Stretching $8 for a week!

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-27-2003
Stretching $8 for a week!
8
Fri, 07-08-2005 - 6:14pm
Hi- I'm new here, but I am hoping that someone can give me some advice. My dh and I entered into a DMP this past month. The money for that has already been drafted out of our checking account. One of the creditors we put on the DMP was a credit line account for an old checking account I had closed. Since it was past due, the bank autodrafted the amount out of our current checking account (something my DMP said they shouldn't be able to do without our authorization, but they did anyway). I have been to my bank to complain, I have called the bank 1-800 number and I have called the DMP and no one can help me. Basically, since that extra $78 was unexpectedly drafted out of our checking account, we are left with $8 in the account to last us a week! Has anyone else had struggles with creditors when they were just starting their DMP? Any tips on making $8 stretch a week? Thanks for letting me vent...trying to become debt-free is really frustrating!
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-30-2003
Fri, 07-08-2005 - 8:54pm

Wow. And it'll all probably get fixed after next week, when you don't 'need' the money!

Huh. A week on $8. It can be done, no doubt. Is your pantry sort of full? You may have to have some, ummm, *interesting* meals, but hey-if that's what it takes! You may see if you can get some relief from your local food pantry. Don't be too proud to take help wherever it may be offered!

I haven't had to use a DMP, so I can't be much help there-I just wanted to tell you, "hang on!"\

Good luck-
Lisa

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-21-2004
Sat, 07-09-2005 - 12:07pm
I feel your pain.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-14-2004
Sat, 07-09-2005 - 3:21pm
When we are superduper low on cash, we head to the pawn shop, pawn everything possible, and then buy it back after getting paid. Only once we couldn't buy anything back, but it was better than accruing more debt. You can also post a 1-2 day quickie sale on Ebay for anything you have lying around to sell.
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-21-2004
Sun, 07-10-2005 - 10:28am
I've done that as well.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Sun, 07-10-2005 - 11:33am

You've gotten some good ideas so far. Here are some more thoughts.

Do you have gas in your car? Any food in your pantry? If you don't have to fill a car with gas, you should be able to make it, and if you have any food at all, even if it's just onions or some dried beans, you should be able to make it fairly easily.

Here are some things you can buy to help you make it through:

Pasta and sauce, but buy the sauce in a can--I discovered this not so long ago, and haven't bought a jar of sauce since--you get the same quantity and quality (buy store brand) for less than a dollar as opposed to a couple dollars for a jar. Better yet, if you have canned tomatoes you can make your own pasta sauce without spending money. Buy spaghetti or macaroni as opposed to other types of pasta, which tend to be more expensive per ounce, and remember it's gotta stretch.

Ten packages of ramen noodles can usually be gotten for $1 (I know, not healthy, but you're in desperation mode, and it's only for a week). Add any frozen veggies you have on hand to the boiling water while you cook it for a nutritional boost.

Dried beans--a package of lentils, black beans, split peas, or whatever you fancy can be bought for under a dollar. It's healthy and one package could easily feed one person a week. They have to be soaked and reconstituted (except lentils, which can be cooked straight from their dried condition), but if you plan ahead this is not a problem.

Combine with rice, and you can feed an entire family for a week.

If you have any spices in your pantry, you can spice up the beans and rice with chili powder, cumin, and other mexican spices. A package of taco seasoning (IF you already have it--don't waste your precious $8 on non-nutritive additions) can go a long way toward spicing up this dish.

If you already have cheese (too expensive to buy if you don't already have it), canned tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, etc., these can spice up the beans and rice, too.

Split pea soup is a cheap option made from dried split peas. See if your grocery store meat section will give you or sell for super cheap (50 cents or so) a ham bone that the meat's already been removed from.

If you have potatoes, they can be baked and topped with dressings you already have on hand for a handy meal. Or sliced and baked in the oven for oven fries. You probably can't buy a bag of potatoes and hope to make the $8 last a week, but you might be able to buy three or four potatoes--just make sure you weigh them first and know how much they are going to cost. Take a calculator with you, so you don't over-purchase.

I personally DON'T recommend pawn shops. They make their money by buying things at super low prices, and you will do much better by selling it yourself, even if it takes a little longer (though the 2-day ebay sale is a good idea, if you don't have to put up any money up front).Pawn shops feed on the natural desire to think that things will be better soon and then you'll get back all your old stuff. But it's really just a very expensive loan with the very real risk that you will lose your stuff anyway, having only received a very small amount of money for it.

I do recommend yard sales, but that takes at least a week to plan, and then you'll be past the crisis point.

Think of this week as a fun and challenging puzzle. Hm, how can I make $8 stretch to the absolute limit? Make a plan and see if you can even come *under* the $8 (and then snowflake what's left LOL).

You can do this! Blessings,

Heather

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-27-2003
Sun, 07-10-2005 - 11:51am
Thanks for all your suggestions everyone! You all had very good ideas. I have 1/2 tank of gas in my car and by taking peanut butter sandwiches to work everyday and just going straight to work and back, I should be able to make it by Friday. We have some groceries in the house (lots of ramen and canned veggies and grits and some ground beef and tv dinners), so I think if I can get my husband to stay away from the McDonald's Dollar Menu we might be able to make it. Thanks for the tip of getting the canned pasta sauce and regular spaghetti noodles. I have some canned tomatoes and beans in the pantry too. I never thought of putting them together. Maybe we should pretend we have just $8 in future weeks and save some money!
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Sun, 07-10-2005 - 12:46pm

You have grits--assuming you also have flour, salt, and pepper (and oil for cooking), you can make "Georgia french fries," which might keep your husband out of the Micky D's line.

Cook the grits according to package instructions. Place in a shallow pan, about a half-inch deep, and refrigerate until firm. Cut into strips. Mix flour, salt, and pepper, and bread the grits with it. Pan fry in a little oil.

These are amazingly yummy. My kids and dh devour them.

Have fun!

Heather

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-27-2003
Sun, 07-10-2005 - 11:12pm
Thanks for the recipe! I have never heard of that before, but I'll definatly have to try it! I feel a lot better about our pantry now. I remembered that we had bought some dvds at Wal-Mart not long ago and still hadn't opened them, so we took them back tonight and they gave us a gift card for the amount. So, we got to buy more groceries! Yay!