Hard Times: How to cope with everyday living.

Karen_of_Sussex

Please can we have a thread that addresses the extremely difficult financial times we are living in at the moment and how people are adjusting their lifestyle to cope?

Frugal_Dreamer

Things I am doing:

• Buying mostly basic/values food items
• Growing my own fruit and veg
• Walking more, less car use
• Making my own wine, jams and chutneys
• Enjoying more free things like museums, art galleries, walking in the countryside & beaches
• Making things from scrap fabric
• Batch cooking & making meals from scratch
• Buying stuff at car boots
• Playing board games

and do you know what.....I love doing these things, it makes me feel alive and in control of my life

FarmersWife_2

Nice start FD :beer:

I am ...

• Keep my own chickens
• we dont buy veg as the farm we live/work on grows veg for supermarkets
• Buying some basic/values food items .. some things it isnt worth compromising on
• Growing my own fruit and veg
• I cant use the car less I live 5 miles from civilisation and the nearest shops
• Making my own wine, jams and chutneys, sauces etc
• Batch cooking & making meals from scratch
• Buying stuff at car boots
• Finding new ways to cook whatever OH, myself or the Gamekeeper bring
• We have an endless supply of pallets and wood for the log burner so the heating will not be going on until it is really needed
• Colouring my own hair :rotfl:

I think thats about it....

C x

System

So far i have:

Cancelled the pet insurances with the view of downgrading and finding something cheaper that will cover the basics.

I'm now ploughing all my earnings into my husbands bank account to pay bills whereas before i would buy what we needed/wanted.

Have trimmed down my food bill from around £120 a week to £80 and i want to get it down even lower by not lowering my standards but not buying so much junk.

My £50 hairdressing appointments have been cancelled and i am attempting to colour my hair myself. So far so good but i'm just going to aim for one length hair cause ive botched it by trimming my fringe. From blonde i am now brunette (which is my natural colour anyway).

I dont go window shopping now for something to do. Unfortunately, i am not very good at not spending. Ive always had some money to play around with but not any more.

For two years ive been growing my own salad in the greenhouse in the summer months.

If we run out of something midweek, then thats tough. If i go shopping midweek i always buy more than i intend to so i dont go.

The high speed broadband will probably be the next thing to go :-(.

rachbc

I'd start by reading the 'Tough' series of threads - this is exactly the sort of thing they dealt with

budgetboo

Home

Heating won't go on till Dec 1st.
Checked all home policies (insrance, boiler cover etc)
Lots of blankets/hot water bottles/ wind up torch and salt.
Bubble wrap for lagging pipes if needed (can't afford burst pipe clean up!)
Redcorating in trade white & magnolia cos it's cheapest.
Looking after "stuff" cos I can't afford replacements, choosing stuff that will last over fashion. e.g got 2nd hand wooden chest of drawers and painted as new ones in my price range would fall apart in 5 mns for son this summer.
Keep learning basic repairs and DIY skills. the less you need to pay tradesmen for stuff you can do yourself the better in the long term.
Learn what you can do without. Don't have dishwasher or tumble dryer but as the Mum of a bedwetter a washing machine is crucial to my sanity. Having the internet is a neccessity for my sanity/job hunting etc but I don't NEED cable or SKY. I only need a basic pay as you go mobile for school to contact me as son has a disability, the posh contract smart phones are not for me till my situation improves. I love nice meals with friends but these don't have to be in restuarants aka my glory days, high tea at home is nicer in some ways.

Food
Got given food processor for making own nut butters v. useful as DS is dairy intolerant and things like almond nut butter on toast gives him a nice calcium boost. It's £4 a jar in the shops:eek:
We have veggie patch & I split scoops with my Mum at the market. We swap home grown herbs - these are a godsend as very simple foods taste gourmet with some fresh herbs added.
Never buy a brand if the basics range tastes OK.
Cook most stuff from scratch
Slowcook meat joints and slice for lunches - prepackaged ham etc by weight is sooo pricey.
Experiment with fish e.g hake cheaper than cod etc.
Eat seasonally - in season produce is fresher and cheaper.
Menu plan and eat a couple of veggie main dinners a week.


Xmas
Only buy food for Xmas what's needed - people go crazy and end up throwing half of it away then are totally skint in Jan.
Set a budget for Xmas entertaining and pressies. Wear the 3 year old dress to the works do or swap with a mate rather than buying a whole new outfit to wear once.
Set the kids presents expectations NOW so they aren't disapointed when Santa doesn't bring a Wii. A second hand bike will propably make them just as happy as the £300 Muddy fox they've seen in the shop window.
Explain to adults that they should only expect a token gift (e.g hommade wine or jam etc) rather than the usual £50 pressie.

Clothes
Look after what we have - keep a button jar and simple sewing kit for easy repairs like straggly hems.
Pay attention to stain removal - most stuff comes off if you soak in cold water/detergent before washing.
If it needs dry cleaning - leave it in the shop
Buy classic basic items & jazz up with accessories rather than high fashion.
Asda do petite and long length simple black trousers suitable for work etc.
Make sure you have weather appropriate footwear and coats. Illness always costs money in some way or another.



Prep for winter
Bought coats/wellies etc in summer sales.
Clothes swap with other Mums for extra winter playclothes - they don't have to new to play in the park. Son has one outfit for "best" each season & school uniform. Everything else comes from primark/2nd hand etc.

Clarks do trainers for £7 in their factory shops - worth other Mums checking out as a cheap pair of decent trainers help save their school shoes. I'm fussy re proper fitting footwear but ohh it can get so expensive for growing lads.

Entertainment (sadly most of my ideas are kid orientated)
Home made pizza and popcorn night with a dvd is popular with ALL age groups and cheap. Kids go crazy for this, esp if their own Mums aren't keen on cooking ;)Get the adults to bring a bottle of red plonk if they want to drink.
Winter picnics - a flask of hot dogs and one of mulled wine apple juice to take to the firework display at the weekend/ your park or beach is cheap & cheerful.
Hunt down a bag of pine cones now in the park and spray with £1 gold paint for Xmas deccies.
crazy crocodile or yellow moon do good craft stuff - paint 25p asda mugs and fill with home made cookies. - uses up a saturday and makes a cheap chrimbo gift for teacher/granny etc.
Make cardboard/peg dolls etc with the kids - most love crafts and it's cheaper/more sociable than expensive computer games when you have winter playdates.
Use your library!
Make your own wines/jams with friends and swap.
Have afternoon high tea with friends - it's a lovely indulgent ritual with a proper pot and home made scones that's cheaper than the "impress the jones" dinner party. A forgotten art that makes people feel special, and loved. Dunhelm mill does a lovely anna collection cake stand or check out your charity shops. Make it an "event". Littl boys love it - it's amazing how nicely behaved they can be, if you lay the table nicely, so restful for us Mums too;)
Scour the charity shops for traditional board games and have a "games night" once a week. Good for kids social skills and adults can have fun too. Or ask older relatives - many have a scrabble or monopoly board lying around. Tummy ache is loved even by preschoolers.
Keeping fit - running in the park or joining a cheap Sunday footie league may do as much for you as that expensive gym membership if you are honest with yourself or check out your council facilities.

Swap skills - I'm currently teaching a couple of friends to bake, in return I'll get the odd bit of free baby sitting/help with the heavy lifting a lone parent finds hard around the house when I need it this winter. It might be you swap DIY tips from the elderly gent down the road for a nice casserole or summat this winter. Nooone is an island and we ALL know summat about summat to help each other.

tessie_bear

rachbc wrote: »

I'd start by reading the 'Tough' series of threads - this is exactly the sort of thing they dealt with

i think all this kind of subject matter would be best kept together so we can benefit from all the wisdom in one place

System

Forgot to add we ditched cable television for a Freesat box. Its got way more channels than a Freeview box and loads more film channels.

