Living in Austerity

vasseur

Mags30 wrote: »

Awww Buffy that is so nice, THANK YOU for sharing that.

That was so lovely. Someone once said to me that no matter how bad you feel there is always someone worse off than you. Not really much help but I think it's true. At this time of year we have a tendency to analyse things too much and unfortunately the negative things are what come to mind first. Maybe write a list of the positive things (however small) that you have in your life at the moment.

As Buffy says try not to be too hard on yourself. You have a lot to contend with. I can't imagine how hard things are as an only 'child' when you have your mother's worries to deal with as well with no respite from siblings or a partner back home.

I don't think the dark nights or cold weather help matters much either.

Take one day at a time.

Mags30

Thanks for understanding @polesalot

polesalot wrote: »

That was so lovely. Someone once said to me that no matter how bad you feel there is always someone worse off than you.

I agree with this. The charity volunteering I did quite a bit of in 2012 definitely helps put my own problems in perspective. Problem is I've been giving too much time to it, not necessarily for the benefit of the charity but because it's been a good distraction from my own life and often kept me too busy to even think about myself. I will still do it but I think I should limit it to one 4 hour shift a week.

There's a weather warning AGAIN this morning, for high winds and rain. The rain's pouring down already and it's dreary. Are any of you ladies affected by the flooding I saw on the news? Hopefully not.

vasseur

It's wet and windy here but no flooding - all my leakages have been inside the house but thankfully that seems to be sorted now too.

Mags30

Left the house for an hour and a half this afternoon and came home with €100.20 less in my purse :mad:
Don't worry I wasn't shopping.

€70 was lodged to my bank account because there wasn't enough in there to cover the direct debits coming out over the next few days.

€25 bought me a quarter tank of petrol. My petrol tank is now just above half full. I don't remember when I last had a full petrol tank, I top it up rather than fill it as I can't actually afford to keep it full.

€5.20 bought me a coffee and cupcake in the coffee shop attached to the local hotel. This wasn't the best value but I'm still at my mothers and there is a very limited choice of places to go here plus I needed to get out for a bit.

It's just so disheartening to have spent €100 when the only thing I bought was the coffee. This spending example actually represents my present financial problems perfectly. Money flows out of my account but there's nothing to show for it.

beanielou

I think a lot of us are the same at the moment.
Money flows out of my account & all I have to show for it is my house~& I have to live somewhere.
Disheartening isent it?

Mags30

Ya, it's the ever increasing "cost of living". My bills are all with the cheapest/best suited to my needs providers, but still I can't keep up. It's not sustainable.

beanielou

For me I think my biggest challange is that I only have one set of income coming in.
Dispiriting.

vasseur

I suppose on the plus side you are better equipped to deal with this than others. I always thought you were great at seeking out bargains plus you supplemented your income with surveys and mystery shopping. All the cuts must have come as an awful shock to some people.

salesaddict

Hello Mags,

I remember you from the toiletries thread a few years ago. We had a lot in common the way we shopped for things,opening them practically before we left the shop, so no chance of ebaying for us.

My life has changed so dramatically since I first used to post on here. Family illness and bereavement have taken a heavy toll on me. But what I have learnt is to try to be as happy as possible in this moment. I've learnt that I am powerless over so many things.

Sorry for rambling. I've subscribed and I wish you all the best xx

Mags30

beanielou wrote: »

For me I think my biggest challange is that I only have one set of income coming in.
Dispiriting.

Same here, its me who pays for EVERYTHING

polesalot wrote: »

I suppose on the plus side you are better equipped to deal with this than others. I always thought you were great at seeking out bargains plus you supplemented your income with surveys and mystery shopping. All the cuts must have come as an awful shock to some people.

True I'm still VERY skilled at the bargain hunting, as is @salesaddict

One of my best recent deals I can think of was the Ojon shampoo trade-in in November. Brought an empty bottle to Boots (at 8.30am, opening time) and got a FREE Ojon shampoo and conditioner set. The bottles cost €25 each so I was well pleased with my €50 freebie :T I've won a few cosmetics on twitter as well and I'm going to get started on the competition board here soon. Most of the competitions are UK only which was why I never did them before but a new service in Ireland called ParcelMotel provides a UK address and local collection point for internet shopping so this would work perfectly for competitions (were I lucky enough to win any!) It costs €3.50 per parcel which is fine for occasional use.

I'll be back on the survey and mystery shopping boards here too in January.