Living on next to nothing challenge - Day 1 of 40

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  • hypno06
    hypno06 Posts: 32,296
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    I'm with you on this one - left my last job on 27th March, start my new job on 6th May and get paid at the end of May......

    it is tough....but it is doable - you just have to be very focused!

    Good luck, and I am sure you will be fine........get doing a storecupboard challenge to use up food you have got in already - that makes a big difference and you can come up with some wonderful meals!
    Successful women can still have their feet on the ground. They just wear better shoes. (Maud Van de Venne)
    Life begins at the end of your comfort zone (Neale Donald Walsch)
  • luxor4t
    luxor4t Posts: 11,125
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    Maybe I have missed something, but surely you are entitled to some sort of state benefit while you are out of work? Might be worth a phone call to Jobcentre Plus or what ever it called now.
    I can cook and sew, make flowers grow.
  • louise30_2
    louise30_2 Posts: 177 Forumite
    I wont be entitled to benefits cos i have left my job of my own accord.

    Just spent £1 on a piece of quiche off the trolley at work - oops!
  • louise30_2
    louise30_2 Posts: 177 Forumite
    Oh dear

    Bank account down to £604.

    Wish my expenses would come through!
  • Jannie_2
    Jannie_2 Posts: 34 Forumite
    Hiya,

    You are doing fab!!

    I was taken to a site regarding using cupboard food - www.cookingbynumbers.com

    a bit of a laugh but it made me think about easy things to make too - scrambled eggs and the like that I'd totally forgotten about.

    Good luck xxx
  • hypno06
    hypno06 Posts: 32,296
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    How did you get on yesterday?
    Successful women can still have their feet on the ground. They just wear better shoes. (Maud Van de Venne)
    Life begins at the end of your comfort zone (Neale Donald Walsch)
  • Take leftovers for lunch the next day. Always have a bottle of water with you. Never leave the house without some kind of snack. Would second library books (have saved me a fortune on Amazon). Use your extra time to shop around for bargains (you may be cash poor, but you're time rich!) However, also limit the amount of time you spend wandering the shops - far too tempting.

    If you need a haircut for that new job - find a local salon that offers trainee evenings - instead of paying £30-£50, you'll pay around a fiver (and they're not going to let you leave their salon looking terrible).

    Also, concentrate on getting your house in order so that it is ready for your going back to work.

    Good luck!
  • ceridwen
    ceridwen Posts: 11,547
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    Can I stick in a thought here? I'm wondering whether you can do a bit of "shuffling" with the bills - in my own case I have changed the Council Tax from 10 payments a year (leaving 2 free months) to 12 payments a year (a basically equal part each month) and that leaves a smaller bill on those months it was payable anyway. A consideration now Council Tax bills are so large. I'd ring them now and ask for that if you dont have that already - to start with immediate effect.


    I'm not up to speed on mortgages these days (dont have one anymore:D ) - but wondering if there is any scope for asking your lender for a "payment holiday" for 1 or 2 months if you explain the circumstances to them.

    Re fuel and water bills - are you maybe using less than your direct debit amount each month and could ask them to reduce the amount they take accordingly? Could be - if you're lucky - that you are in credit to them. If so - ask them to send you a cheque for that credit - so smile sweetly at them over the phone and explain circumstances and hope you get a nice helpful person who knows where you are coming from and will expedite the sending of that cheque.

    NB: I've done a post on my blog on budget/simple living website links - check them out - you might discover some useful stuff in your reading. Click on my "name" here for link to my homepage. Its the 20 April posts you are looking for - look on right-hand sidebar for "Tranche 2 - food links" and "Budget/simple living links".
  • Paparika
    Paparika Posts: 2,476
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    Council Tax, (you have to ask but they don't always give)

    You can ask to defer one months payment.
    wonders if you can do the same with the mortgage is defer for one month?
    Life is about give and take, if you can't give why should you take?
  • mandymad
    mandymad Posts: 18 Forumite
    You can do it, I have do it every month and I've got 2 kids too. Remember Martins mantra, do you need it, can you get it cheaper elsewhere...etc.
    When shopping buy the supermarkets Basic range, they're often better tasting anyway, and learn to cook, no takeaways! Shop in the last half hour of the store closing and you get lots of bargains, stock the freezer with them.
    New joby..new start....declutter and get rid of what you don't need anymore and make some cash on it, Ebay is a doddle, once you've done it then you'll be hooked.
    Good luck.
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