Room for a little one?

DWhite

Hi,

Edited to add...I know I said I probably don't need help though some moral support would be good, I'm having a massive crisis of confidence in my ability to get through this :-(
I'm a long time user/lurker of this board. (going through a divorce so created a new username to take out the Mrs part) I've used it on and off for a few years now and always find myself drawn back to it when I'm getting a bit spend happy or forgetting my thrifty ways.

I found myself back here today as I have just signed up to a part time degree course which is great, trouble is the student finance hadn't gone through by the start of the course which meant I had to cough up £584 to start the course at the same time as everyone else.:eek:That on top of needing to buy a new laptop for the course (as it's online based) which maxed out my credit card has left me very tight on cash for the month.
I have sat and worked out what bills are due out before pay day, hopefully I haven't missed any, and my available cash. I am £100 short So! I am here, there's probably not much anyone can do to help, I've remembered the advice given out to people in my position on here in the past and acted on it :T
Pay day is 25/09 and tax credits go in 21/09. In theory student finance say the application will be dealt with by 25/09 but then I have to wait for the uni to refund my cash so that'll be another week on top.
I work in a service industry so there's a potential for me to earn tips over the next few weeks, though I never rely on them. If I'm lucky though I'm hoping I can get a good chunk of the £100 I'm short for my payments from tips, otherwise I have a £500 overdraft, I just really don't want to use it if I can help it. I also have the option to sell some shares which would get me around £200 but again, if I can help it I don't want to. :money:
I have read so many of these threads over the years, and I've learned from them and admired the people for getting through to pay day. I really hope I get through this without too much deficit and I learn some valuable lessons from it moving forward.

DWhite

Having had a mini freak out and panic I have sorted out £103 of work expenses, and earned £10 tips at work this afternoon. That's all being paid into my bank account either today or tomorrow. The £10 tips will help, though I did have a £200 expense today that I was hoping I could delay but couldn't so now I have even more work to do to recover the deficit .
Working again tonight so hopefully some more tips will come in and help out, fingers crossed!

EstherH

Hi, Just wanted to say hello and hope you are ok. Are you alright for food without having to buy any more? Is there just you or do you have children? God bless. Esther xx

DWhite

Hi
Thanks for your reply.
In the deficit I have I included some money for groceries, I do have a decent store cupboard and stuff in the freezer so it's mainly top ups than big shops.
In the house is myself, my 7 yr old and the soon to be Ex husband. I don't always cater for the ex though I do include him sometimes. It would be nice if he could contribute to the grocery shopping but unlikely and I choose to rely on myself.
DD will be on packed lunches, I have some bits in already for next weeks packed lunches so hopefully it wont be too bad.
I'm hoping going through all of this will help me to learn some valuable lessons and help me to not spend so much moving forward (as in if I can get by on so little I can work harder on saving rather than spending).

EstherH

Sounds like a good attitude to the trial.
Is there any way you could manage without the top up shops or at least part of them? People on here are always brilliant at making a meal stretch into two or even three. I'm mor a lurker than a poster, I don't have many suggestions though if you did want to post what food you have in, maybe someone could give you some ideas. As a famous supermarket says 'every little helps'. Esther xx

FairyPrincessk

It sounds like you've got a wealth of resources--you know your budget, you know what you're short, you have a plan for at least some of it, you have a store cupboard and a plan for the future--you are ALREADY doing brilliantly at getting through this. Really.

Dipping into your overdraft won't be a tragedy. It will be great if you can avoid it, but if it happens then you won't be a failure and the world won't come crashing down. Given you plan to use tips to make up most of your shortfall it doesn't sound like you'll need to.

Let us know what you have in the cupboards if you need meal plan inspiration or packed lunch inspiration.

One tip--if your student loan payments are coming in installments (they usually do) find out when the next one will be coming through and how long it will take to process. Make sure you can budget accordingly so you don't get a money crunch when the next one is due--often right around when there are exams and you need the stress the least!

DWhite

Thanks for the replies, and apologies for not getting back sooner.
I earned around £30 cash tips at the weekend (card tips are paid in with wages at the end of the month) which is less than usual but it's still £30 more than I had.
I did some grocery shopping yesterday, and went to Lidl rather than my usual tesco. Only spent £18, which is less than half what I usually spend so I'm pleased with that. I do find with Aldi and Lidl that I spend less because they have less of the usual stuff I'd buy from somewhere like tesco such as yoghurts, cereal bars etc... which I know I don't need but they are nice to have. Or perhaps the Aldi and Lidl in my town are small compared to others?
Had my 2 days off for the week yesterday and today, which were challenging not being able to spend anything at all. So we spent some time going around some motorbike shops dreaming about buying ourselves nice bikes then watching films at home. Even managed to get ahead with my uni work.
Need petrol tomorrow, which I'm hoping to get me through to pay day next friday, have to be careful how much I use my car for things other than work/school run though. :cool: