What would you find hard to give up in these times of austerity?

jfdi

Cigs n coffee.

BAGGY

Edible - Tea for me.
other - the car and hair dye

savingqueen

I have several!

Decaf earl grey tea and decaf instant coffee (both non brand though and have some basics teabags in between to stretch the pennies.) Could give up one if I could have the other.

chocolate and cakes - again could give up one if I could have the other.

morning glass of orange juice - has to be 'not from concentrate'.

eggs must be free range

non food items I would find hard to cut out: saturday g*urd*an (share with DH and its not the same online) internet & my cheap mobile phone

mascara, moisturiser, deodrant and hair conditioner - not essential (in my books) like toothpaste and soap but important to me.

listing these and thinking about all the other things I could do without like meat, the odd glass of wine, odd coffee out etc make me realise just how very lucky I am even though a lot of people would class us as thrifty or penny pinchers even! I hope we can all afford to keep buying the few bits that make life bearable however austere things become.

sq:)

davethecat

Clover spread. Have pretty much swapped premium brands for non named items but it has to be clover on my toast!

pandamonium

Jennie wrote: »

Mine isn't food it's contact lenses.

I am already going through mushed brain menopausal madness and have loads of reading glasses (the cheapie ones) dotted round the house. And yes, I have been known to be wearing more than one pair on my head, whilst looking everywhere for a pair to wear .

I just can't wear glasses all day; they drive me nuts and I get tetchy. I hate not having "side vision" when I wear glasses.

I'm not building a very good case, I know, but I don't smoke, don't drink or have luxuries, so I think I can justify my purchase.

I could tell you the story about when I had two pairs in each eye..... actually.... I'll save it for another day:o

Jennie, I know exactly where you are coming from .

hulda

Foodwise I think flour would be the most difficult. The flours I can eat cost around 3-4 times more than standard flours, so I can see how they might need to be cut from the budget in really tough times, or even being unavailable at any price. Luxury--wise, coffee. I only have cheap instant, but I NEED that morning coffee if I'm going to be of any use at all for the rest of the day.

tallyhoh

Nice strong cheese, hair dye & conditioner

kururunfa

I have a takeaway pizza from the local shop once a week. They make the best pizza ever (IMO) and I would really miss it if I had to cut back. I'd probably drop all other discretionary spending first.

vodkachick68

I would miss a nice steaming cup of yorkshire tea especially first thing in the morning! The thought of giving up red wine and chocolate isn't appealing either. Also my laptop and sky tv (a luxury i know but hey we all enjoy it

[Deleted User]

Well we all seem to be fond of either our tea or coffee I did smile at the contraception post though:)
Strangely enough no one mentioned heating which I thought of this morning.heating in my house is a major expence as it has to be at a cartain temp. to keep me mobile but if push come to shove I guess I'd just layer up a bit (I do anyway)It must be difficult when you can only eat a specific food as well My niece's little girl has a very allergic reaction to so many foods that her Mum finds it very hard to buy her specific food at times as she is a single widowed Mum
When does the point come when you have to make these sorts of decisions I wonder. I am fortunate that at the moment I can afford my odd luxury but if the country is sliding further into the mire where will we be in a years time.I think I may have to stockpile a few packets if I can, as they are vacuum sealed they should stay fresh until the seal is broken.Is anyone stockpiling stuff at the moment .I heard that flour will increase after Christmas which in turn will push up the price of a lot of things across the board bread apparently rising by 10p a loaf My DD has a large family and they use around a loaf and a half a day with packed lunches etc.
I wonder if when we recover from the recession whether folk will have learned much from it with regard to having a something behind them to cushion hard times.I myself have always had a bit of 'rainy day' money that tucked away for emergencies.So far its not been touched hopefully the clouds will dissapear before I have to dig into it.Anyone else have a rainy day fund at all ?