Towards the end of each month when you are waiting for your wages to come through or the student loan to be processed you can find yourself running low on cash. There are some ways to survive; below are a few tips for getting through this:
- Get your cash-back from everyone who owes you
- Calculate how much you really have
- Make a mini budget and stick to it
- Use only cash for the next few days – don’t use credit cards. Lock up your cards until you have some money
- Keep an eye out when you are walking. There is often money to be found on the streets, it may not be much but it all adds up. Supermarket trolleys which require £1 to use will sometimes have the coins left in – keep your eyes peeled.
- Pay off your essentials first – if you have rent to pay, pay it
- Stick to using only your free minutes and texts
- In terms of food, focus on keeping your stomach full rather than a healthy eating regime. Read the frugal living websites and the food section for some advice
- Don’t start thinking just because you are in a little bit of debt, it’s okay to get into some more
- Beg friends (and family) to feed you
- Count down the hours till the money comes through
How to tell if your debt is getting serious
Signs that your debt is getting more serious can be identified when you can sympathise with the following:
- You are too scared to work out how much you actually owe
- You avoid opening bank statements
- You can barely manage to repay the credit card minimum repayment amount
- You have started to charge everyday items to your credit card
- You are taking out loans and credit agreements to pay for other debts
- Your debt is starting to affect your mental health and you feel unable to cope
- You get angry letters from your creditors
You need to admit you have a problem before you can sort out your current situation.
