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

TudorRose

Congratulations on your good news frugalista. Hope everything goes well for you both.

Today & yesterday have been very slow at the shop. Still haven't taken enough this month to cover the basic expenses but have sold £24.00 of stock so far this week which is up on last week.

Have had a lovely 'comfort food' tea of sausages & baked beans which I really enjoyed.

I have tomorrow afternoon off as it's Wednesday so I'm going to make lemon curd. Only need to buy some more butter as have everything else already.

Was reading earlier peoples comments on making baskets etc for Christmas. I do this for my two little grandsons (usually pjs & other useful items as they have so much given them by other people) & each year I try to pack the goodies into something useful. Last year I bought fold down storage boxes from HABS & another year I made extra large draw string bags which they use to store lego & cars etc in. Must try & think of something for this year. All suggestions welcome.

I am enjoying reading about how everyone is getting on. It makes me feel a lot better knowing I'm not the only one trying to think of moneysaving ideas.

Andraste

Hi guys,

I'm another long-time lurker; I've been frantically trying to catch up on the old thread, then spent all my lunchtimes at work belting through the new one so I could say hello at last!

Bit about me: 43, married, DD grown up and married, DS working and still at home. Fortunately we're both still working, although DH's in shopfitting and work's gone a bit awol at the moment. He's away working darn sarf for a couple of nights, but it's the first time for the last month. The silver lining to this is that at last he's had a bit of a lightbulb moment and recognised the benefits of OS living. Went to the local Mr S last night and actually managed to cut the normal weekly shopping bill by at least a third. Such a relief as the amount we've been spending on groceries has been enough to make me feel like weeping sometimes.

Anyway, just wanted to leap in and say hello. Like someone else said, I feel as though I know you all, even though you have no idea who I am!

Frugalista, I'm so happy for you and Mr F. Fantastic news! :beer:

EstherH

Frugalista wrote: »

I don't know if any of you guys ever read my posts on the old thread - my poor husband had been made redundant 3 times since Jan 09 and had been out of work since April this year :(.

Well today he got a job :j:j:j:j:D:D:D:D he's literally just phoned me to tell me the news - and I haven't even told my family yet!! I just had to tell you guys first .

In brief, he had applied for a basic office job in a company who used to be one of his customers. When he went for the interview he was told the job was not suitable for him and that MD wanted to see him instead. The MD knew my OH and said that last time he had become available he had wanted to offer him a post but was beaten to it by another company - this time he wasn't going to take any chances of losing him and so has created a new managerial post (basically to become the MD's right hand man) with the long term view of possible directorship!!!!!!! YAY!!! :j:j:j I am so relieved (bit of an understatement that ) as we are down to our last few quid and things were getting extremely tight.

Whoo hooo!! I am so happy!! :D:D:D:D

Congratulations, great to hear someones good news.

northwest1965

ginnyknit wrote: »

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!

Can I ask, whats Slade Lane?

Before I went OS I always used to get a large trolley when shopping at a supermarket! There are only 2 of us (with the stepkids visits). Now I always get the smaller trolley, it makes such a difference.

Fighting_Back

ginnyknit wrote: »

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!

Hello Ginny, used to be in Stockport and since beginning of this year near Warrington / Salford so Longsight not so close any more. Still arrange to go once a month though. Haven't explored Salford well enough yet to find the best shops. Warrington market excellent and right next to B&M Bargains (can't believe I have reached the stage of life where that happy combination makes my heart beat faster with the giddy excitement of it all!)

I notice that Tesco is selling its UHT milk at 23 pence more a litre than Lidl - shocking, that's nearly five shillings in old money!

sparrer

Oh my, oh my, oh my, oh my, Mr and Mrs Frugalista, it may still be tough/getting tougher but it's news like this that shows the silver lining is still around the cloud and gives everyone renewed hope. Many congratulations on your wonderful good luck, may it be just the start of turning the corner to a road lined with a regular wage :j:T:j:T:j:T

Fighting_Back

northwest1965 wrote: »

Can I ask, whats Slade Lane?

Before I went OS I always used to get a large trolley when shopping at a supermarket! There are only 2 of us (with the stepkids visits). Now I always get the smaller trolley, it makes such a difference.

Hiya, Slade Lane is one of the shopping areas in Longsight / Levenshulme (Manchester) We are extremely fortunate in having the benefits of diversity of population. Must be much tougher in areas that don't have that choice.

Fighting_Back

TudorRose wrote: »

Congratulations on your good news frugalista. Hope everything goes well for you both.

Today & yesterday have been very slow at the shop. Still haven't taken enough this month to cover the basic expenses but have sold £24.00 of stock so far this week which is up on last week.

Have had a lovely 'comfort food' tea of sausages & baked beans which I really enjoyed.

I have tomorrow afternoon off as it's Wednesday so I'm going to make lemon curd. Only need to buy some more butter as have everything else already.

Was reading earlier peoples comments on making baskets etc for Christmas. I do this for my two little grandsons (usually pjs & other useful items as they have so much given them by other people) & each year I try to pack the goodies into something useful. Last year I bought fold down storage boxes from HABS & another year I made extra large draw string bags which they use to store lego & cars etc in. Must try & think of something for this year. All suggestions welcome.

I am enjoying reading about how everyone is getting on. It makes me feel a lot better knowing I'm not the only one trying to think of moneysaving ideas.

Last Christmas I made my younger grandson a treasure chest of craft items (mostly obtained from pound shops and charity shops) - he is really passionate about making things. He loved it. I also managed to get an enormous bag of Lego from one of the charity shops for £2! It takes so little to keep him happy and occupied - brings a tear to my eye sometimes.

365days

May I jump in and say hello too. I also have been a lurker on the old thread, and at the moment have been able to keep up with this one.Just.

A little about me. I'm 39, one DS of 9. 2 cats, dog and rabbit.This time last year I was earning 3x what I do now, hoping to go back to my old line of work in the new year. Will have to see how it goes. Have become and continue to be more and more frugal. Desperately trying to keep hold of my house (Interest only mortgage at the moment) with the long term view being to pay back the last of my debts (very slow going at the moment) and buy a smaller but probably more expensive house. Currently live in a box on a housing estate (which I hate) and want a rural cottage with a big garden (well a girl can dream) I'm a keen gardener and have grown a lot of my own this year and am on the waiting list for an allotment. Lucky enough to work term time only so looking forward to a few weeks off very soon to 'sort my life out' yet again.

Fighting_Back

EstherH wrote: »

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.

Dear Esther, what is Approved Foods? Re the homemade play dough - if memory serves, I think you mix the flour with vegetable oil but it's a long time since I made it for my kids and I'm sure the internet has lots of recipes.