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when you reach breaking point
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I do carry a cheap pack of wipes in my car but then again I am usually ferrying 3 mucky little boys about my youngest DGS (bless their little socks) I also have a small bottle of hand wash stuff for emergencies when they have been to the loo whilst out I honestly don't think that 8,11 & 12 year old lads remember to wash their hands after taking a leak so better safe than sorry,but the hand wash lasts for ages and is the cheapo one from Superdrug around 79pI suppose I get through one every six months
sadly I no longer have an OH even when he was alive he would no more get his hands mucky with the car than fly,bless him he hadn't a clue what went on under the bonnet he left it to the garage or my lovely brother to sort anything mechanical out.Even I used to change the wheel if it was needed He would undo the nuts after it had been jacked up and that was about it.but he had other attributes;) which were quite useful;).
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Hi JackieO.
Here's my (highy personal) list of non-essentials in no particular order: wipes of any kind, fabric conditioner, plug-in or any other kind of room fragrancer, bath additives, make up, celebrity-endorsed tosh of any variety, magazines, designer anything, collectibles, cut flowers and pot plants, pre-packed things you can easily do yourself like sandwiches, pasta salads etc. Extra quilted bog roll, paper hankies, bottled mineral water, cola, snack foods in fiddly little packs, lunchables................
I could go on but ot gets boring. A lot of stuff in the supermarket and elsewhere has only appeared since affluence became more the norm than the exception and will predictably reduce or even vanish when the reverse happens.
GQ my list nearly matches yours except for make-up (though experimenting with not wearing much/any) and wipes - only cheap baby wipes for odds and ends certainly not make-up remover wipes, household cleaner wipes. Also tissues though use some cotton hankies for myself (hayfever isn't catching is it?), rest of male household wouldn't use them.
Also pre-chopped fruit and vegs in little bags and ironing water (not that I iron much these days) - ironing water? Tons of other things too including branded stuff just for the brand name.
so glad I had my lightbulb moment I long while ago - wished it had been sooner but better later than never eh?
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popperwell if you're going to rent out a room or two in your house you will need to declare all earnings to council/benefits and also HMRC via self assessment.
I mentioned this elsewhere at the weekend but my sister thinks nothing of spending £2 on 4 frozen jacket potatoes. The supermarkets are full of processed, unnecessary and over priced items that society deems as a need.
My breaking point will be when I can't afford flour, milk, eggs, pulses - basically, if it gets beyond a point of not being able to afford rationing amounts of foods then we'll starve. Until then I know what I need to do to survive without heating, without even electricity by cooking outside. Yeah non of it will be easy and will be reminiscent of the early 1900's but they survived then. With education we could survive now but we need to change our societal mindset.
Yes, I'm talking extremes but needs for survival are very much different from the needs of 2012 in Britain IMO.0 -
He he, interesting to see the overlap and the differences between us, isn't it? I've frequently been stopped in my tracks in supermarkets and other stores by what I consider to be advanced silliness and then find that apparently sane and normal people are buying this stuff.
Used to know a woman who always struggled with money. She was working and not badly-paid, just a bit daft in some respects. She used wipes for every darned thing. She couldn't seem to join the dots between wasteful and unneccessary spending and not having any money the two weeks before payday.
I carry a small bottle of hand-sanitiser gel (4 for £1 on £land although they've gone up since) and use it to back-up places where I'm out and about and the facilities seem inadequate, such as public lavvies where they can't even provide soap.
I was nealy up-in-arms in August when parking at Robin Hood's Bay and the minimum charge was £3, the carpark was heaving (they were obvoiusly making loadsa money off it) and the toilet block on the carpark was vile and a stranger to soap. No sign that they'd even tried and run out, either. My companion tells me the gents was the same, so we gelled up afterwards.
Jings, that was really clever when the place was full of families who would be buying ice creams and eating picnics after using those "facilities"._pale_Every increased possession loads us with a new weariness.
John Ruskin
Veni, vidi, eradici
(I came, I saw, I kondo'd)
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I'm another who thinks half of the stuff on shelves is a waste of time and money. The one that reduced me to hysterics in a shop was that handwash stuff they advertised that you didn't have to touch - I forget the details thank god, only remember the RV's back view vanished fast down the aisle and round the corner into Pet Foods
Fuddle hen you're very wise - todays shops sell an awful lot of "wants" and instead of "needs" and most people can't seem to tell the difference. I know one woman who says proudly that her nice shiny fancy oven has "only ever been to used to heat M&S pies in" ..and she says it with such a smirk :rotfl:
I always use alcohol gel hand sanitiser though, started that during the H1N1 flu.0 -
I also agree about the things they sell are a waste of money. Poundshops can be a con too, I buy the foam scrubby things to wash the pots and they are 17p in Mr A yet hubby came back with some from the poundshop the other week and thought they were a bargain, you have to be very quick witted to shop nowadays.
