Preparedness for when

GreyQueen

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Oh yes GQ my soon to be ex lodger (HOORAH!!!) has extensive debts since she came out of uni and then decided to go travelling for a few years and last night was talking about being 40 next birthday and wanting to mark it with a landmark celebration and go to Las Vegas for a couple of weeks and do all the big tourist visits to the Grand Canion etc and also to take a large party of friends to a holiday camp for a party weekend??? This from the woman who a few weeks ago didn't think she had enough money to look at renting a £200 a month room until after Easter!!! what ever happened to COMMON SENSE? When did the 'I must have a big treat because..... Insert nonsense of choice here....that's what I expect to have and the fact that I'm stony broke dosen't mean a darned thing??? come into being, it certainly wasn't that way when I grew up and a railway rover ticket was an exceptional treat if it happened at all and stood for our summer excursions for many years. Thank heavens my girls have their feet very firmly on the ground, their heads in reality and a firm grasp of how to run your finances, and NO DEBT!!! That wasn't luck, that was parents who have the same attitude!!! Lyn xxx.

I'm continually gobsmacked by what I hear around me, Lyn. I spent my 40th birthday in the pub playing pool with a few friends. We had a good laugh, no one had to dress up or buy pressies or travel across the world. I'm just an average Jo and don't feel that I'm so 'special' that my big birthdays should be cause for international revelries........:rotfl:

When I left uni, people gave themselves a breather after 14 years of continuous education by going inter-railing in Europe for a month. And not everyone could afford that. But people were pretty darned excited by the prospect and certainly weren't feeling hard-done-by that they couldn't go to Asia or Australia. Now you're supposed to be travelling the world like some heiress.........?

Sheesh, I wanted to go to New Zealand as an 18 y.o. but did it out of savings almost 20 years later. Wouldn't have occurred to me to rack up debt for it, I was raised to live modestly and pay for things after you'd earned the money.

grandma247

PIC call the police. He cannot be allowed to get away with it. What if it was a woman on her own?

Witless

Did those who are wary (like me) not feel a similar unease when ML 'sold' the site?

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/jun/01/martin-lewis-sells-moneysavingexpert

GreyQueen

No.

I don't see it as being the same thing. ML built the site and if he wants to sell it, that's his business. If it lost its values it would lose its audience, no?

I choose to post here because it amuses me to do so, and I enjoy reading what others post, and the to-and-fro. I barely go on the main site and I don't subscribe to the email.

I don't see how my personal usage of MSE is being monetized to anyone's profit, whether of ML or the new owners. Obviously, they feel that some people are contributing value or MSE would just be a quirky little place that no one paid attention to.

From my POV, I'm having fun on a site which someone else is paying to maintain, and 'meeting' people I wouldn't meet IRL.

I don't see that as being in any way the same as having my confidential medical data hoiked off by the grubbyment and sold to the highest bidder. But if you have an explanation of why you view the sales as being the same, it would be good to hear it so that we can all make up our own minds.

Love and peas, GQ xx

nuatha

elantan wrote: »

Can I ask a wee bit of advice ? Do you find dehydrators and vacuum sealers something that you use ?

I was thinking of getting one of each but don't want it to become another gadget that grows dust

If so can anyone recommend a certain model? Was thinking of the Excalibur for a dehydrator but that's very expensive tbh

I sold my Excalibur back in November, - ongoing SHTF scenario which has exhausted cash reserves (it made a fair bit more than I'd paid for it, so the investment certainly paid off). Its on my must replace list, though I have been looking at this as a possible/interim replacement.

I started with a Lidl's dehydrator, which made an excellent bag sealer, but left too much air in the bag. I bought a foodseala after reading a thread on here and have been happy with the results, mainly vac packing for the freezer, though my BOB contains vacuum packed clothes and documents.

I'm another who is interested in pressure canning, but that's on hold until finances/life returns to something approaching normality. Though I do have a collection of Kilner and Le Parfait jars found at boot sales, usually for under a pound each.

Dehydrator thread
Vacuum Packer thread

Karmacat

GreyQueen wrote: »

karmacat, apparently you can use those oven mesh thingummies (£land) and an ordinary oven on its lowest setting with the door ajar as a substitute for a dehydrator. Haven't tried this yet myself, that's on my to-do list when I have time to experiment.

Ah! My oven is horrendous - its as wide as a range, the elements are pathetic, and the numbers on the dial are rubbed off. I've started to use it as a storage space, and bought a halogen instead (in the sale for £25, with a £10 voucher off that, so £15 :j). I think I'm going to construct the solar bit anyway - if the sides are made of hardboard (which I *also* have kicking around) and the old window is stored separately, it could go on the top of my wardrobe and not shout out "you prepper, you!". At worst, it doesn't work, and my recycling bin gets very full that month :rotfl:

elantan wrote: »

Hey Kc ... Should've known you would be here all the cool dudes hang about here ... I noticed Ellidee as well

Yep :j , greenbee's on here too, migration towards *all* the cool dudes on here :j. You get knowledge, humour, and can-do inspiration, all MSE-stylee :money::beer:

nuatha

Witless wrote: »

Did those who are wary (like me) not feel a similar unease when ML 'sold' the site?

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/jun/01/martin-lewis-sells-moneysavingexpert

MSE hasn't changed its stance, it asserts copyright over anything posted - something I'm well aware of and which means I don't post as I otherwise might. Its a "public" space and therefore anything posted is visible to anyone. MSE has no identifying data on me other than email and IP addresses and is not seeking to market anything where there is a duty of care and confidentiality - my medical records identify me uniquely and until recently I was the final say on how widely the data could be used.

GreyQueen

nuatha wrote: »

MSE hasn't changed its stance, it asserts copyright over anything posted - something I'm well aware of and which means I don't post as I otherwise might. Its a "public" space and therefore anything posted is visible to anyone. MSE has no identifying data on me other than email and IP addresses and is not seeking to market anything where there is a duty of care and confidentiality - my medical records identify me uniquely and until recently I was the final say on how widely the data could be used.

Too right. A couple of years ago, I was invited to blog on our city's daily newspaper's website, by the editor. I read the T & C and they would have the copyright and I'd do the blogging for free. Now, if they'd wanted to hire me as a freelance columnist, I'd've been more than happy to oblige, but that wasn't the offer.

Couldn't really see why that newspaper (which is part of one of the biggest print media groups in the UK) should have my work for free, so respectfully declined. Although I know MSE exerts copyright over the forum posts, I can't really see that most of what we do here would be able to be monetized, although that doesn't mean it's valueless; far from it.

Witless

I'm obviously just a paranoid old [STRIKE]fart[/STRIKE] semi prepper.

I use an approximate DoB and 'throway' email address for all sites and very rarely post anything overtly personal in public, job specific advice is offered by PM.

Goes back to yochurt knitting & tinfoil hat construction.

mardatha

PIC you shouldn't have given him your address. But what you could do now is invite him round to discuss it and have some of your hubby's bigger nastier mates in the house waiting. I don't have any faith in the police really, they tend to be a waste of time (unless you're a motorist/biker and they need to up their catch rate).
Re frost and plants. my last frost date is 1st June. At this time of year I get very twitchy listening to you lot being busy planting stuff!