It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

smileyt_2

mardatha wrote: »

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

600,000 jobs to go! I have no words ..... That's appalling

BTW I love this thread too, everyone is so supportive. Thank you all.

Well, I'm off to local garden centre to see how much compost I can fit on the back of my bike (pedal cycle, not motorbike!). I have foolishly entered a gardening competition but the yarden* looks more like Steptoe and Son at the moment, so I'd better get cracking on sprucing it up.

I'm calling my entry 'The Reduce, Re-use, Recycle, Grow Your Own, Use Every Square Inch of Space Garden' :rotfl:

*yarden = a backyard that's been turned into a teeny weeny garden.

ginnyknit

tesco's compost is half price at the mo if anyone is near to one.

Just been in and bagged a peice of half price pork - got it home and it stinks!! Dd is now taking it back for me - boy will they be sorry, she is more strident than me and thats saying something.

Had a council of war yesterday and are tightening our belts again. Dd and her fella have just bagged a very cheap Turkish holiday, booked their own hotel and flight so it cost pennies. they decided to have one last holiday before they get their own place and are leaving baby with me and Dh. As his passport costs more than the flights it seemed sensible. Her fella will probably be off to Helmund in the next couple of weeks so I reckon they should have a break. Although it puts things into perspective he has to know that we are all organised here and then he won't have to worry about his little family. He has done all those little jobs that get forgotten and he and my Ds have done any heavy jobs as Dh cannot do the physical stuff anymore.

Soubrette

Hardup_Hester wrote: »

On the subject of 'some of us are preparing, some others aren't' I am doing my best to prepare, but have a horrible feeling that those of us who have been careful & tried to ensure we will survive will be thrown on our own resouces, those who haven't will still be 'supported' probably by us & our hard earned wages via taxation.

At the very least - if there is financial and government meltdown - all debts and savings will be gone. Debt written off as money would be worthless - savings written off for the same reason. Even the cash under your bed would be worth nothing (unless it's compostable) if global society goes into meltdown.

All the frugal among us will be in exactly the same position as the spendthrift but they'd have more 'stuff'.

On the bright side - at least we would know all about tightening our belts, growing our own, make do and mending etc.

Let's hope it doesn't become quite that bad.

Sou

beingfrugal

I'm actually really scared about the future. Scared because I'm ignorant. Ignorant because I live in my own little box. At the age of 30 that 'box' crumbled and now I'm forced to grapple my way through these times. Financially att he minute we're ok. DH is the wage earner, I'm the Mum at home. We don't owe a penny but we have no savings either. I'll cut my spends, I'm beginning now I just worry it's too late.

mardatha

Ginny - trust Tesco to reduce their compost on a week when I have NO MONEY !! I quite fancy trying salad leaves on the windowsill to see how long I can keep them going.
I'm reading out bits from this thread to the RV (ratty virgo OH) :Dbecause he isnt really convinced that anything can be done or that HE should do it. Left to himself he will do what his parents did....sit back & complain & wait for somebody else to do it
His mother ( god rest her ) once lived for 18 YEARS without a livingroom light shade - because she expected the council to put one up for her ! :rotfl:
So I read out posts from a lot of brave women in here who see life as I do, and who just get on and COPE. Trying to psyche him up a wee bit!

BigMummaF

Quick one I'm afraid; I've been able to read but not post & as things are, a noo poota is way down the list of priorities for us Part of me is willing the machine to carry on thru adversity, while another is thinking of the savings on the lekkie bill if it does go to the motherboard in the sky...

Anyhoo--the great Monitoring Value Products goes on with a vengeance! MrT pre-packed corned beef & ham used to be sold with a weight on the packet & now both only say x slices. I hadn't noticed till some was gone but will try to remember to weigh them next time I buy, as both have also gone up in price. What's the betting they are less than the 250g & 400g they were a month ago :mad:

ceridwen

smileyt wrote: »

600,000 jobs to go! I have no words ..... That's appalling

BTW I love this thread too, everyone is so supportive. Thank you all.

