It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

ceridwen

beingfrugal wrote: »

We lost our home last year. I had a good career but wanted to stay a home and look after my children. DH and I decided I should take the leap and be a stay at home mum and a childminder to help pay our bills and mortgage. I was earning £22 for 6 hours minding a week and subsequently we lost our home last year. We now rent. I feel like it can't get any worse than it did last year but I also fear i'm deluding myself.. I worry we might not be able to cope with groceries/petrol/fuel/insurances/council tax as the whole country is forced into tightening our belts.. therefore I'm assigning myself a new role as my job as Mum, that's to make every single penny count.

Hi everyone, newbie person here eager to learn all you know. (starting with a search on what to do with a few slices of near stale bread I have.. yes I am going to be THAT frugal) This is a way of life I'm looking to embark on not just a quick fix. I feel our society has lost it's way, I yearn to be back as a child sitting with my grandma in front of the open fire with my hotwater bottle - it wasn't that long ago

Re the bread =
-bread and butter pudding,
-savoury bread and butter pudding (ie one made with cheese instead of fruit and sugar),
-blitz the bread into breadcrumbs and put on the top of cooked vegetables covered with cheese sauce and bake in the oven to make a gratin,
-apple charlotte

you'll learn ideas for common surpluses of food as you go on.

Milk (even if it has gone a bit "off") =
- pancakes
- toad in the hole (vegetarian version in my case:))
- scones (eg cheese ones)

Leftover cooked vegetables =
- the aforementioned gratin - ie put the cooked veg in a casserole dish, pour cheese sauce over the top of it, add a layer of breadcrumbs on top and if possible put a few slices of tomato on the top of that. Cook in 200C oven till it looks done - about 15 minutes.
- a frittata = saute a bit of onion and garlic in a large frying pan, add the cooked veg, pour a mixture of 3 eggs/a bit of milk/salt and pepper/dessertspoon of flour over the top of that. Cook till the underside is done and then grate a bit of cheese on top and shove it under the grill to cook the top and melt the cheese.

icelandic_queen

I live in a mortgaged house and I wish to God I didn"t!! I've had to remortgage to pay off abusive ex and the maintenance of it is a nightmare!! I had the chance to give my house up and move to a housing association house but didn"t want to move from the area. I had planned to up my hours at work and overpay the mortgage but that dream has ended as I was made redundant and became a carer within the space of a few weeks! Thanks to the tips on this board and others I'm not doing too bad so far, but definitely don't think we are over the worse yet!!

Lindy_-_Loo

hiya,

for anyone who is pregnant or has a little one in nappies there is a link on the printable coupons page to join the huggies baby club - first 10,000 get a coupon sent to their email for a free bag of huggies at boots. I've just done it. Cant print my coupon til monday at the library (no printer) so hoping it will still work! DS2 only wears nappies for bed, but there getting more expensive and we not getting any more pennies!

take everyone xx (sorry dont know how to post link)

Broomstick

And you can turn stale bread into crutons (cut into cubes, fry in a bit of oil or butter with herbs, garlic, salt, pepper or whatever, til brown. Sprinkled on soup, they make the most boring stuff seem special.

Hippeechiq

I've had a particularly awful 18 months - My eldest daughter has been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder which is an extremely vicious mental illness, which has resulted in the loss of her job, her friends and which frequently leaves her self-harming and wanting to be dead........ I can't even begin to explain what that's like to witness and live with day in day out. She can't go anywhere without help, and although I'm her registered carer and have to attend all doctor/psychiatrist/psychologist etc., appointments with her (all by bus as I no longer have a car) I am not entitled to a Carers Allowance. I was made redundant in January - when things were already extremely tight - and our car failed it's MOT in April and we can't afford to repair it or get another.

I'm having a bit of a down day today, and I don't mind telling you, the last few posts have had me close to tears, because the thing that shines through on this thread is that although all of us are clearly suffering various degrees of hardship, it doesn't stop our ability to empathise with others and offer support in any way we can, and that, imho, makes us all that little bit 'richer' for being on here, and today especially, I'd like to say THANK YOU

Spendless

Oh gosh Hippeechiq- why aren't you entitled to carers allowance? An organisation like Dial (Disability information and advice line) can help you with info or help fill out forms or see if you can take to appeal if you've been refused. It's a free service (I used to volunteer for them).

mardatha

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Cabinet-Ministers-Told-To-Plan-For-40-Departmental-Cuts---Budget-Only-Outlined-20-Reductions/Article/201007115658993?lpos=Home_Top_Stories_Header_0&lid=ARTICLE_15658993_Cabinet_Ministers_Told_To_Plan_For_40%25_Departmental_Cuts_-_Budget_Only_Outlined_20%25_Reductions

Spendless

Yes I know just heard and wondered how many have not seen with this news being given on a w/end when not as many watch news reports.

I am so grateful I have work for now, maybe it won't last but I'm going to use this time to 'get ahead' whilst I have a wage coming in.

mardatha

Very very sneaky !

Hippeechiq

Spendless wrote: »

Oh gosh Hippeechiq- why aren't you entitled to carers allowance? An organisation like Dial (Disability information and advice line) can help you with info or help fill out forms or see if you can take to appeal if you've been refused. It's a free service (I used to volunteer for them).

I got the forms to fill in for Carers Allowance, but the criteria required on the front of the form says that the person you look after has to be classified/in receipt of the highest band of Disability Living Allowance and my daughter is classed, laughably, as low.

I've also brought it up with the Mental Health Care Co-Ordinator who visits us weekly, whether she thought I would be entitled to it, and she said that it was "highly unlikely" and that in her experience it is usually only awarded to carers who look after people who can't dress themselves/have dimentia/are physically disabled, e.g. in a wheelchair/MS sufferers who in the DSS's eyes are really disabled, and really unable to leave the house unaided.

In general, peoples response to Mental Health is still disturbingly ignorant and unsympathetic. But thank you for the above info, I think that's worth looking into......although if mardatha's link is anything to go by....maybe not