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[professorlamp]

Hey guys,

I've never posted on this section, thankfully I've never had too many problems in life. Recently though a rather large problem has cropped up involving my housemate which has left me to front a pretty hefty bill until he is back on his feet.

At the moment I'm working a 30 hour job which I've only just started, it's weekly pay but I haven't been paid yet as it's still the first week.
To cut to the chase, I need some ways either on or offline to make a small bit of cash just to get by with extra things.

At the moment I'm writing reviews on a website (If you're interested, I'll gladly recommend you and that helps out a bit more aswell). after a certain amount of points has been earned from reviewing, you get a £20 amazon voucher, so that is going to be my method of spending money on my own personal interests such as books and things.

Any tips you guys can give to saving money aswell is GREATLY appreciated. I have curtains on my windows and doors to better conserve heat
I NEVER put the heating on, I spend as little as I can on food a week (£10) and walk everywhere instead of busses.

I'm not interested in selling my items, a large amount of my stuff has sentimental value but no monetary value (like my D&D campaigns hurhur).
So...

Money saving tips?
Money making ideas?

[lordcooper]

Dog walking.  Busy/lazy people will sometimes pay a surprising amount to have someone else walk their dog.  It'll make you money a lot faster than some review site would, and you get a bit of exercise to boot.

[Max White]

The $25 shopping list.
Please note: Costs can further be cut by buying in bulk. It will result in a slightly higher cost/trip, but last much longer than a week, leading to lower cost/time.

Also, buy a bike and use it to get around. Fuel costs to much to justify in most cases.

[Muz]

Pfft.. heating. I just got some thick sheets and used my laptop under it. Never had a problem with heating (though people assumed I was constantly masturbating being under the covers with my laptop all the time). Works better with a cheap laptop too, those are the heatiest.

[Mullet Master]

Usually you can only save until a certain baseline level, then you'll need more income. If you really can't afford your rent plus + utilities, you need more income, now.
In this post I use $ but that is because it is easiest to type on my keyboard. I think what I say is pretty universal.

While a $25/week food budget is possible on a very short time frame, you'll find out that food is pretty expensive and expecting that little expenditure is unreasonable. What is inevitably going to happen is you are going to make a big plan, and get to the store and items A, B, and C are 200% of the price you were expecting.You either don't get the items, and end up with absolutely bare bones meals for the week, or end up spending more and throwing off your budget.

That being said, food is the easiest to control living expenses. No snacks, keep things as basic as possible. There's a huge world of easy to find information on this out there.

As far as entertainment budget, if you seriously don't have the money, then this needs to be $0 until you get more money. Unfortunate fact of life. If you get said amazon voucher, you should sell it to one of your friends or a random person for as close to par value as you can get. The library is still free almost everywhere, and the internet has more entertainment for free than anyone could consume in a lifetime.

Liquid dish soap (not dishwasher-machine soap) is extremely harsh to use in long term but is extremely cheap, and can be used for ordinary hand soap, body wash, and shampoo. A little goes a very long way since it is so concentrated. It also does as good as many other household cleaners.

Laundry can go a lot longer than you think without washing.

[Muz]

Stuff like this is kind of complex. Without food and entertainment, you'll always feel demotivated and look too crummy to get a decent job. Cheap food will eventually ruin you, you should at least get a balanced diet, or enough to feel ok.

But you can probably get some ok entertainment for free (e.g. DF/internet) and grab french fries off cafes.

[professorlamp]

Hey guys thanks for the replies

Muz, I have a job that I'm satisfied with that managed to pay what I need. It's only now that my housemate's gone for a bit that I'm in a predicament, before that I was comfortably living. Damn housemates.

[Xeron]

You could look for stuff on sales.That's what we usually do around here.
By the way,what review site ?I am absolutely intrigued

[weenog]

Figure out the difference between want and need.  Acquire only what you need, only when you need it, and by the most inexpensive means possible.  Yes, keeping your morale up to avoid going crazy is a need, but no, avoiding long stretches of boredom or other unhappy thoughts is not a need.

