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

csarina

When my children were young our parents always asked what the children wanted for Christmas........I made specific requests like dressing gowns slippers etc, they had loads of toys from other people. One year my daughter was crazy for one of the in vogue scoop neck pinafore dresses, I got the fabric and made her one and knitted a jumper to go under it, she was so thrilled on Christmas morning she danced round holding it up. As they grew older they had things like bikes which their grandmother bought them.......thankfully we were in a much simpler time then....and chidlren were satisfied with less money spent on them. Peer pressure puts an awful strain on parents these days, I am so glad all mine are grown up.

On a slightly different note, they all asked me what we would like, I told them to get us vouchers for Tesco to the amount they would spend so some of my HK money can go towards paying off the debt we ran up moving here......none of them said no......my eldest son was shocked when during a conversation about something else, I told him our annual income.....he asked me how ever we managed.......both he and his partner work, have 4 holidays a year and he is planning on retiring at 50 and travelling in a motor home round europe, good luck to him, he has worked hard brought up 3 chidlren and has paid off his mortgage.

My GD however from the age of 3 went through the Argos catalogue and picked everything she wanted and usually got it, she turned into a very spoilt adult.......years ago we stopped buying for our 5 children and gave each grandchild £10. We had at that time 13 of them all under 14 At the age of 21 this dropped off....they were earning and could afford to give us money!! GD rang me up and asked if I had forgotten to put the money in her card as she needed to top up her phone.......I told her no and explained why.....needless to say she rang off in a huff.....tough......

dollydaydream07

right after having a think about what to buy people this year and how much we can realistically spend, i have come up with an idea but my sewing skills are rubbish so i need help!!!!!!!!

i want to make our 3 niece's pj bags, either using up old clothes of mine or buying some scrap material from a shop in town, and putting in a new pair of pj's but i have no idea how to go about making them - so is there an idiots guide to making something like this???? i did have a google but couldn't find anything!

i am going to have a look at all DD's old toys that we still have and see if i can regift them to the baby(DH's sister is a bit snobish(sorry) so i have no idea how this will go down(same with the pj bags for both girls) but tough)

BitterAndTwisted

Primrose wrote: »

I was thinking about this the other day and wonder just how my parents' generation coped with all this during the War years when things were so much worse than they were today. Not only did they have the winter weather to contend with (no central heating, coal on ration, no washing machines and labour-saving kitchen gadgets, food on ration, clothes on ration, petrol withdrawn for private cars) but bombs dropping down everywhere and often husbands and wives separated for years as they were away serving in the forces. Plus the anxiety of that dreaded War Ministry telegram arriving at any point "We regret to inform you..."

I think part of the difference to today is that a lot people were well-used to not having much and their neighbours didn't either, so it may have felt like everyone was in the same boat. Those of us already coping with very straitenend circumstances can sometimes feel that we're the only ones in our communities having to manage like this, surrounded by others who seem to be enjoying a much higher standard of living. This might not necessarily be the case in a year or so's time.

rosieben

dollydaydream07 wrote: »

...i want to make our 3 niece's pj bags, either using up old clothes of mine or buying some scrap material from a shop in town, and putting in a new pair of pj's but i have no idea how to go about making them - so is there an idiots guide to making something like this???? i did have a google but couldn't find anything!
...

you could do an envelope shape with a straight flap - and you'll just have 2 side seams and you can pretty up with some bits of ribbon or trim

I'll have a look and see if I can find anything more useful than my vague suggestion

or here's a drawsting one made from a pillowcase

lambanana

Has anyone tried reindeer meat? I've tried venison and liked that is it similar? We don't have a lidl near us anyway so I wont be buying any but don't see how it's any more "cruel" than any other sort of meat, if anything it's probably better than having chicken because I imagine reindeer are pretty difficult to breed in cramped cages!

Our house is getting pretty cold at times now, wishing it was better insulated but as it's rented all we can do is put up thicker curtains and draught excluders and the like. STILL waiting for a date from the landlord on them double glazing the utility area and getting fed up of waiting. They also still haven't sorted out our mixer tap, I fear that's never going to be done. Really wishing that we owned our own place at the moment but hey ho, our time will come.

We had a panic yesterday morning as DH along with everyone else at his company hadn't been paid!! Fortunately it was an admin error by the bank and was sorted by 5pm so he has the money now but when he first told me I was worried it'd be a first no one gets paid and next thing you know everyone is being sent home because there are no jobs! So glad he's been paid now. Luckily for us all our bills go out a couple of days after payday but a lot of people in his work went overdrawn as their rent/mortgate and bills went out on the morning of payday but their money didn't go in. I'm hoping for them that the banks are understanding and don't put on big charges but who knows. Just glad for the way we have our payments set up.

dollydaydream07

rosieben wrote: »

you could do an envelope shape with a straight flap - and you'll just have 2 side seams and you can pretty up with some bits of ribbon or trim

I'll have a look and see if I can find anything more useful than my vague suggestion

or here's a drawsting one made from a pillowcase

Thank you so much, i was actually thinking of a drawstring one so i will have a look at the link, also love the idea of doing an envelope shaped one - if the drawstring one looks too complicated it wight well be the way to go!!
thanks again

annscullamus

''I think part of the difference to today is that a lot people were well-used to not having much and their neighbours didn't either, so it may have felt like everyone was in the same boat. Those of us already coping with very straitenend circumstances can sometimes feel that we're the only ones in our communities having to manage like this, surrounded by others who seem to be enjoying a much higher standard of living. This might not necessarily be the case in a year or so's time''

I think many folk at all levels of society feel as though they are in straitened circumstances. The feeling of 'austerity' hangs heavy where I live at all income levels. Sadly whether it is quicker or slower we HAVE to get rid of the gigantic national debt, and all colours of political thinking among my friends recognise that.

