The Tougher Thread continues.....

Molly41

Mrs Beetons is my golden oldie. I was presented it for Home Economics many years ago when Home Ec was taught properly. My second son is doing Home Economics AS Level and I would really like to get him an illustrated cookbook for Christmas. Any ideas?

I think Home Economics is a great choice in these tough times as he will always need to cook. There is a focus on feeding people on low incomes and his last project was to cook a meal for a single parent family and 3 children with 3 portions of veg included. Today he is taste testing and comparing two ready meals - a basics versus a finest range.

ceridwen

Ches wrote: »

Thanks for replying Pink, Ceriden and Greyqueen. Guess the sensible thing to do is let the savings stay the level they are and put all future savings towards holidays. Its worrying as interest rates are not keeping up with inflation and if the banks get into trouble or the £ is devalued anything saved won't be worth as much as it is now so it does seem a bit of a waste of time. Funeral costs are now in the region of 6-7k so that has to be factored in. BTW we are very late 60's with occupational as well as state pensions. We downsized to a small modern house as much because we wanted no maintenance problems as needing less space. I have to watch the pennies to be able to save what I do and my mantra has always been ' you can only spend it once'. I remind myself of it everytime I go shopping.

Specifically re those funeral costs - would it be possible to pay into an "insurance" scheme specifically for that? (obviously checking first to see if the money was safe if the firm went bust. Though obviously I've never heard of funeral directors going bust - as the demand will always be there for that).

As a couple - you do have to think of that 'tis true. As a single person I can get away with thinking "I dont have to bother about that - the money to pay for all that is there okay - its just tied up in my house equity". I would have to bother if I were married and an OH had to pay OR if I were in rented accommodation. But I figure a 6-figure amount of money tied up in my house ownership will easily cover it - with loads to spare:rotfl:. I presume this £6k-£7k figure is for both of you? I dont know whether you have children or no. If you do have adult children - then you need to ensure both of you are "covered" one way or another (either with savings or insurance). If there are no children - then it would be sufficient to cover just one of you (provided you didnt have to specify which one that would be of course...) and let the house equity cover the 2nd one come the time. With children - then its different - as they would panic about where the money was to come from to pay bang on the dot at the time and couldnt wait for "house equity" to be released to cover it. So - if you do have child/ren - then you need enough money set to one side (one way or another) to cover both of you - as you wouldnt be able to let the house ownership do so for you.

As an OAP - I believe you are entitled to savings of up to £16,000 without being means-tested out of any benefits due.

But - as you say - it is a problem wondering how to "protect" whatever savings one has. Have you found the group www.saveoursavers.co.uk ?

Gingermillie

There used to be loads of old cookbooks when I lived at home. Annoying that I took the approach of "can't be bothered to lug all that carp from house to house" when I moved out. And gave them all to the charity shop. :mad: And the old stonewear urns and the enamel pans.

Tardis please.

redlady_1

maryb wrote: »

those cat cartoons are soooo funny and true

Saw this one and instantly thought of FK last Christmas

http://www.simonscat.com/Films/Santa-Claws/

Hahahaaaaaa!!!!:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: That was my Christmas tree except I didnt sound quite so weak when shouting at her I swear someone has been secretly filiming the FK.:D

Many congrats suzid on your son. I know how proud you are. I suspect there may be a spot of alcohol consumed this weekend then by him and his mates.

floss2

I swear by Good Housekeeping's cookery book - when still at home I used to use my mum's 1950's edition so my parents gave me a copy when I got engaged in 1982, which my ex nabbed when we spilt up. I picked up another copy in a charity shop, which DS1 nabbed when he went to uni. I found ANOTHER copy in a charity shop which, yes, you've guessed it, DS2 acquired when he left home last month! I don't think I will bother with another one as it appears to encourage the menfolk leaving home and DH and I have only been married 13 months!!!

apple_mint

OK hands up :wave:, I admit it I'm a regular lurker. I am addicted to the 'Tough' threads and I can't give them up.

On the OS theme, OH and I are off work to do some decorating and have had to move my stores out of their cupboard. I now have a dining room full of foodstuff, much of which could feed us for weeks and some of which is decidedly past the best before dates. So I've promised to make OH some rice pudding today and so will be looking for a yummy recipe in the OS threads. As for the half dozen bags of bulgar wheat ... I've no idea why I bought so much .

