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

katholicos

mardatha wrote: »

I'm here and life will just have to deal with it LOL!

Brilliant. Mind if i adopt your words as my personal mantra ?

Prudent

honeybun16 wrote: »

has any one else found that since trying to tighten their belts that other people that when you get talking to them fall into one of two types, those completely missing it and carrying on blindly or the other type ( which i prefer) are trying to do the same thing as you but do it almost in secret.

There have been a couple of people who i've been talking to recently who seem almost relieved to have found someone else prepared to admit that they are tightening their belts and to talk too. One lady was so happy that she was not the only one starting to try and make and makedo that she ended up having a two hour conversation with me about how she is quiltting for all of her grandchildren this year for christmas but she is scared that her DiL will think she is just being cheap.

If I was this lady's daughter in law I would be delighted. I have just been given a beautiful hand made quilt that my mum has spent three years making. I am absolutely thrilled with it as shall always treasure it. She made it double bed size, but as I have two cats that tend to knead the bed with their claws, I will be using it as a wall hanging.

ceridwen

Prudent wrote: »

If I was this lady's daughter in law I would be delighted. I have just been given a beautiful hand made quilt that my mum has spent three years making. I am absolutely thrilled with it as shall always treasure it. She made it double bed size, but as I have two cats that tend to knead the bed with their claws, I will be using it as a wall hanging.

Well - my reaction to the quilt would be to think how much time and thought had gone into making it. It only takes a few minutes to spot something in a shop - and flash the credit card to get it. I would also be glad of the fact that I had a mother-in-law who thought enough of me to want to do something like that for me - a lot of people don't have mothers-in-law like that...

ginnyknit

What a labour of love prudent, I would be so pleased, and you will obviously treasure it.

BB1984

Just popping on briefly (I am supposed to be writing an essay today, groan) to say that whilst I agree with everyone's sentiments RE the White Horse statue and other public art projects, often they are not being paid for by public funds (or at least not entirely). The horse statue appears not to be being paid for by taxpayers' money:
http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/8267045.NORTH_KENT__Doubts_over_Ebbsfleet_Landmark_after___10m_price_revealed/?ref=rss

(I still think it's a waste of anyone's money, though!)

*sigh* I suppose I should crack back on with this stupid essay....I can't wait until I've finished my professional exams next Spring and don't have to do this stuff any more!

BB

lilac_lady

I seldom shop in Asda but when I popped in this week they had 2 x large jars of Gold coffee (£7) and 4 x cans of tuna (£2). I bought them and when I went back to my car I thought about this thread and trying to stockpile when prices were lower then went back and bought the same items again.

The staff will think their camera has a stutter!

Primrose

I've just read that some unknown entity or consortium has just bought up a HUGE stockpile of cocoa beans in the international commodity market. It's not believed to be a chocolate manufacturer but speculators who are going to hold it back until they can reap the benefits of a shortage and charge eye watering prices for it. So it looks as if one of my favourite comfort foods, i.e. chocolate, is not only going to be subject to a VAT increase in January, but further price increases on top of that. Time to invest half my savings in chocolate bars and hide them away somewhere in a nuclear bunker!

JayJay14

Leaping out of lurkdom...

We had a similar situation here to the horse statue, but in our case it was toads - a Philip Larkin tribute. The council pulled the finance when the uproar started but local businesses have sponsered them instead. I still think they are a waste of money though - there are much more useful things to sponser.

Our circumstances are a bit dire at the moment. OH has been out of work for the past 6 months - his unemployment benefit is just about to run out. I work full time but we have a mortgage and the next 6 months are going to be very difficult. At the end of this if he is still out of work we will have to sell the house. We have lived here for 12 years and the prospect makes sleeping difficult at times. Rentals in the area are just as expensive as buying so any equity we can keep back won't last long and that's assuming we can sell.

I have 9 years to retirement (64 3/4 ) and I feel tired all the time as it is so what I will be like by then I can't imagine.

However, we have managed to get quite a lot of veg and fruit out of the garden this year (OH had the time:rotfl:) and am now a convert to Approved Foods, which combined with the grocery challenge and other advice and help on these forums we are getting by for now. Had a old college friend visit yesterday and while I don't really begrudge her the two houses, many holidays, the early retirement - she's younger than me - I can't help feeling just a teensy bit green:D

sparrer

Another lurker just jumping in briefly to say hi. Hi :hello:.

It's getting tougher here but somewhat self-inflicted....I'm on a pension and have spent a lot of years pleasing my elderly mother, holidays, visits, Christmases etc., but dawned on me recently I'm not getting any younger myself. Yesterday I was asked if I'd like to go to India (!) for a few days in Feb and immediately said no, of course. But then I thought about it for a short while (couple of mnutes ) and thought why the heck not?

Trouble is I'm already commited to going to Scotland for a week or so in May to meet a 'pen friend' and no way do I intend to put that off, we're neither of us getting any younger!

So I'm joining some more forums and reading everything I can to remind myself where I've been lax with my OS, and hopefully pick up some extra tips.

I'm afraid I won't have much to offer in way of posts, it's all so well covered already, but will enjoy looking out for how to save an extra penny here and there

S

ps I've just told the mother in excitement, she says I'm selfish...:(

Hardup_Hester

You are not selfish Sparrer, you need to do what you want for a change.