Hard Times: How to cope with everyday living.

kippers

DebtFree2012 wrote: »

I was thinking about trying this but I have long coloured hair and it looks out of condition easily. Do you use a conditioner or can you reccomend a natural one? Thanks in advance.

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I've just googled it and came up with two:

http://www.hazeltreefarm.com/2010/06/home-made-hair-conditioner-and.html

http://lifelessplastic.blogspot.com/2008/01/vinegar-rinse-is-awesome.html

I don't know what they are like as i don't bother with conditioner....if you try them pls let us know what they are like.

rinabean

Some people use oil as a conditioner, you can google for different oils and methods. You also might not need it if it's the shampoo that's ruining your hair in the first place. I thought about doing this with my long dry hair, then I decided to just cut it off! Short hair is so much easier, and I think it suits me better, too (and you need less dye!)

I'm trying to cook more from scratch, and I'm trying to buy less food. It's all habit, isn't it? I got out of the habits and now it looks impossible, but I know it's not because I used to do it. I just go into things too fast and burn out. If you change your habits slowly, they'll stick. If you wake up in the morning and decide "right, that's it, no more takeaways, no more prepared foods, and I have to grind all my own flour or I'm a failure!!" it's just not going to work. But I never learn!

7roland8

Well I think I do a lot the same as others now sicne we had drastic reduction in income last yr.
Buy Value baby products
Do not use hair conditioner
Do not use fabric conditioner
Make use of all offers on this site to collect stuff for my 'present' drawer for Xmas and Birthdays
Stock up on blakc cards to use for any occasion (or do Funkypigeon when on offer)
Buy groceries online (throguh health probs) but means you can stick to a list and get items on 3 for 2 etc
Try to only wash stuff when necessary -rather than after ever (short) wear
Only put ehating on for a few mins to ehat radiators and then dry clothes on them (or outside if dry/windy)
Only iron when necessary
Buy mostly Value brands so long as we'll eat them - most are ok

EstherH

There's some great ideas on here, but I don't have the time for a lot of them.
I would like to try the bicarbonate for shampoo but at the moment I have loads of it as I stocked up on Avon ages ago and still have loads left.

I do cook from scratch most of the time.
Do rubber chicken and bulked out mince.
Only put the heating on today for the first time since April. And only downstairs radiators at the moment.

Will have to think of more things later.
Keep the ideas coming though please.

Esther x

MarsdenCuckoo

Great thread, thanks!

On the other side of the coin, check your finances too i.e.:

* if you have any savings, chances are the interest rates will change every 12 months so keep up to date on your current rates
* Halifax will pay you £5 per month for having a current a/c with them if you can pay in £1,000 a month
* Halifax will also credit you with £5 a month if you spend £300/mth on their credit card (OK cc's can be 'dangerous' but if you can put your essential spending on a cc and get a £5 refund - making sure you pay off the balance IN FULL - then deffo worth thinking about)
* Santander will pay you £100 if you switch your current a/c to them
* Santander also offer 5% on £2,500 held in their preferred current a/c - again if you can pay in £1,000 a month

Reverting to the outgoings side of things:

* Head to the clearance counter in supermarkets (and freeze goods if nec.)
* Find out when the best time is to shop at your local store i.e. when goods are reduced
* Be a 'Personal Rep' for AVON and get your toiletries, make-up, gifts, etc. FREE (Doesn't cost anything; just takes a bit of effort):T

GreyQueen

Oooh, I like this thread, lots of great ideas.:) Lots of which I do already and some which aren't applicable to my personal circs but here's a few:

