It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

FrankieM

I have been tweeking my budget the past couple of months so I can focus on overpaying the mortgage. That's my biggest goal at the moment. It's an offset so I can take the money back if I need too, but I feel its important to try to get it down as much as possible.
I was reading on an American site and one poster said he was running his household 'mean and lean'. I quite like that and so that's what I'm aiming for. To keep the expenditure as low as possible.

elona

DH tends to suddenly ask me "Are you economising?"


"Er, Um, Why?"

"Because we are eating better!"

I used to get quite insulted by this but now realise it means I am making more home made bread and rolls, pea soup, lentil soup and using up letovers etc.

The DD who was most "sniffy" at the idea of me cooking pizza, rolls etc now is ecstatic because because I am sending her some Twinks hobnobs at the weekend and her housemates love them!!!

I add a sachet of oatsosimple apple and some cinnamon and ginger and they worked out really well.

Caterina

moanymoany wrote: »

However I have also discovered the 'More With Less' books. There is the cookery book and 'Living More With Less'. I am not a religious woman and the books are from the Mennonite Community - but the 'Living More With Less' is a book of how people live. The Mennonites live very frugally through a mixture of need and desire because it reflects their religious beliefs and the book is full of stories of how they live both in the US and on their missions in the Third World. I get a good deal of spiritual inspiration from both of these books.

The cookbook is ful of excellent frugal recipes. I've made a good few of them - more than any other frugal book. I do adjust them as I find the Yanks do love their sugar!!

Hi moanymoany,

I have the cookery book, I have to say I haven't used it a lot because I seem to stick to old staples and tried-and-tested stuff, but love the frugal sense of the way it is written. Will look out for the Living more with Less one on Amazon.

I am also not terribly religious but there is a wonderful sense of spirituality in the simple living movement, which I find truly inspirational.

Caterina

Jorgan_2

Well my 'cutting back' message must be getting through to the OH, I only need to buy milk & cat food this week. We usually spend £80 on the weekly shop, which I think is far too much for three. We've been baking more, planning meals so leftovers get used the following day for either lunch or tea. Cutting back on portion size has also helped as well. Just need to make sure it becomes a regular thing rather than a one off.

Cinny91

There was a woman in the news paper yesterday, she was a SAHM and her husband had just lost his job. She said she was cutting back on her shopping and had stopped shopping at tescos and swapped to morrisons because it was cheaper :rolleyes: I always thought they were in the same ball park price wise..

Anyways, it wound me up because she came across as if she was so hard done to. I think if she came on OS she'd get abit of a shock!!


anyway anyway anyway, i only came on to ask about George Foreman grills. I know they make your bacon sandwiches healthier (yay!) but how much electric do they use to warm up? :undecided

*Maya*

Cinny91 wrote: »

There was a woman in the news paper yesterday, she was a SAHM and her husband had just lost his job. She said she was cutting back on her shopping and had stopped shopping at tescos and swapped to morrisons because it was cheaper :rolleyes: I always thought they were in the same ball park price wise..

Anyways, it wound me up because she came across as if she was so hard done to. I think if she came on OS she'd get abit of a shock!!


anyway anyway anyway, i only came on to ask about George Foreman grills. I know they make your bacon sandwiches healthier (yay!) but how much electric do they use to warm up? :undecided

I personally find Morrison's cheaper as their deals are better value than Tesco. I think she has every right to have a moan if her husband has lost his job.

Cinny91

*Maya* wrote: »

I personally find Morrison's cheaper as their deals are better value than Tesco. I think she has every right to have a moan if her husband has lost his job.

Of course she has the right to moan, it's going to come down hard on her family but she just came across as slightly un-willing to change her lifestyle. I won't say anymore on it because I'll dig myself into a hole, i'm useless with words! but he was on a pretty good wage, so I hope they'll be able to ride it out until he finds another job.

Morrisons do have some good deals but i always thought their none offer bits were about the same price as tescos? I just thought that if you were having money problems that you'd switch from tescos to your local aldi or lidl, but that's just the vibe I get from DFW ect.

Caterina

I meet loads of people who whinge and cry misery and poverty and then when you go scratch down you find that they buy brand names, fly all over the place for hols, "can't resist" this or that treat, hey that's their problem!

IMHO we (OSers and MSErs) can only lead by example, look at how "beat the credit crunch" is hitting the pages on every popular magazine and all newspapers, don't you find that you can tick virtually all their suggestions already, and have done so forever? :cool:

What once was considered weird and mean is now trendy (ohboy did I ever think I would be trendy one day:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: )!

So, Cinny, I am sure that the lady who begrudges having to swap to Morrisons will soon come to her senses (if she really needs to, she will indeed!) and a bit at a time she will start doing the things that come as second nature to all of us on this thread - she might even become one of us, who knows!

Caterina

Cinny91

Caterina wrote: »

don't you find that you can tick virtually all their suggestions already, and have done so forever? :cool:

There seems to be a new wave of books coming out, like how to be thrifty but glamorous and one book lovingly titled 'How to Feed Your Whole Family a Healthy Balanced Diet, with Very Little Money and Hardly Any Time, Even If You Have a Tiny Kitchen, Only Three Saucepans ... - Unless You Count the Garlic Crusher'


I've just come across a site called The Kitchen Revolution, which would be good for working mums who still want to be OS. it gives you a weekly seasonal shopping list along with meal plans for the week.

Jorgan_2

Caterina wrote: »

I meet loads of people who whinge and cry misery and poverty and then when you go scratch down you find that they buy brand names, fly all over the place for hols, "can't resist" this or that treat, hey that's their problem!

Caterina wrote: »

Part of the problem is people have got so used to their comfort zones, they don't know how to change, or want to change.

One of the girls in work has just received an e-mail about ideas for credit crunch lunches, the cheapest works out at about £3.20, which isn't cheap to me.