If you're having a hard time figuring out the difference between what you want and what you need, try gathering together everything you feel you need to survive and prosper.  Once you've got your collection together, pack all of it into one or more containers, and pare it down if it won't all fit inside.  Once it's packed, pick it up - pare it down again if you can't - and carry it around for several hours. Run with it like you're fleeing an angry dog or trying to catch a nearly-missed bus. Climb stairs with it. Do your errands like shopping or anything else you'd need to do with it.  If you're getting tired too quickly, or the weight or size of what you're carrying is getting in the way while you do things, pare it down and try again.  Keep at it until you strike a workable balance between having access to a thing, and having to carry its weight and the space it takes up.  By that point you should have a pretty good idea of what you really do need in order to remain alive, and sufficiently functional that you can still make things happen.

I don't know if it will help you, but here's a list of the things I kept (or in a few cases, sought out) several months ago when I knew I was facing homelessness.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

• backpack
• duffel bag with waterproof cover
• sturdy boots
• wrist watch with alarm
• towel
• pillow case
• medication, vitamin and mineral supplements (to cope with poor diet and a deficiency problem I have)
• small tent
• sleeping bag and bag pad (pad for less soreness and bruising, and reduces heat loss through the ground)
• cell phone, and USB and wall outlet charge cords for the phone
• solar+hand crank powered emergency radio, with built-in USB charge port for the phone
• sewing kit
• laptop computer, and wall outlet charge cord for same
• water bottle
• pocket knife
• bladed multi-tool
• small plastic tarp
• bar soap
• stick antiperspirant
• shampoo
• tooth brush and toothpaste
• comb
• razor
• underwear (two weeks' supply)
• socks (two weeks' supply)
• pants (3 pairs)
• t-shirts (4)
• jacket
• winter pants
• hat
• gloves
• bank card for checking account with a couple hundred dollars in it
• all forms of ID
• The Princess Bride DVD and the Bible (morale boosters for sanity's sake)
• 5-foot walking stick (support when my bad knee gives out, chosen instead of a cane for self-defense purposes and its myriad utility functions)
• bicycle, tire pump, pressure gauge, lock, front and rear lights, and spare batteries for the lights
• fork and spoon

Those, a stubborn streak, and resourcefulness born of desperation were enough to get me halfway across the continental US to a city with a better economic climate, keep me healthy and presentable enough to find a job, and hold it down long enough to get into the apartment I'm sitting in right now (with no pain-in-the-ass roommates  ).

[Metruption]

x

[weenog]

That is frugality I will never live up to.

I wouldn't have expected to be able to, either.  But I reached the point where my options were live with minimal resources or don't live at all, and I'm too mean and stubborn to go down without a fight.  I probably could have made do with even less than what I did take with, but I wanted work and to get back into a proper home, not simply to survive.  Hard to get called for a job interview when you don't have a phone number, you know?  And you can get away with going to a job interview when you haven't showered in a week, but it won't go over well if you smell like you haven't showered in a week.

[DarkWolfXV]

Saving money? Depending on how bad you need money, you can do these:

Simple:
- Use shower instead of bathtub because if you do it quickly you waste less water
- When brushing teeth dont turn on your drain and let the water weep, just get a cup of it.
- Turn off lights in house everywhere where it is not required
- Collect rainwater for purposes like watering plants etc.

Tricky:
- Dont flush your toilet unless it stinks really bad
- Be economic with your toliet paper, try to use max 2-3 pieces per defecation
- Dont eat snacks like chocolate, icecream, chips, etc.
- Dont eat in restaurants or fast-foods because often its kinda pricy if you want to save cash
- Dont invite anyone, because they usually want to eat something etc and you have to give them something.

Difficult (These can have negative impact on your health):
- Wash yourself only when totally needed (Once per week), try to use a strong deodorant.
- Eat only whats really needed to survive, plan on eating something nutritious and cheap, only 3 meals per day.

The higher the difficulty, the more the morale is hurt. The simple level can be done by anyone really, even if the person doesnt need to save money. Try to be sane.

[weenog]

- Wash yourself only when totally needed (Once per week), try to use a strong deodorantantiperspirant.

Fixed that for you. If you can't wash as often as you'd like, you want to be less sweaty, not simply try to mask the smell of your sweat as it accumulates.  Speaking of which, if you can't/don't wash often, be very careful about overheating. Use minimal blankets and dress as lightly as you can get away with.