It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

ceridwen

Primrose wrote: »

beingfrugal - time for your sister to investigate a car share possibly. I know it's not as convenient as having your own car and being able to come and go as you please but we may see more of these initiatives happening as more councils seek to increase their revenue. I believe most of them are expecting up to a 40% cut from the grant they get from central government after the Autumn spending review so I imagine they're having to come up with all kinds of imaginative ways of making good the deficit.

The way I read the figures today - it looked to me like Councils might seek to cut the services they provide by up to two-thirds:eek: - presumably in order to "cushion the effect" on fixed costs. I may ha' got that wrong - but I have been expecting HUGE cuts in local authority services for some months now and preparing as best possible for that..

Hopefully - I AM wrong on that one.

Aagh..libraries...please leave the libraries alone - and services to assist the housebound to stay in their homes and, of course, public refuse collection/street-sweeping.....

Errr....I can see examples of waste by my own local authority for one and I have to admit that their carparks would not be "safe in my hands" - I would be seeking to gain some revenue from that land (by charging heavily for carparking or selling the land off for something more necessary/in keeping with discouraging car use). Staff carparks would be one of the first things I would go for personally - the proverbial "low hanging fruit" - and if it were a choice between a freebie perk for my employees and maintaining an essential service for the public - no contest..

maccanut

Hi smileyt i still don,t know how to put your comment on with reply will need to ask ds how to. No i couldn't buy his blazer for school as it has to be a certain one from a certain company along with school sweatshirt wont tell you the price, and he has to have badged t-shirt at 12pound a pop i don,t spent that on ourselfs, we are really struggeling and mil comes in and said shes going to buy him a pair of trousers, im suppossed to look pleased at that one not. I had to give up work to look after my lovely dh and went to the dss and they told me all i would get is 97p a day because dh has a very very very small pension and to live on that.
sorry ranting things are getting me down at the moo
blessings
abigail

LauraN_3

Hi,
We're tightening up our belts as well. Our son is 7 months old and we want to give him everything we can so we're trying to plan for the future. Any money that is left after all the bills are paid goes straight into our ISA's so we are not tempted to spend it.

We're trying to cut back on the food shopping as well as there's just so many tempting things you really want to buy but that you actually don't need. So we've set ourselves a challenge of spending £150 a month on food which is about £37.50 a week. We think that's reasonable but it's hard with a baby who has started weaning but he seems to be a good eater and finishes his food

We're also trying to plan ahead for family members birthday's, christmas etc and keep an eye out for good bargains that we can get and store away for later, so that there's no rushing around when someone's birthday does get close as you always end up spending too much money in a rush to get something nice.

I keep an eye out on this forum and Hot UK Deals website as there is always something good for a great price.

charlies-aunt

Time to stock up the food cupboards...

As lovely as this prolonged bout of dry, hot weather is...the knock-on effects won't be felt until Autumn. Here in the North of England, the pea, grain and potato harvests are going to be well down on the average yield, I dread to think how things are further south. The first cut of our local hay crop is 50% down on last year and there will be no second cut if we don't get rain soon.

Look out for a big increase in price in flour and everything made from it - bread, pasta, biscuits, cakes.... wheat and barley are going to harvested in the next few weeks and its not looking good.

All Uk grown potatoes, fruit and veg are also going to be scarcer and more expensive ...

Stock up as much as you can now for winter to beat the price hike

calleyw

charlies-aunt wrote: »

I dread to think how things are further south. The first cut of our local hay crop is 50% down on last year and there will be no second cut if we don't get rain soon.

Yeah not good down here either.

The problem is that people think farmers will be making a killing but they won't as they will need the hay and straw for their own animals (if they have any).

This will then have a knock on effect to the price of food. As meat will go up again as the grain prices will have shot up. Might help the arble farmer but not the ones with animals as the feed prices will shot up.

Yours

Calley

charlies-aunt

calleyw wrote: »

The problem is that people think farmers will be making a killing but they won't as they will need the hay and straw for their own animals (if they have any).

Small bales of hay were £2 each last winter - the same siz e from this years crop are being sold for £7 - 8

ralloctiger

All I know is thatwhen we finally get to the end of the month We dont owe anyone anymoney. Yes it is a struggle and I would love to be able to just go and buy something new but the girls need it more.
It has become a way of living that I am happy with cs clothes,hand me downs pre owned "stuff". We eat very well and the girls dont go without I do extra shifts to pay for the expensive items and school extras. We have holidays sometimes but they are all saved for and paid before we go.
I cant say its easy and I do get fed up sometimes but the end of the month always reminds me that I doing the right thing living within my means. This site helps to remind me that there are lots of people in much worse situations and people who have been there before and come through .
And I have stardrops and vinegar life couldnt be better.!!lol:rotfl:

Primrose

maccanut - with your son's school uniform supplier charging such exhorbitant prices I think it's time for all your parents to get together and put pressure on the school either to change the uniform over an interim period) to something that's more affordable, to to get another cheaper supplier. The schools who do this sort of thing are perfectly well aware of the dire straits of the national economy and I think parents have more power than they realise. If all of you just simply refused to be held to this kind of financial blackmail they would have to get back into the real world.

taplady

Ralloctiger - what a lovely post! I couldn't agree more:T

zippychick

Hi Cuddly Marm:)

As this has dropped down the pages of the Old Style board, I have merged it with the current thread - it it tough now so how are we coping. This keeps all the relevant discussion together:A

thanks
Zip