It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

annie123

julliff wrote: »

I am really scared now.

Like others, I don't know how we are going to cope, in fact, I don't know where to start! A small saving grace is that we don't have loads of debts, other than the Mortgage.

Dont worry, the fear goes after a while when you realise that you can cope.
I lost my job in september (no one wants a middle aged estate agent ) and I was the main breadwinner, but I have treated this as a kick up the a**e to do something else with my life I just dont know what yet! but still here and smiley, I won't let it get to me.

• Sit down, write out all the amounts going out, and see what can be cut or delayed, many recent mortgages let you take a holiday break, not ours as its 16 years old but yours might.
• The food bill is the easiest one to play with, loads of advice and info on here to help with that.
• Do look at the redundancy forum, lots of help and support there.
• Work out where your spare money went, eg: if it was going out to cinema then have evenings in instead, a rented film from the library £1 home made popcorn and maybe a homemade takeaway after, all by candle light, much nicer than sitting with loads of others on uncomfy chairs. You get the idea...
• get yourself some seeds and grow your own this year....visit the gardening forum for advice

At 46 I've done it before so I know you'll get through but if you've never had to face tough times like many are now it is very scary, but dont worry you will come out the other side and wiser for it.

((hugs)) and Good luck
xx

rosieben

mardatha wrote: »

The semi-wild ginger cat who lives in my stick box has hardly come out of the box for a week, & he is having waitress service delivered to his box.

mardatha, you're just an old softie really


pawpurs and julliff - sending positive thoughts to you both, hang in there!

mummysaver

Afternoon!

Yategirl - I hope that you get good new about DH's job

Pawpurrs - glad your DH has found something, even if it's not ideal

julieff - thinking of you hun, and your oh, what a dreadful blow happening to both of your at the same time. I hope that something comes along soon

Well the snow is still hanging around, the kids were off yesterday because of it, but today is bright sunshine! Very very glad that I had my storecupboard, but it has made me realise that I need a lot more milk if I had to last more than a couple of day, either that or ration the kids - or more like myself and the constant cups of tea! So I shall be buying some extra supplies of UHT - will have to find that a home in the garage!

Not much else to report really, did type a long post the other day but it vanished into cyberspace! Gist was about shopping around and how much it can save you, we all know that, but it was some of the price differences that really shocked me, how can supermarkets charge such varying prices?

Anyway my two biggest bargains were icing sugar at 89p in Lidl and sunflower seeds at 79p again in Lidl (these are £3 something now in Mr T's, and my kids like them as snacks and I use them in bread a lot too - but not at £3 I don't!)

Did a fab cheap dinner last night for me, roast peppers stuff with toms and garlic and herbs, with some nice hm bread and parsnip crisps as a nibbly starter with some garlic mayo - no vampires will ever trouble me! Kids tried the parsnip crisps and thought they were lovely, just as well a couple of parsnips makes so many!

elizabunny

Yategirl......pawpurrs.......julliff. What a terribly worrying time for you all. I really hope there will be some better news for you all soon. Try not to be scared though, because I believe fear freezes your mind and prevents positive and forward thinking. (Well it does this to me anyway). Also, get as much help and advice from wherever you can -sometimes people can come up with something that you might never have thought of yourself. Thinking of you all and everyone else having problems.

We finally managed to dig the car out of the snow today and popped down to the local Lidl. I have never seen it so packed before -I wondered what everyone knew that I didn't. I am trying to stick to my grocery challenge, but the urge to just go mad and stock up on everything was hard to resist:o . However, I did resist because I thought well..... if I had lived during the war and had ration coupons -then it probably wouldn't have mattered how much money I had, I wouldn't have been able to buy any extras anyway, (thanks to 'Nella' I think even I'm learning to 'dodge' now).

Hope everyone is managing to keep well and warm. Did I hear it could get down to -12c tonight or even lower?:eek:

fletch3163

Hi

I had a MSE recipe for Naan bread saved into my favourites but it's gone. Can anyone help? Am 10 pages behind so apologies if I'm requesting at a sensitive time.

