Need emergency money

Driftingleaf

Can anybody please help with where I can get an emergency money? I am on UC and PIP in the not able to work group for UC. Right now, I have less than £20 and won't get my PIP for nearly 2 weeks. There isn't anything I can sell, don't have a laptop or anything like a ps etc. My parents both passed away and estranged from my sibling and other family, got 1 uncle I speak to but he has a lot of health worries with his wife and himself, so don't want to stress him out. If there's any places to contact for emergency and anybody could advise please I'd be very appreciative.

Muttleythefrog

My suggestion is for food and essentials contact local social media groups who have members prepared to help or give links to community larders etc. Cold hard cash might be more difficult but hopefully you can get temporary help and sort your budgeting out. Unfortunately many are struggling but as a result there are plenty groups and organisations that can help probably local to you. But I do suggest longer term you really are able to budget in a way that prevents a crisis like this again.

kkkklinky

The only thing I can advise is a food bank or the Household Support Fund by the local council but most councils only provide shopping and energy vouchers(a lot of councils have already spent the funding, so are not giving help until later in the year), people on social media who ask for advice about cash, are perceived as trying to get a cash handout from others under the guise of "advice" so unlikely anyone on "the internet" will give you money due to the prevalence of scammers. Like previous post stated you will have to find a way of budgeting money correctly to prevent this in the future.

Driftingleaf

Firstly, I didn't come here to be judged by anybody and a cash crisis can occur to anybody. Things are harder now as we all know especially on benefits and try "budgeting" on that if neither of you are on them. I wasn't asking for money, it was the only wording I could think to describe the situation. Heaven forbid either of you get in this situation. I've never gone on social media either asking for money. These replies were not great and the judgy tones either.

marcia_

Driftingleaf said:

Firstly, I didn't come here to be judged by anybody and a cash crisis can occur to anybody. Things are harder now as we all know especially on benefits and try "budgeting" on that if neither of you are on them. I wasn't asking for money, it was the only wording I could think to describe the situation. Heaven forbid either of you get in this situation. I've never gone on social media either asking for money. These replies were not great and the judgy tones either.

 Advising you to get budgeting support isn't judgemental it's trying to help you. 

 You actually received good advice informing you of the household support fund and look at community foodbanks etc 

HampshireH

Driftingleaf said:

Firstly, I didn't come here to be judged by anybody and a cash crisis can occur to anybody. Things are harder now as we all know especially on benefits and try "budgeting" on that if neither of you are on them. I wasn't asking for money, it was the only wording I could think to describe the situation. Heaven forbid either of you get in this situation. I've never gone on social media either asking for money. These replies were not great and the judgy tones either.

No one has judged you and your response is very unfair to people who have tried to help you.

Your post asked where you could get emergency money. I'm not sure how else that could have been read.

Anyway if it's for food then the following may be able to help

Foodbanks
Olio app (great for picking up all sorts)
Local church

If its for physical items then Facebook Free cycle is a great option.

You were given the same advice last year on this thread which extended from being about a fridge to other means of support. 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6450243/can-anyone-help-me-with-grants-please#latest 

Robbie64

A number of councils offer emergency support in the form of crisis support under local welfare provision schemes that were set up a number of years ago following the ending of Social Fund Crisis Loans which were paid by the DWP.

You would need to contact your local council to find out if it still offers crisis support and to apply for help if it does. Most councils that still offer this type of help only pay for emergency support such as gas and electricity topups (for prepayment meters) and food. Any money you have available to you is deducted from any help you can get.

If you live in Scotland and possibly Wales then these schemes are offered on a national criteria basis with the application being made through your local council.

Muttleythefrog

Driftingleaf said:

Firstly, I didn't come here to be judged by anybody and a cash crisis can occur to anybody. Things are harder now as we all know especially on benefits and try "budgeting" on that if neither of you are on them. I wasn't asking for money, it was the only wording I could think to describe the situation. Heaven forbid either of you get in this situation. I've never gone on social media either asking for money. These replies were not great and the judgy tones either.

I wasn't judging.... I appreciate many can get into situations like this (and I've been in a lot worse than you describe ..in my past) and I said "Unfortunately many are struggling". You were asking for emergency money in the title and first line of post... I interpreted that as you needed money especially when you next went on to mention you only had £20. But I simply pointed out getting cash itself might be more difficult than other help you almost certainly will be able to get and fast. Definitely I would advise against phrasing in terms of money for the reason given by another poster and especially if that isn't what you need/want. 

