Money, money, money...

Former Member

thanks Abba, im gonna have chiquitika or something stuck in my head all day now

also, asking for a friend, and ACTUALLY asking for a friend, i don't have any pride so don't you worry I won't mind begging for help if I actually need any

ANYWAY my friend was barely scraping by as it was, but with the can't afford to stay alive crisis she won't be able to afford to stay alive. She's already on all the benefits she can claim, was already living as absolutely cheaply as possible and trust me she does, so she doesn't know what to do

i was helping her with money but she's not happy taking it, and to thicken the plot even more I have feelings for her and idk if it's reciprocated but if she ever did in the future I wouldn't want giving her handouts to be something that would make things weird, but im gonna keep helping her for as long as I can afford to

all I can think of is her maybe seeing if anywhere else in the country has cheaper rent, but moving is expensive and being jobless while looking for a new job somewhere else is expensive and it'd kill me to see her move away to be honest - but im dumfounded and any suggestions at all would help!!

thank you so much!!

Former Member

she has said, not as a joke, absolutely 100% serious, she's thinking of living in her car and getting a gym membership so she can have showers and wifi somewhere - it's absolutely bonkers and sleeping every night in a car can't be safe, is that even legal?

Former Member

Hi there @Owl 👋 thanks for sharing. It’s so devastating to hear effects of the living crisis, and the number of people who resonate. Glad there are individuals who are supportive and understanding. ❤️

I don’t whether your friend has reached out to charities, they may be able to provide more information about entitlements or developing employability skills. You may also be able to find resources to support your friend, in order to help her to utilise all her available resources.

Former Member

Hiya @Owl , i'll start by saying you sound like the most incredible friend and potential partner if she'll have you one day!! Have you heard of turn2us, they are a charity that provide financial advisors and useful tools such as a benefits calculator to triple check if there's anything else she could be entitled to as well as a grants search. I know you will have probably exhausted this option but does she have any family members that may be willing to take her in until she can find work again? You are very generous for lending her some money, and maybe you could suggest she use this to put toward small investments - like a training course for nail design or something like that as a small side hustle, if she's interested in that sort of thing and has the time, or some professional clothing for job interviews etc. I also don't mean this to assume that she is spending the money you have provided on trivial things, i'm just offering anything in case you haven't exhausted it yet!

Azziman

Sounds like she's really having a hard time of it, and she definitely won't be the only one unfortunately. Glad that you're willing to help her out, she's lucky to have someone like you looking out for her. You're right - moving especially without a job or money is very difficult unfortunately, even if it's to a cheaper place. Fiona and Amber have made some really good suggestions - I think family might be a good place to turn in times like this if possible, because sorting out rent could be a big lifeline, and avoiding living in her car would be ideal.

Former Member

thank you for the replies everyone, it means so so much!!!

thanks for the shout out to all the charities, the only one i knew about was shelter so that's really helpful and we'll check those out together!!

investments sound like a sensible idea, though perhaps unaffordable at least at the minute. however there are plenty of free courses so thanks for the shout out!

unfortunately she can't turn to family for very complicated reasons, but i'm gonna help as much as i can for as long as i can

again thanks everyone!! we'll definitely check out some charities and try to find some free/cheap courses or ones you can get loans for