I was chatting with my 90 year old parents yesterday about how they lived during the war and the depression. I am sure that the fact their expectations were so much more modest, had a great deal to do with it. We have become so used to a good TV, Sky, a big fridge, an XBox etc, and when that 'want' turns into a perceived 'need' we find it hard to cope without. My Mum, bless her, who has some dementia was voluble indeed on the subject of left overs, small pieces of meat and hot puddings made with very little, and a million uses for mashed potato.

Now we have to teach a couple of generations what reality actually is. I am a post war baby who just got a ration book, so my memories of no central heating, no fridge until I was 12, no telephone til I was 13 etc are strong, and FINE ! I do realise however, it is nigh on impossible to turn back the clock.

Maybe the proverbial clock will be rewound by needs in the not too distant future, and maybe values and ideas will revert a little to people and not things ?

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

I agree that things are getting tough and it looks like they may get worse. I have been 'battening down the hatches' now for years as all this borrowing and debt remonded me of the eighties and seemed like a bubble. People at work thought I was mad/weird/eccentric etc.. I saw people I know borrowing money on cards and getting massive mortgages while turning their nose up at my penny pinching, I used to share tips on bargains and only a select few at work were interested. I had members of family laugh at me for buying xmas treats at aldi but I think people are having to cut back now.

I would suggest the following...

-look at your life as a whole and think of ways to creatively cut back on parting with your cash! Its no good to me cooking from scratch if the ingredients are cheap but it costs a lot to put the oven on so look at the total cost of anything you do.

-look at your shopping habits, I now shop by bulk buying special offer deals, yesterday I stopped off at the co-op on my way home from work and saw they had a fridge full of reduced chicken breats and mince so I filled my boots and went back for more as I had space in my freezer. I will still make it stretch out though by adding oats, lentils soya etc to it so extra savings.

-investing in things can save you money such as slow cooker/remoska/insulation and so on. You can even pick things up on freecycle or jumble sales to make it even cheaper. Look at the used market before buying new, I tend to wait for things and have a list in my moind what I want, the longest I wited was 18 years for a display cabinet to put my (2nd hand) china in..this may be too extreme for some though. My remoska cost me a bit but it is paying for itself on the energy front.

-read your gas and electric meters every month on the same date and keep a record, very handy for checking prices when you want to switch and no nasty shocks whent he bills come round.

-educate your family to frugal ways, this can take energy and time but can pay dividends and is helping them too for the future when they have their own family

-don't feel pressurised into buying or doing anyhting you can't afford, keep your head when dealing with your finances. The people who laughed at me are now sadly in dire straits as they got laid off and had no savings, try and put plans in place for hard times and work out a strategy that works for you, be it saving coppers, bulk buying or whatever, there are loads of ideas on this site.

- project your needs into the future, if you know you need a coat next year then look around the charity shops in the summer, put the word out to friends that you need something as there is always someone throwing something out.

- keep a price book and take it sshopping with you to check prices, if you see pasta for example on special off then check you book, if it falls below the bottom price then fill your boots!

- check out www.lovefoodhatewaste.com for ideas for using up leftovers, they are really tasty recipes and help a jaded cook, plan ahead with meals even breakfast and lunches, we all had porrige today made with water which fills us up, tasty, warming and cheap!

This is all off the top of my head but I'll post again if I think of anything,

its hard for ordinary people at the mo, I look on my housekeeping and household as a business and try to run the accounts carefully, its hard especially when you have good ideas or see bargains but don't have the money to back it up but think of it as a ling term comitment and try to build up a reserve to call on when you do see bargains. I try to stock up food in december when the special offers are on as I notice the shops don't have much on offer in january.

good luck

[Deleted User]

keeping up with the Jones`s is what has sent an awful lot of people into crippling debt. I never in my whole life cared what people thought of me. I am what I am and people like and respect me for being strong enough to go my own way. I was the one making all our clothes when all around were buying off catalogues, the closest I ever got to buying ready made was when clothkits came out and I was in seventh heaven.

I was telling my grown up dd about a bit of my life and that of my mum, over 55 years ago and she sat enthralled and suddenly said but why are people so unhappy these days? She asked if it was because people didn`t have enough to do because everything could be bought. We didn`t have time to spare during the day as there was one task after another and then we would sleep all night because we were so tired.

lilac_lady

I've spent the morning going over the toys I have at my house for the DGC. I've kept the ones that belonged to their parents but have a nice bag of mixed toys and books to take to the charity shop. It's a good time of year to donate children's stuff as it's the only shop option for some parents.

Better that than adding debt to the family budget.