Live on £4,000 for a year - 2009, Part 3

Frugaldom

patchwork_cat wrote: »

...I am very frustrated by all the people who say yes I will and then don't.

:T Thank you, this is exactly how I feel about it and have had that exact response for more years than I care to mention, even back when I was doing debt control councelling to help folks avoid bankruptcy! I'm convinced that some people just wouldn't be happy if you took away their main gripe - debt - they'd have nothing serious left to gripe about and would have to move on to something (or someone) else. I know someone just like that - they even asked, "What would I complain about if I wasn't skint?!"

However, it is really difficult with children, especially when it comes to the issue of bullying in schools just because they wear the wrong footwear, carry the wrong bag etc, etc, etc. I think uniforms should be compulsory throughout the education system, even although I hated wearing mine all those years ago, and TV should be limited to the BBC so they (the kids) aren't subjected to adverts for everything under the sun that many parents can't really afford to buy. What a really bad parent I'd make nowadays, eh? :rotfl:

Thanks for the update about Mumzy, Fallen Angel Did she manage to quit smoking yet?

thriftylass

nykmedia wrote: »

However, it is really difficult with children, especially when it comes to the issue of bullying in schools just because they wear the wrong footwear, carry the wrong bag etc, etc, etc. I think uniforms should be compulsory throughout the education system, even although I hated wearing mine all those years ago, and TV should be limited to the BBC so they (the kids) aren't subjected to adverts for everything under the sun that many parents can't really afford to buy. What a really bad parent I'd make nowadays, eh? :rotfl:

Back home we didn't have school uniforms but I'm definitely in favour of them. It's funny how your attitudes change as you get older though. I remember wanting those Levi's jeans and not the cheap ones etc. (although I was quite moderate in that respect i.e. wanting branded clothing). Now I can hardly imagine not buying my clothes for cheap e.g. in Pr1m@rk, unthinkable at 15. Or if I buy branded items nowadays like sneakers than only if at least 50% reduced . Even my BF who only buys branded clothing has discovered TKM@xx and only buys it vastly reduced (thank God he finally came to his senses and realised he can get the same for less ). He also started to wrinkle his nose when he hears what latest gadget our friend's kid got and says we won't give into that with our kids. Ah bless.....

grandma247

I homeschool so don't get the I wants very much. When my oldest (now nearly35) wanted £50 jeans I told him I would give him the maximum I was willing to pay £25 and he had to save the rest from his paper round and he did.
I was never a clothes horse although I like nice clothes, just not necessarily expensive ones.
I learned to sew when I had kids and made most of my girls dresses and skirts plus trousers for my eldest boy up to about 8yrs. old. I even made a blazer/jacket for him and began to appreciate why they are expensive to buy along with blouses. A lot of work goes into them.

cw18

My kids were never bought expensive/branded clothing and such as standard. The only item I ever bought (other than from charity stores) was a sweatshirt for DD -- and in the sale it was cheaper than the one I'd planned to buy from my (then) favourite discount store.

Approaching one Christmas (think it was the one just after DD's 13th birthday) I'd bought myself a pair of (cheap) black leather boots. DD decided she wanted some, and was also bugging for a full wardrobe update.

So one Saturday DH had the boys and I took her into town - complete with £100 in cash that she was told was her Christmas money, and once it was spent that was it. She saw a pair of boots for £50 she loved, but I made her wait until we'd checked some other stores - and in the next she found a pair she liked almost as much for a fiver. I pointed out that the cheaper ones meant a lot more money for other stuff, and whichever pair she got they weren't going to be replaced by me when she outgrew them. So she settled for the cheap ones.

We then traipsed around town buying clothes, and around 5 hours later stopped for a drink in a cafe (big treat even back then) whilst resting our arms from all the bags we had - and counted up how much was left of the money. She was amazed at what was still left, looked at what she'd got, and asked if she had to spend it all on clothes. Having been told no, as it was her Christmas pressie, she then asked where she'd get the cheapest DVDs/CDs - and spent the last £20 or so on those instead.

On the way home she informed me that I was going with her every time she wanted new clothes, as she wouldn't have believed it possible to get so much for so little money :rolleyes2

Just a shame that 12 years down the line she seems to have forgotten about that



And the favourite sweatshirt my boys ever had (it was a job to get elder DS to relinquish it as to small and needing to be passed down to younger DS - who was just as reluctant to part with it a couple of years later) was a 50p purchase in a charity shop

mama67

My DS1 is very good at looking online then doing research on [EMAIL="eb@y"]eb@y[/EMAIL] etc for the best deals, we gave him cash for his birthday he added in some of his allowance he gets monthly for clothing and got loads of BNWT clothing in brands such as Gio Goi, Henleys, Gstar and the like for over half the price he would have done in the shops.

Mollymop5

fallen_angel_shelley wrote: »

Hi. im on facebook and see mumzy posting all the time. She is about 19 weeks now and finds out today if she is having a girl or boy. I will let her know that you were asking about her.

Shelley

wow i didn't know this news.Tell her congratulations from me.Hope she's doing ok

Brighton_belle

patchwork_cat wrote: »

The first thing I say to people when they are struggling is go on MSE, but I am very frustrated by all the people who say yes I will and then don't.

Totally with you on that one patchwork - I'd help people very happily a couple of times but then would have to stop:I love working with people who are really committed to changing but those who say they will then do nothing.
I do think it must be so very hard with kids but even so, getting into debt must make you stressed, therefore family life so much worse in the end. And what sort of life lessons do children get when the answer is always yes you can, (even if you can afford it)? We didn't have a lot to spare when growing up and I did suffer a bit at school, so very sympathetic to the bullying/ not fitting in thing. But my parents did keep a roof over our head, and gave us values and aspirations that money can't buy.

Skint_Lynne

The reply box is not playing the game today, I lost a big long post about designer clothes, never mind, I'll post again later. xx

Skint_Lynne

This seems to be a better option to use just now, I was saying to Nyk, don't be expecting a fashionista from the big smoke of Glasgow, I am just ordinary as well, and am happy to be invited into your home. xx

boring_beige

Hi
Was on the till at work, when a couple came in, they seemed angery, when the men sort of slapped/grabbed the women's arm i rang the bell to get someone down incase it turned uglier. they disappeared down one side of the shop, then went out the door. As i was explain why i rang the person down, a man who came in around the same time, glared at me like i had done something wrong. I hope i don't get reported and into trouble. That idea is stuck in my head for a while.
I was unnerved by the display of anger, All i can say is i hope it was a one off. I am just so thankful that such anger is a unknown in my life. If i get reported i will explain myself, i felt justified at the time.

clothes don't really bother me much, certainly not brand names. it was only yesterday a women said something about what i was wearing. i pointed out I made it. she told me i was clever. my reply was i couldn't find what i wanted so i just looked for the pattern and material. it's pratical not clever. like dying the cheap shoes you like the colour you want them to be instead of paying five times the price to get a simular design in that colour.