How can I make £100 last a month?

OriolaW

I have a job now but it's PT because I'm studying. I received a council tax summons but they said if I can pay off what I owe before the court date (Dec 9th) then they will wave the court fees and I will not need to attend court and I will need to pay just the £588 that I owe.

I earn £680 a month and get paid every two weeks so my pay on the 18th and 2nd will go towards this council payment. How can I make £100 last a month?

From my struggles
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5438394 Amex have offered me a payment plan which I will accept I actually owe more than this the true amount I don't know

If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply! [purplesignup][/purplesignup]

bengalknights

Have you first checked that your not entitled to any benefits such as council tax discount etc?

One way to make the £100 last is look out for yellow ticket items at supermarkerts.

[Deleted User]

What does your £100 need to cover?

OriolaW

Deleted_User wrote: »

What does your £100 need to cover?

£36 will have to go on bus fare to and from work and university. My travel card runs out tomorrow. £10 for electricity

That leaves £54 for food somehow fortunately I only eat vegetables.

[Deleted User]

That's not too bad then - certainly doable if you shop correctly.

enthusiasticsaver

If you are a student do you have to pay council tax? It used to be that you were exempt but I guess it might have changed recently.

How many people does the £54 have to cover food wise? If it is just you that is certainly doable.

EssexHebridean

OK - first off, audit your fridge, freezer if you have one, and cupboards. List everything you have, ideally sectioned up into items useable as they are (so things like veggie sausages, quorn, any ready meals, soups, pulses, pasta etc) and items which are purely ingredients - flour, sugar, that sort of stuff.

Once you have that list, look at each item on the first section and think how you can incorporate that into a meal - so pasta bake, veg & lentil soup, bean stew, sausages & mash etc. That's your second list - your meal plan.

Your third list is the basic essentials for your shopping list - bread, milk, and also includes anything else you need to make the meals that fall into your meal plan, which in itself is already an exercise in using up what you have. So perhaps mushrooms and a pepper for the pasta bake, a couple of potatoes for the mash, carrots for the stew. Whatever fruit you need for the next week.

Ethnic supermarkets can be great value for things like beans and pulses - and if you're in an area with those sorts of shops, remember also that the big supermarkets will have a better-than-average range of those sorts of things, too. The "My Supermarket" site accessed via a smartphone can be excellent for price comparisons. For beans and pulses, think dried rather than tinned - you can batch soak and cook a big pot full and they freeze really well in portions. Remember to make use of herbs and spices that you have in to keep things interesting, too.

When you shop, you shop to that list, but watch for best value. So if you need a pepper for the pasta, and a pepper for the soup, for example, it might be cheaper to buy a bag of "value" peppers, or even a bag of frozen ones (usually around 99p a bag and great for cutting down on waste). If you only need potato for mash though, just grabbing a couple of loose ones might be the way forwards. Alternatively on things that keep well like tatties, buy a bag, but then your following week's meal plan will be "potato heavy" - so think potato bakes, leek & potato soup, jacket with beans. Get the idea? Keep an eye on what Lidl & Aldi have as they special offers on the fruit and veg front - Aldi in particular look great this week! Also look at the other supermarkets own "value" ranges - Tesco have "Perfectly Imperfect", Morrison do "Wonky Veg" - those are often a great bargain, Tesco's 60p bags of apples, for a start!

The keys are to use up what you have, so cutting down on spending, and then think hard about what you do buy to make sure you can get the maximum value from that purchase.

suki1964

As above, a full audit of all food you already have in

Then it's to the recipe books and websites. Jack Monroe' s site is ideal as she really does know how to cook on a shoestring, plus the meals are either vegetarian or vegan

Never buy an ingredient that is use once and let the rest rot in the fridge, if you want mushrooms then incorporate them into the rest of the weeks meals to use them up. Any veg going past its best becomes soup. Soup lasts in the fridge for 4 days. Even a small bowl of soup before a meal will help fill you

Lentils are a students best friend . Look in ethnic grocers for best buys for all pulses or if like me you live in a area where such things don't exist , try the supermarkets that have ethnic aisles, different brand names but excellent value and quality

Shop at the times your supermarket does its last reductions. If you don't know,ask. I buy most of my fresh fruit and veg reduced. Frozen veg is usually fresher then fresh and whilst some don't like the texture, turned into curries or vegetable bakes, you won't notice

Never throw any food away. Use left overs for lunch or another meal. Freeze if you don't want it there and then

Oldstlers will help you with ideas if you are struggling to think of cheap meals, some of those ladies have experience of feeding a family of four for £20 a week.


If the worse comes to the worse, use a food bank. Your GP or local CAB office can refer you, maybe your housing department can

AlwaysWorking

Have you anything you could ebay to add to your funds?

engineertony

You don't say how you pay your rent, electricity & heating, or if you share a flat or house with someone else. If you are in Scotland you probably will not pay council tax if your studies are more than 12 hours a week.
http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2013/08/4807/7

You need to chat with the right people in your area to see what you are entitled to, my daughter gets a free bus pass to & from the college, at the job centre they were really helpful about evening jobs and connections with social care & skills development.
Patience is needed as it's just like "I Daniel Blake", some guys are nice, some are bad.

There must be some other arrangement in England.

timefortea

Does your university have a hardship fund?