The commonsense thread

cuddlymarm

Hi

I hope you lovely people don't mind me starting this thread. There seems to be a lot of worry at the moment about the future, about jobs, prices, and mainly how we are all going to cope.
So (as a lot of us older moneysavers know we have been here before, not quite this bad but we have been here before) and taking a deep breath and using our commonsense can make things not quite so bad.

So I thought I would start a thread about commonsense ideas ( please join in cos that is how we can help each other.)

So i will start the ball rolling with simple ideas like
Only buy things if you need them (the sales are a prime example cos often there is a reason why you didn't pay full price for that dress, those shoes, that gadget etc)
When you are cooking cook extra spuds for the next day (bubble and squeak is so cheap and easy (and healthy as long as you don't use loads of fat)
You don't have to stick to set types of meals (theres nothing wrong with a bowl of cereal for lunch if you are cutting costs)
Don't have a good tidy out and get rid of things you know you will eventually use.
Don't stock up on foods you family won't enjoy no matter how cheap they are . Its false economy if they end up in the bin.
Only open a couple of packets of something at a time, you don't need four jars of jam open at once cos chances are some will be wasted.
Try not to be a superhero (chances are the friends/ relatives that you think are doing so much better than you aren't really any better off)
Count you blessings rather than your problems.

I hope this doesn't sound preachy and that some of you lovely peeps will join in with me

Have a lovely day
Cuddles:)

kettlenic

I agree less panic and more common sense I look forward to reading some more good advice and I have one tip - mkae sure you use what you stock pile - have loads of 'things' is no good if you neevr use that product or it goes out of date because you stockpile too much!!

Always have a torch with fresh batteries and a few candles to hand x

peony40

Thank you; I have been feeling anxious/overwhelmed lately for a variety of reasons and this has helped me feel calmer as even I can manage these 'simple' ideas. Sorry, can't write more at the moment as I am at a start of a fibro flare, but just wished to thank you.

candygirl

What a fab idea for a thread, I feel panicky enough about real life without worrying about what might happen :D

taplady

Thank goodness - a real-life type of thread so to speak.;)

I don't stockpile - no room to store things but I do take advantage of bogofs if they are useful to us.

Knowing the difference between'wanting' things and 'needing things' is essential.

Try not to waste food - its amazing how much good food we actually throw in the bin. The lovefood hate waste website has a wealth of ideas on how to use up leftovers.:T

Just try and do things in little ways and they soon add up - like the old saying lookafter the pennies

There must be of ways for even those of us who have been on this site for years to save money and reuse/recycle things which we havent hears of yet!

Bring on the tips and ideas!

taplady

candygirl wrote: »

What a fab idea for a thread, I feel panicky enough about real life without worrying about what might happen :D

exactly Candygirl - life's hard enough as it is in the here and now!

Justamum

kettlenic wrote: »

Always have a torch with fresh batteries and a few candles to hand x

Or a wind-up torch.

Tawny75

Excellent idea for a thread, here is mine

Make your own lunch for work, we have a sandwich van come round and to buy the equivalent of my lunch costs over £4.00 a day. I probably do mine and my daughters school lunch for about £7.00 a week for both of us.

taplady

well done Tawny - we always take a flask out with us when shopping or on a day out and it has saved us a small fortune in money when you think of the prices they charge at cafes. Add a slice of HM cake and its a lovely little treat without costing a bomb!:money:

here's a little tip I got from an elderly lady I clean for. She slices up some past-it baguette into small rounds, soaks them in olive oil, tops with a little grated cheese and a few olives and sticks them under the grill and they make a delicious snack to go with a glass of wine!

Tawny75

I know what you mean about the coffee Taplady, we always take a picnic when we go out, even if it just a box of fruit to munch on, saves a fortune!

candygirl

MMM, love the sound of that bread TAPPERS:p:p:p:p