It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

charlies-aunt

kidcat wrote: »

I started seriously saving last year for a rainy day and then suddenly out of nowhere we were evicted from our home ........ we ae now starting to look at houses to buy which is something I had never even dared dream for .

I guess what I am trying to say is that starting small can bring huge rewards, my small savings pot has blossomed into half a deposit on a home.

Keep making your small steps guys even when you cant see a difference, it will eventually blossom into something wonderful.

You have done brilliantly Kidcat :T What an inspired way of turning something so negative into something really positive the journey of a thousand miles starts with a few small steps

The_Thrilla

I currently live alone, because I am a widower and the next generation have grown up and left.

I have always known that one's true income is what is left after the expenditure is taken from your gross income. A penny saved is a penny earned is not true. It is more than a penny earned. Not only do you get the interest/dividend on it, but you don't pay income tax on the penny.

I have a small business which I run from home, and a part time job. I deliberately keep my income below my income tax threshold, so I do not pay any income tax for the government to blow on their illegal wars and their ever increasing army of civil servants. My income is so low that I get 50% housing benefit.

I sold the car, and handed the keys of my garage back to the council, and have saved on the rent. I am now walking or cycling or bussing everywhere. I have lost a lot of excess weight as a result.

I have dug a victory garden, and for the first time in my life I am planting vegetables. The red onions are doing very well. As the jungle in the garden has cleared as a result, I am talking to my neighbours over the garden fence now that I can see them again.

The Lebanese/Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim said that when he was a kid his parents forced him to write down everything he spent his pocket money on. (He could spend it on whatever he liked, so long as he kept a record of it.) I have done this recently with everything I spend, and it helps a lot. For example, one of the things I discovered from copying things down from receipts is that although VAT on food is zero rated, not everything people think is food is classed as food. For example a packet of chocolate biscuits is classed as confectionery and you pay VAT on it. This is bad news for the people of the town where I live, because chocolate biscuits are the staple diet for the people here. If you buy a carton of "fresh" orange juice for breakfast, you pay VAT on that, too. As a result, I eat less chocolate, and either make my own lemon/lime/orangeade, or squeeze the juice myself. (Fifteen minutes ago, I had a glass of freshly squeezed blood oranges, and very nice it was, too!)

In the kitchen? I have never been trained to cook, but my late wife was, and I learned a lot from her. I have also got into the habit of saving the liquor of something I have boiled, and using it to flavour something bland. I use the oven less and less, and use the microwave, the pressure cooker and the crockpot (slow cooker) more. In the supermarket I head straight for the reduced section, as though I were still a student, and I can say that I have never eaten better in my life. I am never going back to corporate food again. Fruit and vegetables I buy in the market rather than the supermarket.

I have become a pessimism !!!!!! addict - that is, I trawl YouTube looking for stuff from Peter Schiff, Gerald Celente, Max Keiser, Marc Faber, Dr Berninger and Jim Rogers telling us what is really happening in the economy and what is likely to happen in the future. (It's bad, very bad.) I have my own popcorn maker, so I can sit back and munch butterkissed popcorn as I watch events like the Greek debt crisis unfold.

The great thing is that I am actually enjoying this. I don't feel as though I am being oppressed; it is more like beating the system to me.

ginnyknit

I have to agree with Thrilla we are beating the system, and we are the people the supermarkets hate too - we don't fall for the hype and don't buy what they want us to.

I have been buying reduced mussels a lot lately and my husband laughs at me because Im throwing the empty shells on my one remaining flower bed where stands my Buddha statue, a sort of tribute to nature and recycling.

Things have calmed down here a little today, hubby is a tad more relaxed and thus feeling a little better. Its hard to re- adjust your life to being an invalid but he does try hard to potter and is at the moment playing with his tiny grandson.

have been planting more veg seeds today. After wandering round the garden centre gasping at the prices we then went to Wilkinsons and paid 28p for a packet of chard seeds instead of 1.99 and 34p for canes instead of 1.25 - small victories:T

ceridwen

The_Thrilla wrote: »

I have become a pessimism !!!!!! addict - that is, I trawl YouTube looking for stuff from Peter Schiff, Gerald Celente, Max Keiser, Marc Faber, Dr Berninger and Jim Rogers telling us what is really happening in the economy and what is likely to happen in the future. (It's bad, very bad.) I have my own popcorn maker, so I can sit back and munch butterkissed popcorn as I watch events like the Greek debt crisis unfold.

.

Well - seeing that - I guess you've seen that film on YouTube of "Money as Debt" - ie the 47 minute one there?

My second thought - since you are one of the people who has recognized how bad the financial situation is - have you found the Transition Towns Movement? We would quite agree - but think that we can all get through this and come out the other side to a better society than we currently have (hence "Transition"). Maybe you have already come across this though (as I see you mention "digging a Victory Garden"?). "First see about the food and everything else will be so much easier" (ie transport, health care, economics, etc).

taplady

morning everyone!

DH informs me that our spuds are growing at last, as are the peas. He bought some cauli plants at the carboot and we were given a tray of lettuce plants by a friend so we've made a good start.
On top of that we've only got 2 more payments till we are debt free:j My July wages will be all mine:D cant wait:T

The Thrilla - I admire all that you're doing so well done!:T

Primrose

The Thrilla makes a very good point which many people forget when they're wandering around the supermarket buying food and other household necessities, i.e. many of our foods and other domestic items bear VAT which over the course of a big shop can add several pounds to your bill. Crisps, chocolate, chocolate biscuits and other snacks all bear VAT, as do household cleaners, toilet rolls, kitchen tissue, washing up liquid, laundry washing powders & liquids, and a host of other items.

So, if VAT is increased after the General Election, we will all notice a big increase in household shopping bills as a result of this. The trick for the canny will be to be aware of which items carry VAT and stock up on them in advance or try to find a substitute which doesn't.

VATable items arn't always easy to be aware of, but anybody who shops at Costco will have a good idea as all their prices are marked twice showing Cost without VAT, and with VAT added.

mardatha

Primrose, you and Kittie are my heroines, dont stop posting. I hang on yer every word ! LOL

mardatha

Totally agree with the Thrilla. Life is in some ways better when you get older, you've learned to live with yourself and relax - and also you're more aware of how things really are, as opposed to how you think they are !

Kerfuffle

taplady wrote: »

morning everyone!

DH informs me that our spuds are growing at last, as are the peas. He bought some cauli plants at the carboot and we were given a tray of lettuce plants by a friend so we've made a good start.
On top of that we've only got 2 more payments till we are debt free:j My July wages will be all mine:D cant wait:T

The Thrilla - I admire all that you're doing so well done!:T

Taplady - I admire all that you're doing!

I want potatoes, peas, caulis and lettuce, but most of all I want to be two payments (at the most) away from being debt free!:D

Well done you, I'm sure you're really chuffed.:T

mardatha

I just want some bl**dy SUN!