Its tough, it will get better and guess what its freezing brrrrr!

skyelark

wmf wrote: »

Hello folks. I've been reading through the thread and picking up some great tips as well as admiring the real support everyone gives each other here:j.
We've had quite a tough year financially, partly due to our own decisions and partly those outwith our control. Anyway, we've gone down in income by...hhmm...probably two thirds. However, DH started a new job last week after a year of redundancy, so we are really grateful for that. Lower salary by far but jobs are pretty hard to find! i'm not working at the moment, having given up a fulltime job as a college lecturer to do a PhD. Did one year but have pulled out. If I could spend virtually 100% of my time on it, it would have maybe been manageable . However, I found myself permanently exhausted and unable to do much else. So....a bit of time out and then hoping to pick up some teaching hours somewhere.
House-wise, we relocated back to my beloved Scotland :T and the joy I feel at living across the park from my DD and a short journey away from DS far outweighs the financial stuff.
Sad to think of the loss of Kinloss. My family is farming, from Moray, and know that many of their friends are from the base and work locally in hospitals etc. There will be a huge loss of spending in that area as the RAF workers have a good salary. On the news this morning they said (I think, although it sounds incredibly high) that a third of the school kids at Forres Academy are from the base.
Looking forward to joining in with you all and getting our spending down a bit more. I have jars looked out for making some chutney for Christmas feasts with cheese and cold meat, and also to give as presents. Will also look out the knitting needles and make a couple of hats.
Loving the wedding day/ rings memories!
W

Welcome back to Scotland! Any good chutney recipes, I would love to have them!:) Just started using a breadmaker and it has given me the bug for all things homemade!:)

jackieglasgow

Oh you are wicked, Jojo! But it did make me smile. Funny how we think an old person should be somehow exempt from all bad feelings and not spoken about unkindly, but (in her case especially) she spent more years of her life as a young person doing bad things to good people.

TudorRose

Been catching up on last night's posts.

Hope all goes well for you for the future Annie.
When my 2nd husband died suddenly I found out some awful things about him & felt that there was no way I wanted to keep anything associated with him so I got a friend of mine to take our wedding rings & other jewellery we had given each other to the local Oxfam shop for them to sell & benefit from. It made me feel better that others would benefit but my friend did get questioned as to where it had come from as they thought it was nicked!

On a brighter note I actually sold something in the shop yesterday & I received a cheque for £10.34 from Music Magpie for some old dvds that I'd sent them so I'm going to count this as Christmas money & see what I can find to spend it on when I got out this afternoon.

Hope the cuts don't impact people on here too badly when they are announced later on today but as others have said at least the people who post on here have a head start over those who don't know how to run their homes & families in an OS way.

lovelife_3

anguk wrote: »

My DD came home from 6th form tonight and told me her tutor said that EMA is likely to stop next year. So as well as child benefit stopping there'll be no EMA. :mad: I'm also very worried about which other benefits will be affected if we're no longer getting Child Benefit for DD. Add to that the cap being lifted off university fees. :eek:

I can see where this is going, only children from more privileged backgrounds will be able to go into further education, other kids won't be able to afford to. So we'll end up with a load of 16 year olds having to get jobs because they can't afford college or 6th form and of course there are very few jobs out there, especially for school-leavers, so they'll end up on the dole! But of course under 18s can't get job-seekers allowance.

It makes my blood boil that bright, intelligent, capable young people may be denied further education purely because of the costs.

Yes i am with you on this, i feel so sorry for the younger generation, they really get hit from all angles. Expensive uni courses, fewer jobs, cut benefits, lack of cheap housing. I feel angry for their generation... I think i am becoming an anarchist in my old age!! Most politicians of every party seem to be self interested and egotistical.

pink_numbers wrote: »

I'm feeling lost

We've been trying so hard to knuckle down, and to an extent, we have managed to do that. We've done all the big cutting backs, and also as much of the smaller cut backs as we can manage. We've cut back a lot.

