Payday Advance - How to get by on £500 per month

For many us who are feeling the credit crunch, times are hard. We might run a car, have a whole family of mouths to feed, and even have a little debt to repay too. Once everything else has been paid off, what we have left over might not look like much to take care of our family, let alone have any fun! Taking out a Payday Advance can help in the short term for when times are tough, but in the longer term we could really use some advice on where to spend and how to save. So, for those of us who are having trouble making ends meet, this article will explore ways to make £500 stretch that little bit further.

Food Shopping

The supermarkets are as aware of the credit crunch as we are and they're scared. As a direct result, they're offering us money off our shopping. There are two great ways to save money from a normal supermarket shop beyond their in store discounts. Using the website, mysupermarket.co.uk is a great idea. It was created by moneysupermarket.com and what you do is choose your favourite supermarket and then fill your trolley. The website compares the goods in your trolley to the same trolley in other stores and tells you which supermarket is cheapest for those specific items. If you want you can then checkout your trolley and have it delivered or write your own list and go to the shop yourself. You might find that going to a different supermarket to usual saves you up to 20%.

Top tips for affordable food shopping:

• Plan meals ahead so you don't buy any 'spare' items
• Stock up on frozen food and vegetables, they're cheaper and they'll last longer
• Buy plenty of basics like pasta, rice and potatoes to bulk out meals
• Do your shop for the whole month in one go, you can do this by setting aside a few pounds for milk and bread each week and buying the rest frozen.

Other Essentials

Another way to save money on groceries and other goods is to go to a voucher code website such as vouchercodes.co.uk. All you need to do is put in a special code when you checkout your shopping and you could knock up to 50% off the price. There are always offers for a few of the major supermarkets and you can get deals on everything from clothes to furniture, so no matter what you need you're bound to find a bargain.

Clothes Shopping

Voucher code websites used in conjunction with online sales are great for buying kids clothes along with adult shoes, jackets, and anything else you might need. Charity shops can also be great for trendy bargains and if you've got a growing family, consider offering friends who also have kids' hand-me-downs.