• Switched my Vodafone PAYG to an ASDA PAYG a couple of years ago; latter charges 6p for texts (was only 4p for the first couple of years) and 10p a minute for calls. Mahoosively cheaper than Vodafone. I'm quids in and the kicker is that the service provider for ASDA is.....waitforit....Vodafone.:p
• Become a complete shopping tart; do the business with anyone who is making competitive offers on what you buy. This is no time to be loyal. Ditto banking. You wanna offer me a bribe to have my current account? He he, I think we can do business, until the bribe period is nearly up and then I'm trawling for the next bribe. After all, banks know we are more likely to divorce than change our banks and there's no way that one can compare with another in terms of hassle.
• Experiment with cheaper brands; just a single can/ packet/ bottle to start with. They won't be toxic and the worst case is that you have a slightly-less-than-satisfactory experience. At best, you might find an easy way of saving money. I just bought tinned kidney beans from Lidl (Campo Largo at 16p a pop) but I could have bought Tesco ones at 78p a pop.
• Learn to cook! Honestly, this has saved me such a lot over the years. Learn to cook more and cheaper stuff; there's no end to what you can do.
• Don't try to keep up with the Joneses, or whomever are the richer members of your set. Chances are, even the richer ones are less rich than they were a few years ago, and they might be seriously over-extended. They could be pleased to downscale your mutual social interactions for something free or cheap but might be too embarrassed to initiate it.
• Experience tells us that Value type brands can be equally as good as premium ones, and magazines like Which? (Consumers Association) will do reports which reveal some surprising things on test. Did you know that an Aldi washing-up liquid has dethroned Fairy as the Bestest in the Land? And at half the price! You can read Which? for free in the library.
• Have a good thunk about what your household uses and how many non-perishables you go thru (t.p., laundry detergent etc) so that you can hold a reasonable stock picked up at bargain prices. Ain't a bargain if you don't need it or cannot get thru it before it goes off; washing powder has a finite life before it loses its ooomphh.
• Become a Pantry Queen and maintain a useful inventory. If you have a small home like mine you may have to use non-trad storage facilites, which is why my tinned goods live under the bed.:o
• Most of us have far more clothes than we need, and -with the exception of growing kids or severe weigh fluctuations- buy out of boredom or a need for a change. Try shopping your own wardrobe for things which got buried or forgotten. If you don't wear something, have a think about why and is it something which could be fixed with a little sewing or perhaps a dye job?
• Ring the changes with your clothes. If you feel that you've been seen too often in something, try putting it into storage for a year or two to give yourself a rest and come back to it afresh. If Royalty and SuperWoman does it (and they do) then it's good enough for the rest of us.:)
• Choose clothes and shoes with the long view; leather shoes or sandals which can be polished and re-soled will keep their looks better than suedes or canvas. Can that bag be treated with leather cleaner or laundered? It seems churlish to look at crisp new things and imagine them tired and grubby but they won't be new for long. Also, if your clothes are natural fibres rather than synthetics, they should be dye-able which gives a remarkable lift to sad-looking garments. As does a nice ironing with some spray starch and keeping them hung up when not in use on decent hangers, not those wretched wire things.
• Analyse your habits; why do you use wipes or kitchen roll? Could you go more OS and save a packet?
• Take a good hard look at magazines and newpapers. Most mags are the same-old-same-old recycled year after year and they're 70% adverts anyway. You can read them in the library or the waiting room or let it be known that you're happy to take them off other people's hands. Or perhaps you could share a subscription to some mag you can't bear to give up? It's always cheaper to buy ahead than every month.
• Ring up your TV provider and tell them you want to cancel even if you don't; great discounts for the same services have ensued!
• If you feel bargain brands will cause you social shame, decant into plain containers; basics pasta in a glass jar or toiletries into the bottle or tub of a more premium brand. If it makes you feel a little more comfortable when a friend uses your bathroom, go for it.
• Focus on what you are ecomomising to achieve; to be debt free, to be able to stay at home with young children, to pay down the mortgage, to fund that trip-of-a-lifetime, to have a cash-cushion so life doesn't lurch from one crisis to another, to get enough dosh for the home improvements, to survive. You need to have motivation to be a Thrift Monster, sometimes in the face scorn from those who are still frittering.

Above all, keep a sense of humour and build in some affordable treats, at least once a week, so that you don't get frustrated with scrimping and burst the banks on a wild splurge.:D

splodger_seedswapper

there are loads of great tips on this thread :T

i do many of the things mentioned - especially cooking from scratch, batch cooking, cooking and freezing, foraging, making my own booze etc etc

here are a few additional things that i do:

i don't use the flush on the loo - i use a bucket to chuck it :rotfl:
i don't have a dishwasher, so wash up in a bowl and that old water plus any drawn off during the day - gets put into a well placed bucket - i know that this would not suit many people - but i just hate the idea of wasting water

i am also a free gardener - everything in my garden; barring a few cheap bulbs; is either grown from cuttings or seed. i also save seed and swap seeds (flower and veg)

i haggle like mad - for all sorts of things - and barter / swap whenever i can - eg. local gamekeeper swaps fresh shot game in winter in exchange for fresh veggies during the summer

other little ways i save money - instead of going to a car repair centre / parts retailer - i use my local scrap yard - they are so much cheaper (especially on new or nearly new tyres)

i don't have any savings or spare cash - but i will always make extra cut backs so that i can save for something that i really need - and i will always try to buy quality as i believe that if i buy well i buy once

rising_from_the_ashes

Wow some great ideas on here!:D Many I already do but some great new thing to try too.:)

budgetboo wrote: »

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.

It's amazing what you can do if you put your mind to it.

I managed to fix my central heating around this time last year - when I first turned it on for the winter, it wouldn't work. With the help of a great DIY forum and lots of advice after positing various pics, I fixed it myself.

It turned out to be something straightforward but if I'd have to get someone in there would've been a call out / hourly rate to pay for I reckon I saved around £100:T

I also fixed one of the toilets last week which was overflowing outside and had soaked the outside wall. DF bought me a huge DIY book and armed with pics, I managed! Again call out/hourly rate charge saved.

I'm useless at DIY - so if I can, anyone can!:D

born_blonde

rachbc, I've lit my cob, boiled the kettle on it for tea, then cooked breakfast and then boiled the kettle for washing up. All on about 6 heat beads.

karren

Thanks all for tips, i do a lot of these but this year had to cut back a lot, as money just doesnt stretch at all anymore.
This year my daughter gave up her dance lessons so more free time so i bake with them, and am teaching son to cook economically but healthy.
Ive stopped using the tumber as got back into habit of using it too freely!!!
Im batch cooking again, and kids happier as they like to help and will eat more if they have.Ive rooted through attic for old clothes and have rejigged wardrobe as last year bought far too much so now im 'shopping' in wardrobe!!!!
My daughter get bags of clothes from good friend so i just buy odd bitsand bobs and can buy nice quality as and when as basics are covered.
My sons old clothes go teh same friends son so all happy in the swaps lol!

xmas on cheap this year as sons main present came free with mobile contract ps3!!!!
so im making hampers etc for the ones i usually buy wine etc for.

so im trying!!!!