It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

BigMummaF

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I think it's unlikely that VAT will be levied on basic food-stuffs as it's exempt at the moment and if the govt. decided to levy VAT I reckon there will rioting in the streets. Some foods do attract VAT but they are ones deemed "luxuries". So cakes and chocolate biscuits are luxuries and attract VAT but carrots are not luxuries and therefore don't.

They said that about domestic fuel bills too remember but they'll hide it under the guise of the proposed "fat tax"! Is it just me who can see it would far more beneficial to reduce the prices of healthier foodstuffs rather than increase stuff full of additives Actually, that follows on from the chat about diets of previous generations...We were chatting again just this week about how it has become increasingly difficult to taste--or smell--any difference between things like meats, cheeses or veggies come to that. I can remember having a goodly sniff at the kitchen door on a Sunday & knowing if it was pork or lamb but these days you just make sure there's a thick gravy to help you chew it all I also recall fighting my dad for the dripping pot on a weekday tea-time but the stuff you get from a joint now is hardly worth the keeping.
We don't get food as it used to be The animals are fed on weird concoctions & pumped full of medication, & the land is spoiled from years of chemical & GM interference. Our estate is built on a spud field but the earth is completely spent & we've no farm shops worthy of the extortionate southern price tags. I'm sorry to say that, £18:95 a kilo for organic free-range chicken wings is a bit out of my budget while trying to feed four adults & associated pets.
It makes me so angry when people say it's easy to loose weight; it is when you can afford chicken breast & fresh seafood, but when your funds limit you to factory chicken & frozen fish products..what are you to do

floss2 wrote: »

....My understanding was that what is now recognised as stress had a debilitating effect on people during the war, also don't forget that this was before the NHS & free healthcare - if someone was ill, it cost hard cash to see a Dr and to pay for any medicine prescribed.

I was thinking along a similar vein Floss & also these days, every variant has its own name. It used to be senile dementia but now there's Alzheimer's, progressive, motor neurone..all manner of catagories, just like heart attack covered anything from an embolism to valve degeneration. Miner's Lung & Pigeon Fancier's Lung are relatively new 'illnesses' & could have been attributed to consumption or TB I guess, & look how many died from "the flu" I wasn't diagnosed as borderline asthmatic until my late teens & suffered many winters breathless, wheezing & labelled 'bronchial'--how I wish I could wave THAT little gem under the PE teachers noses when they accused me of slacking :mad:

For a long while, I've wondered why folk are offered NHS help to start a family when that in itself is not exactly a life-threatening condition. By all means have treatment for any medical issues such as endometriosis, but surely that money spent on IVF is more importantly allocated to those in real need. It must be a nightmare within a nightmare to decide what department receives how much as each patient must have a family who naturally want the best care available. I feel I can offer up my opinion as there was a period of about three years when we thought we wouldn't be blessed; yes it was emotionally an painful prospect, but I most certainly would NOT have expected the tax payer to finance my family.

Anyhoo..the latest doc I've seen is still insisting I'm 'depressed' & prescribed yet another pill to pop. The list of what may happen & things to avoid is like reading War & Peace, so the only thing I've opened is the leaflet There's a "CAUTION:.." in big letters on the sticky label on the front of the box about impaired reactions when driving & as I'm carer for me muvva, I'm a little hesitant to begin taking them..ho-bluddin-hum..here we go again

Genuisscuffy

BigMummaf I know what you mean I cared for my Mum until she died 2 years ago and she can remember her mum making what looked like a pork chop out of bread so that it would look like she was eating something and trying to feed the kids. My grandad died of asbestos but because he was just under the guidelines the coronor decided it was more old age but if hed lived another couple of months he would have had to say it was asbestos!! and as to medicines dont get me started...mum used to have to take steroids to help with her asthma/emphysema and the side affects they cause she would have to take a whole lot of other stuff to deal with the side effects of medicines she took and in the end the hospital had to wean her off of the sterioids as her dose was too high - but they told her how many to take!! Also if she went to different departments they would give her tablets but they wouldnt check if she was already taking them - so in the end she had a A4 sheet of paper listing each tablet and what it was for!!! Sorry rambling on a bit here but it did used to make me so cross!

