Being 'tight' or being creative

thriftlady_2

jazzyjustlaw wrote:

I intend to limit the use of Christmas cards this year. I will only send ones to close family members and will make some of them.

Its more green. My work are having a give to charity box instead of giving cards, great idea me thinks.

I had a colleague who used to send a little slip of paper to everyone with a little Christmassy decoration (she was quite artistic) and a message saying she had donated the money she would have spent on cards a charity. She reproduced these little slips of paper on a photocopier (this was a few years ago I expect she does it ona pc now).

beachbeth

hobbesy wrote:

As for other things I felt a little tight recently when we went with our kids to an airshow and met up another friend and kids. I had a cooler box full of sarnies, crisps, cold drinks, fruit etc and they had brought nothing. I had a sudden feeling of turning into my mother and felt a little embarassed that they would think i was really tight.

I always did this with my kids when they were young because we just couldn't afford the prices of food at these events. The kids used to really look forward to lunchtime to sample all the sandwiches and treats I had packed. It also meant we could eat as soon as we were hungry and not have to queue.

We used to travel to Great Yarmouth on holiday and also used to stop for a picnic on the journey and the kids used to love this too. One time we didn't pack sandwiches and decided to go to a Little Chef as a treat. The kids hated it! They hated having to wait and hated the food when it came as well. They wanted to know why we weren't having a picnic as usual!

I certainly don't think its tight watching a free display. I certainly wouldn't pay to go and watch one! Even though my kids are 19 and 16 they love having fireworks and food at home!

topgranny

thriftlady wrote:

Isn't it great when the kids say you're the best cook in the world:D Mine always tell my mum that her cooking isn't as good as mine:j bless...;)

Some years ago, when the kids were 9 and 14 and we were VERY broke, I used to feel that they might be missing out a lot. We had a small farm and grew almost all of our veggies and raised chickens, goats, pigs, sheep and calves so also had our own meat. I baked all our own cakes, bread and pies and we even made our own beer and wine. We sat down to many a meal where we had produced everything except the butter and salt on the table. (Funnily enough we also had LOADS of friends who just happened to call on Sunday lunch times!)

Anyway, as we got rid of our debts and grew a bit more prosperous (we both had to get jobs in the end, thus the end of our "good life") the kids told us one day that they always remembered those times as the very best. They both said they always thought about walking down the drive on the way home from school and smelling the baking. We always had tea and cakes when they got home and chatted about our day and what we'd all been doing.

Just goes to show - we never had money for presents and extras, except for Christmas and birthdays of course, and a lot of them were homemade or "cheaper" versions of the designer gear. They never missed the designer stuff one bit and appreciated everything they were ever given.

I still make as much as I can foodwise. It's so much nicer than shop bought in most cases.

chardonnay_2

i used to love the picnics we had on day trips. if we had gone to the beach we would spend the whole day there and at night mum and dad would get a bag of chips to put on our rolls which was a great treat. (hot meal without paying to go to a cafe or restaurant - very creative) i didn't see this as them being tight i saw it as part of the trip and it probably meant we could afford to have more days out.

cha97michelle

this thread made me think about a comment my mum said about me last week at a family birthday party.

Who has time to cook nowadays? The only person i know who cooks from scratch is her. (pointing at me) The conversation was then a fond reminis from my sisters grandma-in-law about her memories of growing up in a family of 13.

What had started out as a bit of a mickey take, ended up back firing on my mum, because i just pointed back that who can afford not to cook properly, both from a money point of view, and also from a health point of view.

Anyone else think that the fact the UK is now the obesity capital of europe has something to do with the fact that it is so easy to go out or buy take away food? Our high street in our small town/village has so many takeaway shops. I could understand there being a market for it when we lived in a student area, but in a mining community where times are hard, i really don't.

Also, i feel like having a rant every time someone moans about councils going to two week collection schemes. If you recycle well, and cook from fresh, it can easily be done. In fact, i could probably manage once per month.

Michelle.

PS - not reusing gift bags and boxes is criminal in my opinion. I also save lots of things such as the plastic bags my magazines come in, and old wrapping paper, and the likes to give to my friend for her mum, a keen card-maker.

LydiaSophia

I couldn't agree more that being creative isn't tight in the slightest! I always re use wrapping paper - I have even been known to use old magazines to wrap things in (only for close friends and famile that I know aren't going to pathetically take offence)!

Regrading the firework issue - there are always warning to go to an organised display and don't have your own......... if you can watch one from your back garden why trudge miles?

Also what is e-bay and freecycle - people being mean! No - people that have used something got fed up of and passing it on.

thriftlady_2

cha97michelle wrote:

Anyone else think that the fact the UK is now the obesity capital of europe has something to do with the fact that it is so easy to go out or buy take away food? QUOTE]

I agree with you Michelle, however it doesn't explain why I, someone who knits her own yogurt and weaves her own jam:D is 4 stone overweight :rotfl: