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

kezlou

Thanks for that mardatha, i've looked on the site before and didn't see any. I do prefer M & S but the prices are just far too expensive now. Might try and make some new bras for myself using the wires and inners from the old broken ones.

sorry squiggly only just saw your post, i'll have a look on the website in a bit. Yes the skins do go crispy but you have to leave them in longer. What i do is sprinkle salt and pepper on the skins to dry them, out a bit, they get a lovely crispy edge when i do this.

flipperOSN

seabright wrote: »

I think they're great. Cheap fuel, no cooking smells & steamed up windows, no hot kitchen in the summer. Why not post a "wanted" on your local freecycle and see is someone has one they don't want any more. There are some very cheap ones on ebay too.

I love using my slow cooker - actually I have two. The larger one I bought a few years back after my first son was born and chaos reigned in the house. So nice to have the flexibility of when to eat. I've also got a smaller one my Mum gave me as a christmas present. She asked me what I wanted and I'd just been admiring the one they had! At least once a week the smaller one gets used for curry, and the larger one is great for things like batch cooking or soups. Sometimes I stick in a chicken carcass and veg overnight to make a fabby soup. Honestly I would not want to be without one anymore.

csarina

Can I join in please.......

Kezlou,

My scaffolding costs £20 each!! and have to be hand washed. I bought 2 in the first place and then a third, so one on, one off and one in the wash. I am heavy busted and need the support, cannot get cheap bras, they just do not make them in my size. 34 GG!!!

Having moved twice in 10 months (thank you OH) we are suffering financially just now. Keeping on top, but its hard. I have had to increase my food budget to £140 a month for the two of us and out fuel spend up to £30 a month. We are rural. Thankfully I changed the car we have a Skoda Fabia green line. Road tax was £25 this year and it is economical especially on long journeys, does around 600miles to a full tank. I filled in the soa on the cccs site at the weekend and got an awful shock........especially when I saw what the food allowance was per week for two people!! We eat well on much less than that, mind you I cannot afford rump steak, not that OH would eat it anyway......

Living where we do means that instead of visitors coming for the morning/afternoon, they come for 3 - 4 days, I am having to be ingenious with menu's.

Talking things over with my OH we have put a plan into place to pay down both our o/d and CC, its in the freezer in a bag of ice. I am just drawing hk £140, deisel £30 and OH's pocket money £35 in cash each month, when its gone, thats it till the next month, I should have halved the o/d by the end of this financial year and repaid by Christmas 2011. It will take us a bit longer to sort out the CC, but once the o/d is paid back I can pay extra to the CC. None of our private pensions went up this year, the goverment pension rise was hardly worth having, but every penny helps........If I have hk money left at the end of the month I draw that amount less the next month........all our bills are paid by DD's, so I know that council tax etc is getting paid come what may, the same with the rent.

Its not easy, but it has to be done........

Lindy_-_Loo

hello everyone,

I read this thread alot and enjoy it. Im 33 a SAHM and my partner works full time (although on his wages you wouldnt think it was!), we have 2 boys Aaron who is 5 and Ethan who is 3 today. Once we have paid rent, utilities, council tax and debts we dont have much left. we get by and manage to save thru the year. i was a store manager before I had the boys but felt that the cost of nursery was too high and I wanted to stay at home with them which meant big life style changes - bigger than we expected.
We decided not to buy a house and we rent a two bedroom house which is lovely and as far as Im concerned its our house we just dont own it (if that makes sense). Going to pontins next week, have paid for it monthly since last november and will start paying for next years holiday this year again!

Started to buy xmas gifts now and got some at the car boot, I have some friends who frown at me when I mention this, it used to bother me if im honest but now I see that the boys dont care if the toy isnt bought new as its new to them and they love it all the same.

BigMummaF

penelopedee wrote: »

I do that with the DIY/paint. I've just re-done the bathroom and back hall with half old/bit a of new to stretch it out. In my eyes it's sparkling and has made me feel better. OH moans at the stacks of old tins in the shed! I especially like hunting through the loft for old ornaments or curtains etc that I've put back when we've grown bored of them. Just changing a few bits does make a difference. I also think spending time brightening things up helps with motivation too.

Can you come & tell The Offspring that it's a good idea to keep things 'just in case'? We're having full on War talks here cuz I'm a 'might need it one day' kinda hoarder & they want to chuck it all up the dump! I've rescued the same dish drainer SEVEN times now, to go to a charity shop

Souk08 wrote: »

Morning all, Alex I'm 31 and have a slightly Jekyll and Hyde personality I guess. On the one hand I love my OS ways, cleaning my flat and a bit of radio 2 and on the other I loved to get glammed up and love socialising and spend a fair bit on that. I'm also single and fabulous and don't have/want kids. Oh and I would NEVER want to move to the country and live the self sufficient life. Told you I didn't fit in! Have to say that I sometimes read other threads and feel like the OS police are coming for me if I don't manage to get all my fruit and veg in or keep my own chickens but this thread is a supportive and friendly one and if it works for me then that's that!

