It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

Rummer

Being too skint to buy bread this week I have just made by first batch of rolls and they are delicious. Tough times they are however they are helping me to discover talents that I never even knew I had!

missychrissy

Rummer wrote: »

Being too skint to buy bread this week I have just made by first batch of rolls and they are delicious. Tough times they are however they are helping me to discover talents that I never even knew I had!

' Neccesity is the mother of invention'. This is what OS is all about.

Rummer

Hello Everyone!

Our tough time has made OH appreciate my filled freezer and emergency cupboard food that he has long mocked me about. A few weeks ago I bought loads of rolls, croissants, muffins etc reduced to 9p at the supermarket and at the time he grumped about it never being eaten. Well thank goodness I did buy it as it has supplied us with lunches for the last couple of weeks.

It may not seem like a big step to others but we have not had one takeaway this month. We were eating loads but now we have had to live on what we have. On the upside I am cooking and baking a lot more which I enjoy and I have had to be creative, this board has helped a lot with that. When we get paid I am going to restock my cupboards and freezer so that we will have full tummies!

It was hard the other day though when in the company of friends and they asked why I had not taken part in an activity. I said I couldn't afford it and they pointed out it was "only" £5. Not letting me change the subject I finally had to say that if I had £5 I would rather spend it on fruit and veg so I can be healthy.

In the main I relish the challenge of balancing the money keeping costs low and living an OS life (albeit through necessity, at the moment) however sometimes it would be lovely to have the disposable cash to do something flippant and fun. Sorry for the long post I just had to share with people who understand!

BigMummaF

Are you me in disguise Rummer :rolleyes: cuz I can identify with 99% of your last post--only difference is swap 'other half' for 'offspring'! I've just had a good rootle in the freezer now to see what to have for dinner & there's some bits I can pull out to make way for tomorrow's shopping.
Having three children with less than four years twix first & last meant we had an instant tea party when b'days came around so I began a tradition of the celebratoree choosing the evening meal. No1 invariably still asks for roast, No2 wavers between sausage rolls & kebabs & No3 a 'proper' lasagne--eg one without "added veg" [little do THEY know :shhh:]--even tho they're now adults. My b'day is looming & so I've been thinking what I would like...it would be nice to have a fish supper & eat it from the paper, but I'll probably do something 'interesting' instead as £15+ is an awful lot of money when I could get a joint of beef & three meals for less!
Guess OS is too much a part of me now to think any differently but I think I prefer it this way.

missychrissy

I'm gonna change subject here slightly. I'm having a tough time at the moment, well actually for the last year. My ex husband decided last Nov that he wouldn't pay me all the maintenance I was awarded in our divorce settlement. He left me and our children 13 and 1/2 years ago. As part of my divorce settlement I was awarded lifetime maintenance to compensate me for having no pension provision. Unfortunately I divorced before the laws changed on pension sharing at divorce but I have had to deal with the prior arrangement.

It has cost me over £17,000 in legal bills since last Nov, not to mention the unpaid maintenance. He has wiped me out financially yet again. I have been to court 4 times this year already and have a final hearing in February. He has ignored his children since he left and tells people that I have poisoned and manipulated them against him. I gave up asking him when he was going to have our boys to stay as he always made excuses. He left me for a woman 17 years younger than him who was telling him he was wonderful when I was trying to do a full time degree as well as bringing up 4 sons.

I just wanted to get this off my chest because you are a wonderful lot on this site and I think I was feeling a bit low.

mama67

((((MissyChrissy))))

jamanda

Missychrissy - this story is almost identical to my own, but I had 2 children. I signed away all maintenance because I knew I would be in and out of court for years. He got annoyed when I wouldn't sell the family home and sign over his mum's house to him (we bought it with her as a sitting tenant from a private landlord). He and his new "lady" had pots of money hidden all over, but told the courts they had none, and I had no proof until years and years later.

I'm really sorry for all the trouble you are having. I know what it is like. My ex nearly finished me at the time.

On the bright side - kids grown up and well adjusted (ish), happily married now for 20 odd years and double batch of Twink's hobnobs just out of oven. Best thing he could have done for me was leave.

Keep your chin up. I'm sure your kids appreciate (or will at a later stage) all that you have done and are continuing to do.

J

elizabunny

Morning all!

Rummer You are doing so well:A. It isn't easy not having enough money to have a little fun now and again and I speak from experience here, but you are managing to focus on positive things and that is what will get you through. Also I have found that now I watch the pennies very carefully, we eat much better than we did before because I have to think about everything so carefully. Keep up the good work!

missychrissy So sorry to hear of all your difficulties, life can be really hard at times, can't it, but I'm sure your boys will be always remember what you've done for them. We have two lovely sons, adults now, but as we've grown older a wondefully close friendship has developed between us all and we enjoy their company so much. I hope that you will find this kind of comfort in your family and that it will give you the support and strength you need to get through the problems you have had.

On a slightly brighter note DH has been told he will be on a 5 day week up until Christmas:j this is good news for us as he has been on a 4 day week for a year. We don't know yet what will happen in the New Year, so I won't even go there yet. Just grateful to get a bit of good news for a change.

Have a good day everyone......just hoping our fences don't blow down in this horrible wind!

kidcat

Its not a good week here either, our DS5 has special needs and behavioural difficulties and we have spent the last year fighting for appropriate provision for him, we finally got full time one to one for him this week, but at a meeting yesterday the head announced it wasnt working (after two days) and that she wanted us to move him into a special assessment unit for the rest of the school year.

He doesnt deal at all well with change and I am really concerned for him, when we said we didnt want to go that route she said ok. But today they called and said we had to collect him early as they were excluding him for half a day as his behaviour had been so bad.

I do not know where to turn or what to do for the best.

jamanda

Kidcat, I've no idea what to say to help but didn't want to ignore you. Could you report the school to whoever got you the provision in the first place and let them sort it out?