As The Workhouse Approaches....How To Do Everything To Avoid It, the Old Style Way

CorBlimeyHowMuch

:eek:Energy prices up on average £187 per year:eek: and that food prices are affected by the oil prices and some folk are deciding heat or eat?????

I have gas and electric in my new home and now dont know the amount of electric or gas I will use but I can assure myself it will not be running 24/7 thats for sure

Well the reality is here, I checked my online banking this morning and my JSA has gone in £135 per fortnight, this is it, I either cope or sink. I have a good base to start from as I have no debt, no previous bills so with that zero base I should be okayish if I dont take my mind of the reality.

Enquired around the refuge what the average amount of the Community Care Grant was if Im lucky enough to be considered for one, averaged out for single woman no children at £400, wont cross my fingers incase I dont meet the criteria for it.BUT if they gave me something first thing Id buy is a smalish second hand freezer then I can batch cook, and freeze my whoopsie finds, I love going to the two local supermarkets and finding the bargains.

Last night in one of the supermarkets A$d*, I spotted a 1kg of steak mince for 99p no one was there and as I approached hand held out to grab it I was knocked flying by a shopping trolley, whilst this old lady was apologising to me for knocking me over she was busily grabbing the mince and the reduced sausages, I thought "What the heck" and the lady stacking the shelves said "oh my goodness its her again , this clonking you with the trolley is her ploy to get closer to the whoopsies if there is anything there". so I gave her trolley a clonk on the way round miserable old coot...and beat her to the bread area and bought myself 2 ice buns for 10p it must :Dbe like an all scale scrum when the reduced section is loaded up at night, I might need some knee pads and elbow protectors, scenes from Ben Hur come to mind with trolley adapted to knock out the opposition :eek::D:D

Joking aside, even keeping 100% to my menu plan/shopping just a couple of impulse buys will knock my budget to bits.

I need to get couple of hot water bottles and a couple of warm blankets bought in for winter.. oh and a candle stock and a decent torch. A wind up radio oops can feel the draining of finances coming on, whoa there Janie get a grip :rotfl::rotfl:.

Reading through some of the older threads I see mention of something called LETS and bartering of skills, has anyone gt involved with this? any info on what it is would be great.

Oh heck, the news have just said food prices have risen to a new 2 year high well sorry newsreader thats been an exclusive on MSE Old
Style for months, maybe they should monitor this board and get the true facts...and they said a horrible sentence about pensioners that they have to decide to "Eat of Heat" omg the reality is kicking in for me, of just how lucky I have been so far in my life despite whats happened over the last 6 months personally, Im lucky, infact very very lucky, just wondering how someone worse of than me copes.

Im not all doom and gloom, just bieng careful, think twice about any financial decisions, make my pennies squeak ( pinched this from someone love it) and as they KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON....I hope I can, well I have to, because Im on my ownsome and have no financial cushion so onwards, upwards, I write/type these words to be uripbeat but inside Im worried but time will tell..

Thank you for reading Janies Daily Dribbles and Scribbles:cool:

[Deleted User]

You`ve got the spirit too CBHM. Good on you says I with a `keep calm and carry on` cushion behind my back

I have given a good freezer and a fridge away before now so try freecycle

CorBlimeyHowMuch

Thanks Kittie, its all I can do is keep the calm and do the carry on jig and dance, I will go back to work again soon when Ive gathered my brain/nerves together, Freecycle is an excellent resource in this area, I seem to be i nthe poorer part of town but the friendliness and the daily hi how are yous make up for the lack of green spaces andbad bus service...infact my neighbour has introduced herself, single mom 2 children and she makes a great cuppa coffee, so am looking forward to a good chinwag over the fence lol .

Keep well all.

ifonlyitwaseasier

*r*a*i*n*b*o*w* - wow that is impressive!! i know that when OH and i were living in our last place a years worth would have been closer to £100, thats using tesco own brand 24 roll packs. he uses as tissues as well that and after shaving

freudianslip

ChocClare wrote: »

and in last month's Home Farmer there were all sorts of recipes.

is that a magazine? Is it worth having?

Morning. Heat or eat? Well, if I'm thinking seriously about my heating there must be so many people actually worrying about that very choice.

I costed making my own soaps and shampoo bars. Prices came out at around £2.50 each so that's an idea out the window.

Oh and off to Aldi tonight. I have read that they sell bread flour, I would like to have a look and cost it against sacks etc. Could anyone tell me where in the store it is, where is near?

scottishminnie

Are you guys in the South still having a drought? Scotland is under water again this morning (well my part is) and I'd like to donate as much rainwater as possible to your cause. I just need to work out how to divert its path to those who really need it

I'm planning a Costco trip next Friday so I'll go armed with notepad and take details of things, even the ones I don't normally buy, so I can report back and we can all decide what's worth having. I think I will be picking up more baking ingredients than usual, I'll certainly be looking at the dried fruit.

I'm on a fixed/capped rate with Scottish Power for electricity until next summer so I can't do anything more than that but I'm terrified at the thought of what kerosene is going to cost this winter. Our tank is about half full but I may ring today to get an idea of the price. Oddly in the past it has been even more expensive in summer which surprises me as surely demand is lower but I can never work these things out.

I've just checked the forecast for the rest of the week and the weekend and it's cold, wet and miserable. I could well be making soup at this rate!

boultdj

CBHM if there's a B&M store near you the hot water bottle's with cover's are half price at the moment or there are small one's in poundland as well I noticed last week.hth

Butterfly_Brain

I bet the energy company profits are huge this year despite their bleating about higher prices :mad: S*d the customer think about the share holders :mad: This is getting scary :eek: all the news channels go on about pensioners who get a fuel allowance, but what about the low paid who get no help at all ?

IT'S TIME TO RENATIONALISE !

I am scared witless :eek: and am now looking at the price of wood burning stoves with back boilers. I will also be buying lots of candles, and cooking on the BBQ in autumn and winter as well.

redlady_1

Scottishminnie - we had hail stones here yesterday! Then more sun. Then it turned parky so I had the burner on again! Weird.

With this hike in prices it makes me even more pleased I decided to go solid fuel. Now I know they have increased the price of wood but even so at least I have a chance. I refuse to pay my electric by dd no matter how much it saves me. I would rather have the money in my pocket than theirs plus I have control. I think come winter I will be cooking far more on top of the burner than I do at the moment. Alot more 1 pot recipes me thinks. When I put "Steve" (the burner) into sleep mode the food should be ok all day. I already cook with it at weekends, in the winter, so perhaps it may turn into more of a week thing.

mardatha

I'm a member of Costco and if anybody ever wants to go, I could meet you at the door of the Edinburgh one.