Hubby ditched the car for something that does 50 to the gallon. Its the size of a shoebox but theres only me, him and two small dogs to get in it. He sold the big trailer as it was too big for the car and bought a small one half the price of what he sold the old one for on Ebay.

Son has recently ditched World Of Warcraft. He didnt play it, got bored with it so thats one monthly payment less. He gets his 'kicks' out of Youtube, Skype and Runescape. :rotfl:

I found decent cosmetics dont have to cost the earth. Ok some things its worth paying extra for but a few of my favourite products only cost me a fiver each.:T

I used to buy wooden toys for our chinchilla to chew on to keep his teeth down but now buy a bag of kindling from Asda which lasts him forever and only costs £2 a bag. The toys he would go through several in a month and they werent cheap. Squeaky the hamster gets kitchen roll and toilet roll innards (wood is too hard for him). The greatest toy we found for our dogs was an old tea towel with a knot tied in the end so that we can play 'tug o war' with them (they get chucked in the wash when they are covered in grot).

Wash days in my house are only on a Monday, Wednesday and a Friday otherwise i tend to fill my washer up with half loads which as you know are unecconomical.

I'll think about some more. Some things are just second nature to me.

imogen-p

I suppose one of my biggest money savers is that I gave up having a car when my husband lost his job and became a stay at home dad for our son. Not do able for everybody I know, but I live in one the edge of a city, with regular public transport. I miss it for days out, and hope that maybe one day when all the debts are paid, the little one is off to school, and the husband is working again, and I've saved up enough I'll get another little motor, as it's the only practical way of visiting family - half live in Surrey and half on the Scottish borders, while I'm in Yorkshire.

Smaller money saving things.
Swapping Sky for free view (might upgrade to free sat one day as still have the old dish on the wall outside)
Pay as you mobile rather than contract.
Planning meals so that I only buy food that will get eaten and I can plan to make each bit of it go further.
Cooking in batches, so that the extra becomes a quick meal for a night when I don't really feel like cooking (In the past that would've mean takeaway time.)
Having a roast on a Sunday (doesn't sound money saving at first, but the meat then does for another couple of days as well, so it saves in the long run - this Sunday's £4 (reduced from £6) chicken will do 3 nights and a couple of lunches - roast chicken, chicken with mash and veg, chicken pie, and chicken and leek soup.)
Library books rather than buying new.
Clothes from charity shops or ebay.
Mending and altering clothes where possible.
Making own cakes and pastries.
Buying less chocolate, crisps etc.
Taking leftovers for lunch at work rather than going to a cafe.


I'm sure I'll think of other things as well.

Also, although they aren't changes I made myself, the house having double glazing, loft and cavity wall insulation definitely helps with the heating bills.

oldtractor

I am
1. not putting the heating on not lighting the wood burner until absolutely necessary.
2. have gone back to buying from charity shops and heavily discounted sales and factory shops, i try and not buy anything at full price anymore
3. use freegle as much as possible,great for de-cluttering too.
4. we dont go on holiday
5. I now save a few pounds for xmas all year round,this isnt for presents necessarily,its to tide us over til the end of February when DH gets paid again, with so many holidays and early pay in Dec its difficult to manage until feb payday without something put by.
6.I drive a 21 yr old landrover [which i love BTW].
7. I cook from scratch and make own bread and cakes
8. we grow our own fruit and veg and herbs
9.I buy free range eggs cheap from a neighbour
10. I stock pile when items are on offer.
11. I think twice and plan before buying anything
12. I dont compete the horses anymore,cant afford it,and am actually enjoying them much more just as pets,and I think they prefer it too!

whiteguineapig

we are stopping our sky (hard times indeed )
i am trying home decorating myself instead of paying someone (i seem to be spending all my spare time doing this at the moment)