It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

sunflower76

Well, the worst has happened and MrS has been made redundant. There is one job that he can apply for, the same one that the rest of the department are going to appy for too! To be honest although it's terrible and I've had a teary moment, I'm glad we know and that we aren't in limbo; he had a meeting about it on Wednesday, yesterday a one to one meeting and today his redundancy letter saying he will be paid until the 22nd of Feb but that he isn't expected to work this.

I've already gone into battle and un-necessary things have been cancelled; we've been frugal for a while so there were only contact lenses and MrS's mobile to cancel but it's a small saving of £25 or so in total per month.

I've balanced transfered my long term 0% debt which wasn't up for renewal until April but I thought I'd better get it done now rather than later just to protect me, I'm now good for another 16 months. I've also made sure that all of our bills are paid so no one's chasing us before we start!

I'm torn whether to cancel my veggie box as, realistically, I could get more from my money at the market, but the food miles are higher, the quality is lower and I am really reluctant to cancel my order and hurt someone else (the organic farm) as a result of my husbands redundancy. I don't want to lost my morals because I have less money coming in.

So? What's the plan now? I don't know, we'll just be taking it one day at a time, having lots of NoSpendDays and hopefully keeping our chins up. We can manage on one wage but it won't be easy. I need to do my meal plan so that I can do a freezer shop tomorrow. I'm just glad that I've got more wine than I know what to do with as I fear my patience is going to be stretched to the limit over the coming weeks!

[Deleted User]

mrs S you are a shining example of courage. You WILL get through

Primrose

Sunflower - so sorry about your news. You realise just how bad things are getting when every day somebody else is posting about a family redundancy on here and that's only a small percentage of the population using this site. You've done well to react positively so quickly. Let's hope your OH will be the one who gets the job although one is always conscious that this will mean bitter disappointment for all the other applicants. Meanwhile, pile on the thermals to keep your energy bills down!

glendam

Every time I flush the loo I thank G*d for enough water. and I hate being truly cold too so some heat is essential for me..

Glenda

Charis

mummysaver wrote: »

What I need is some cheese on special offer, Asda had 200g for £1 which isn't too bad, will have to have a nose on mysupermarket.com, shame it doesn't cover Somerfield and Morries and Lidl and Aldi!

Hi mummysaver. So glad you are OK after your close shave.

Re cheese, Somerfield have Cathedral City on offer (21st Jan to 3rd Feb) £2.75 fo 400g. It's a mature,well flavoured cheese that I use a lot. I tried Pilgrim's Choice this week and all I can say is Pilgrim is welcome to it. Not a patch on Cathedral City. I did check and it was cheaper than Mr T or Mr S.

However Somerfield's gammon joints at 'half price' ar not much cheaper than full price at the other two supermarkets.

scouserwench

What Weve Done so Far:

*Checked Reduced Sections of Shops for Bargains so can freeze them.
*Used Supermarket Website to Compare Prices
*Switch off things when Not in use
*Use Paper Shreddings from the Paper Shredder for Hamster Bedding and Loo Roll. (Clean Loo roll) (Only if We've run out of Proper Bedding and Am skint till end of month)
*Freeze left overs
*only Buy what we need
*Boil Kettle to Wash up
*Joined FreeCycle
*Ebay
*Only use TumbleDryer for Emergencies- We use Clothes Airer...


....Cant think of Anymore...

Bargain_Rzl

scouserwench wrote: »

*Use Paper Shreddings from the Paper Shredder for Hamster Bedding and Loo Roll. (Clean Loo roll) (Only if We've run out of Proper Bedding and Am skint till end of month)

Am I the only one who thought you were using paper from the shredder as loo roll :rotfl: until I read on a little further?

andan

Sorry to hear about your accident mummysaver and glad you are alright.

Also so sorry to hear about all the redundancies that people are experiencing at the moment, it must be an awful situation to have to go through. I hope that work comes along soon and that people do not end up in too dire straits.

mummysaver

Margaret, thank you very much for the info, I shall have a look at the website and might invest, it's always good to get a recommendation from someone who's used them.

Kidcat - glad your oh has come round about the slow cooker! Nothing like walking into a house that smells delicious and being able to eat straight away to change a person's mind! Got an enormous curry bubbling in mine at the mo, need to go add some coconut in a bit to thicken it, smells yummy! Need to whip up some of Mrs M's naan bread now (thanks again for this recipe, you were definitely a loss to the cooking profession), and cook the butter chicken for the kids, marinading at the mo. As for buying proper food at the supermarket, how about pre-empting him now and removing anything you buy from the wrapping or bags and storing it in bowls or baskets, then when you grow your own and just pop it in the fridge he'll never know the difference - sneaky, me?!

Charis - thank you I'm fine! And thanks for the tip, gotta pop over to the town where Somerfield is over the weekend, so will go in.

Scouserwench - it's amazing how a few changes can save you so much isn't it, I did think the same as BR about the loo roll though lol!

Jorgan - congrats on your new job, well done for thinking around the problem, it's so easy to get in a stew and just keep doing the same stuff, I think being OS does rely a lot on being flexible and thinking of alternatives, anyway don't be nervous, I'm sure you'll be fine!

Sunflower - I'm so sorry to hear your news, at least you still have one income and know that you can cope on it, I hope Mr S is lucky with the job application. As for the veg box, sometimes you have to let go of them, I stopped mine because the cost was becoming silly for the amount that was in it, one went up as the other went down! If you really want to keep it then perhaps you could have it delivered fortnightly or monthly instead, you would still be supporting them, but also saving yourself some money. Glad you have wine stockpiled, I never seem to keep it long enough for that, I'm sure it will help to be able to sit down and relax with a glass over the next few days and weeks.

Kittie - I take my hat off to you, you are amazing! The thing is though, when you have no choice you do just have to get on with things. A friend said to me last night that I never got het up, I just got on with life - well I try, though I do get cross or fed up or stressed like everyone else, but I do try to make the best of things usually.

dottybird_2

Hello - I've decided to lurk no more.
Back in February my DH smashed his collar bone (fell off bicycle) and was made redundant two weeks later. I work 30 hrs a week, low paid so money was really tight. Moneysaving Expert, specially you lot on old style kept me going, even tho I never posted anything.
Dh found lower paid job a month ago, is back on the bike cycling 15 miles each way to work, so fingers crossed this new job lasts.
Redundancy makes you get a grip on the spending - I hate being in debt, but the changes in our spending are for life now.
The money we used to waste without noticing!
Big hugs for everyone strugglingxxx it is really hard right now.