I'm scared!

nannaC

Hi, just caught up with your thread, so here is a big hug from NannaC. Lots of good advice already, on the clothes front do you know if any jumble sales in yoiur area. They are great for clothes, a local church near us does one regularly, most items are 20p and there are always lots of M&S, Next etc. I also got some lovely lined curtains for the princely sum of £1.:j Boot sales are another good hunting ground for toys/clothes etc.

fizzel81

Wanted to send you a big hug

i split last year from my husband having had 3 kids etc and was a huge shock to system money wise

im sure most has been covered by now but

first thing dont do what i did (was too proud to try and claim anything and waited weeks before i did), there is a website where you can work out what you can get or could you try job centre or cab for advice

deffo ring tax credits though be prepared you may need to start a whole new claim (i did as a signle person it took around 5 weeks to sort) make sure the person you speak to fully cancels your joint claim (from when you had a partner) this is why mine took so long, it wasnt cancelled properly, then get the paperwork back to them and basically keep on at them (i was ringing every day for weeks one day nothing next day 5 weeks worth in bank)

other things shop around, ebay charity shops as all ready covered by the advice given here before i was a single parent i will admit i didnt oftern shop in a cahrity shop or accept clothes for my boys from others, i now regulary look in the charity shops where i live and when out (and have got some fantastic bargins) and have a good friend who has passed me on her sons clothes for one of my boys they wont fit yet but are stored under the bed for when they do

moanymoany

Hopefully by now you will have been able to start doing some of the financial things to help.

Just a comment on the boot sale/charity shop buying clothes. I know a woman with 8 children. They are always dressed beautifully often in designer stuff. I mentioned this to her one day and she laughed, then told me they all come from boot sales.

She said that rarely do children wear clothes out, so there are always lots that look almost new. By buying good quality clothes they do for more than one of her children as they even grow out of second hand clothes!

She didn't take her children with her and if she saw anything suitable she bought it to put away for birthdays etc. I don't think the kids ever got new gifts, but, as she said, wash them in sterilising fluid and they look new!

:grouphug:

dolly_day_dream

Don't think that wearing second hand clothes is confined to the poor. I used to work as a nanny to a very wealthy family. There was a bundle of high quality - most of it had been bought in Harrods and the like- children's clothes that did the rounds of various families. It was classic styling and being well made lasted through lots of children.

denise_h_2

I would check out your local community and see whether there are any Community Fresh Food Initiative schemes. Near where I live there is a community group that run a veg/fruit scheme once a week, where you can get a large carrier bag of about 7-8 different veg for only £3, a large fruit bag for £3 and a large salad pack for £2. What they do is buy the fruit/veg in bulk from the wholesalers and pack it up and sell it on. The idea is to encourage people to eat more veg etc.

I know it might seem obvious but one money-saving tip (if weather allows) is to use a line to dry your clothes instead of the tumble drier - cuts the electricity bills and is more environmentally friendly.

Do you know how to knit/sew? You can often pick wool up cheap at places like Poundland/Homebargains and similar. It's worth trying to learn if you don't know how to. Its amazing what you can do if you can sew i.e mend or alter clothes, make costumes for kids parties instead of buying, and even make outfits from scratch. Many years ago when I was small my mum made all our clothes, often from outfits picked up a jumble sales and then cut up. Sadly its a skill that not many youngsters have nowadays.

I know these are not immediate answers but may be of use in the long run. Good luck for the future