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

lauren_1

BigMummaF wrote: »

Try living here day trippers & ollerday makers think we are so lucky, when the truth is we can't get on our own beach for all of them, & the prices are in line with the easily accessible capital but local wages are not :mad: No F4rmF00ds, H&B, 4ldi & many of the other cut-price outlets you are so fortunate to have north of Watford Gap It may be less annoying if the locals were to get concessions on the car park if we did decide to go for a paddle but we don't get that! Our district council is a waste of space & that's before I begin on my pet grievance of criminal lack of adequate provision for special needs education

Where are you BigMummaF, OH's mum lives on the isles of scilly and very nearly died and went to heaven in my local asda. The island shop is the size of Mr A's trolley area.

thriftyscotslass

northwest1965 wrote: »

Did you find though that it kept you fuller longer? I know thats one of the 1st things I noticed:D, means I dont pick at things mid morning if I have toast for breakfast

Doesn't it just :j. Two slice of hm toast and I can last hours, don't seem to have mid-morning hunger pangs any more :j Thriftyxxx

thriftyscotslass

:j:j:j Great news Mr & Mrs Frugalista :j:j:j

(((((Jackieglasgow))))) - sending you some dodgy hugs to make you smile :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

Off to get the rice on - trying a new sweet 'n' sour recipe tonight.

Fighting_Back

northwest1965 wrote: »

We made a trip to Levenshulme/Longsight in Manchester. I could not believe how much cheaper the spices were. You are right, a large packet much cheaper than what I was paying for a jar.

I really enjoy going to the Levenshulme / Longsight stores. Lots of smaller similar shops in the surrounding areas now still with an excellent stock though and just as helpful.

I also get dates, nuts, pulses, gram flour and poppadums. Then have a little chuckle to myself when I see the price for equivalent in Tesco.

Best wishes.

[Deleted User]

Frugalista great news and well done to you OH I am so pleased when I hear that someone has managed to get a job in this day and age as they are few and far between.I can remember back in the 1980s when my OH was out of work for 14 months and things got very tight.
sparrar lovely to hear the old phrase my late ma-in-law used to use about the grockels on the IoW.She used to get so cross at times as the bus fares used to increase during the summer season.She lived in Northwood just outside West Cowes and my OH was born on the island.Lovely place for a holiday but I don't think I could live there permanantly,OH wanted to move back there when he retired but I said no as it would be too far from our children and grandchildren .in retrospect it was a good job we didn't as he only had just over 8 years before he passed away and I would have been marooned over there on my own.I am off to chale in three weeks time for a fortnights holiday with my Dd and her tribe and we love having holidays there.
Newport has changed a great deal over the years though and there are alot more supermarkets than there used to be.

crickett1234

Very many congratulations Mr and Mrs Frugalista! That little story has somewhat restored my faith in humanity, which has been a little dented by several non-moneysaving things that have happened today. Still, I have happily indulged in an email to the party who offended me, and quite frankly, if the fellers eyes aren't bleeding after he's read it... then I have not done a very good job. I was polite... but pointed. Grrrr.

On the upside, DH and I found a telly. It was cheaper than we were willing to spend and the picture is...WOW! We are spending quite a bit of time looking at the picture and going..."gosh, doesn't that look pretty"!! Bearing in mind that we tend to get most of our entertainment from the TV, I figure it can be justified as a good spend. And it does look pretty!

We also bought some of the nibbles and booze for DH's 40th birthday party on Saturday. I nearly cried when we went through the till...but, on the other hand, if everyone drives, we have enough booze to last us till last Christmas and then some. Here's to lots of people driving and not drinking! Hee hee!

EstherH

phew! finally caught up again. I know this isn't very old style but I got two huge bottles of Lloyd Grossman tomato and chilli sauce from Approved Foods the other day. Didn't realise they were going to be so big and now I don't know what to do with them. Any ideas? Cost me 99p for the two so definitely a bargain. Thought I'd use some with mince, but not sure what else.

For those of you with young children, I used to make play dough but can't remember the recipe, a quick google should turn up a few. Also, a mix of cornflour, water and food dye makes an interesting gloop that little ones love to get their hands into. Just cover the table with news paper or a plastic cloth. Again I can't remember the proportions but think that you just mix the water into the cornflour and mix it should be the texture of custard powder and milk before you add the boiling milk if you know what I mean. Add food colouring and turn out onto a tray. It is just facinating for little ones but very messy. Maybe someone else on here knows what I am talking about and can be more specific. It is a long long time since mine were little. Similarly a thin mix of flour water and food dye makes cheap paint.
A large sheet over a few chairs inside or out makes a good tent and a picnic in it is more exciting than lunch at the table. I was talking with friends the other day about the games we used to play as children, two balls against the wall with a rhyme, elastics and skipping. Maybe introducing children to these would help to keep the bordom away for a bit as they may be a novelty these days or maybe I am completely out of touch and they wouldn't want to know in which case feel free to ignore me.

flipperOSN

Woo hoo! Well done Frugalistsa :beer:

ginnyknit

Congrats Frugalista - good timing by the sound of it!

Fighting back, do you live near Levenshulme? Im about 5 minutes away in Gorton! Noticed the basmati rice at Slade lane is buy one get one free at the moment so am off there on payday!

the_cat

Well done Frugallista!!

Nice to hear of someones good luck for a change. If things are too tight until he actually starts taking home the money, why not plan a nice evening/takeaway or something for the night of his first paycheck as celebration