How can I survive this please?

skintandscared_2

One other suggestion - scour the entire house and get together every single bit of loose change you can find. Putting it into your account will just disappear on your overdraft, and I know coinstar takes about 8%, but you could potentially get enough for bread/beans/value pasta/value tinned tomatoes/value herbs which would get you through a few days...

Do local animal shelters help with emergency pet food? Maybe with a promise to reimburse when you get paid?

In the meantime, can you go through your bank statement and literally look at every single payment out that you make to see if you can reduce it?? So you at least can start building up a buffer going forward?

I really feel for you - wish I could come up with better suggestions!!

Emmzi

1. call child's father
2. you will have something you can pawn or sell. tv? microwave?
3. have you been down the back of every sofa and into every handbag?
4. round up every last bit of tat and get to a car boot sale in the morning

desert_rose

If you have a few basics in the house like potatoes, tins of beans, mince or suchlike you can make a few meals from scratch, enough to feed yourself, your child and the family pets at a stretch.

What about family allowance? If its paid weekly, you can access that and I'd contact your bank and ask for an extension to your overdraft facility - sounds as if you need a bit of 'wriggle room', here.

Contact the red cross, gingerbread, salvation army, they often do food parcels and look into working tax credits. You sound as if you could be eligible.

I always used to keep a piggy bank years ago (in a similar position to yourself then) and any 50p's would go straight in. It was an emergency fund that got us out of a few tight spots similar to yours.

It may seem grim at the moment but you'll get through this.

PenniesIntoPounds

Thank you for your replies. I have a £1000 authorised overdraft and I am presently nearly £150 over it. Just the £150 is unauthorised, not the whole lot. When I say I rob Peter, I mean that I sometimes allocate say, £40 to pay my mobile bill and that will sit in my account waiting for the direct debit. But if I know the DD will not be taken until the Tuesday, and I am expecting some money to be paid into my account on the Friday before, then I will use the £40 for another bill or groceries and pay the mobile bill out of the Friday money instead. I juggle things but I don't miss payments or refuse to pay bills. I am always checking my account and am generally aware of when something is due to be paid. My credit rating was too precious to me as I need a good one to be able to move home, etc. Clearly something has gone wrong.

You are right, I have very little options.

Skintandscared, thank you so much for your post - I have £3.50 of Tescos vouchers which I had forgotten about. You may have just fed us tonight!! I could kiss you. Thank you so much.

Unfortunately I am really not in a position to discuss my financial circumstances with any friends of family. A relative committed suicide some time ago due to financial difficulties and asking for money would or help would open up too many wounds for other members of my family, plus we are all broke!! but thank you anyway, for all your help and advice.

skintandscared_2

oh bless you, glad that helped. Go online and check the Tesco website too - I went on and discovered I had over £30 of vouchers which had gone "missing" and were unused... You can print them off and use them.

If I win the lottery tonight I'll PM you

Only stern words are ... £40 for a mobile phone bill is WAY too high in your circumstances - if you are near the end of the contract re-negotiate the price rather than get an upgraded phone OR cancel it and switch to PAYG!!!!! Lecture over!

Emmzi

where do you live-ish? we may know of a specific resource nearby. (ok not to say, just a thought)

PenniesIntoPounds

Gosh, thanks again for the replies and sorry for my rambling posts, which are way too long! Some brilliant suggestions. I can't approach my son's father as he pays a small amount of maintenance and refuses to contribute further. He left when I was expecting my son (my choice in men is pretty much as bad as my ability to look after money!!), which is why I think I am particularly feeling like a loser at the moment, as I really wanted to prove I could do it on my own!

I can not plead poverty, I do receive a wage, child maintenance, tax credits and child benefit. Not huge amounts but more than some people have to live off. I don't receive buckets of cash, and usually don't have anything to show for it at the end of the month but this month has been so expensive. I try to save every month but have to account for every penny. I was planning to move to a cheaper property and move in with a friend so that my rent would reduce, but now worried that I won't be able to rent again if my credit score is that bad. I suppose this has just caught me out big time and due to it being a weekend, I can't contact the bank. I may telephone Wonga and ask if they could reconsider my circumstances?

firesidemaid

i know you need help now, but perhaps at a later date you could use this site to help you in other ways, including looking at if you are getting good deals on your outgoings etc.

£40 is a lot these days for a mobile bill if it is just for a month for example.

definitely agree with other posters about waiting for reduced food at end of days - you can get some amazing bargains. when things are better, you can stock up on these to cover you through the leaner times.

at this time of year there should be quite a lot of fruit to be foraged out and about.

also, even if you have odds and ends in your freezer/cupboards at home - list it on here and folks will give you some ideas for meals.

i really hope you can sort this out. are banks supposed to accept post-dated cheques? also, if possible, speak to your bank first thing monday to try and stop any charges etc.

take care x

Emmzi

I'd leave Wonga alone and find any other way to do it.

We all have skint times. I myself have a fab job and live alone and have £40 to do me two weeks because I fancied a new dressing table. AKA spent outside my means. So it's world of tinned potato for me, or maybe potato scones, cos that's what I have got in, and partner will be having his (luckily bought) birthday pressie in wrapping paper I have drawn with a felt tip pen. So don;t beat yourself up over it.

But practically, what do you need? Do you have enough petrol to do? When you say "no food" do you mean no fresh food or "no food"?? Cos I can do at least 30 dishes out of a cupboard of slightly iffy tins...

Emmzi

PS if you are near me I'll be delighted to do an iffy tin delivery!!