If things get tougher?

[Deleted User]

yes I agree with pavlovs dog but would you mind please continuing the discussion on the discussion board as this thread is meant to be a help thread for people, now that times are hard and getting harder. There are people out there who are hanging on by a thread and who need all the help they can get and there are many many others who want to survive complete with home. They need help and not philosophy

Perhaps start a discussion thread pavlovs dog, because what you say is very important

Sarahsaver

Sometimes discussion AND pratcical advice are inextricably linked though...;)

ravylesley

Dont you find that discussion of a subject helps to clarify the resolution to try something?

Lesleyxx

mummytofour

I have already got a smaller car, we are a family of 7 and now only have a 4 seater. This has helped the cost cutting in a big way but does make life a little harder. We all cycle when we can and use the train.

I am scared stiff that in about 18 months we wont be able to afford our mortgage it went up £200 in Nov and our current lock in period ends in Nov 2010 the way interest rates are going up we have little hope... We are already on a DMP. I have managed to save a fair amount of money this yr to cover my mortgage for 3 months as I am going to Uni to get an education to enable me to get a job which will support the family long term.
I had planned to start paying off my DMP next but am thinking I will now start saving so I have a deposit if I have to find a house to rent in 18 months time. Thinking ahead is a good option. I understand that many ppl will have the view that I should pay off the DMP but to me my family having a roof is more important that paying back credit cards.

I have seen petrol rise 3p a week in the last few weeks and know that it will continue. Going to uni now will at least me we know we wont be made redundant so for the next 3 yrs we have regular income.

Food costs are getting silly I can magic money out of thin air so are cutting down more and more we only spend about 70 a week in the supermarket as it is, struggeling more and more to feed the kids on that amount tho, its hard trying to balance life and money!

I have today planed a few seeds in the garden and I hope that they will grow I wnat to expand this over time.

For the last few months I have not used the dried, I have 4 indoor airers but could do with another 2 just to make sure I have enough drying space.

As of today I am washing clothes at 30c and I am using a flask for my constant tea supply!

I am thinking about the fact we wont be able t o heat the house this winter as the cost of everything is so much, and this life is soon to be one of depression and woe.

I would like to know about bio fuel or other ways of using my car plus soler power for my house, its going to be like living in the the second world war without the sirens...


I am scared of what will happen in the next few years and worry for my kids.

charlies_mum

sammy_kaye18 wrote: »

. Am goign to see if i cna get a small wind up torch/radio somewhere too as i think this could save a fortune too because i usually have the tv on playing the music channel if im round the house doing housework. I knwo im not the only one who likes to bop while she mops

Sammy, I have just bought a wind up radio / torch from Books Direct. It was reduced from £12.99 to £3.99 - don't know if they have any left, and I think you have to be a member to order.

Sarahsaver

Mummytofour have you been on the Moneysaving Old Style board? i am sure they would be able to cut your food bill down for you! When it was just me and 3 kids I managed on £20 a week for groceries.
Also if you go on the debt free wannabee board and post a statement of affairs on there you will get no end of help;)

mummytofour

Sarahsaver wrote: »

Mummytofour have you been on the Moneysaving Old Style board? i am sure they would be able to cut your food bill down for you! When it was just me and 3 kids I managed on £20 a week for groceries.
Also if you go on the debt free wannabee board and post a statement of affairs on there you will get no end of help;)

Hi Sarah,
I fell of the wagon a yr or so ago so am now back and will stay here trying to save money Done the debt free wanna be thing (thats my home!). it is hard weighing up cutting back and quality off life. We dont have anyway. I know many things in life are free but I am finding it hard always doing the free stuff and my kids really miss out on so much. I am hoping to take them away this yr for a couple of holidays ( when dh stops working we get some holiday pay)Just to try and stop their childhood being totally rubbish. As I say its really hard trying to weigh everything up.

katieowl_2

mummytofour wrote: »

Hi Sarah,
I fell of the wagon a yr or so ago so am now back and will stay here trying to save money Done the debt free wanna be thing (thats my home!). it is hard weighing up cutting back and quality off life. We dont have anyway. I know many things in life are free but I am finding it hard always doing the free stuff and my kids really miss out on so much. I am hoping to take them away this yr for a couple of holidays ( when dh stops working we get some holiday pay)Just to try and stop their childhood being totally rubbish. As I say its really hard trying to weigh everything up.

Mummytofour.....can I tell you something???? Your kids probably miss out a lot less than you think! We've never been well off, as DH has been self employed all the time we've been together (25 years) and when my second Daughter was born I became a SAHM. We're currently in the position known as the 'poverty trap' where me going back to work in the sort of job I could get after 18 years out of the job market, wouldn't be financially viable, because after the loss of tax credits etc I'd be working for about £1.75 an hour.

