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

Edinburghlass_2

redlady_1 wrote: »

That was my point. My friends went. Travelled first class, had champers, new frocks etc etc. It is their day out once a year. Not everyone who was there has a cool million sat in a bank account. My point was that there have even been posts on here about someone getting a payrise and someone else not and being jealous of it! I remember with the Waitrose conversation one poster said she didnt like to say she shopped there because of the reaction.

I know some very wealthy people but they have had to pay a high price for that wealth. Not least my OH who paid the ultimate price by losing his wife. The only good thing is that his attitude towards money has now changed. They are the ones who work 18 hours a day 7 days a week for years, miss out on their family life, wife, childs first steps. There is no such thing as a free lunch.

"Rich" can be defined in so many ways. I consider myself rich because I have a great family, health and a job.

Tax evasion is illegal. Tax avoidance isnt.

My boss and his wife are there at the moment, he works hard and plays hard. All sorts of people will be gaining financially because of his 3 day trip from the people who design and make the finery to the shop selling them, the people running Ascot, the company organising the trip, train and hotel staff and all the local business in Ascot.

Do I envy him? not at all, his business provides me with the wherewithall to spend my money on what I want to do because money does make the world go round and life is too short to worry about what other people spend their money on or indeed how much money other people have

HariboJunkie

redlady_1 wrote: »

Tax evasion is illegal. Tax avoidance isnt.

Absolutely.:T
Any company will pay over the odds for a good accountant who will find the most tax efficient way of managing their money. There is nothing illegal about it, or unfair for that matter, as anyone in that position would take advantage of ways to pay the tax man less. The proportion of tax paid by high earners is high and they still pay a great deal of money into the pot. The rich also employ people and contribute to the economy in so many important ways that I think we need to realise that a gap in society is inevitable.
In an ideal world we would live in a meritocracy but even then there would always be the "haves" and "have nots".
I have a great deal of time for the hard working, deserving rich and don't begrudge them making full use of their accountants and the tax laws of this country.
I have no time at all for those who are rich because they are paid to be z list celebs and appear in trashy magazines. But I just ignore them.

Cold, cold, cold here. I am thoroughly fed up with it and so are my plants.

Has anyone seen Lostinrates lately?

westlothianlass

Good morning lovely peeps,
Love the idea of having coloured glass jars, my mind is working overtime now:D, i have a day off so kitchen may be rejigged by time OH returns in anticipation of my glass haven.
It's raining again but i'm determined to get some washing on the line so some positive thinking is going on in the hope i can alter the weather:rotfl:.
I find myself watching the evening news with one hand on the remote incase my blood pressure increases too much and i need to switch over as there is so much to get depressed/angry/on soap box about, couldn't believe that people on last night news were surprised at the drop in food purchases, for goodness sake most people are having to watch what they buy due to the large increase in prices:mad: (it's not rocket science).
On a positive note I'm reading Hovel in the Hills by Elizabeth West at the moment so a big thank you to whoever posted this suggestion many moons ago, as i'm really enjoying it.

Hardup_Hester

I agree, money doesn't make you happy, but at least you can be bloody miserable in comfort, lol.

jediteacher

Rain forecast for today and we're off out to a live craft fair. It's free for children and I pay £5. Thought it would be a nice day out for us and they have lots of craft things for children to do which my daughter will love.

For those with children Mr T is holding a 'flash sale' children's clothing. The clothes are 50% off (excludes school wear, accessories and sleepwear).

I popped in to pick up some bits for my little man as although he is only 3 1/2 weeks old he is already in 3-6 months clothes. :eek: We have no boys clothes at home as we had a little girl so have had to get 'new' stuff for him. I managed to get 6-9 months clothes today for him which should have cost £78 but with the 50% off, £5 off clothes (curtousy of a till spit) and clubcard vouchers I spent £19. This means he is mostly kitted out for the next age as well.

Hope everyone has a good day.

Broomstick

kittie wrote: »

I am now thinking of coloured jars, someone mentioned deep puple and so on to keep the light out. Now that is a very good idea as glass can be painted. I used to have glass painting stuff (qvc what else) and could have made lovely designs on glass. My mind is working overtime here, a row of these could be a fantastic feature in an otherwise functional kitchen. Trouble is that my floor is stone but I suppose that they could be used for non-everyday items. Imagine a row of these in purples, reds, orange etc

Mardatha & Kittie, the painted jar ideas sound lovely. I can see those colours glowing. Kittie, what is the problem with a stone floor? Is it that you are worried about dropping things and the jar breaking?

I've been thinking about this too. This kitchen cupboard storage job of mine is turning into a real 'what is the meaning of life' project - those lentils have a lot to answer for!

I still have enough coordination, mobility and strength in my hands to manage glass jars (unlike my mum who would have to look at lighter, unbreakable options now I think). However, a jar is heavy, I want to carry them one at a time not risk stacking them to save time, I have to hold them properly because I don't want them to break - I have a stone floor as well. All this means that getting cooking ingredients is slowed up a bit and tidying up afterwards is slowed up a bit but actually I think this might just add to the pleasure of it all. If we have things that we have to look after (not just jars but, say, anything we have hand-made, or saved for, or someone has made for us) then we put attention on the moment, the here and now, while we are using the objects. It changes the perspective on having 'stuff'.

