What everyday goods do you now consider a treat?

meritaten

RuthnJasper wrote: »

Even Sainsbury's Basics butter is £1.10 now! It's mad! I tend to use Basics mayonnaise for spreading on bread - it's nice sometimes instead of bread and butter - and save the actual butter for melting on peas or a jacket spud.

I do make a lot of my own soup from in-season veg. (using a New Covent Garden Soup Co. recipe book - available for 1p from Amazon - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Covent-Garden-Food-Book-Soups/dp/075220503X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1306954142&sr=1-2). The most expensive one I've made over the past four years was Cream of Fennel at £2.86 for six portions. Portions can be bulked-up with beans, rice, other veg., couscous, cheese, bread, etc. for a more filling meal.

One of the best things I've found in going from having a life of near-luxury and celebrity to having almost nothing, is the amount of pleasure that can be found in simple things.

I know that I must sound almost sickly and twee (and I do apologise) - but the satisfaction of enjoying a tasty soup or other meal I've prepared, reading a good book, taking Jasper-dog for a nice walk, giving or receiving a smile, getting a positive comment on Jasper's blog - these are REAL treasures. For me, anyway.

Now you have intrigued me! you were a 'celebrity'? and lived in near luxury?
I bet you find that obscurity has its own rewards. I wouldnt want the lifestyle of a 'celebrity' I suspect its not all its cracked up to be! considering how many celebrities are certified nutters!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Had a result today.

It's DD's 12th birthday on Friday (I tried to save money on the present by getting smaller things and allowing a small party, but I've just ended up spending the same, as everything has gone up by so much), but rather than just junk, I decided to get her some nice fruit, seeing as it's such a rare occurrence now.


Local market has red cherries and the fat yellowish ones in. £1.20 a pound. so roughly £2.50 a kilo. ASDA charges £5 - £14.85 :eek: a kilo for the things. So asked for half and half. They are very nice:)

spike7451

This story was in todays Express;

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/250034/Act-now-or-food-price-will-treble-in-20-years-

FOOD prices could almost triple in the next 20 years unless world leaders take action, Oxfam warned yesterday.

The charity said the average cost of food could rise by between 120 per cent and 180 per cent by 2030, if climate change predictions are correct.

Its report, Growing a Better Future, calls on world leaders to improve regulation of food markets and re-ignite the discussions on global warming.

Duncan Green, head of research at Oxfam, said Britain’s poorest families would suffer the most if prices soared.

He said: “Poorer people usually spend a greater proportion of their income on food compared to richer families who have higher incomes, and forgo luxuries to put food on the table.

“But rising food prices are not good for any consumer.”

The findings are based on a food-price model for 2030 based on several factors including current food prices, future food yield estimates, water availability and climate change.

Cost of food could rise by between 120 per cent and 180 per cent by 2030

The latter was cited as being the biggest factor resulting in half of the overall increase in food prices. Dr Green insisted that although the research gave a good indication of a future scenario it was “not a prediction”.

A global rise in food prices could be avoided by increasing food production, reducing the amount of food crops used to produce biofuel and addressing climate change.

He said: “There needs to be more investment in farmers, especially small farmers, to help them increase yields.

“For example, in some countries the main farmers are women, but women are not able to get access to financial assistance. We need to divert food from going into people’s gas tanks: 40 per cent of the US maize crop goes to make petrol, this means there is less maize to go round and the prices will go up.

Zara77

For me the loss of diet coke and chocolates is a cross iv begrudging had to accept. Before i never gave it a thought and brought on a daily basis. The prices have really crept up and now ill only buy when i have a pinecone voucher.
Every Saturday i used to go shopping and easily spent £30/40 without flicking an eyelid-that amount now lasts me 5/6weeks.
To be truthful it does sadden me that i can not afford something of the small luxuries that i use to enjoy but i console myself to trying to make adjustments.
We shop via a lot of whoopises for fruit,or markets. We go to asian butchers for meat. Billingsgate Fish Market for fish, some poultry from Booker Cash&Carry,Makro,JJFoods.
For Clothes ebay new,Marks and Spencer sale(or their outlet store)-Although only when really needed. Shoes i go to a Clarks Outlet store,as they have great deals on every so often-so 2 boots for £12 in the summer.
I do surveys but its a real stuggle and some weeks just seem extra hard.
I think-no i know i could not go back to my old ways but it would be nice, just to go to the supermarket and buy a few things without worrying about the prices.

anguk

meritaten wrote: »

Now you have intrigued me! you were a 'celebrity'? and lived in near luxury?
I bet you find that obscurity has its own rewards. I wouldnt want the lifestyle of a 'celebrity' I suspect its not all its cracked up to be! considering how many celebrities are certified nutters!

I'm curious to know about the celebrity bit too! Okay I'm not curious, I'm just blooming nosy.

barneydee_2

The list of what we have given up is endless, I can not remeber when I last brought myself or OH any new clothes, I am lucky as I have to wear a uniform to work ( Mr Sainsbury's) and I am there 6 out of 7 days a week this saves a lot on my own clothes.

