£500 win but what to do with it ...

Cookiee

Hi lovely peeps x

Well finally lady luck must be shining on me as I won £500 on a scratchcard (which cost me 0 as I found a pound on the floor :T)
Anyway .. I know this is strange but I dont know what to do with it. I am in debt (like most of us ) OH's esa stops in April, I have lost 2 stone since January :jand desperately need some new clothes, the washing machine might last another month if I am lucky ... the list is endless :eek:

I wanted to get your opinons on what you would do if u were in my position?

A - There is a course at a local training centre which does the reach and counterbalance FLT licence for £399 for people who have not worked for 12 months +. They said that OH can also fall under this timeframe even though its ESA. If he does this he can go back to work with his back issue (hopefully). This will leave £101 left to cover any food, petrol etc for the 2 and a bit weeks until his 1st wages.

B - Buy a washing machine for £50ish pounds. Use the rest as money we will have to survive on after April as there is no guarentee OH will get a job. He has called around agencies and they all take his details and say there is NO work even though they advertised certain jobs on websites with hours, location and pay!:mad:

I know this is strange request. I am more leaning to A then B but there is no promise even with his FLT licence he will get a job with an agency or anywhere. This will leave us with £101 to live off for 2 months or even longer!

I was so excited to win the £500. Having to put all my wages in just keeping a roof over our heads and bills covered (excluding food and petrol) I have never seen so much money :rotfl:in such a long time. (I know this is sad but I kept looking at it in my wallet for ages intil I put it in the bank).

I would appreciate any comments or any other suggestions you have .. as long as their nice ones

:beer:

rising_from_the_ashes

First of all .... congratulations!:D

I know what you mean as when you're in debt / recently free from it, there is always a huge list of things that have been neglected for ages and all need money spent on them.

For clothes - I would say, is it essentials for work or for non-work?

I've managed to pick up a few bargains by hunting around and now have 3 new tops for work (desperately needed!) for the grand total of £16 and managed to get a pair of jeans for £10 the other day - so there are bargains to be had if needed. If you literally have nothing, then setting aside say £50 to get some stuff (on offers of course;)) would be fine IMHO - you won the money and it's not money you had set aside for something so justified AFAICS!

Re the course .... difficult one as it would take a substantial chunk of it but if it will increase your DHs chances of finding new work ....

Not sure if that helps at all, sorry!:o

[Deleted User]

Firstly fantastic win and very sweet that it started with finding a pound.

For me I would invest it in your future and go for option A. I know there is no guarantee he'd get a job but it would sure give him a better chance. He can't go wrong with extra qualifications to add to his CV. It's very competitive out there in the job market so it would not be money wasted.

Mort

I would be tempted to pay for the FLT course, anything that improves marketable skills has got to be good.

As for the washing machine, there’s just the two of you so if it did break before you can save up a bit for one you have to options of hand washing, launderette, or imposing on relatives or friends.

princess*daisy

Hi,

Congratulations on the win!

Option A sounds good, but before you shell out for the FLT course, could you check first whether there are any agencies in your area that offer it free of charge? I'm not sure what services there would be in your area, but here we have charitable/not-for-profit organisations such as Next Steps, Connexions and so on that sometimes have access to free schemes for FLT, CSCS card etc. It might also be worth him asking in the Job Centre to see if they know of any such schemes.

This link might be useful for more info on funding:

https://nextstep.direct.gov.uk/HelpAdviceandMoney/Money/Pages/default.aspx

Or you can search for specific courses here (if you type "forklift" in the search bar it will bring up numerous results):

https://nextstep.direct.gov.uk/improvingyourcareerthroughlearning/choosingacourse/coursesearchlandingpage/Pages/default.aspx

HTH

andyf3050

Hi,

Excellent news on the win... I recently won £50 on the health lottery so a £500 win is well worth a smile!

If your OH is on ESA at the moment which is due to stop, can I just ask how long he has been on it? Depending on how long would determine whether he is eligible for "back to work" support with an agency like Reed in Partnership. This obviously depends on where you live as there may very well be a branch near to where you are. They specialise in helping people get back to work who have been on benefits. They have regional offices and I'm sure they can advise you on courses and training options.

I hope this helps?

Andy

please-let-me-be-lucky

Congratulations on your win!

Just wanted to echo the last 2 posters & suggest asking the Job Centre if they have any help available. I know I'm in a different city to you, but here we have a scheme that you can be referred to which gives an abundance of help & can pay for courses, interview clothes, money for food shopping or petrol while you wait for your first wage etc. It's a joint venture between the job centre, local council & charitable/not for profit organisations. I hope you have something similar & then you can use your £500 elsewhere. Xx

Ps I'm sure you know this already, but I'm losing weight too & have found the trousers in Asda really good for £6 per pair as they come in 3 different lengths. Better that than spend more & shrink out of them!

Cookiee

Thanks for all your comments x :T

Well it looks like I will go for option A. We had already tried the job centre, explaining that if they were to help him gain his FLT then this would expand his job options and also help with his back injury as he would not be lifting etc etc. Their response was due to lack of funding in our area (Rushden) they can not put through people on FLT courses unless they go for a job through them which require it and he has been on JSA for over 6 months!!

This makes no sense to me at all. OH has been on ESA for 1 year at the end of April. Surely this course would have stopped him claiming any benefit at all and got him back into work with a fresh new qualification.

Our connect service is also at the JCB but they said due to the high demand of their services for younger people (under 25) they could not help OH (who is 38 in July)

Help in our area is very limited to say the least!

I will book the course on Monday. He has driven a FL before and has over 10yrs + in a warehouse so hopefully he will pass with no problems.:D

ASDA are great for clothes :-D I can get away with tops as I have some rather large boobies :rotfl:but it is trousers and skirts for work I need, so I will treat myself to one of each

:beer:

please-let-me-be-lucky

Lol you and me both cookiee! I'm 5"9 with 33 inch legs and 36FF chest. Sounds great on paper til you factor in the spare tyre & thunder thighs!!

Good luck with the course & hope your OH gets the job he deserves at the end of it Xx

DVardysShadow

Having read 'The Alchemist' by Coelho [but not altogether subscribing to the underlying philosophy], I would say that destiny smiles on many people, but not everyone takes up the opportunities and those that do, don't always follow through. And that other great philosopher, Ray Mears, says that when nature gives you something, you should put something back.

So, right now, you can put the £1 back the way it came, but could you put the scratchcard win back? If you don't spend it on the washing machine, you are no worse off than if you never found the £1. If you spend it on the training, you might lose it all, but it could put you in the position over time of being able to drop the whole scratchcard winnings as £1 coins or do other imaginative things to put the scratchcard winnings back and hopefully do someone else a favour - perhaps even the person who lost the £1 in the first place.

Nothing comes quite for free - having chosen B if the washing machine gasps its last, be happy that by hand washing you are enabling your OH to take the training and paying your debt to destiny.

bottleofred

Congratulations on the win and it's good to hear of someone winning on the lottery. Enjoy the money and I hope it is beneficial, whatever you decide to do with it. As it is money you never had, you should also consider a small treat for yourselves too.