It's STILL tough and not getting better - so how are we coping?

lilac_lady

I love bread and will "suffer" (not as much as the people who have been burned out of their homes in Russia though) if it becomes too expensive. I'll try to use it as a springboard to a low carb regime as I need to lose a stone.

As far as the cost goes, the co-op's Wrbrton large seeded loaf cost £1.81 before the wheat crisis so I think I'll manage to conquer my addiction to bread fairly quickly!

Good luck to jobhunters and sympathy to those who have lost a pet.

mardatha

get a bread maker LL, and then you buy in a stash of flour and make amazing bbread. I dont actually like bread but now I make my own I can add seeds and nuts and whatever to it.

lilac_lady

mardatha wrote: »

get a bread maker LL, and then you buy in a stash of flour and make amazing bbread. I dont actually like bread but now I make my own I can add seeds and nuts and whatever to it.

I've thought about getting a breadmaker, Mardatha but I think it would make me eat more than I already do. I could live on sandwiches! :eek:

I always buy seeded bread and may try to find a recipe for something like bread that doesn't need a BMker, so you've given me food (bread, please) for thought.

kezlou

i tend to make my own bread, which we all prefer anyway. I only really buy shop bought bread if its reduced 9p. Even my little ones go for the fresh bread in the supermarkets, both of them love tiger bread. My downfall, is i don't know how to make it. Anyone have a clue about how they make it?

The papers have got the price of bed completely wrong for a loaf i.e warbirtons its about £1.59 here.Absolutely shocking. Fresh bread tens to be cheaper.

Gailey been thinking about your baking which margarine/butter do you use? I tend to buy the cheapest one possible and use that. Its doesn't make any difference to the cakes that i've noticed. It helped me with cutting the costs of baking. Oh and instead of putting butter on bread for beans on toast, just omit the butter and shove the beans on top. I do this with soft cheese, jam, peanut butter basically any topping and its saved me a small fortune.

taplady

culpepper - so sorry about your cat x x x

wigglebeena

katiegizmo wrote: »

oooh really?? hmmmm. they blank us, have done since we have moved in to the point of turning away when they see us. We haven't done anything and I've tried to say hello. Thought they might have felt intimidated as we are younger but once my mum was here to check the house while we were away and she tried to talk to the lady and she walked into her house and shut the door without a word!! So dont think I'll be asking.... maybe I'll just be really careful!!! We've cut it back before with no probs so would be petty to have a problem now there's berries there!

Our postie's like that. Never a smile, eye contact or response to a 'Good morning' in all the years we've been here. The human race contains multitudes, and some of 'em are funny b******s.

gailey_2

mardatha wrote: »

I think Gailey, that its up to parents to teach kids how life really is, what matters & what doesn't. So all the children of mums in here will grow up knowing how to cope
I knew nothing at all, eloped at 16 with a biker, couldn't cook and didnt want to learn either. I thought all coal was free cos my dad was a miner But I was lucky that we were sound together and had a few years without kids- that gave us time to get ourselves sorted.
I've sort of got him trained now....but there's room for improvement

I think a lot of people still trying to live in past

They failing to adapt to changes.

Since credit cruch uk has changed.

With rising food/energy prices
more job losses
increased taxes
and public sector cuts

We cant have the lifestyle we might of had
wont have disposable income if any
maybe cant have the life and trappings we aspire too.

Derspite all this we have good qualiry of life will never be as poor as africa, haite, pakistan or russia.

Even america low income struggle as they dont have welfare system like we have here.

We should do as much as we can to protect ourselves over next few years.

I have freinds/family who

dont shop around mams too snobby for discount.
lots of people I know dont by basic/value or rummage aroudn reduced and think im funny.
Lots still cant be bothered to cook.

Truth is unless they on very high income to cushion them, low living costs ie rent/morgae or debt free it will be increasing harder to sustain their convieniance lifestyle and they will suffer if they dont adapt and probably moan greatly.

When I worked in 1 store 1 of my staff used to buy all the reduced even bruised bananas and used to get teased ahh our shringage is low as she will buy it all as it was reduced plus 10percent discount.
Another cashier said hows ses always rich and does not worry about money i kept trying to tell her shes so careful as she went bankrupt once due to husbands business failure she may have appeared poor but she had last laugh.

Its am mindset and culture in uk thats different from europe.
We dont appreciate food and have very few british dishes.
lots of fruit and veg of old has become very unfashionable like goosberries, rubarb and marrow.

Despite having more fruit than I can pick and many familes struggling see very few people foraging near me maybe becuae its more affluent area dont know but seems such a shame as had plums, cherries, blackberries also will have lder, sloes and nuts to come.

I guess education needs to change do feel sorry for young people.
As hard to get jobs now even with degree.
Better home economics with easy recipies and managing household budgets would be more beneficail to 6th formers than general.
studies.

My mams not very frugal or good with cooking im self taught.
My dads alwasy been cautious with money and took us foraging as kids.

Thinking I shpould stockpile on flour if huge hike in bread but do try buy most bread reduced and freeze.

Might have to go out my way to farmfoods hubby will moan but thats by far best milk deal.

mardatha

Yes and no Gailey I think life is getting more like it was in the past. I mean like the 20s and 30s. Jobs were hard to find and easy lost, housing was in a bad way with rents high and evictions common. So you can look to the past to help you cope with the future. (By "you" I don't mean you personally). Maybe the period from the 60s until now was just a blip with an artificially high standard of living ?

narabanekeater

I dont think ive ever seen any fruit growing wild. I guess thats living in a city for you.
I did make my own bread but I had to stop as my waistband was expanding by inches. We now buy 12 loaves a week from Farmfoods and 9x 4 pinters from Farmfoods too
According to our lcal news this morning unemplyment has risen again and what gave me a shick was the RSPCA are having animals abandoned outside on a daily basis.
Wea re suppose to have a fantastic prize winning market here but id never buy from it. The good fruits always at the front and your served from the back. I work with children and the amount of children that dont realse animals are kept as meat and veg doesnt really come from Iceland is shocking
We have a BBQ at church later which were really looking forward to
I hope you and your families have wonderful weekend

lambanana

gailey - do you have a poundland? The one in Leeds sells 4pts blue top or semi skimmed for £1 (being poundland and all!) and it was the same at poundland when we were on hols in Wales so guessing it's all their shops? Worth a look as could cut down milk costs.

I forgot to take the mince out of the freezer to make the chilli on the meal plan for tea tonight :roll: probably wont have time for proper cooking anyway though as I'm helping my cousin move and will be packing a van ready for when she gets the keys to the new place in the morning. Will not give in to a takeaway though, not when I've got super extra-cheap Mr.M's pasta in the cupboard, I'll just knock together a sauce for that or may do beans on toast, DH will have to like it or lump it!