My second daughter LOVED having me at home, even up until now she still tells me that! (she's just sat her A levels she's off to Uni in September)

My kids did always came first, they never did go without what they actually NEEDED...last week my middle daughter sorted out the family photo's for me....she remembered every home made cake, she was marvelling at their funky clothes (either hand me downs, charity shops or homemade) remembering fondly every trip we made - and they were ALL cheap or free.....we always took packed lunches, had 241 entry tickets.... OK they might not have had the latest gadgets, and gizmos, but they did appreciate what they had...At the end of the day they had pretty much what everyone else did. We had tea parties at home - I never did a big 'away from home' party ever.

My Eldest - now 21 has just finshed four years at uni - she survived on her student loan, and what she could earn in the summer....she finished with cash in the bank. We never gave her more than a few groceries over that time, we never had the cash. She knows the value of money and is a good bargain shopper. I just gave her a (bargain!) food processer for her birthday she was over the moon!

My son (16) has a part time job, he's got a stack of money in the bank - he's also going back to the sixth form and then intending to go to uni. He likes to buy the odd computer game, but does not do 'labels' for clothes.

For a long time we've not given them any real pocket money - Granny has provided the odd tenner, and they've made birthday/christmas cash go a long way. We've not had a 'family' holiday for years, and most of our trips away were house-sitting for a friends parents in Oxfordshire, or visiting our friends.

We might have been 'poor' but we had high expectations for the kids, and we taught them the value of money, by default, as it was in short supply.

Don't do yourself down by thinking that you have 'failed' them in some way by not being able to throw money at them. I'm sure your kids feel the pinch a lot less than you think, and lets face it the vast majority of parents are in the same boat.

I didn't mean to write you an epic about my kids...but I did want to give you an few examples of what I meant, so I hope you can take something from that.

I'll be honest with you....I'm desparately worried too....we've got four years left to pay the mortgage, and it's not a lot each month by comparison with what some have got to pay.... but we still struggle to find it, and cover the other bills each month.

All the best

Kate

mary43

Kate - I do so agree with everything you've said. I brought my two boys up in the 70's and it wasn't easy. They had second hand clothes and one particular christmas everyone had something I'd made myself (and I wasn't really into a lot of crafty stuff then so it wasn't really special) but I did manage to get a second hand record player for my eldest son (he was 13 at the time) It was his first one and a neighbour let me have it really cheap. The picture on his face I wish I'd captured ! If I'd spent £1000 he couldn't have been more happy. Years down the line they now say that not having a lot of material things as kids has helped them put things in perspective. They work hard and appreciate what they have. They have maybe learnt a lot of things they never would have had we been better off.

mummytofour - don;t worry about holidays for your kids. I'm sure they wont mind a bit. Spending time with you and having maybe the odd day out thats really special to them could well mean a lot more.
I've come to the conclusion I will never be well off and have to live accordingly. Christmas this year consists of hampers for everyone of bits and pieces from the local charity shops.It'll be appreciated just as much I know.
It is frightening I know, what with petrol costs, household bills going up week by week it seems, and we're struggling at the minute with OH not able to work till his workshops re-built following a fire. The mortgage will be paid off in October thank goodness and I just hope we can keep going till then.
No amount of worrying will put it right but it really is a case of counting the blessings you do have.
Good luck -I hope everything turns out alright for you

sunset_gold

pavlovs_dog wrote: »

whilst i dont for a moment think that a recession will be pleasant for anybody, i think it does come with its own silver lining; it is a chance to take stock.

its a given fact that some will always be 'better off' than others, but for many of us at the moment the only crunching going on is an adjustment of lifestyle, rather than genuine scrimping and saving to make ends meet. for example you might now buy own brand beans instead of finest, walk to town rather than jumping in the car, and have a cheaper coffee in a smaller local cafe rather than a superdeluxe thingyamywhatsit from starbucks. we are in effect being coerced into trying out many of the things that martin has been preaching about, but we've perhaps chosen not to try because we could afford not to, so why bother?

the silver lining comes when the recession ends (and it will end, eventually). its our choice whether we go back to finest beans, taking the bus and having our starbucks luxuries, or whether we realise that we managed the recession just fine without them, and so can do without them now. the result? an instant increase in disposable income that is yours to do with as you please. you could save to ease the burden of the next recession, pay off debts to increase your financial freedom, treat the kids - whatever. as a fully fledged old style convert (albeit perhaps unwittingly) you will have become an expert in getting the most bang for your buck. whether you continue on that path or go back to more frivolous ways will be your choice to make. but whatever your decision it will be an informed decision.

i guess what i am trying to say is that, longer term, there is a positive to all the current doom and gloom. there isnt a lot that you can do to change the current economic climate, however we can all try to see some positives rather than just negatives. your cup may not runneth over for quite a while to come, but its up to you whether that cup is half full or half empty in the mean time.

I also nominate for post of the month.