It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

ald65

I agree that things do seem to be getting tougher [increases on petrol and food]
We are going to make a veg plot in garden this year, also have returned to home made cooking and baking which tastes so much better.
I have also dug out the old sewing machine and have been mending old clothes.
Finally have a good going book swap ongoing with friends and family, saving a fortune:D

wigglebeena

Has anyone got a Home Bargains nearby? They really have some fab prices and items, better than the pound shop in many cases. I got some Gillian McKeith buckwheat breakfast cereal yesterday for 70p, usually three quid or so.

wigglebeena

Oh, and a humunguous industrial pack of mustard for £1.50. (I love mustard).

wigglebeena

Oh, and their gift wrap is massive cheapness compared to most places too, so I stocked up a bit. Did leave some for you guys though!

Lots of good stuff: wandering around I wished I wasn't already laden down with shopping.

taplady

jamanda wrote: »

If anyone has seen a young woman with 3 kids going round the supermarket with an old bat on their shoulder muttering "you could make that/do you really buy those?" - it is I.
.

:rotfl::D

I too worry about my grown up son as he is struggling even more than we are atm and like Hester I have been helping him out with food as well.
I think eventually he'll end up back at home if things dont improve.

kidcat

My problem is I worry about my parents, they dont have a huge income and my mum retires soon. She willonly receive a state pension. Their shopping bills are enormous, nothing cooked from scratch, ready roasted potatoes and ready meals are considered to be her cooking dinner!! And all brands, and will only shop at Asda and Tesco. I tried to persuade them to pop into Lidl and Aldi for some stuff and even Home Bargains for cleaning stuff, toilet rolls etc. But they will not listen. really worried they wont cope and I know we are really stretched and not sure how much we would be able to help them,

jamanda

I half expect my lot to return home when things go really wrong. There's one thing, we won't need the heating on as we'll be packed in like sardines. Yet SIL a builder and can't keep up with the work he is being offered, although funds are always patchy and I help out with essentials, kids coats, shoes etc. when I see they need them. I think they think the sparse patches are just blips. I really hope things go OK for them, but can't see where the money is going to come from to keep the work going.

Primrose

I sympathise with your SIL jamanda. Self employed people always seem to suffer from money problems because people think it's perfectly OK not to pay them on time. They never think of the effect it has on a small company's cash flow. Yet they'd be the first to complain if their monthly salary was not paid promptly on the day it was due. If I had a queue of bills to pay and money was tight, the first people to get their money would be the small businesses & the self-employed who need it most. The likes of British Gas, with their huge financial reserves, can well afford to wait. Yet it is often the big businesses who are the worst culprits when it comes to paying the small suppliers who do business with them, which I think is morally wrong. My OH ran his own business for several years. It was always the big companies who never paid their bills on time.

annscullamus

My daughter too - I try to persuade her to batch cook, cook from scratch, fill out food with oats, lentils - you all know what I mean. She has just divorced and they have huge debt and she works all the hours God sends to live but mostly to pay the childminder. It makes no sense, she is in the most expensive part of the home counties,so the rent is very large, and tells me she is working much too hard to OS.

I have sleepless nights about her and the children, and sometimes wonder what happened to the idea that at my age (58) I should be enjoying relative freedom and plenty!! Ha Ha. I OS like mad to help her out!

How long can it all go on before some sort of collapse among the 30's - 35's who have piles of debt and no pension or savings, and like jamanda I nag as much as I dare....................

Oh well off to take out my 90 year old parents and shop for them!!!!Aaagh!

mardatha

Kidcat, don't worry about your parents !! They will manage just fine, mum will cut back when she has to. It's a lot easier when there's just two of you