It's STILL tough and not getting better - so how are we coping?

Sequeena · 16 July 2010 at 1:42AM

Hope you don't mind me joining in

I had to give up work last year and have since developed depression and been put on anti depressants (going through a very stressful court case atm) and have been declared 'unfit for work' by my GP and 2 mental health nurses

We're surviving on OHs wage but it's always one thing after another. I'm down to one meal a day this week just to make sure we can get by and I've been struck down with gastroenteritis so I'm very poorly :mad:

I'm only 21. I should be out partying or something :eek:

jamanda · 16 July 2010 at 5:46AM

Sorry to hear about everybody's job woes. It's not a nice place to be. DJ and I seem to take it in turns for redundancy, with stress ongoing continually for one reason or another. At the moment DH is working in a permanent job (but it is related to building sector and not a lot of money), and I have been unemployed since last August until 6 weeks ago when I finally managed to get some temp work.

All the temp money is being put on one side for the "rainy days", although we barely manage on DH's wage. I love the temping job but unfortunately it is in the public "vulnerable" sector, so I can't see it lasting. I am, however, thanking my lucky stars that I at last have something coming in for a bit. Am trying to build up stocks of food that won't go off, garden is producing and I'm pickling and jamming as fast as I can. Siege mentality all the way in this house.

boultdj · 16 July 2010 at 6:59AM

JackieO wrote: »

I am a pensioner, and probably of my age, was brought up in an era of always having a little bit tucked away for a rainy day.I manage fairly well at the moment, but do watch all the time the prices of things .There are only so many things that one can 'downsize' to labelwise.I cook from scratch virtually all my food ,mainly because I'm not keen on processed food and like to know what I'm eating I suppose in my food bill the fresh fruit and veg is my biggest expense I can streeeetch meat to a good distance at times :rotfl:but fresh fruit is not stretchable.
I make my own cakes and I suppose the heating bills are probably the main worry for most pensioners.I talk each night to my DD's ma-in-law who lves in London and she tells me how her and her husband have had to cut back on lots of things over the past few months,but the utilities heat,light,phone are the things that are hard to economise on. We have just had a quite hard winter and I think we all dread another like it.I don't waste cash and am careful with what I buy.Being a pensioner means that you can't 'do overtime' or 'extra hours' If, like my friend Margaret, she has to think twice before she buys almost anything now.
I can live on what I have at the moment and don't go without much but then I have few overheads and don't have the expences that a lot of families have .My youngest DD has five children and both her and her husband woork to feed and clothe them I help out where I can and the children are very good and sensible and know that if mum says no its because there's no spare money for them. I do believe that things will get tougher and we haven't 'bottomed out' from this recession yet.With pensioners, any savings we have because of the poor rates of interest means their value has been eroded and often what you hoped to get at the end of the year in interest which maybe you thought would help pay for Christmas and extras for your family suddenly isn't there anymore.As I say at the moment I am o.k. and can live within my means but a big heating bill or a sudden unexpected expense could change it all around.Most pensioners live(or exist) on less than £9k per year There are those who have more, but the majority that I know some even have less so something like a new winter coat or some shoes could put a big hole in their budget.At Christmas for presents for my older friends I do buy things that I know will help their budget out during the coming months .I make lots of my presents and do small baskets of 'treats' of nice soap,shampoo,ect or home baked cakes or shortbread.A nice box of chocolates are nice to receive but a nicer jar of jam or marmalade is better and lasts longer.So if you have any older friends this year try to perhaps buy something that they wouldn't normally buy,in the past I have bought a tin of salmon and some small tins of peaches or apricots for my friends and they are appreciated far more than a tin of Roses believe me.:D

I started doing food hamper's for Mum+Dad as xmas/birthday present's after my stepdad died and Mum finely told me how much she was strugaling to buy thing's, as it was I took advantage of bogof's to do the hamper's but it did mean starting very early in the year to do 2 of them, now it's just Dad I find I'm making his bigger each year 'cause I'm so use to doing 2.

charlies-aunt · 16 July 2010 at 7:04AM

ginnyknit wrote: »

. Oh and I wore my new pith helmet - very smart look I found, got some admiring glances well people were actually bemused. :rotfl:

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

I like to think that you go with the full safari look ginny - safari jacket, knee length shorts etc

Are we going to kit ourselves out with deerstalkers and magnifying glasses when the weather turned nippy.

