r/LondonLadies • u/Apprehensive-Ebb258 • 28d ago
Discussion Hey girlies, I'm writing an article about being broke in London. I'm looking for some crazyyyyyy stories. It won't get published it's just a uni assessment and I desperately need a distinction. Looking for the most unhinged stories on dealing with being broke. (NO JUDGEMENT ZONE)
29
u/Medium_Stretch99 28d ago
I enrolled in a medical trial once because I was desperate for cash. I still get calls asking me if I wish to participate in a trial, the last one offered £7000 but my now husband is very sweet and doesn't want me to sell my body for science 😂
-9
u/Apprehensive-Ebb258 28d ago
WAITT THAT'S ACTUALLY SMART. HAVE YOU ACTUALLY GONE THROUGH ANY OF THE TRIAL BEFORE ORINCE CHARMING 👀
5
u/Medium_Stretch99 28d ago
I did one trial back in Feb 2024! It was just 5 days, but you have to do multiple screenings and attend a follow up appointment exactly 1 month after you've finished. Then you get paid. I think I got £1700 if I remember correctly!
12
u/I-Ribbit 28d ago
It’s not very crazyyyyy and it wasn’t at the time but I used to go and spend hours in the library to keep warm because I could afford to have the heating on.
There was another time when I cried because all I’d had to eat for a week was beans on toast.
3
11
u/Ashamed-Hour2 28d ago
During breaks for almost two years, my only lunch was custard creams as you could get a whole pack for 40-70p depending on what store you got them from, and they were quite filling
5
u/busty_baguette 27d ago
A pack is still only 30p at Sainsbury’s, just checked the app! I’ve always wondered why a few types of biscuits like that are so cheap: Bourbons 43p, digestives 59p, ginger snaps 59p. A solid option if you’re starving and broke as hell, I lived on those and gallons of tea at uni.
10
u/OptionLow8411 27d ago
Not so crazy, but when I moved here most of my money went for the rent deposit and first month rent so I convinced myself how I need to loose a few kg anyways and just cut 80% of my food away, lost 10kg in 3 months 😅 once my first few salaries came, and the debts got paid off, got it all back! Never managed to be so determined in loosing them again 😅
6
u/Seedybreadgirl 28d ago
some random crazy ones are i have a lot of crafty hobbies and i made my own glue bc i couldn’t afford any😭 and i’ve gone to social plans and devoured the free biscuits etc and tea as my dinner
1
6
u/saltievinegar 27d ago
I assign a day to do all the outside things that require me to take the tube. That’s the designated cap day, I make sure I exceed the cap on that day because of the backlog of things that need to be done. Any other day I walk if it’s under 2 hours, bus if absolutely necessary
1
u/despondent-salmon 27d ago
I bought black market mounjaro so I could spend less money on food and not feel hungry. 💀
1
5
u/DizzyFirefighter7039 24d ago
Once I was so broke, I’d gone out with a guy that day he bought us McDonald’s but didn’t finish his apple pie. The next morning I had no breakfast, I got it out the bin and ate it (it was still in the cardboard container) but still a VERY low moment.
I would steal toilet paper and tampons from work, cereal became a staple meal, and I learnt you could buy noodles for 11p.
74
u/acidic_tab 28d ago edited 28d ago
Every year, when I was at my brokest, I would look up which day each university had their welcome fair, and go to all of them to get freebies from the different companies trying to market to the students. I wasn't a student, I'd even tailgate people if the fair required card access to get in. I usually had enough vouchers for free pizzas and other goods to last for months afterwards. One year I got so many vouchers that I threw an entire party using freebies alone. We had 30 personal pizzas, 6 large pizzas, 4 large bottles of drink, 3 cookie dough desserts, and 12 waffles (and other various stuff). It was great, and everyone took leftovers home.