In defence of my well stocked storecupboard, my Fairy Liquid hoard is probably worth twice what I paid for it. I'm dreading having to restock :eek: OH commented on all the different sized bottles and I had to explain the manufacturers trick of redesigning the bottle to hold less but still look as through it was roughly the same size :cool:

Given the speed at which these threads grow, I will try my best to keep up and pop my head in now and again. I too read, without logging in, at work (lunch times) and I have to do my best not to laugh out loud when the thread becomes very naughty and very funny. I do have to save clicking through to the links for home though! So my mind boggles at the comments which follow them

apple_mint

floss2 wrote: »

I swear by Good Housekeeping's cookery book - when still at home I used to use my mum's 1950's edition so my parents gave me a copy when I got engaged in 1982, which my ex nabbed when we spilt up. I picked up another copy in a charity shop, which DS1 nabbed when he went to uni. I found ANOTHER copy in a charity shop which, yes, you've guessed it, DS2 acquired when he left home last month! I don't think I will bother with another one as it appears to encourage the menfolk leaving home and DH and I have only been married 13 months!!!

I have a seventies version of this and my OH uses it - very reliable recipes I saw a later version from a book club sale at work and it was nowhere near as good as the older ones, so the charity shop / car boot 'older version finds' are probably the best.

SDG31000

Morning everyone and a BIG :wave: to all the delurkers

Quick message to say that my friend has just phoned me and our local Tesco has reduced clothes down to £1. Not sure if it is nationwide or just here, but worht having a look xxx

mardatha

My god, you lot talk all night ! Am just thinking I'd quite happily eat nothing but the butterscotch cake all day and thus keep calories down
There is no way in hell I'd want my family to spend 7grand planting me - shocking cost :mad: ...and doesnt that open a whole new can of worms (:D sorry!) in that if nobody in the damn country is in work then nobody will take out life insurance...
I think I will go and look for some of these 50s cookbooks. The wartime ones have too much veg & powdered eggs and the modern ones have too much exotic stuff like garlic We dont eat anything at all exotic. We are very plain. Is sad :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

ceridwen

Mardatha

Naughty lady re the "can of worms" on life insurance thoughts....:rotfl:

I was keeping very "quiet" on the fact that Society is "kicking that little problem a few decades down the road" for The Future to deal with it (if it can.....).

As a lot of people are now likely to never be able to buy their own homes as expected - then they could still be living in rented accommodation at the time of their death. So - take one 30 something person who had expected to buy and finds they cant - and never ever manages to do so in the future. At 80 something, for instance, they "pop their clogs" and there isnt any "house equity" there to call on to cover the costs. So they HAVE to have either savings or insurance to cover said costs instead then....and what if they havent been earning enough to do that?

This isnt a problem that will affect my own generation to any extent (as we are very likely to have at least one out of owning a house/having savings/having insurance cover). So - we dont need to concern ourselves. But - I do wonder how a lot of the "young enough to be our children" generation will deal with this - and I guess this will be "kicked down the road" to when they start "clog popping" in about 50 years time.

There isnt any way that Society can possibly think of this on their behalf - because there are this absolutely HUGE pile of problems on Society's plate anyway to deal with - without wondering what to do about something that won't basically surface until 50 years or so time.

Come to think of it - this could be part of the reason why the idea is now being proposed that people would have the cost of their funerals covered for them if they leave their body to be used for "harvesting spare parts" once they are dead. I think this could be a way to go actually for people who simply cant afford funeral costs any other way - so I'm guessing that "currently fashionable thinking" will include "Its antisocial just to have your body buried or burnt" soon. Just add that to the "politically correct agenda of fashionable thinking" and that will be that problem solved - as people will have been persuaded to change the way they think to cover that.

......and...no...no-one's having mine come the time I'm afraid...as I CAN cover the costs myself (once the house is sold or if I havent had all my savings "raided" by myself to cover pension shortfall). I want to make darn sure and certain I have no further use for my body myself - so will be trying to arrange for it to not be found until some days "afterwards" as a precautionary measure to be absolutely certain I've moved on (by which time it will be useless to anyone).