What's the naughtiest thing you've done at your most skint?

Willow92

wow, I've never got into situations as bad as these but I remember when mum had to borrow £1000 out of my account when I was little to pay off debts. She's paid pretty much all of it back now, she only told me about it this year when I needed the money for something.

miggy

immoral_angeluk wrote: »

There's a lot of posts about people having no food, so I just wanted to say that there are charities out there, such as the salvation army, who can provide food parcels to those in need, and if anyone IS in this type of position, they should go to their nearest CAB or advice centre to find out local organisations who may be able to help with food/clothing/etc. There IS help available but you need to know where to look!

In the area where I live, a number (maybe all?) of the churches have meal vouchers which they will give to people who need a meal, to be spent at a local cafe.
I would imagine other religious institutions such as mosques or synagogues may have similar schemes. I've never seen it advertised and I don't know how it operates. I only learned about it when I saw something that made me ask questions.
Hoping that if I mention it, it may help someone.

Allypops

Frankie100 wrote: »

Gosh Im sat here with tears streaming down my face reading these posts I think its bringing back memories of when I was in a bad time in my life with my daughter.
We moved to a different part of the country and the first week all we had was 13p bread and a large tin of gravy,all week thats all we had,gravy butties,the only saving face was my daughter was having meals at school.
But the one I remember the most was the time I was on my knees with worry about having nothing and it was a day I took my daughter to school,she was about 9 at the time,this is the same gravy buttie week.
On the way there I looked down on the floor and found a little purse,while no one was looking I picked it up and put it in my pocket,I honestly thought i was going to have a heart attack!
I dropped my girl off at school and ran all the way home,inside was £2.50,nothing else,just the £2.50 so I went out and bought enough food to fill 2 carrier bags full,I felt so guilty but so relieved we wouldnt have to eat gravy butties and we woulold have something decent in our bellies.
When my girl came home from school she was so upset,she explained her best friend had lost his little purse with his dinner money in it on the way to school and he didnt have any food at school that day at school,she also went into great detail about how upset he was and how he spent most of the day in floods of tears.
To say I suffered guilt that day is an understatement.
Years later myself and my daughter was in a pub and suddenly she pointed to this lad in his 20,s and said "thats the lad who cried all those years ago because he lost his purse"(for my girl to remember that must mean it was a horrible day at school when he lost it),I could of died!
So in the end i went over to him,explained who I was,explained what I did all those years ago and appologised to him and told him how sorry I was for not handing it in at the school because deep down I knew it must of belonged to one of the children.
He was so nice about it,he said he does remeber it and he got a belting off his mum when he got home and told her he lost it,she sent him to bed with no tea,oh God.
As I was leaving I went over to the bar,ordered a pint for him and asked the bar girl if she would take it to him and give him this.....
a £20 note with the words "Im so sorry" on the corner of the note.
Still didnt make me feel better though.

I can understand why you felt bad but he forgave you - I think it is time to forgive yourself. The fact that you have felt guilty all that time shows that you acted out of necessity not greed. People have done a lot worse.

Allie

MichaelCR

I've been round the back of the local shopping complex with a friend and raided the wheelie bins behind whsmiths, Asda and M&S at around 3am about a year and a half ago, I must say the things you find are absolutely amazing, We found 3 unopened boxes of 48 pack monster munch (4 days out of date), loads of slabs of cadburys chocolate (Close to the best before date), Books, Stationary, Drinks, best of all 6 unopened crates of J20 X24 bottles !! Its absolutely incredible what these companies discard in the rubbish bins these days, They should consider giving these to homeless charities and shelters instead of throwing them away.

Not particularly what i'd call naughty, Just desperate.

Certainly makes you appreciate the value of money when you have none.

John_Pierpoint

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/f/friedrichn159167.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzsche

kitschkitty

Mags_cat wrote: »

Ermmm...it's as easy as it sounds.

Mix the mashed potatoes with some fried onions and baked beans - stick some grated cheese on the top and bake it til it's golden and bubbling.

You could also use up any leftover cooked ham/bacon or corned beef and add them in if you have them.

Smothering it in HP sauce once it's cooked only improves things :rotfl:

It is delicious, which is why I still make it even though I no longer need to do so from neccessity

I regularly make corned beef hash which is nothing more than fried onions, with corned beef added to the pan and warmed through till it starts to melt, then topped with mash (a sprinkle of cheese if we have it) and then the frying pan shoved under the grill for a few minutes and always served with lots of baked beans (ones with lots of sauce preferably).

Not particularly because it's cheap, but because it's quick yummy comfort food! Oh and a spoonful of mustard (or sachet grabbed from a restaurant/pub etc) in the mash is a tasty bonus!

makemedebtfreeplease

miggy wrote: »

In the area where I live, a number (maybe all?) of the churches have meal vouchers which they will give to people who need a meal, to be spent at a local cafe.
I would imagine other religious institutions such as mosques or synagogues may have similar schemes. I've never seen it advertised and I don't know how it operates. I only learned about it when I saw something that made me ask questions.
Hoping that if I mention it, it may help someone.

I work for a local council and a lot of the local councils can give you vouchers to go to a local food bank to exchange for a few days supply of basic food (pasta/tins etc)

nuttyp

When our children were pre school age, we were terrible broke. Oh had lost his job, and benefits were not exactly much as i was on maternity leave and got £34 a week!! We didnt pay the mortgage, hence why it was eventually repossessed! We made token payments of £30 a month but it didnt help. We managed to get potatoes from the local fields where the tractors had dropped them near the edges, and also we used to take an evening strole and take carrots, cauli, cabbage or leeks from the field of the big farms. Wrong i know but we really had no choice. Mum n dad used to bring us a food parcel once a month and the luxury of sausages or a few slices of bacon was amazing.

Even now, i still buy the cheaper brands, occasionaly we treat ourselves but having no money makes you more frugal.

Im sure there are people worse off than me now, but living withno money really makes you grateful for what you have.

londonirish_3

firewrym, you are right, but so many people are judgemental sadly.

when people think prostitute, they usually think druggie, walking the streets to fund their habit.

I signed up with an agency, and within the hour I was on my way to my first call out. My driver waited for me, and told me if I wasnt out by 1 he would be going in. The gent was ancient but lovely and I came out an hour later 130 better off. I felt nothing, no disgust, just relief that I could afford a b and b while I sorted myself out. I have never taken drugs, or been inclined to , something which is associated with prostitutes. Now I have done it, and I worked ALOT it will always be part of me. I was thrown into a world I never knew exsisted, and 2 girls showed me the ropes and really looked after me.

Sex was always protected, I never felt in fear.

However maybe I am judgemental because my friends say sometimes "oooh I got drunk and ended up in bed with a bloke, unprotected sex etc etc. That annoys me, that people could be so careless with safety, sexual health. So I am judged yet I am also judgemental.

nuttyp

Londonirish, what a brave statement to put on here, I totaly admire your honesty.

I havent always had ut easy, i have been very lucky tho there always seams to be light at the end of the tunnel eventually. What you had to do to survive was possibly one of the most bravest things to do - well inmy eyes - but at least you did it via what sounds like a good agency with strict security measures.

Good luck with you frugal challenge, im trying too !!