£33 per month for food!

Oldernotwiser

ready_to_jump wrote: »

House on the market for two years, but it's not for free, and, as I'm claiming JSA I cannot sub let a room without it affecting my claim......

Anything will sell at the right price and you could get more than your JSA amount by charging a price to include meals or by letting out two rooms (Including the living room if you only have two bedrooms).

Start thinking laterally.

dmg24

Sorry OP, I think a big part of the problem is your attitude. I am sure that you have tried many ways of getting back to work, but clearly if you have not found work in this time you are doing something wrong. If anyone dares to question this, your replies are at best blunt and often quite rude. Many of us have experience of jobseeking and recruitment - why not use us as a source of knowledge, rather than assuming that you have already done everything possible?

liney

Since you have a house, I assume you have a garden? Can this be put to use growing your own fruit and veg?

Spendless

HappyMJ wrote: »

Both. The interest (up to 3.63%) is paid by the DWP for 2 years and the mortgage provider helps by switching to an interest only mortgage. After that the help from DWP stops and the mortgage provider wants more money before the mortgage term expires.

Thank you. I googled it after your reply, and discovered it was a ruling that came in a few years ago. I knew it wasn't the case, when I was single with a mortgage on JSA some years back, and the mortgage provider can dictate what terms it likes, mine took half fees for some time, but I realise they will be more likely to start asking for money again when they are not getting anything.

OP_ Is £120 your whole mortgage? If it is, case you must have bought some years ago and have equity, so is reducing your asking price an option? Or is the £120 what the mortgage company have asked you to pay towards it, so they are still reducing your costs for a while.

Gothicfairy

Not sure my reply will be wanted as I am "trailer trash" as you so nicely put it.. but it is possible to live on £1 per day.

I save up my 1 pounds until I get to about £14 then I take a trip to my local Tesco, co-op etc and stock up on sell by date things.
Cheese can be bought that way for as little as 60p a pound if you are careful and quick, I suggest getting good with the elbows and get friendly with the staff as they know the best times to check.
Toilet roll and cans can be bought from the reduced section where the packs are slightly damanged ( 12 cans of toms for £1 at my local tesco the other day)
I also buy pulses etc when I can afford them so I now have quite a stock cupboard going and can live for at least a month I should think without spending anything.
I have powered milk in too as that is cheap and keeps.
There are some things I think I need like Garlic, Onions etc but with some planning and getting them on offer it is possible to not go without tasty food.
If I buy more then one pack of garlic ( on offer) I would roast them as they then keep or pickle them.
I also can make chutney / jam etc so if I get a ton of cheap stuff I can keep it..Also check your local veg market at the end of the day as there will be stuff they don't want to pack up.
I got about 10LBs of on the turn mushrooms for £2.00 (well it was £1.90 change in my pocket) I made pate, ketchup, battered etc and with some left over bits of nuts, lentils and nut loaf (which kept for about 4 days and worked a treat )

It can be done and it can also be great fun..there are also loads of things you can do for free if you check your local paper / online paper/ get to know people.

dickydonkin

Gothicfairy wrote: »

Not sure my reply will be wanted as I am "trailer trash" as you so nicely put it.. but it is possible to live on £1 per day.

I save up my 1 pounds until I get to about £14 then I take a trip to my local Tesco, co-op etc and stock up on sell by date things.
Cheese can be bought that way for as little as 60p a pound if you are careful and quick, I suggest getting good with the elbows and get friendly with the staff as they know the best times to check.
Toilet roll and cans can be bought from the reduced section where the packs are slightly damanged ( 12 cans of toms for £1 at my local tesco the other day)
I also buy pulses etc when I can afford them so I now have quite a stock cupboard going and can live for at least a month I should think without spending anything.
I have powered milk in too as that is cheap and keeps.
There are some things I think I need like Garlic, Onions etc but with some planning and getting them on offer it is possible to not go without tasty food.
If I buy more then one pack of garlic ( on offer) I would roast them as they then keep or pickle them.
I also can make chutney / jam etc so if I get a ton of cheap stuff I can keep it..Also check your local veg market at the end of the day as there will be stuff they don't want to pack up.
I got about 10LBs of on the turn mushrooms for £2.00 (well it was £1.90 change in my pocket) I made pate, ketchup, battered etc and with some left over bits of nuts, lentils and nut loaf (which kept for about 4 days and worked a treat )

It can be done and it can also be great fun..there are also loads of things you can do for free if you check your local paper / online paper/ get to know people.

You forgot to add that you can get some QUALITY meat and fish on the reduced items shelf in Tesco at sometimes unbelievable prices.

These can be frozen and used in the future.

Gothicfairy

Very true but as I have the smallest freezer section going I tend not to bother..but I have bought things like a whole leg of lamb for £4.00 and cooked it, had it hot with roast pots / veg day one, cold with salad day 2, hashed (left over pots and veg) day 3 , pie day 4, stone soup day 5..
I also like their reduced fish as a home made fish pie can then turn into fish cakes / etc and so far..touch wood I have never been sick. I work on the "if it looks ok and smells ok" I eat it and I also have a 3 second rule.

dickydonkin

Gothicfairy wrote: »

Very true but as I have the smallest freezer section going I tend not to bother..but I have bought things like a whole leg of lamb for £4.00 and cooked it, had it hot with roast pots / veg day one, cold with salad day 2, hashed (left over pots and veg) day 3 , pie day 4, stone soup day 5..
I also like their reduced fish as a home made fish pie can then turn into fish cakes / etc and so far..touch wood I have never been sick. I work on the "if it looks ok and smells ok" I eat it and I also have a 3 second rule.

I bet the majority of the stuff you make from 'reduced items' has more nutritional value than most of the ready made meals you buy at the supermarket - and you also know what is in your own food as well!

Gothicfairy

dickydonkin wrote: »

I bet the majority of the stuff you make from 'reduced items' has more nutritional value than most of the ready made meals you buy at the supermarket - and you also know what is in your own food as well!

That is very true ( I am not what you might call slim and I eat well from £1 per day) it also means you can take out what you don't like.
I like most food (as my frame can prove) but there are some things I might like raw rather then cooked and making it all myself means I can do that.
I don't much like cooked carrots for example but could eat them by the bag load raw.
whereas I am not mad on raw celery but love it cooked as part of the holy trinity or braised.
One thing I do is buy a bottle of shops own cider (tesco's is under a quid and is not to bad once cooked down) and use that to cook with as pork and apples cooked in a splash of cider is as good as it gets and you would pay good money to eat that in a pub.

I love finding new recipes and ideas and I have great fun trying out the different ideas. Some work better then others but that is part of the fun.

Oh and bread and butter pudding with out of date broche is the best ever.

The of course you can get Elder flowers / berries wild and they make great wine, sloes for gin, Rowan for jellies etc etc.
Nettle soup is lovely and it also makes really nice larva bread ( ok not the read deal but with a squint and a bit of home made horseraddish sauce it will do)

PasturesNew

ceridwen wrote: »

I'm not sure whether these shared ownership places are only available to first-time buyers - or whether an existing home-owner who is in danger of becoming homeless would be allowed a chance to buy one of them??

Many would exclude the OP if they have the money to buy a portion outright and be seen to potentially be relying on benefits for the rent.

There's an interview process round my way. I'd not be allowed one as I've 'got enough money to buy a house for my needs on the open market'. And there are other hoops.

But, yes, it's worth looking into as every region/scheme differs.