Hello everyone.
My fundings of 3 years are about to finish and I already know that I will need an extra 6 months or even 1 year. Not being paid, especially in a foreign country (in the UK, I m from france), is another big worry for completing the PhD. Is there any possibility for fundings to be extended? Is anyone got an idea? Thanks a lot and good luck to everyone.

I'm in a similar situation to you, though a UK student, and for me any extension of funding is very unlikely. Have you spoken to your supervisor about this? It might be that you can perhaps earn money by doing demonstrations or a bit of part-time lecturing?

My funding runs out in October and I'm told there is NO chance of it being extended. it seems slightly stupid that they only provide 3 years worth of funding when very few people actually finish in this time!

Poca - it is a nightmare alright but knowing of it in advance and at least starting to make allowances will help. As one of the other posters said, it is stupid only providing 3 years funding when the average is 4.5 years. There are a few things
1. Make your supervisor aware of the situation - sounds obvious, but you would be surprised! There might be a side project that you can participate to make up the lost cash. It may cut into your primary research time but that is a necessity.
2. Start thinking of the worst case scenario i.e. that your funding is cut. In doing this, I would suggest looking at the notion of looking for grants, even from your home country. Just cos you are almost finished, it doesn't mean that you can't apply. Where I am from, you can apply for a grant even in the middle of your Phd but restricted to 3 years of doing so.
3. Personal - I would deffo start thinking the worst option and start looking into getting part-time work. You are lucky in one respect that this is the time when teaching jobs are advertised.
In short, and without being condescending, at this point of your phd, you are responsible for your own welfare. As reading from the forums you will see that there are a lot of people in the same boat i.e. we are working full/part-time jobs.
One option that maybe open and give you a bit of breathing space is to go part-time on the PhD, move home (where you might have a better knowledge and lets be fair, chance of getting a job) and finishing the Phd from there. Do you actually need to be on campus at this stage?
In short, with the way funding is going, unless you are almost out the door or working on a side project, I can't see any current funding being continued. I am sorry if that sounds harsh, but hey, thems be the blows! I would first of all request a meeting with your supervisor on MONDAY (no delay!) and get his/her take ... you'd never know - I could be wrong and they might have funding set aside for "A new printer/photocopier" (What? Misappropriations of funding in a college ha ha)
Good luck and sorry if I sound offensive ... its a Friday and the cold beer has gone straight to the skull

Thank you all for your replies, even if it s not super positive. I m meeting with my supervisor this week. he already proposed a full time job in a new project but I am not sure a FT job + FT PhD is a good solution. I ll try to find a part time, and maybe a grant (thanks Bonso!).

If I were you I'd jump at the chance. My sup has said she has nothing for me. Plus, if the supervisor in the new project is the same supervisor, then he'll cut you some slack when it comes to doing PhD work.

Poca - don't be dismissive of taking the FT job if offered by the supervisor. Sure, it might mean altering plans a bit, but there would be side benefits.
1. If up to the challenge, it will show that maybe you are up to Post-doc work and come finishing time of the PhD, you might get kept on in this role
2. If the job is with your supervisor, you know the working environment already so won't have the whole situation of trying to acclimatise into new surroundings. On a practical level, I would assume you'd be working from the same offices so there would be no change there (getting used to new surroundings is stressful enough).
Maybe, just maybe, if you do get offered a similar post, take a month or two away from the main PhD stuff and get a hold on the job and get into a routine. This is a change to the usual routine but trust me, Poca, if you got to this point of your PhD, you will be capable of taking another step up. It might mean pushing the PhD finish a few months back, but rather that than running completely out of cash and not being able to finish at all.
As regards part-time jobs, yeah, it would be cool to have a job at a DVD rental and become this generation's version of Randal from Clerks ... take out all yer PhD frustrations on the customers