Depondant and in debt

Countrylover

I am a positive person, but right now, I'm getting a bit fed-up. You see I am not working until September and then part-time, hubby also now not working and looking for new job (at 61 it's difficult). I start a p/t Teaching Assistant job in September and really looking forward to it. Son (age 9) starts a Middle School in September. We need to buy him a new set of uniforms for a new school (lots of kit needed). We have hubby's old pensions coming in, but we also have debts of £6,000. Was £4,000 but seems to be rising. Help! We do not spend a lot. Frustration is trying to sell things, but no response. i.e ELC Climbing Frame, but in Trade It but no response. Thought of doing car boot with lots of items, but don't like doing them and probably would be on my own. Not into E.Bay and alot of stuff too big for that anyway. Please can anyone advise. Can't get my head round menu planning, but cook cheaply anyway. Me veggie other two meat eaters. I tend to miss out as hubbie not into pulses etc., and my stomach struggles to cope. Sorry about negativity, but need a boost. Any advice? Unable to get a part time job in Summer due to other commitments. Trying hard but don't seem to be getting anywhere!

Storm

Hi countrylover :hello: and welcome to DFW

If you have a look at southernscousers sticky here: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=107280 you can pull together a SoA - if you pop it up on this thread we'll be able to advise on how to get your outgoings down.

In terms of selling stuff - there's boards about selling on Ebay, Amazon etc that have loads of advice - it can be worth advertising bigger stuff with collection only & one friend of mine did really well on some bits when she offered free delivery within 10 miles, although this is obviously dependant on you having transport.

The old style board is great for advise on menu planning & shopping on a budget - try Gingham Ribbons thread on vegetarian menu planning for inspiration.

What sort of work is your OH looking for? Remember that with the age discrimination laws coming in companies can't not offer him work due to his age (although I appreciate that some places still will & just give another reason for not employing him!)

Good luck!

Voyager2002

About school uniform: do contact the school and see if they sell any uniform items second-hand. Most school will do this (or the PTA does it for them) and it can be a great way to get perfectly good kit at a fraction of the price in the shop, while helping to raise money for the school.

Also, have a good look at the various kinds of child tax credit to see if you qualify (there are so many kinds of tax credit that virtually anyone with a child will get something).

bedhair

Our middle school just sells the school logo/badge to sew on. You can pick up really cheap uniform from Tesco/Asda etc. and sew on the badges.
Perhaps yours does something similar.
Bedhair

save-alot

You could join the 'FREECYCLE' group for your area and see if anybosy has any of the uniform you need to give away.

Large items with collection only still generally do fine on eBay, so give it a try.

lady_fuschia

Bigger stuff can take a while to sell - it took me a couple of months to get rid of my old bike but did it in the end. It is worth putting on ebay as collection only (you may find a local buyer). If you have the stuff to sell it's better to find a way of doing it than to have it sitting around taking up space. Plenty of bigger stuff (furniture etc) does sell well on ebay.

With the pulses thing - red lentils cooked well tend to be easier on your stomach than the others. You can also try cooking bologneses, shepherd's pie, lasagne etc by using half mince or vegemince and half lentils which adds bulk cheaply without loosing the meatiness. (you can use porridge oats for this too)

Could the kids not help you with a car boot?

Countrylover

Thank you all for your responses. We are keeping a tally of incoming and outgoings, but maybe I'm just not trying hard enough. When I am positive mood all okay, but when having an off moment, debt seems insurmountable. Thanks for the E.Bay tips, my stepdaughter e.bays all the time, so perhaps I should have a word with her. Guess I am more used to giving things to charity shops. Don't think I could get the climbing frame through the door though (ha ha haa!). Still smiling. Anyway. Thanks .

dancingfairy

If you can't get second hand uniform can you buy it cheaply - I appreciate that often you have to buy the school jumper/blazer whatever - but could you buy generic trousers/shirts/shorts/hockey socks/tshirts etc from Asda/tesco/Primark or anywhere you can get it cheap - I'm sure they usually have a back to school price war thing in the shops.

You say your debt is rising is there a particular reason for this or is the budget in need or reworking - ie was it becasue the car suddenly broke down and you really, really can't do without or is it just dribs and drabs?

If you pop a new SOA we'll see if we can help you cut down. Also keep doing a spending diary.

dancingfairy

P.S How about surveys/ mystery shops that you can maybe fit in around your other commitments?