But now what?

I'm starting to feel lost. I count the days until the wages come in, staring at finance tables and charts that don't move. I've ran out of different types of charts and tables I could construct! Time goes so slowly when you are trying not to spend money. I'm afraid to go out to the shops in case I buy something unplanned.

How does everyone else keep themselves motivate?

Aaw i know how you feel, bless you! Some days seem much harder than others, but try and think about what you have achieved so far! i agree with others that if it is possible try and build in little treats where possible. I also try and pass time in ways that don't cost anything, i find walking excellent therapy, i do have two dogs so have a good reason to get out and about. After a good walk i generally feel much happier and satisfied. Keep your chin up honey x

mardatha wrote: »

What bugs me to hell is that none of the govt shower have EVER experienced such misery and worry as we see daily on this forum. And yet they're happy to dole it out to others. They never see the worry and unhappiness and sleeplessness they are causing. I know we keep each other cheerful and have a laugh but look at the worry behind it. I think we should bring back the guillotine !!

I concur Mardatha, come the revolution...

Good morning to all, sunny again this morning in Newcastle but very cold, brrr. Terrible night last night with INSOMNIA, just couldn't switch off, so much on my mind, i was worrying about the most stupid things, including.....Smelly fish.... I bought some haddock on Whoopsie on Monday from the fish counter at Mr A, two packs that would have been £6 cost me £1.50. When i got home the smell of fish was strong in my shopping bad, but didn't think much of it after all it was fish, just bunged them both in the freezer. Well yesterday when i got some pies out the freezer, the whole freezer smelt of fish!! So much of my insomniac night was spent worrying what to do about this fish, whether it will be alright to eat, should i just chuck it, which would really p me off... any advice on how to tell if fish is fresh enough to eat would be gratefully received......

grandma247

lovelife wrote: »

Smelly fish.... I bought some haddock on Whoopsie on Monday from the fish counter at Mr A, two packs that would have been £6 cost me £1.50. When i got home the smell of fish was strong in my shopping bad, but didn't think much of it after all it was fish, just bunged them both in the freezer. Well yesterday when i got some pies out the freezer, the whole freezer smelt of fish!! So much of my insomniac night was spent worrying what to do about this fish, whether it will be alright to eat, should i just chuck it, which would really p me off... any advice on how to tell if fish is fresh enough to eat would be gratefully received......

That is why I stopped buying whoopsied fish from mr A a few years ago. I had to throw away several packs of fish.
I also do not buy their whoopsied ready cooked chickens after being ill three times from them. Mr M's are fine.

I wonder if we could all come up with a list of free things to do.
I like picnics, even ones in the car in the rain. If there is a nice view it is still good and we do not melt in the rain so walking is good.

mardatha

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: my god, I've had some funny "worry" nights but never about frozen haddock

JenniO

Get rid of the fish and put some bicarb of soda in an open container in your freezer asap.:o

skyelark

Annie56 wrote: »

:DAm here Hippiechick:p

And am totally wipedout...phew what a day, well they turned up 8.30 ish and we packed up the boot with my OStyle picnic and made sure we all had waterproofs and wellies must allways be prepared (was a guide yer know!!!:D)

Right there was me in the back with this little angel:A chuntering away and the dog sniffing my lugole over the back seat :rotfl:and having a conversation with the back of his head, kept looking at the way his neck hairs curls into the nape of his neck oops sorry ladies I went off track there......:o

well we got there after about 5 I want a wee wee stops :rotfl:and she promptly fell asleep in her buggy so we went for a cuppa whilst she snored away, women in the cafe sais oh dont she look just like you...to me :eek::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: he just laughed...

