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

JoJoB

Well I am just obsessing over getting the food budget down - is a breadmaker a good idea do you think? Might see if I can get one from freecycle. Trouble is my kitchen is so tiny I have to really think about getting any gadget as I have very little storage space. But if it means I can make pizza bases and rolls easily perhaps I should do it.

Just staring glumly at my living room wall now, with all the plaster breaking off and damp patches. Won't have the money to ever get that fixed now. Feel depressed.

I know compared to the majority of the world we are still rich and very very lucky though. But still feel deflated.

Petlamb

We're not in a happy place today... both the mr and I are at uni... he's final yr with a job, im first yr without... I study media - a dept that's so squarely in the firing line that all i hear each day is my lecturers growing ever more worried that the department and therefore, their jobs, will not even exist in a year or possibly two...

And the mr's line of work is community and youth work - something the tories notoriously underfund.

I feel sick that I voted LD. I really do.

ETA more that I meant to add!

As for us more generally... dislike the fact we use only leccy here and have storage heaters we haven't a clue how to get the best from... still have no loan/grant through and SLC are giving no dates when this will happen so skint as... yeah.

This flat is baltic. Always.

The draught excluders need to go down (today!) and the gas heater needs to come out soon. Having 2 duvets seems to make sod all difference. I need to try to get to grips with the damned slow cooker. I suck at it.

littleowl

JoJoB wrote: »

Well I am just obsessing over getting the food budget down - is a breadmaker a good idea do you think? Might see if I can get one from freecycle. Trouble is my kitchen is so tiny I have to really think about getting any gadget as I have very little storage space. But if it means I can make pizza bases and rolls easily perhaps I should do it.

Just staring glumly at my living room wall now, with all the plaster breaking off and damp patches. Won't have the money to ever get that fixed now. Feel depressed.

I know compared to the majority of the world we are still rich and very very lucky though. But still feel deflated.

When my children were small I used to make all our bread by hand - no breadmakers then. I have been comsidering starting to do that again. I still wouldn't use a breadmaker though. I have tasted that made by my sister and there is something about it I don't like. Anyway - kneading dough is very therapeutic!:):)

jackieglasgow

We do bread by hand here, I gave my BM away because I couldn't cope with the amount of ingredients each recipe needed and the hole in the bottom! If you don't fancy kneading the cheapfamilyrecipes menu has a no knead recipe on there.

mambury

JoJoB wrote: »

Well I am just obsessing over getting the food budget down - is a breadmaker a good idea do you think? Might see if I can get one from freecycle. Trouble is my kitchen is so tiny I have to really think about getting any gadget as I have very little storage space. But if it means I can make pizza bases and rolls easily perhaps I should do it.

Just staring glumly at my living room wall now, with all the plaster breaking off and damp patches. Won't have the money to ever get that fixed now. Feel depressed.

I know compared to the majority of the world we are still rich and very very lucky though. But still feel deflated.

Breadmaker.... I wouldn't be without! I have a panasonic (supposedly of the best) and I use it every day. By making pizza bases, I can make four BIG (18'') pizzas with toppings (homemade sauce, mrA value mozzarella) for about £3/4 ish depending on what we use for toppings...... Bread is fine, does go a little funny/dry after a few days but tbh it never lasts that long

Ask about on the main OS board as I think there are big differences in the makes of BM with how they bake.

anguk

ceridwen wrote: »

Theres a link on the BBCNews homepage to the Comprehensive Spending Review pdf - no good at giving complicated linkies - so havent brought it over here. Perhaps someone else more computer-literate than me could give a link to that pdf??

Is this it?
http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_191696.pdf

I notice it says on the BBC site that EMA is going to be replaced. But replaced with what and when?

I found this on the above link:

The Spending Review removes Child Benefit from families with a higher rate taxpayer and
replaces EMAs with locally managed discretionary funds to target support;

What on earth does that mean???

RAS

katholicos wrote: »

Okey dokey, my concerns regarding ESA led me to do a google search about the time-limited-ESA payments and i came across this thread....it seems the 12 month ESA time limit would largely affect ESA claiments who are involved with the Work Related Activity Group and whos ESA payments are contibution based. I daren't think that i won't be directly affected via the implementation of this rule though. Will wait to learn more about what it means for people like me who claim ESA because we are unfit for work and are confirmed to be so by doctors and consultants.

That is certainly what is in the PDf I am reading; it applies to those in the WORK Related Activity Group.

RAS

Vampiric_Addiction wrote: »

We're not in a happy place today... both the mr and I are at uni... he's final yr with a job, im first yr without... I study media - a dept that's so squarely in the firing line that all i hear each day is my lecturers growing ever more worried that the department and therefore, their jobs, will not even exist in a year or possibly two...

Sorry to hear the news but your staff are over-reacting. Your university will continue to be funded for students who are already there and who start in 2011 on the same basis as now.

On the other hand, I think that media is not the subject with the best job outcomes and maybe it would be better to think about a swap sooner rather than later (IMO only).

[Deleted User]

I came in to sit down at 3.30 after spending the morning waterproofing wood in the garden and I haven`t been able to get to grips with the spending review at all. I gather that it won`t really affect us as we have no children at home and are not on benefits and have our own home. I expect it will affect us in subtle ways but we`ll just have to wait and see. Re the breadmaker, we are isolated from shops and so I make bread every other day in my panasonic bm. I tend to make 50/50 wholemeal + white and it takes a 5 hour setting. It is gorgeous bread and makes wonderful toast. I did the costings once last year and it works out very much cheaper than using the oven. The flour I use is not cheaper as I buy organic straight from shipton mill but that is my choice. Tbh I am glad we eat organic when we can as I saw them spray the big wheat fields near us the other day and that is winter wheat which is now growing straight after harvesting wheat from the same fields in august. The fields must get very depleted and rely on fertilisers

mennie

From reading the coverage, we wont be directly effected, but the fall out may effect us.

We own our own home, have no kids and are in receipt of no benefits. We will of course be effected by the VAT hike, but there is an income tax cut coming that should negate some of that.

We shall just continue as we have done, i,e, cut spending and up saving. Putting away as much as possible.