charlies-aunt

The greedy guts were out in force at Sainberrys this afternoon . . . . rushing round with anxious faces, stacking up massive trolley loads of every food stuff known to man.....all because the shops might be shut on Bank Holiday Monday, just when they have got a yearning for something that they can't wait for until Tuesday :rotfl:

Here at "Chez Charlie" I shop once a week and what isn't bought is either done without or waits until the following week ...and no-one has starved to death yet on our regime

smileyt_2

BigMummaF wrote: »

They said that about domestic fuel bills too remember but they'll hide it under the guise of the proposed "fat tax"! Is it just me who can see it would far more beneficial to reduce the prices of healthier foodstuffs rather than increase stuff full of additives

I totally agree with you BigMummaF - I have a friend staying with me at the moment. She is from Hong Kong and she is shocked at the price of fruit and veg here as it is much cheaper in Hong Kong.

Thanks you all you posters on this board - you have given me the motivation I need to sow my salad seeds tonight. I practise (loosely!) gardening by the phases of the moon, and today is a 'leaf' day so they should do well if I sow them now.

smileyt_2

I've just looked at Weezl's website and all I can say is - WOW!

I have bookmarked it and will definitely be having a VERY GOOD LOOK AT IT!

Thank you Weezl!

woofwoofwoof

anguk wrote: »

There's a thread on laundry gloop and if I remember correctly there's a few different recipes:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/35756

thank you!

lilac_lady

I was born a few years after WW2 but still remember ration books, dried milk and the lovely orange juice that was available for children.

My grandfather's garden fed us and we were lucky because he was friendly with the local gamekeeper so bartering fruit and vegetables for rabbits was a frequent occurance.

It's almost unbelievable how much has changed since then.

tiny_courageous

charlies-aunt wrote: »

The greedy guts were out in force at Sainberrys this afternoon . . . . rushing round with anxious faces, stacking up massive trolley loads of every food stuff known to man.....all because the shops might be shut on Bank Holiday Monday, just when they have got a yearning for something that they can't wait for until Tuesday :rotfl:

Here at "Chez Charlie" I shop once a week and what isn't bought is either done without or waits until the following week ...and no-one has starved to death yet on our regime

I always wonder why we have to be so judgemental of what others are buying. Why can't we be happy with how we shop without being disparaging to others?

Nargleblast

I don't think Charlie's aunt was intentionally sneering at other shoppers, you have to admit that when you are in a supermarket queue you can't help sometimes looking at what other people have in their trolleys and writing their life stories inside your head! You see the same sort of thing at Christmas - everyone going mad and buying enough for a siege when the shops will only be closed for a day or two, and sometimes it is that pattern of behaviour that contributes to people getting into financial difficulties. Thankfully most of us have got off that particularly horrendous treadmill, like both Charlie's Aunt and Tiny Courageous we have learnt to be content with the way we do things and let the rest of the world get on with it.

Churchmouse

Nargleblast wrote: »

I don't think Charlie's aunt was intentionally sneering at other shoppers, you have to admit that when you are in a supermarket queue you can't help sometimes looking at what other people have in their trolleys and writing their life stories inside your head! You see the same sort of thing at Christmas - everyone going mad and buying enough for a siege when the shops will only be closed for a day or two, and sometimes it is that pattern of behaviour that contributes to people getting into financial difficulties. Thankfully most of us have got off that particularly horrendous treadmill, like both Charlie's Aunt and Tiny Courageous we have learnt to be content with the way we do things and let the rest of the world get on with it.

But do we know the reason behind the enormous shop???? Charlie's Aunt would no doubt have dubbed me amongst the "greedy guts" she condemns had she seen my trolley yesterday. What she wouldn't know is that I was shopping for a family get together of at least thirty people this weekend ( I suppose it's lucky I wasn't doing the booze shop else I'd be thought an alcoholic :eek::eek: When I shop for the veggies for our old people's lunch club I must seem very virtuous with a trolley stuffed with veggies I can't say I ever give a thought to what others are buying except when I spot something I meant to buy but have forgotten, then I'm just grateful for the reminder