We had a lovley early afternoon on the beach that man can flip stones across the water better than me,,,the dog went beserk and kept bringing me a stick to chuck for it and we scoffed my picnic they never left a crumb, I had two ooh yes two very memorable kisses on the cheek...and we returned home and put Lucy to bed...and two very tired folks crashed on his couch yep I got entry into his cottage and he went down the shop to get a bottle of wine for me, he doesnt drink so I had a discreet nose around, very tidy and organised house, thinks his mums the owner of the tidiness
Saw a pic of his wife, she was very pretty but quite big built lass, with a gorgeous smile he caught me looking when he came back so I repeated that she looked a lovley soul,,,then gave me info on all the things she had done in her life before she died a month after Lucy was born, a brain tumour, just went in her sleep, peaceful as it should be...

Weve hada good chat and he said that if I found having Lucy around when we saw each other then he could ask his mother to babysit sometimes, had to put him straight that nowadays most divorced/single folk come with a chid/ren and they come as a packkage and if the new person in there lives found any child a prolem/nuisance then the relationship was doomed from the start.
He thought I didnt want any children so told him about exOHs infertility and that was why we never had any children with me working daft hours and him getting the business of the ground it just never happened. He said would I like a child....I just simply said yes, I would be an older mother but who the heck cares....then I changed the subject...

After a ham and his homemade chutney sarnie I went home after 5mins smoozing on the doorstep....this is going so fast my feet aint touching the ground, but I need to be grounded as tommorow at 11.15 my divorce gets heard and hopefully by noon Im free then my new life begins ....his Lab thiks Im the bees knees kept shadowing me all day....

Now back to Old Style stuff, Im going to get rid off my engagement and wedding ring down the pawn shop and give the proceeds to a childrens charity....

So today has been perfect even if the weather was a bit cold later on and a traffic jam and the dog filled the car with a noxious pong:eek::eek:

Im frightened this lovley phase of my life is just a dream but will take it as it comes.

Havent managed to read the todays postings but hugs to all that need them and just hugs to everyone as well and I wish I could sprinkle the fairydust of my life at present over you all...it gives me real hope that despite the nasty taste of the last few weeks life has a way of coming okayish..were ladies we get on with it with style panache and good heartedness...
Love to you all, early night for me I think and I will sleep well, good point tommorow really is the reat of my life


Hugs and warmest wishes to you all

Annie56 xx:j

Fab! Loving it that things are coming together for you. Enjoy it, you deserve it after all the c**p you have been through.

skyelark

grandma247 wrote: »

That is why I stopped buying whoopsied fish from mr A a few years ago. I had to throw away several packs of fish.
I also do not buy their whoopsied ready cooked chickens after being ill three times from them. Mr M's are fine.

I wonder if we could all come up with a list of free things to do.
I like picnics, even ones in the car in the rain. If there is a nice view it is still good and we do not melt in the rain so walking is good.

This happened to me too! I had to defrost my freezer and wipe it down to get rid of the smell.

the_cat

lovelife wrote: »

Yes i am with you on this, i feel so sorry for the younger generation, they really get hit from all angles. Expensive uni courses, fewer jobs, cut benefits, lack of cheap housing. I feel angry for their generation... I think i am becoming an anarchist in my old age!! Most politicians of every party seem to be self interested and egotistical.


QUOTE]


I sooooooo agree with you. On the flip side though, it's the thought that maybe by taking some of the pain now, our generation can take some of the sting out of the problems for our children that is keeping me going.

If I think about those that got us into this mess too much I get very, very angry. Every politician from every party seems clueless and uncaring about what they have done/are about to do to the general public.However much I might like to rebel against the cuts/support anarchy etc it will simply make the situation for the next generation even worse. I would rather suffer now and hope that I can spare my kids some pain

So I will come on here and pick up tips. Keep chugging along and looking for new ways to save. Have put in a new order on App Foods for some more breadmix/tomato sauce mix etc for the store cupboard and am now working on a budget for next year, chipping back a little at categories where I can to 'make up' for the doubtless loss of income we are all going to face