Im tired today, to my core, bread is in the oven, de-hydrator is rumbling away and I have another list of needs. I managed to wear myself out by trawling the shops so that my carers allowance could be used for xmas stuff. I did it, all the cupboards are stocked but now feel like going and getting fish and chips for tea - but I won't. I just need a break from the planning and lists and worry.
Im in a huge amount of pain with my arthritis and from looking after DGs this weekend. I love having him and he is my bliss but my drunken neighbours woke him at 1 am Saturday and we had to work very hard to get him to sleep at 4 am( he is on the autistic spectrum so disturbing his sleep is a nightmare).
I just nipped to the corner shop for a tin of cat food :mad: hate running out of things :mad: and there was another neighbour buying his breakfast beer :mad: I would give almost anything to get out of here but there is absolutely no chance, we have tried all options in the recent past. At 53 I feel my life should be a damn sight more comfortable than it is but didnt plan for OH becoming disabled, well how could we. I think I just need a day off. basically Im just pi**ed off xxClearing the junk to travel light
Saving every single penny.
I will get my caravan0 -
ginny can't you complain to your enviromental health officer at the council? If you are in social housing and DH is disabled ask about the possibility of a disabled needs house, all councils have them.Blessed are the cracked for they are the ones that let in the light
C.R.A.P R.O.L.L.Z. Member #35 Butterfly Brain + OH - Foraging Fixers
Not Buying it 2015!0 -
Hi JackieO.
Here's my (highy personal) list of non-essentials in no particular order: wipes of any kind, fabric conditioner, plug-in or any other kind of room fragrancer, bath additives, make up, celebrity-endorsed tosh of any variety, magazines, designer anything, collectibles, cut flowers and pot plants, pre-packed things you can easily do yourself like sandwiches, pasta salads etc. Extra quilted bog roll, paper hankies, bottled mineral water, cola, snack foods in fiddly little packs, lunchables................
My personal favourite is these packs of pre-prepped veg for stir fries. Whoever thought up these probably got an award of some sort from marketing for inventing a way to use up all the stalky cabbage trimmings and damaged vegetables on the packing line. Reusing your wastage and being able to put a premium price tag on it? Genius.Val.0 -
Oh Ginny I can totally sympathise with you on the bad neighbour story there is nothing worse and is very much mentally exhausting. I had a neighbour from hell partying at 1 in the morning and finish at 8 in the morning, with about 40 young locals stamping above my head it was awful i was nearing killing her or having a nervous breakdown. my council were crap they told me to put in for exchange but morally i couldnt do that to another human. Im sorry youve no options i was lucky and we ended up buying a house.Keep complaining and hopefully someone will listen. l would go to your councillor too.0
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Hi Everyone,
I feel like I've been gone for ages since I haven't logged in much since we moved house. I couldn't decide where to start, and last night I was going on at OH about buying up porridge now and he said, you're back on that thrift board aren't you :rotfl:.
Things are very tight at the moment while we wait for grants/funding etc. to come through so not doing any stocking up. However, I am planning for it. I'm making a giant list for a grocery order as soon as money comes through. Since we're in a bigger place I want to use the space to save us some money. Although rent costs us more here, in the long run we're living more cheaply as the house is far more efficient with DG and new boiler etc. Plus we aren't on top of each other with me trying to work in the same room we eat, relax, dry washing etc. in and OH banished to the bedroom. However, we have a lot of things we need to save for this year, and the price hikes have me worried.
I had big plans to grow some food this summer, but my first pepper plant was a victim, first of slugs, then aphids and then my frustration. I've decided to leave that project for awhile. We've been very good about using the diary every sunday to plan meals for the week, use up what is left from the previous week and restock anything that its running low. I'm going to add diary to my Christmas list for my grandmother so we'll be sure to have a new food diary in time. I've been using pinterest to collect recipes for snacks and lunches that can be eaten hot or cold since OH will no longer have consistent access to a kitchen throughout the day. It will be an adjustment, since for now we always make enough dinner to have leftovers for lunch. On the rare instance that there isn't enough we keep Aldi jacket spuds and tuna in for a cheap option.
Still getting used to the prepay utility meters. We've decided to make the best of it and use it as a way to monitor usage but it irritates me that we get higher rates for no reason other than the landlady had dodgy tenants before us.
I will be re-evaluating our non-essentials these days. I'm sure everyone has essential non-essentials that are unique to them, and everyone could probably do with having another look periodically. Two years ago my mum sent me a pile of tiny clothes. They're about the width of my hand I've only bought sponges or kitchen roll for particular DIY projects since. They're small enough that they don't create an extra load of wash, easy to change, and I've got a dedicated small laundry basket in the kitchen so they're as easy as using disposable stuff. Now, if only I could find some more ideas like that!
Not looking forward to the cold though! I know OH is going to decide that he NEEDS to put his clothes in the tumble dryer. :eek:0
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