[Deleted User]

I went shopping on my bike today and it was lovely getting out at last and the sun was shining too so it felt that spring isn`t too far away, I came back with 2 very heavy panniers. Dh came with me and also filled his panniers. He is so protective riding behind me lol not realising that almost all the drivers give this ample cycling granny a wide berth anyway. Must be the image I present

I bought some 3/4 length baggy jogging bottoms for £6 and that was all the excuse I needed to get me back on the qvc pilates bench. I like that bench, its on a stand and set up in a bedroom but has been sorely underused as I needed some joggers. I`m looking forward to getting the stretches done so I get supple (ish) again, I`m not into mad fitness just being able to get my tights on and to stand on one leg without wobbling

I`m part way into making some flat sheets today from 60" wide cotton fabric. I am just sewing a piece on each side and will finish with a flat seam so they wash and wear well. I`m not in the mood to do the whole job but will finish another day

I also made 3 traybakes and all into the oven at once. I don`t seem to have baked cakes for ages as we have been indulging in christmas goodies for too long and I am glad to say they are all gone. You cannot beat home made cakes and slices

My alfalfa seeds are nicely sprouted and ready to harvest tomorrow but the radish are disappointing with poor germination. oh well I have probably had the seeds too long so they have been binned and a new lot of alfalfa soaked and ready to sprout in a basic sprouting jar

I decided to use 5 leeks yesterday to make room in my fridge so prepared leek and potato soup but without milk and with a lot less water. It is in the fridge like a concentrated soup and just needs milk adding for each use. I think it will last a good 3 days

Hugs to everyone and keep the chins up

dottybird_2

Can't say how grateful I am to all you Old Stylers. We've had no electricity since 6.30 am yesterday because of the heavy snow here. But apart from not having enough milk I was well prepared even though so much snow arrived so quickly. At first I paniced a bit but we have food put by and a log burner for heat, candles, Monopoly:eek: and an ancient wind up radio.
The ~OS changes I've made over the past 6 months - mainly due to OH's redundancy have really paid off and have become so ingrained that I don't even think about doing them any more, I just do them.
Thankyou

MadamMim2013

Thought I'd share this, it might be useful??... my mum also gets "maximum usage" from her T-bags but to save energy (her own and the mains) she fills up a flask and uses that instead of boiling the kettle frequently!

Hollyberry

It's been snowing here again this afternoon, and the bits of the lawn that had begun to appear have gone white again. I think the squirrels have been out today; they have been absent all week, but I reckon those are squirrel prints along the wall. Clearly it's a bit nippy on the paws to go digging. And I think the squirrels are still confused by the number of sticks marking the planting.

The stories of the motorists stuck near Exeter have been bringing back a lot of childhood memories. We lived in the Teign Valley, and I remember my mum and I getting turned off Telegraph Hill in a blizzard. My mum reckons we could have made it home, and in fact we were about ten feet from the top when the police made us turn around. Two nights in the motel at Kennford, and we only had one book to read between us. I remember well that it was H.E. Bates short stories, and we committed an act of gross vandalism by ripping the book in half so we could both read at the same time, then swap halves. My mum almost got stuck in the same place two years later, but fired up by memories of the credit card bill at the motel, she made it back home by giving a lift to two truck drivers who had become stuck. The price of the lift: sitting in the boot to give more traction...

So all of this is leading up to the next forecast snowstorm. We have to drive down to Kent from the Midlands on either Monday night or early Tuesday morning - the forecast suggests that the storm will cover both. We'll decide tomorrow on the best course of action; I would love to go down in the daytime on Monday, but I have a 2pm appointment I can't miss. I have taken a good old-style approach though, and we have warm clothes, food and water in the car, plus a shovel and blankets. We'll take it carefully, and fortunately, we are just off an A road.

Sorry to hear about those of you who have had no power; although the great old style/survival instincts kick in, it still makes for hard work. May the weather be kinder to you all.

rosieben

Hollyberry wrote: »

... . I have taken a good old-style approach though, and we have warm clothes, food and water in the car, plus a shovel and blankets. We'll take it carefully, and fortunately, we are just off an A road. ....

don't forget some books to read too! Safe journey!

its been snowing here this afternoon too, and more forecast for monday/tuesday as you say, so it may be a day or two before I can get to the post office!