TBH I'm in the frame of mind that I'll give anything a go . . . long gone are the days when certain things had to be brands - I buy Basic brands and cook from scratch, if I can, I forage any of the ingredients - brambles, wild apples, wild garlic etc. Everything is well worn, repaired, remade, patched or does double duty...but what the hell! we're still hanging on and happier now than when we were high earners (add to that highly stressed, frazzled, time-poor)

Lovely to hear from the long time lurkers

I love this thread - it has certainly helped me through some tough times and everyone here is so inspiring and uplifting....very motivational. Whatever your difficulty, some has been there before and can offer advice....you're never alone in your troubles

:)

Off to work soon - have a great day everyone!

northwest1965 · 16 July 2010 at 7:15AM

AnnieG wrote: »

Hello
Reporting for OS duty on this lovely new thread :j

I had an accidental NSD today.... but will make up for it at the weekend with DS's birthday.
I actually considered going to the Next sale for about 5 minutes, then realised that it would be like going to the most jam packed jumble sale in the world :eek: and that I don't actually need anything!

Oh it wasnt just me then, I had the thought for less time than you though:rotfl:. It is like a jumble sale isnt it, I just dont get it, half that stuff has never seen a Next store in its life.

Great new thread, I dont contribute very much I'm afraid but I do read every day and use all your suggestions. You are all great!

esmf73 · 16 July 2010 at 7:19AM

Don't know if this will help anyone, but I just thought I'd let you know how I am going to cope with the school holidays. We have 6 weeks of summer hols and I have a 6yr and 4 1/2 yr old (both boys).

I've gone through their toys and put half of them away for a rainy day when I'll swop the toys over. Then I've made sure that all the crayons / pencils are usable and I have plenty of wallpaper (cheap) for them to draw on. What we do is pick a topic every week - so the first week might be knights in shiny armour. Then what we'll do is have / make some stories about it, spend one day going out and visiting a castle (with packed lunch etc), make helmets and shields and swords and I let them play. We already have two plastic castles (from charity shops) so I just let them play and throw in a comment to lead them on to the next stage every now and then.

This year I think we'll be doing Racing cars, nature (my eldest has got into this at school!), gardening, Knights in armour, Sports Day (races with kids friends and I'll get them to make prizes) and then I admit - there is always one cop out week - spending time with Grandparents, vegging out at home, shopping for school shoes etc...!

This really helps me keep my sanity - and I always have a few extra topics up my sleeve just in case - moon, aliens, bugs etc!

lucielle · 16 July 2010 at 7:33AM

That's a really good idea. Mine are getting too old for things like that.
L

ceridwen · 16 July 2010 at 7:34AM

Just to say "HI":wave: to all the "new faces" on this thread - by now too many to mention individually:D

A little thought for the day - for anyone who fancies it - try googling for "Depression Cooking" + "YouTube" and up will come clips from Clara telling people how to cook the recipes she knows of from the Depression Era.

Specifically - you may like to start with "Great Depression Cooking: Poorman's Feast" on

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXpouL9Q1iY

Kittikins · 16 July 2010 at 7:47AM

ESMF73 - what a marvellous idea to have themed weeks for the holidays. I only have 1 week with DD at home over the summer due to holidays etc, but I think a theme for half term in October when it's bound to be miserable weather sounds like a fantastic idea!

I've been a very long-time lurker and don't think I've ever posted on here, so HELLO everyone

I'm a single mum, trying to give DD a good life, and my friends joke about how tight I am and such a bargain hunter to the point of silliness, but hey, my cupboards may be full of dented tins but by doing that I've managed to afford 2 holidays for us this year!

I've got a long way to go though to be as frugal/OS as a lot of people on here, and am certainly learning to tighten my belt.

Prudent · 16 July 2010 at 8:03AM

Spendless wrote: »

I can't work from home as the job requires me to physically be there. It's an 'office junior' type of position but requires someone mature enough to cope as the place is sooooooo muddled and not following a routine. It suits me as I've had to start again after having kids and they get what they want. Hubby is working from home for the 2 days I work which is the most he'll be able to do and I'm not even sure how that will pan out in the hols, here's hoping they aren't a nightmare, so I wouldn't want to work longer cos I'll need to come home and relieve him of juggling working around the kids. He may have to work later in the evenings because of this. I'm just going to be very busy next week! School hols are only 5 1/2 weeks long here this year so am hoping it's not too difficult to get thru.

I have often wondered if reducing school holidays to shorter blocks would help parents so it was interesting to read your post. I am a teacher and currently on seven weeks holiday. sometimes its eight in summer. We don't get half term breaks though. I really struggle with my health as we can work long hours for long blocks. I am also a single mum which brings its own demands. Shorter but more frequent holidays would really help. I work with special needs children and some of the parents feel fairly worn out at the end of the summer hols as it is a long time to cope. I do wish they would change the pattern of the hols.

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It's STILL tough and not getting better - so how are we coping?

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