It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

Primrose

I think attitudes to money and debt have changed vastly over the past 40+ years. I recall that when my OH and I were saving up to get married and applied for our mortgage with the building society, the manager actually called us in for an interview and actually warned us of the dangers of not having children too early because we would not be able to afford to continue our mortgage payments! But the recommendation from somebody to try cutting back severely financially for a short period, even if you don't need to, is a sensible one. I don't think anybody can bank on not being made redundant these days, and everybody needs to have a survival plan. I'm thankful that redundancy is no longer recognised as something shameful - almost as if you have a contagious disease - as it was back in the eighties when my OH was first made redundant. Many of one's colleagues almost treated you as if you'd been sacked for having your fingers in the till and this attitude made it doubly difficult for anybody to cope with.
Mardatha - I had to chuckle about your comment on digging a trench. It reminded me of me of my Girl Guide Camping days when we had to dig trenches for our latrines. I slipped into it on the last day of a very wet camping holiday and was covered from head to toe in the stuff. If I have to dig my trench in the next Armagaddon, I shall be very careful not to fall into it!

floss2

Well, this is the start for my employers....announcement of 200 jobs to go out of 4,500 - 4% of the workforce excluding school staff. The office is not a very happy place to be today

floss2

kylebrad wrote: »

Somebody mentioned a book, I'm sure it was on this thread. Its called "Frugal Britain" or something like that. I've tried to find the post with it on and can't. I wonder if someone could tell me what it is called and who it is by so that I can go to the library and get it. It sounded really interesting. Thanking you all in advance.

Was it "Austerity Britain"?

kylebrad

floss2 wrote: »

Was it "Austerity Britain"?

Thats the one, I knew Frugal Britain didn't sound right but couldn't think what it was called . Do you know who wrote it?

Primrose

Austerity Britain, 1945-51” by David Kynaston is a very interesting read. It covers the period immediately after the second World War when the country was broke, and everything was still on ration. .It's a very thick tome and I guarantee that anybody who is interested in Old Style won't be able to put it down. The country may be broke again today, but it's interesting to see how in many ways, our social environment has improved over the years.
You might also like to read :
[FONT=&quot]London[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 1945 by Maureen Waller[/FONT] (How people coped during the Second World War)
How We Lived Then.by[FONT=&quot] Norman Longmate[/FONT] (Another book detailing how people coped with rationing and living in wartime conditions).

elizabunny

Primrose wrote: »

Austerity Britain, 1945-51” by David Kynaston is a very interesting read. It covers the period immediately after the second World War when the country was broke, and everything was still on ration. .It's a very thick tome and I guarantee that anybody who is interested in Old Style won't be able to put it down. The country may be broke again today, but it's interesting to see how in many ways, our social environment has improved over the years.

Have to agree wth you Primrose, I was born in the fifties and remember Mum pushing me out in the pram (I think we stayed in prams untill we were 4 or 5 in those days!) her goal was to visit the coal merchant and ask if he would deliver a bag of 'nutty slack'. Can't imagine many of us doing that now -but who knows with what's to come.
Have investigated my little plot this morning and I think my attempts at 'polyculture' may be coming unstuck, as I have Peas winding themselves around rose bushes and for some reason Artichokes coming up just about everywhere and obliterating everything else. Think I need to do some serious pruning as the whole back garden resembles something of a jungle, which was not exactly my intention.
Can't help thinking that the possibility of an another period of austerity is helping to keep my mind focussed. Less time to twitter about nothing IYKWIM. Despite everything I have never really considered that I am poor although I probably am, but there are many other things in my life, apart from money, which make me very happy and I count my blessings for these.

Hippeechiq

Morning All

Sorry, can't remember who, but someone on here was voicing their concerns at the rising cost of butter at the weekend.

Well I've just logged into the A$da website to complete and pay for my order - which I compile over a 2-3day period - to find that the 1kg Stork Marge that I'd ordered has gone up from £1.23 yesterday to £1.58 today!! :mad:

This is beyond ridiculous, is it not? All you need is for 3 items that you regularly buy to go up by this amount, and that's another quid on top of your shopping bill. Is there not some kind of Supermarket Ombudsman to prevent supermarkets from increasing the cost of items at 35p a time?

Their 500g Tub is 82p and their 250g Block is 58p - yesterday they were 64p and 45p respectively. At the time of posting, according to My$upermarket, the prices of £1.23, 82p and 45p still apply in Te$cos & $ainsburys, and 82p and 45p in Waitro$e, so my advice would be to stock up if you do a lot of home baking, as they are bound to follow suit.

charlies-aunt

Small victories this morning - went to browse round the Asda in town this morning after dropping dd2 off at college for her exam - just to kill time until it was time to pick her up again and - joy of joys - they had packs of three bars of soap for 11p and shower gel at 9p :j
Went on to Wilko and they had Sure Crystal deodorant reduced from £1.97 to 97p...and I had a £1 off coupon in my purse :T so it was fre-e-e-e!

charlies-aunt

Hippeechiq wrote: »

Well I've just logged into the A$da website to complete and pay for my order - which I compile over a 2-3day period - to find that the 1kg Stork Marge that I'd ordered has gone up from £1.23 yesterday to £1.58 today!! :mad:

Hippeechiq - How can they justify this - thats approx 28% price increase :mad: when the price of basic food shoots up - the ready-made foodstuffs are sure to follow.:(

I noticed this morning that Asda own brand butter is now £1.20 a pack...dearer than some of the brands!

Thanks for the warning though - I am doing a big store cupboard shop and will be getting a big stock of baking stuff in so I'll be price checking cooking marg along with sugar and flour prices carefully and will try to post my best buys on here

Do you think we will see supermarket shelves being stripped bare in the next few weeks because a lot of people will be trying to buy before the prices go up again?

taplady

Primrose wrote: »

Austerity Britain, 1945-51” by David Kynaston is a very interesting read. It covers the period immediately after the second World War when the country was broke, and everything was still on ration. .It's a very thick tome and I guarantee that anybody who is interested in Old Style won't be able to put it down. The country may be broke again today, but it's interesting to see how in many ways, our social environment has improved over the years.
.

I'm reading it now - will take a while but its fascinating! It makes me think we are actually very well off and wonder how a lot of people would cope if they had to live with similar conditions - not very well I think.
Its also made me more aware of how much we all waste nowadays so I'm determined to try and do better myself!