It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

sb44

It's going to get tougher by all accounts so I think it's def time to find lots of frugal recipe ideas.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Politics/David-Cameron-Warns-Of-Spending-Cuts-To-Tackle-Budget-Deficit-That-Will-Hit-Whole-Way-Of-Life/Article/201006115644645?lpos=Politics_Carousel_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15644645_David_Cameron_Warns_Of_Spending_Cuts_To_Tackle_Budget_Deficit_That_Will_Hit_Whole_Way_Of_Life

:mad:

mama67

lauren_1 wrote: »

I have reverted back to UHT milk so i can keep my monthly shop just that, monthly!

I found on my trips to get milk and bread i was spending more than i needed to just by picking up bargains that i really didnt need.

Managed to do a months shop for £150, its a tough month this month, by bf has to renew his jsa so will be eating mostly at my house.

my leccy and gas DD has been doubles thanks to 'helpful' bf setting the timers....and now he cant reset it, its on constantly.

DS made another artwork on his bedroom wall

im now 4 weeks pregnant, feel like pants already! Nausea has not been kind over the past 3 days.

I wish my bf would just move in. i know, both on benefits so scum of the earth, lol but we would be saving the tax payer his part of housing benefit.

I would ask your landlord for some instructions to be able to reset the heating etc as you don't really need it on in the summer.

Uniscots97

mardatha wrote: »

Has anybody else noticed food rising steeply in the last week ? Today it was Sainsburys and things have ALL gone up.

Noticed it in Tesco this weekend, and Morrisons and Aldi's. Bread and Milk seem the same but butter, tins of stuff, pasta, rice and fruit is more expensive.

ginnyknit

I have to agree with Mardatha, prices are rising through the roof. We now rarely use the car as petrol doesn't seem to go far, so we stay in a lot. I now plan for 3 or 4 meals at a time and thank god for MSE so I can bulk out the food. Ds seems to be eating here more and more as his bus fare goes up looking for a job that ain't there. He spends hours each day job hunting and as he isn't short on skills or qualifications it shows how bad things are in Manchester. He will do manual labour or office work but seems to get promises of work that never materialise.

Some days I despair when the shopping list exceeds the budget but the cupboard is still half full - optimism - not half empty Got to go to mums more often now as she is slowing down - well at 84 she deserves looking after. She tries to go out everyday and bargain hunt. My brothers idea of a treat for her is to take her to a restaurant!!! or Sil cooks M &S food - which annoys her knowing how hard we work to save money and they spend spend spend!!!

I am working on our emergency rations box and Ds is giving me some money each fortnight so I can stock it up for him, if worse comes to worse we can share a meal and only use one lot of power.

AnnieG

Hello!!
I was always fairly hopeless at being frugal, but having lurked here for some time and put some of the suggestions in place, I'm a lot better than I was. I can't believe how much money I used to waste, and just not bother about it. I remember talking to my mum once, and she looked over the top of her glasses at me and said 'you need a lesson in thrift'! Well, thanks to this site I've had one, and although I still have moments when I dispair of myself, the bank is no longer broken!
My gran always used to buy an extra item when she went shopping to keep in the cupboard for 'just in case'. I'm trying to do the same.
Batch cooking and planning in advance is the way to go :-)

westcoastscot

Things have definitely got a lot more expensive here - my grocery bill is the same now for two of us as it was for five of us 6 years ago - outrageous really since we cook everything from scratch using basic foodstuffs. I'm looking for ways to economise, one of which is to look at portion control - particularly for me - bulking up my dinners with veg which we grow. I'm also making more of an effort to only go out in the car when there are lots of errands to run, and am considering not having one at all in the near future. I used to fund my craft hobbies by selling things and that created a little more income but am now using my crafting skills to make clothes/soft furnishings and pressies for family and friends before selling any surplus - i've realised that it's more cost effective these days to do that, particularly as I have a huge stash of wool/yarn and fabrics.
Next on the agenda is to beef up my diy skills to take care of more jobs around the house without paying someone.
WCS

mardatha

Goodness, it's shocking how hard people like us are having to scrape to get by.. and on top of this is the speech this morning by Cameron promising its going to get worse ! I am a very determined person and to me, this is a fight between me and TPTB and I will NOT be beaten LOL! If my mum and granny coped then I will, we have things much easier than they did.
But I have a very negative grumpy OH who really drags me down at times - he doesn't have the same outlook at all. "Why should we have to scrimp & save...nobody else does all this stuff...it's embarrassing having a trolley full of Basics, nobody else does" etc etc. So it's so good to feel that in this forum we're all in it together , thank you all for being here

carriebradshaw

mardatha wrote: »

Goodness, it's shocking how hard people like us are having to scrape to get by.. and on top of this is the speech this morning by Cameron promising its going to get worse ! I am a very determined person and to me, this is a fight between me and TPTB and I will NOT be beaten LOL! If my mum and granny coped then I will, we have things much easier than they did.
But I have a very negative grumpy OH who really drags me down at times - he doesn't have the same outlook at all. "Why should we have to scrimp & save...nobody else does all this stuff...it's embarrassing having a trolley full of Basics, nobody else does" etc etc. So it's so good to feel that in this forum we're all in it together , thank you all for being here

tell mr mardatha that there's a lot more people that have a trolley full of basics than he thinks. We certainly do and we're glad of them,it means we can eat more for less money :T Also a lot of folk shop online these days and I bet they buy more basic products too.
xx

mumoftwo

mardatha wrote: »

Goodness, it's shocking how hard people like us are having to scrape to get by.. and on top of this is the speech this morning by Cameron promising its going to get worse ! I am a very determined person and to me, this is a fight between me and TPTB and I will NOT be beaten LOL! If my mum and granny coped then I will, we have things much easier than they did.
But I have a very negative grumpy OH who really drags me down at times - he doesn't have the same outlook at all. "Why should we have to scrimp & save...nobody else does all this stuff...it's embarrassing having a trolley full of Basics, nobody else does" etc etc. So it's so good to feel that in this forum we're all in it together , thank you all for being here

Tell the grumpy RV that it is either basics or you need to sell his bike
Or if you order online, no one needs to see. But why would you have to care anyway?
I have started to buy extra when something has been reduced, like the low fat Heinz mayo that we all like, at the moment "only" £1 instead of the usual £1.65ish so I bought a few, same with washing powder and conditioner and loo rolls. It all adds up in the end.

mardatha

The bike is in the garage havings its poorly wee carbs fixed. The bill would keep us in food for a month.