Well, I'm off to local garden centre to see how much compost I can fit on the back of my bike (pedal cycle, not motorbike!). I have foolishly entered a gardening competition but the yarden* looks more like Steptoe and Son at the moment, so I'd better get cracking on sprucing it up.

I'm calling my entry 'The Reduce, Re-use, Recycle, Grow Your Own, Use Every Square Inch of Space Garden' :rotfl:

*yarden = a backyard that's been turned into a teeny weeny garden.

Well - at that point I just took a quick look to see if you have an MSE homepage (aka a blog) - as I'm also out to use every square inch of my tiny garden to grow as much as I can. Just starting up some peashoots for the first time now as latest experiment - a la Alys Fowler - and cant recall where I wrote her "method" down - so they've been chucked in a few inches of compost about a pea worth of length down and hope for the best with them:)

ceridwen

Soubrette wrote: »

At the very least - if there is financial and government meltdown - all debts and savings will be gone. Debt written off as money would be worthless - savings written off for the same reason. Even the cash under your bed would be worth nothing (unless it's compostable) if global society goes into meltdown.

All the frugal among us will be in exactly the same position as the spendthrift but they'd have more 'stuff'.

On the bright side - at least we would know all about tightening our belts, growing our own, make do and mending etc.

Let's hope it doesn't become quite that bad.

Sou

I confess to wondering where on earth I am supposed to put what bit of savings I can manage - just in the context of ensuring they get enough interest to at least match inflation. As there would be darn all interest on them anyway - then I have paid my fuel supplier for about my next two years worth of fuel used and I suppose I might as well buy premium bonds with any further savings I can make (0% interest and they have cut the chances of a win because other people are doing the same thing with their savings because of the current low interest rates:cool::mad: - but well someone has to get the decent size wins and my luck must change some time surely - as I'm someone who never gets ANYTHING through just good luck and chance, only through planning and foresight....:().

Soubrette

beingfrugal wrote: »

I'm actually really scared about the future. Scared because I'm ignorant. Ignorant because I live in my own little box. At the age of 30 that 'box' crumbled and now I'm forced to grapple my way through these times. Financially att he minute we're ok. DH is the wage earner, I'm the Mum at home. We don't owe a penny but we have no savings either. I'll cut my spends, I'm beginning now I just worry it's too late.

Try not to waste energy worrying - just do

I see you're a novice gardener - in a few years you'll be an expert gardener (I'm hoping me too )

I'm in the throws of slowly decluttering the house - I am convinced we will be charged individually for our waste in the medium term so I'm trying to get rid of things through a combination of reusing, freecycling and charitying, recycling and dumping whilst it's all relatively inexpensive. If I were megarich I'd be putting in things like solar panels (unfortunately I'm not though ) but the main point is to cut our long term outgoings.

All things that I do have control over.

Although there is a serious undertones to it all, I ignore them as I have no control over them, instead I think it's fun to be more self sufficient and rely less on big companies and the government so it's a bit like a hobby for me. If the big bad never happens, well I've enjoyed life and I'm able to live it how I want anyway. If it does happen, then I'll be more prepared.

My husband works full time and I work part time so I see his job as bringing in the main bulk of the earnings and mine as looking after the main bulk of the savings

Sou

Soubrette

ceridwen wrote: »

I'm someone who never gets ANYTHING through just good luck and chance, only through planning and foresight....:().

I've been a bit lucky with buying a house in 1991 just after the last big crash, then not being able to sell it 10 years later so having two houses just before prices took off again.

Now I'm divorced, remarried and considerably poorer (but happier ) but had a very reasonable settlement compared to a lot of people because of that house.

My big stroke of luck was stumbling on this website though - Martin Lewis but mainly the contributors to this forum has saved us literally several thousand over the last few years.

Sou