A little help please!!

Tiddlywinks

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

I don't want to sound scathing, but you must have known that this was coming for a while. Hospitals give at least a month's notice of surgery unless it is an emergency, so if you had come to us earlier we could have given more advice, such as putting money by and stocking up your freezers/cupboards.

Goodness, did you really need to say it then? The OP is clearly worried and needs some advice / support - when people become ill it can be more expensive anyway so they may have had more outgoings, may be the boiler just went or whatever - the fact is the OP wants suggestions to help her manage the next few weeks not scolding for not planning ahead.

Just my take on your opening lines.

*miaomiao*

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

I don't want to sound scathing, but you must have known that this was coming for a while. Hospitals give at least a month's notice of surgery unless it is an emergency, so if you had come to us earlier we could have given more advice, such as putting money by and stocking up your freezers/cupboards.

The OP doesn't say either way, so your comments aren't helpful especially when someone needs help and has actually provided a good starting point. You know, sometimes these things do happen without warning!!! I'm not sure I would have thought to look for ways to get help from the MSE boards, so well done OP.

babyshoes

How old are your teens? Are they old enough to try for a couple of shifts each week stacking shelves/delivering papers/sweeping floors etc? A few days ago our local Tesco was advertising for shelf stackers - the shifts were each one hour after school to restock the shelves before the 5pm rush, which shouldn't be too taxing. I know jobs are hard to come by at the moment, but it may be worth an ask! They may also get a staff discount in store, which would also help with the shopping budget!

Are you on Freecycle/freegle? You could always ask for tins/non perishables on there if things get really desperate. If you ask nicely I am sure you will get some useful stuff. Apples are just about still available for free at the moment, either picked from trees on public land or from friend's/freecycle people's gardens. We have had many, many bags of apples for free this year and made litres of pasteurised juice to keep us going through the winter! Depending on where you are in the country, blackberries may also be around to add variety to puds, but most of ours finished early this year. If you can find an apple tree on public land you could get the teens to go pick bags of apples, which are a great basis for filling puddings like crumbles or easy microwave steamed puddings. Serve with cheap basic custard after a 'light' meal to fill them up.

Approved Foods is a cheap place to stock up, but it is a bit hit and miss as to what they have in.

motherkitty

Thanks everyone for your comments.
We had about a month's notice of the op but as we only just manage each month we don't have anything left to put by for a rainy day anyway.
All the usual MSE common sense applies I guess as far as meal bulking/stretching is concerned.
And thankyou for the comment about the tax, wasn't aware of that so that would help too.
Have not seen any vacancies at the local supermarkets - have Tesco, Morrison and a small Asda - and have had my son on a list for a paper round for months but no luck yet.
Use quite a lot of Tesco and Morrisons value stuff anyway which is mostly good. Just need to organise meals a bit better and will definitely apply for SSP.
Thanks again everyone.

emmad5689

I'm not much help i'm afriad but just to say I know exactly how you feel, my husband has a hernia and has to go for a scan on monday and then see a surgeon who will set a date for the op. I have just changed job a couple of weeks ago so this month is tight as I don't get a proper wage from either the old company or the new which hasn't allowed us to put anything away plus the car had to be taxed.

From the scan it is apparently 2-4 weeks to see the surgeon so the op is likely to be just before xmas or just after.

Have you got a farmfoods near you? I have found their frozen chicken breast are really good, they are very big so 1 does two of us for a meal and they also do multibuys which save you a little - I am going to stock up when we get paid.

Like someone above said you will manage it simply as you have to manage there isn' a choice so you do find a way xx

happy35

you could ring tax credits to see if the change in your circs enables you to receive any help from them

I would suggest menu planning and looking to see what you can stretch to make another meal, I have just started shopping at Aldi and found it much cheaper

When I am trying to cut down I make tuna pasta bake, onions sweetcorn, tuna, hm tomato sauce from tinned tomatoes, pasta cheese on top. Spicy lentil and tomato soup with nice bread bought at M&S for 50p at the end of the day or spicy carrot and lentil soup. I also sometimes make a root vegetable casserole with dumplings this is v cheap but lovely. I also get 2 meals from a chicken, a roast dinner and then a curry padded out with onions and peppers etc, I cook the chicken in a slow cooker and then blast for 30 mins in the oven to crisp the skin as find for some reason there seems to be more meat

I know that you are worried and I would be in your circs, will you save anything on the petrol hour OH uses to travel to work or the amount that he saves on buying his lunch? I know this might not be massive but every little bit helps

Hope everything works out for you and your OH recovers quickly

gilly1964

motherkitty wrote: »

Hi everyone.
My husband is going into hospital for an operation next week and will then be off work for around 4 to 6 weeks.
His company only pays for 5 sick days a year, of which he has two left, so will basically not get paid for a month at least.
He is starting to panic a bit as my pay will pay the mortgage but won't cover much else. I have said to him he musn't worry (easier said than done!) and not even think of going back to work before he is ready, and that we wil manage somehow.
I know everyone on here is very supportive and full of good ideas and advice.
So does anyone have any advice, especially on how to feed him (and two teenagers) well without breaking the bank.
Any help would be welcome.
Thanks
MK

Hi MK

Just found this link on the DirectGov website
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/Sicknessabsence/DG_10027238

It matches my understanding in that hubby should still get SSP for the time he is off sick so long as he meets the criteria in the next link

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Illorinjured/DG_10018786

Hope this helps and please don't be afraid to ask family and friends for help.

All the best

ladylouise62

Google for a food bank in your area. They are there to help for short periods, and you may fit their criteria.

caitybabes

Hello,

We had about a month over the summer with no income and we found the following things helped us:

Using up nectar points (if you have any) to pay for grocery shopping (I found I didn't like any of the rewards on the nectar website anyway). For about three weeks I only paid £1ish for £30 shopping because of this

Make a list of everything in the cupboards and plan meals to use up what you've already got, your cupboards are full of money tied up in food.

Sold things on ebay that we had been meaning to get rid of like old bbq, old PS2, even some clothes.

Hope you get on ok and wish your OH a speedy recovery.

Cait

motherkitty

Hi emmad, my husband is having his op for a stomach hernia. Hope you manage to cope too.
Thanks for the links and advice about SSP. And yes, will probably save £120 or more on petrol as he usually puts around £30 per week in his car.
Have thought about selling some bits on ebay so may try and get those on this weekend.
He is a bit picky about food and wil probably be worse while he is recovering! He is not keen on veggie food, although I am so could probably eat veggie and cook meat for him. A friend who is a nurse told me he needs plenty of protein while he is recovering, so that is really my main concern.
Don't have a farmfoods that nearby unfortunately but will bear the chicken in mind if I do go near there.
I guess we will manage, thanks for the advice and good wishes.