Taking the time to paint a jar so that it is a beautiful thing in its own right, and even more beautiful when the light catches it, that can be used to store foodstuffs to keep people alive, but needs to be carried with respect, I suppose - seems to sum it all up. It celebrates creativity, nurturing, respect and living in the present - and all of that comes free. You can't buy those things.

Writing this has made me cry. I've obviously hit something that's really important to me and I'm not sure what. It's an ok kind of crying though - you know the sort that moves you forwards in a positive way.

edited to add: I forgot, Kimitatsu, thanks for the reassurance about sell bys. It is something I'm trying to get lots more lax about. I did check for weevils, the self-raising seems to work ok, I'm still alive the morning after and the Welsh cakes taste nice for breakfast too - I had to have one in the interests of science.

kidcat

I have glass paints I bought ages ago for a kids group on craft I ran, I am palnning on using those to decorate my jars when I get more organised.

Sammy I agree it is better to wait for a good freezer to come along than take something tatty.

Jedi - love the sound of the craft fair, and the Tesco sale, unfortunately my kids all all ill (except DS7) so no shopping for me today

managed to get a lot more sorted yesterday and am aiming to clear 5 boxes today, if I can do that then DD16 and I will tackle bedrooms tomorrow and aim to get two littlies rooms boxes emptied and organised, leaving Sunday for my room and DD16 room to do. Got at least 15 loads of washing to do - not having washing lines is really hurting., so I bought a ground spike yesterday and managed to get rotary line up so am hoping to bash the washing today if possible.

Wilko yesterday were selling seeds half price sp picked up a packet of purple broccoli to sow now and harvest next year it says?

westlothianlass

Beautifully said Broomstick:) after my post a few minutes ago i stood at the kitchen door looking out at all the greenery and felt truly blessed, so a bit of a glassy eyed moment for me too today.

I am looking round the kitchen and i have sooooo much stuff sitting out (oil, vinegars, jars utensils etc). All our units are free standing and open so sometimes it seems the kitchen is getting swallowed up with stuff (oh to have a walk in larder:D) well maybe in the next house or life eh. Right i'm off to at least make a start on deciding how many types of lentils etc i actually need.

Kidkat if you plant now you will have wonderful purple brocolli over the lean produce months of february/march ish.

Thrifty85

Thrifty85 wrote: »

SO I've got just £50 to keep my and my cats in food, get a father's day card and gift and any other little expenditures until the end of the month.

Rather than get down about it I see it as a challenge! Looking forward to seeing how little I can spend. Will let you all know how I get on!

Doing well so far - the only thing I spent yesterday was 50p for a bunch of celery. I walked to the supermarket to save petrol and was really pleased that I wasn't tempted to buy anything else. Will be using the celery for cooking meatballs this evening which I will batch cook and freeze several portions.

Also brought a packed lunch to work today (tangy bean pate sandwiches - cheap as chips!) and drinking water from the free cooler.

Keep up the good work everybody and keep the tips coming!

[Deleted User]

I am going to write a bit at a time otherwise I`ll be putting too many posts up.

Time for a break now (9.30) as I have been like a whirling dervish. Stuff has been moved out of understairs, just leaving christmas boxes and a (well) padded and covered dressmakers torso as that is not coming out to full view. One of the things to keep as I could well go back to making garments again. My mind is busy and I must be sure that I don`t start (carry on) talking out loud as I am going on the bus tomorrow. I found dozens of jars of hm marmalade and jams in our draughty, `shed` that is one of those eco storage places outside with alternating side panels and a gap underneath,( so it is light and saves energy re lighting) . I did buy lakeland jars and lids quite some time ago and found the strong empty boxes in the understairs so 36 jars are now packed and will store under stairs.

While in the shed, I nabbed a large box called `really useful`, I remember buying those about 10 years ago and I have more `really useful` boxes the same size in a study so will now sort (mess) that room up as I empty them and they will all stack under stairs. They are see through and I will label them so will be good for my vac packed stuff like nuts, barley and lentils

I also found lots of string bags that I once bought in a lakeland sale, they could very well be useful on the hooks under stairs

11 am and I have lugged cases upstairs and finished what I can do today. My brain kicked in and I decided I had the choice of 2 options, as dh cannot get into under stairs at all, ie stack boxes one on top of the other and tbh not a good option re ease of use, or buy some shelving. I have found the perfect shelving and done all the measurements and 2 shelving units will fit. I am just waiting for the holding co to get back to me with definite measurements. I`ll just count it as `moving house` costs albeit 11 months later. Not cheap but nice enough to have anywhere should we ever move again or want another re-vamp. I ordered several more lock and locks the other day, the size that will stack with my flour boxes and they will be perfect for some of the shelves as will the colourful folding boxes I have stored in my utility room

re moving and costs: I think we have just about done what we needed to do to make this house our home and looking back, the biggest mistake of ours was getting fitted furniture made for 3 rooms in our last house, as we obviously had to leave it behind and although it sold the house, we got nothing for it. Oh well you live and learn and all our new stuff here is modular and moveable.