Husband off sick and no sick pay. Ideas needed to survive it

Persephone_Mulberry

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

It's only just struck me today (i misread the soa) that we literally can't get through this without either getting behind on things like the mortgage or by having £40 for groceries, no petrol, capacity for even an icecream at a local fete or...anything.

I find it all incredibly dispiriting

missbiggles1

the_alchemist wrote: »

Hi there - I'm coeliac and vegetarian, and I've found I could cut grocery spend by eating almost entirely vegan at home.

I get my protein from tinned pulses and dried soya chunks, plus occasional cheap cheese, I get my carbs mostly from rice, with occasional gluten free bread/pasta etc., and I eat a lot of vegetables - whatever's cheap.

Even organic eggs aren't really great welfare-wise, and as others have pointed out they're expensive.

Plus the water from tins of pulses can be used to replace eggs in baking. Google 'aquafaba' if you're interested - there are plenty of gluten free recipes.

I know you can get vegan cheese but is it ever cheap? Wouldn't you save money by using dried pulses rather than tinned?

Spendless

Persephone_Mulberry wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

It's only just struck me today (i misread the soa) that we literally can't get through this without either getting behind on things like the mortgage or by having £40 for groceries, no petrol, capacity for even an icecream at a local fete or...anything.

I find it all incredibly dispiriting

I think this is what you need to get your head round. Your situation has changed from what is was a few weeks ago, though this is probably temporary you don't know how long for. Speak to your mortgage provider, mine once let me pay half for 6 months, the tip about paying interest only for the next few payments is good. Are you entitled to tax credits, even if not usually, let them know your reduced income and see if that makes any difference.

At 3 your child doesn't need to go to a local fete. Take a ball and a picnic to the park instead. Call in a budget supermarket/Iceland on your way home and buy a cheap pack of lollies, or tub of ice cream and pack of cornets and have one when you get back if it's a hot day.

I've been shopping at Aldi for around a year now, yes it's cheap, there's the odd thing you can't get. Certainly you can buy veggies and tins and make your own meals, but if you're asking if they do the full range of Quorn meals available in Sainsburys, then the answer is no. Whether you prefer Aldi or Lidl, will be down to your local store.

nkkingston

Spendless wrote: »

At 3 your child doesn't need to go to a local fete. Take a ball and a picnic to the park instead. Call in a budget supermarket/Iceland on your way home and buy a cheap pack of lollies, or tub of ice cream and pack of cornets and have one when you get back if it's a hot day.

Old yoghurt pots, lolly sticks (get reusable plastic ones), and a mix of half juice half water (better for little teeth than pure juice). One cartoon of juice will do you a a fortnight of lollies if you're careful, and you can have a bit of fun freezing them in layers if you fancy traffic light lollies.

QueenBeruthiel

That amount is with the free hours taken into account. They averaged it for us so we pay the same amount each month rather than £250 on short months, £350 on long.

Trying to get my head around this. So £250 is for a 4 week month? £62.5 per week? For two days per week, of which the government pays for 15 hours? And then on a 5 week month they charge, not £312, but £350?

You might want to challenge this (in a non-confrontational way).

Low income parents can get additional help via their local councils, so contact them and enquire.

Persephone_Mulberry

It's absolutely fine nursery fees, there's nothing to challenge

k3lvc

Persephone_Mulberry wrote: »

It's absolutely fine nursery fees, there's nothing to challenge

So a number of people have raised the elephant in the room and you continue to insist it's not an issue - that's a sure-fire way for things to go in the opposite direction to how you want.


Good luck but I'm out

theoretica

For the grocery spend, have you got an asian supermarket near you? They can be great for big bags of ingredients, but also may have cheap ready meals you can both eat.

Persephone_Mulberry

k3lvc wrote: »

So a number of people have raised the elephant in the room and you continue to insist it's not an issue - that's a sure-fire way for things to go in the opposite direction to how you want.


Good luck but I'm out

Well ok. I however know the rate for nurseries around here, know my husband can't act as a full time parent when he is home from work with severe depression and know my daughter.

So I would think it quite reasonable to expect people to accept my judgment on this area - I'm not here saying I am a financial idiot, I'm looking for help with an unexpected, severe financial issue. I kind of assumed if I know some things are not negotiable that might be accepted, rather than well, people telling me I am wrong!

Persephone_Mulberry

theoretica wrote: »

For the grocery spend, have you got an asian supermarket near you? They can be great for big bags of ingredients, but also may have cheap ready meals you can both eat.

Thank you. It's a great idea and I am going to investigate. We're going to try and make some room in our shed for storage!