Always skint and have a 3 month old child. I need money advice

Flinchy-Stryder

So, i'm 19 and have a 3 month old child who was not planned and i'm on a engineering apprenticeship. My money situation is so bad that i literally have no money to spend on anything and i'd like to change this so maybe i can help out the mother of my child a little bit.

I get £410 a month. Its broken down like this

£200 a month rent - the owner of the annex i rent has been so kind to me and cut the rent from £65 a week to £50 a week to help me.

£80 a month on food - i do one big shop and plan it all out so i have a dinner 5 times a week. I blag the other 2 days a week at my mums house for free lol.

£30 a month on my phone bill.

£46.50 a month on a travel ticket so i can get to college and work.

£40 a month on lunch i allow £2 a day. I have tried buying packed lunch stuff but it all went off before the month was out.

£11 a month on laundry costs. I try to limit this as much as possible and that is the cheapest i can do it without having to wear stinky clothes.

That leaves me with the sum of £2.50 which i'll treat myself to a few cans of that 39p energy drink and a couple of bars of chocolate or crisps depending on my mood.

fivetide

Your phone looks pricey.


I only pay £27 for an all inclusive mobile which is a nifty smartphone. Start there. Can you move to sim only? If it isn't a mobile, can you get a pay as you go and ditch the landline? That way people can still contact you but costs are much lower.

Gigglepig

Here is what I would do:

Get a cheaper phone or drop it alltogether - I know it is harsh but it sounds like you can't afford it just now. I think your budget is quite good but £30 a week is a lot on a phone - pretty crazy in proportion to your income.

Look for a part time/ weekend job right away. This is the best time of year for seasonal work.

Try the old fashioned moneysaving board for moneysaving ideas for lunches and your general shop.

Consider running/biking to work (at least in spring/summer/autumn).

Flinchy-Stryder

fivetide wrote: »

Your phone looks pricey.


I only pay £27 for an all inclusive mobile which is a nifty smartphone. Start there. Can you move to sim only? If it isn't a mobile, can you get a pay as you go and ditch the landline? That way people can still contact you but costs are much lower.

Na its a contract phone and the cheapest deal is £30 a month. I'm also tied in to it for 3 years, well 2 now. I need it for the internet access cause its to expensive using internet cafes.

RAS

Do you have any sort of fridge or freezer?

Have you checked whether you can get any help with Housing and Council Tax? www.turn2us.org.uk

fivetide

Then you went and got an iPhone or something you can't afford. Am I right?


Again, I have a Sony Xperia. £27, GB data. Anytime unlimited minutes, unlimited texts. There were and are much cheaper phones out there to do what you need yours to do.


I would have a word with the network. Maybe you can chop the other phone in and buy your contract off then start a new one for a lot less.


If you are going to just say "Na" to every suggestion though I don't think you are going to get far....

hgotsparkle

Flinchy-Stryder wrote: »

Na its a contract phone and the cheapest deal is £30 a month. I'm also tied in to it for 3 years, well 2 now. I need it for the internet access cause its to expensive using internet cafes.

There are cheaper deals out there, Tesco Mobile do plenty for around £10-£15pm that have a good 1GB of internet included, but for you to switch now wouldbe too expensive.

Do you pass a discount shop on your way home from work/college? Maybe then you could purchase cheap items to make a lunch. Buy bread when its on reduced and freeze it, you can even buy some ziplock bags from poundland and freeze 2 slices at a time so you won't have to defrost a whole loaf. Then buy cheap fillings, value ham and value cheese spread are a good option, again you can freeze the ham and the cheese spread doesn't go off very quickly at all. I know its not the healthiest.

Flinchy-Stryder

Gigglepig wrote: »

Here is what I would do:

Get a cheaper phone or drop it alltogether - I know it is harsh but it sounds like you can't afford it just now. I think your budget is quite good but £30 a week is a lot on a phone - pretty crazy in proportion to your income.

Look for a part time/ weekend job right away. This is the best time of year for seasonal work.

Try the old fashioned moneysaving board for moneysaving ideas for lunches and your general shop.

Consider running/biking to work (at least in spring/summer/autumn).

Running is too far its about 7 miles from where i live and college is even further. I have cycled in the past but my bike got nicked and i cant afford another. I dont think a part time job is viable cause i already work 32 hours a week and have a full day at college on fridays. I'm usually knackered at the end of the week that's why i go back to my mums at the weekend for some rest.

System

That leaves me with the sum of £2.50 which i'll treat myself to a few cans of that 39p energy drink and a couple of bars of chocolate or crisps depending on my mood.

nowt wrong with getting your priorities right. :-(

Hedgehog99

Why did you two risk conceiving a child when you are so skint?

Flinchy-Stryder

RAS wrote: »

Do you have any sort of fridge or freezer?

Have you checked whether you can get any help with Housing and Council Tax?

I have a freezer and fridge. I do feeze most stuff but with sandwich items for lunch they dont freeze well. I froze a pack of ham and when it came to it i couldn't seperate the slices cause they froze together so i had to defrost it all and it went off.

I dont think i can get help with council tax as i'm not in a council house?

fivetide wrote: »

Then you went and got an iPhone or something you can't afford. Am I right?


Again, I have a Sony Xperia. £27, GB data. Anytime unlimited minutes, unlimited texts. There were and are much cheaper phones out there to do what you need yours to do.


I would have a word with the network. Maybe you can chop the other phone in and buy your contract off then start a new one for a lot less.


If you are going to just say "Na" to every suggestion though I don't think you are going to get far....

I have a samsung galaxy. I did speak with the network and £30 a month is the cheapest they will do. If i could get out of the contract then i expect there are cheaper deals available but i'm stuck with them for 2 years.