I LOVE listening to people who talk interesting talk, as opposed to boastful windbags who preach IYKWIM. As Mar says, we all have something in common on here so what's not to fit in with Personally, I continue to dream of successfully growing something edible in the back garden SIZE=1]my black thumbs continue to beat my green fingers into submission[/SIZE & like the comfort of being close to flushing toilets & a working fridge, so I guess I'm a larger village-dwelling wannabee rather than a fully fledged, banner waving Good Life convert :rotfl:

Excess money doesn't stray into my neighbourhood very often which means I've spent all my adult life making do & it's never bothered me; providing we have shelter & some kind of sustenance in our bellies, I'm still winning. I'd love a fitted kitchen & desperately need a new cooker but the previous occupants left bigger cupboards than they make now SIZE=1]been here 28 years![/SIZE & the stove has been used virtually every day of its 16 years, so I 'make do' till I really cannot 'make it do' any longer.

One of my favourite :doh:moments is finally making sense of an opposing thought that was put forward for discussion in a depression workshop. One of the participants was saying how some family members "make me feel stupid"--haven't we all been there in some context --& the response was "NO-ONE can make you FEEL anything! You are the only one who can inflict emotion upon yourself." It's taken a fair few months to understand what that means; a baby's smile is a wondrous thing but it is up to you whether you respond in kind; a neighbour can be vile & loathsome, but it is up to you how you react; a cat curling up on your knee is adorable, but it does no more or less than take up lap space--it is up to you to find it a comfort, sign of love or an annoyance. Once you get the hang of it, it is really quite liberating & fits into an mse lifestyle as if tailor-made

[Deleted User]

silvercharming wrote: »

I use that recipe, I use eucalyptus oil as its antibacterial and I find the smell less harsh than tea tree Katholicos you could use your handmade soap, but it seems a dreadful waste?! I use pure soap from Boots baby section, I 'grate' it in the food processor (but I use the blades not the grater). If you unwrap the soap and let it 'dry' for a few weeks before you do this, it grinds up smaller. It's far cheaper than buying soap flakes!

Brown vinegar is fine for everything, but I do use white vinegar for clothes, just in case. I once bought cheapo vinegar that it turned out had been coloured with caramel or something (wasn't labelled :mad: ) and it stained. Oops.



Had to bring this over from the old thread. Amen to that, Wigglebeena!
:grouphug: to all my lovely friends on here (including all the lurkers I haven't met yet!) I agree that all the lurkers should join in!!!!!

Experimenting with the WUL recipe, we have found that is has begun to gloop and leave a film. We are greatly reducing the amount of soap and adjusting 'til we find what suits us.

AlexRed

Good Afternoon all

Yes, I've been called a hippy, earth mum too!! Not as a compliment, but that's how I take it! Am just preparing tea for tonight salmon fishcakes made using canned salmon that I had on offer in Home Bargains and left over mashed spuds from our dinner yesterday. I often make extra so we can have fishcakes the next day they are yummy!

I find that potatoes are my friend in these tough economic times, really versatile and store really well. Got a big bag from Aldi this week, 5kilos for £1.59 which will be the basis for a fair few meals.

I found this site great for new ideas for preparing the humble spud: http://www.lovepotatoes.co.uk/salmon-fishcakes/

Hope everyone is having a good day, its suuny here today. Lovely chat to so many from all different areas of the country and all different walks of life.

mardatha

Brilliant BMF, I like that, it fits how I see life. I dont waste time bothering about what anybody else thinks. Life is too short , so just get on with it eh.

[Deleted User]

budgeteer wrote: »

My husband used to get such bad scalp that he stopped using shampoo several years ago. He just rinses his hair in water. His hair and scalp are in good condition and feels clean all the time! I have heard of others who do this too, but the shampoo makers and sellers have done such a good job of washing our brains as well as our hair:rotfl:

I never could cope with 'water only' because I know that it takes a few months sometimes, of dullness or lankness before the scalp and hair adjusts. That's why I think I'll try the bicarb etc, to get me through the few few weeks or months. I already use unperfumed organic shampoos, but I still get itchy eczema all the time - and the price certainly isn't OS:eek:

After reading the forums I think it is important to do this thing VERY gradually. I have begun by using less shampoo and only on the top which gets greasy. I'm washing hair over the bath and using much cooler water. Gradually leaving the hair just a little longer etc. I think some people are finding that their hair can't cope with a sudden change and they give up.

Thats_Me_3

Thank goodness i have finally reached the end!! Lovely shiny new post, loving hearing from all the new people and glad that so many of the old ones are still here. Sorry for all who are going through bad times, have nasty friend/families, have job/housing worries etc. etc. The very best thing about this thread is we HAVE all been there, done that, bought the T shirt (if we could afford it!)

Loads of blasts from the past on here, re: Shirley Goode. As a young h/wife (YEARS ago!) I used to buy Family Circle magazine and Shirley had an article in there Feed a family of 4 on £20 a week, or something of the sort. I still have that article and still refer to it. there were wonderful puddings, Eves pudding, choux pastry, yum, and a lot of really good ideas.
Cloth nappies and breast feeding, no problem there, I breast fed my girls and that was at a time when there were no mother and baby rooms. You just got on with it discretely. Breast feeding does NOT mean getting your t*** out in public in front of everyone!
Oh and Kittie, lovely, lovely to see a post from you. Take care of yourself and thank you so much for the original thread, that was the one that turned me on to this site.