

This is so sad! I remember being in a similar (although not as bad) situation years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter. I agree with all the suggestions people have made on here. I really do think that you should speak to your local church. I know that we constantly have collections of food for situations just like this. Don't worry if you are not religious as they will still want to help. If you just let them know then they would not stand by and watch you and your family suffer. Also speak to your health visitor mine used to be really good and they will have a list of local organisations that can help. If I were you I would open a new bank account (or even post office account) and start having your money paid into the new one instead. I would also reapply for a crisis loan as this seems very much like a crisis to me! I hope that things work out for you.