How do you manage when money is short.
At the minute hubby is on the sick and will be for probably 4 weeks, that means we have to to live on sick pay to get us through. You have your bills to pay each month, mortgage, Gas/Electricity, etc these are things that are a priority, next is your food which changing what you buy, buying cheaper options help a lot, then you have your hobbies/fun these are things that can be put to one side until things are a little better on the money side.
Knowing we were going to be short of cash I decided to phone a few of the company's we pay to see what we could do as we have always been on time with our payments, Its definitely worth phoning around to see if they can make that month easier for you as some of them will be very helpful as long as you have a good record with them.
I first phoned my mortgage as its the biggest payment I make each month, I wasn't holding my breath as there usually pretty strict with there payments. I spoke to an adviser filling them in with what was happening and when we expected it to be sorted, I was shocked to hear I had been paying a little more on each mortgage payment for quite sometime (sometimes I do that, I make it up so not dealing with loose change) I was told I can cancel this months payment then continue as usual the following month when things would be a lot easier.
I then went and checked my Gas/Electricity account to see what I could do there, I saw I was in credit and was able to withdraw some, £140 coming my way and still in credit.
That's a massive £340 saving straight away this month, that's nearly one weeks wage sorted. I can cut down on food and stick to meals that don't cost as much such as,
Omelettes
Jacket Potatoes
Pasta meals
Rice meals
We will be having a lot more meat free days which will also help our diet. Plus I will be buying a lot less treats for a month which will help my daughter and lodger, they can empty my treat cupboard quicker than a swarm of locusts.
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Since i was recently laid off i did the same as you and checked all places i could possibly put off untill my EI comes in ! And i actually found out on one of my credit cards and one of loans i was actually paying insurance every month , that covers you if you have leave to work for no fault of your own , so now im busy dealing them and will have at least 2 of monthly expenses paid for me by insurance , every little bit helps ! And of course no going out which also saves on gas, and eating alot of tuna helper ! Lol ! Hope your hubby has a quick recovery ! And you have much luck on steemit !! 👍😉
Now that would help a few good posts lol I can hope or dream. Hope things get easier for you to :)
Thanks ! Theres some that i just cant pay and will have to pay double next month , but theres nothing i can do about it 😉
I agree you do what you have to to get through. Good luck :)
Check out http://www.pennilessparenting.com/. This is a friend of my wife's who does a lot of frugal stuff. She has four kids to feed on not much money, and seem to do a good job.
I hope that helps.
Thank you I will take a look :)
I once ate Campbell's soup for a month. I used to do a lot of couponing and one month I scored about 100 cans of their chunky soup for free. Last year I bought 10 bottles of Tide laundry detergent and received a free gas gift card for about $2 less than what I spent.
I've found that stocking up on great deals has helped a lot. Today I don't coupon all the time but I do skim the sites for their outstanding deals. Especially on canned food items and personal hygiene.
My family has frequently received baskets of body washes, hair care, and other products as gifts. :)
This probably doesn't help you this month and depending on where you live it might not be an option but I hope it might help others.
I personally quit couponing all the time because it is time consuming and saving $5 isn't worth 2 hours of my time.
I will. Be looking for the odd coupon this month thank you for reminding me. As they say every little bit helps :)
In my home when things are wrong I always stay calm and always say the same. God squeezes but does not hang, it seems a lie, something always happens that we come out of situations.
Many times it is a matter of faith.
Excellent post dear friend @ karenb54, I am happy for you to read this good news.
I how he's on my side as he ever listens when I ask. Thank you hun :)
Great post Karen and what savings you have made are a credit to you. I do hope things get better soon. Good luck
Thank you :)
Well done! We're pretty much on a shoestring, as is... part of being self-employed with no scheduled income, we just kind of take it as it comes. Around here, the hardest part is making the electricity bill in winter when we are paying for (electric) heat. Dream of the day when we will actually have some money in SAVINGS... what a concept!
Would be great not having to worry, We often go through these time with hubby being a bricklayer. We try to save but doesn't lay long. Hopefully one day we both will have a bit to put aside :)
Do you have Salvation Army? here they and some church groups collect food items and give them to the needy, if that is available to you it may be worth a try.
Good to see you letting your poor hubby recuperate before you start pranking him again.
Thankfully we are not that yet, I'm Spending my times thinking up a few more pranks lol
any help helps, Pride dosn't cook well, or look nice on a plate. You can always repay/replace when things improve.
I totally agree, ill consider that if things get any worse :)
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I'm sure a lot of people will find this useful these days. Sign of the times I think!
Its a sad time, there are people much worse off than me
Yes I heard a lady on the radio who said she hadn't eaten in 4 days because she couldn't afford it and there was no food bank near her and she had no money to travel!
That is terrible, this shouldn't be happening.
No not in this country in the 21st century but it seems it is!
All down to our loving caring government
Exactly they just don't care.
They care even less for the disabled.
If you live within walking distance, I've read in an article that a pensioner lived super cheap by buying exclusively from the Tesco daily clearance items. She found the time when the items get reduced and picked up her meals for pennies.
I think there is a second reduction in price even later in the evening too.
I live to far away and you haven't got a chance in Asda there 3 inch thick whilst the assistant is marking them down.