In terms of budgeting, bearing in mind last year you were similarly in crisis and received similar advice (which I have no evidence you ever read, took up or reacted to), this is something I felt maybe you could do with help regarding. If that's not the case then you can ignore the advice but usually with PIP and UC (possibly with LCWRA component) there can be reasonable monies to fiddle with! There are even benefit claimants who come to MSE for advice on getting rid of (spending) benefit money as they risk going over the lower savings threshold. Ultimately everyone's situation is unique. I run a really tight budget (claiming the same benefits as you it appears) but I'm sure another pair of eyes on details of our situation would reveal things not thought about or that could be challenged in terms of spending and saving... I mean our thermostat is set at 24C and I'm sure many would say that's ridiculous.

However there are many ways to eliminate or reduce costs and this is something many have good experience of including myself - for example we twice weekly use a local food larder for £2 a time which provides some often quite random and basic plus luxury foods (I would say this saves around £20-£30 a week and prevents food waste). We also are fortunate to live in an urban centre - we go late to supermarkets for reduced items (plus use things like Co-op member weekly offers - believe it or not as a result sometimes they end up paying us to take items) and I would say this saves another £20-30 a week plus enables us to get things we ordinarily would consider extravagant or luxurious... we sometimes get nice ready meals for around 80p that normally would be £3-£4 while I rarely pay more than 60-80p for a box of 6 top of the (free) range eggs.

The reasons I suggest social media is that in local groups to you there almost certainly will be people also who struggle and have a good handle on what is available locally plus some who may arrange such... further if you engage community type support you'll often quickly hear about more options. I see daily how quickly and readily people are helped just in my small town where poverty is rife. As I don't know if your problem is a temporary one or lingering one I'm trying to cover both possibilities. So moneysaving and budgeting are things to think about I would say.

But there was no attempt to be judgemental and I am concerned that well intentioned people giving you good advice making you feel negatively could be a serious barrier to you actually getting help you need here or ultimately elsewhere... that your situation has repeated from last year does concern me this may be the case... but if you followed previous advice and it has failed to help then knowing so would be useful. Ultimately you are in a situation you need to get out of or through and that requires sometimes people saying things that might feel judgemental as it comes down to looking at your situation and changing it. I was trying to give advice at 2am based on information given and that I made the effort to improve with some back reading of other posting..  to someone I felt probably needed to make sure they could sustain themselves over the coming days. Away from MSE I provide more tailored local advice to people as I know lots of the options for saving money and emergency help in my area... sometimes we later encounter those people at the community larder where there is a terrific social context and no judgements among an incredibly diverse customer base from wealthy pensioners arriving in classic cars to recovering drug addicts lacking a carrier bag. But you've had good advice and direction above, and previously, and I hope that helps. 

Purplefoxlass

Driftingleaf said:

Firstly, I didn't come here to be judged by anybody and a cash crisis can occur to anybody. Things are harder now as we all know especially on benefits and try "budgeting" on that if neither of you are on them. I wasn't asking for money, it was the only wording I could think to describe the situation. Heaven forbid either of you get in this situation. I've never gone on social media either asking for money. These replies were not great and the judgy tones either.

It is a bit cheeky, coming online begging for money, although saying that there is a girl on X who constantly begged for money from her followers, and the next minute she was telling everyone wha she had bought as soon as her PIP landed.

As others have said, you need to budget better, it can be done. As a single person in receipt of ESA and PIP, I manage, and have no family to ask for help, and I would not ask friends either. 

Spoonie_Turtle

Purplefoxlass said:

Driftingleaf said:

Firstly, I didn't come here to be judged by anybody and a cash crisis can occur to anybody. Things are harder now as we all know especially on benefits and try "budgeting" on that if neither of you are on them. I wasn't asking for money, it was the only wording I could think to describe the situation. Heaven forbid either of you get in this situation. I've never gone on social media either asking for money. These replies were not great and the judgy tones either.

It is a bit cheeky, coming online begging for money, although saying that there is a girl on X who constantly begged for money from her followers, and the next minute she was telling everyone wha she had bought as soon as her PIP landed.

As others have said, you need to budget better, it can be done. As a single person in receipt of ESA and PIP, I manage, and have no family to ask for help, and I would not ask friends either. 

Where were they begging for money?  Their post was asking where to turn for emergency help.

"Can anybody please help with where I can get an emergency money? … If there's any places to contact for emergency and anybody could advise please I'd be very appreciative."

And just because you can manage doesn't mean your circumstances are the same as the OP's.  *That* is a pretty judgemental assumption.

kkkklinky

I wasn't being judgemental, your post asked for "emergency cash", I gave advice about other services and advised that asking for advice about cash is seen negatively on social media(again due to scammers making posts under the guise of advice to get money from random strangers on social media) and due to previous posts about money issues I advised budgeting.