Takaways, we had an Indian takeaway last week for the first time in about a year for four of us it came to just under £30 and I can say I did not enjoy it:mad: The curries OH makes are much nicer and cheeper:)

Books, CD,DVD's I can say I have not bought any of these for at least a year or more with the exception of cookbooks which I have to sneek in past OH and kids:rotfl:

I Do'nt have my hair cut as much and I do have a lady that cut's and blow dries it for £15, I colour it myself, a couple of months ago Nice n Easy were repacking their stock so I got six box's of the colour I use for£1.12 each plus my staff discount off:j

It's my eldest DD's Birthday today, and even just going back to last year I would have spent at least £100 plus on her and she would have a big BBQ for all her friends this year we just gave her money as she is in a realy low paid job and needs the money.

On the up side I do get satisfaction form getting a bargin or making do and mend, OH is very good at mending things, I am not up to the standard of some of you peeps on here but I am learning all time from being on here:TI keep a note book next to my pc so when I see any good tip's,Recipes I just jot them down.


Barneydee

whiteguineapig

i miss going out in the car, we used to go out at least once a fortnight, nowadays i stay close to home. i put £10 in most weeks and that has to do me, (it really has to , if i run out i have to walk to work lol) i go to the next town once a week to go to tesco and get my shop as i only have a booths here and its too expensive
my oh cuts my hair, i haven't been to a hairdresser for about 4 years now , that doesn't bother me, but i do think they could lower the fuel prices, it was one of my few treats to go for a ride out

spike7451

I've found I'm using the pound shops more,the have been a spate of these opening up in the shopping centers around me & they are always bunged.Especially for things like crisps & my favorite,Pork Scratchings!
One thing I have noticed tho is amount of people that crowd around the reduced to clear thing in the likes of Tesco's.Although you can get some good bargains from there,the meat is still extortionately expensive,however I did get a pack of Tesco's basic belly pork for less than a quid! Got three meals out of that!
I too used to love going out in the car,now it's used for going to work & shopping,which I try to do on my way home from work.It cost's me a good £40 a week just to go to work (44 mile round trip) however I've been out sick for the past 5 weeks after being diagnosed with a heart condition,so I may have to give up my job as it's a very stressful job. (Broadband tech support)

p-pincher

Definatley magazines and papers.

I used to buy loads, heat, more, company to name but a few as well as good food, easy cook etc and the Sun daily and notw.

Now i dont but any gossip mags, just have a look on various internet sites. I do still buy my beloved good food, but i do actually use the recipes so try not to feel to bad. I also sometimes the jamie oliver one from sainsburys but only if theres something in it i want to cook. I rarely buy the sun now as i can read it all online now but i do still do get the notw (i do like a bit of gossip). Some of them are upwards of £3 and i just cant justify it.

As for food i do still buy alot of friut and we do have grapes and strawberries now as a treat but its more apples and bananas now as there much cheaper. When i went to tesco theyd run out of value grapes and they wanted £3 for a punnet of green grapes just couldnt do it, For the same money i got apples, bananas and cherry toms. Grapes only last one day in this house but the fruit i bought last quite a few days. Bread as well, i just can face making my own. We always had hovis or warburtons but the price is now extortinate so i now either go iceland to get 2 wholemeal kingsmill for £1.50 or the longlife wholemeal sainsburys loaf is about 80p and last ages.

[Deleted User]

I find petrol becoming very expensive and as I don't walk too far its an expence I have to put up with if I don't want to become totally housebound. Diet Coke is off the menu as well ,even mr Ts value brand has gone up to 55p a 2 litre bottle from last years 37p.Doesn't sound a lot but to me it is 18p that I could spend on something else. Meat is becoming horrendously expensive and my favourite of Lamb chops are becoming a thing of the past.I normally get my hair trimmed about once every 6 weeks but this time I am around 4 weeks overdue and in desperate need of a trim but am putting it off for a few more weeks. Silly things that once were taken for granted are now thought about more in the way of 'Do I need it,Can I do without it' and if the answers are no & yes then its a case of no I will save my cash for something else.Last month I cut right back to the bare essentials and only bought what was needed and shopped from my cupboards and freezer and managed to get through on £65.30 for the month which was good but what happens when my stores run down as they eventually will, then it will become a challenge to exist let alone live .I am not too bad at the moment and as its summer time then the utilitiy bills are low, but come the winter if the bills rise will we all be living and heating one room only to keep afloat.My DD has a large family and I do my best to help her out as much as possible.How she gets through with her 5 children I do not know it must be a terrific worry for her and her OH He is still waiting to hear if he is going to be made redundant after 22 years in the same job.She works full-time as it is and I help with child care at times.I honestly think we are no where near the bottom of the recession and things will only get harder for a bit longer I think