Things you've done when things got desperate!

*Louise*

This thread is so sad at times.....:(

But at least we all know we weren't alone....and we can appreciate improvements all the more for having faced difficult times.

GeorgeUK

I giggled on overhearing 2 women talking about how their kids demand bottled water - when they gave me "that" look, i told them there was a cheap way around it. Buy some bottles, give them to the kids, then don't let them see you refilling them from the tap before you put them back in the fridge. Never been so glad to see ladies smile.

I used to collect beer mats - for when i had a hole in my shoe. They were usually only good for 2/3 days.

Worked 3 p/t jobs while studying and bought my food from iceland. Frozen pies, lorne sausage (it was cheap for a reason) and frozen chips were my mainstay. One time i decided to do a monthly shop as one of my jobs was ending and didn't want to be left short. Decided to go for proper food too. Came home one day half way through the month and found my brothers girlfriend (who lived with us) had decided to use most of my food to make dinner for my brother and herself. Sick of me "banging on about it" she said she'd pay me back. I got a sausage casserole for dinner the next day - that was it. By the end of the week i had nothing left to eat. 5 days not eating while trying to study, go to uni and work in a stockroom is not easy. After 5 days someone left a packet of winegums on the bus. Was cringing, hoping nobody saw me as i casually picked them off the seat as i got off the bus. 2 for dinner, then 2 for breakfast and lunch. Found £1 coin before getting home. Ever tried bread and vitalite? It's pretty good. That lasted me almost another week before payday. Seems my bro's gf doesn't like pies and stuff like that - that's all i bought after that. WOMEN!!! (sorry)

I've also taken bus tickets out of bins when they were doing the 2 for 1 offers at McDonalds or pizza hut.

Thought i pure evil when i was 8 years old.
I noticed when we got desert that my mum never had any - she would always say she wasn't hungry. I used to watch her cut the cakes etc in the kitchen and it was always into 6 pieces. 4 in the family.
One night we got another piece of cake (remains from day before) and refused to eat it. Dad and brother had left to watch the football, but even when she said she'd need to bin it, i refused. Then i picked up the spoon and started to feed her. I think the first time she opened her mouth in surprise, but i kept going until the cake was finished. I think she was totally embarrassed. Then i told her if she wasn't having desert then none of us would. I knew she wasn't eating so that there was more for the rest of us. Saw her crying by herself a short while later, but she didn't do it again - my dad wasn't too happy that his slice had shrunk now the cake was cut into 8. He was told that they'd changed the size of the cakes, but i knew better. Mamma didn't raise no stupid kids. (Except my brother - but i'm not getting into that.)

jamanda

Done lots of things on above posts including Sunday roast with tin of corned beef grilled. Not nice but better off than others on here.

Also old mattress kept poking sharp springs out. Wrapped lots of sticking plaster round them so they didn't cut you.

No central heating so got dressed to go to bed and utilised all the coats when the blankets ran out. Windows and sheets were frozen in the morning so had to get up early and make a fire for the kids to get dressed using old bits of wood that I picked up wherever possible.

wherediditallgo

I will never forget sleeping on one side of the bed because the springs were coming through on the other side. When both sides of the mattress went (top & bottom, as well as left & right), I used to sleep on the couch because I couldn't afford a new mattress. I couldn't put the rotten mattress outside for the council to take as I couldn't afford black bags to wrap around it & I didn't want the neighbours to see the state of it.

I still roast potato peelings, use marker pens to cover scuff marks on my shoes/boots & make Christmas gift tags from old Christmas cards. More than once I've worn a T-shirt back to front because there was a stain on the front & I didn't have another one to wear, & I couldn't afford to wash anything unless I had a full load to do. I still water down tomato sauce & washing-up liquid. I haven't thrown away fruit in years - what is too bruised to eat as it is gets used with jelly to make a cheap pudding, or is turned into chutney, jam or a dressing to use to baste a joint. Bananas only seem to work well with jelly, but citrus & berry fruits are great to go on meats. I won't throw away bread either - I make my own, but any leftovers are turned into breadcrumbs then mixed with cheese or a spice/herb to coat cheap fish cuts. I still pour any boiled water left in the kettle into a flask, so that I can use it later without having to put the kettle back on.

I'm not just doing these things because they're a useful way to make things go further - I'm also doing them because I'm scared of ending up in debt again. I never want to be so in debt again that I have to go back to the way I used to live. If there's one thing this thread has taught me, it's that there really are some people worse off than me, & I don't want to end up having to go through what some people here have because I have no choice.

dreams_R_free

I'm glad to see lots of posters use marker pens to cover scuffs on shoes. Saves me a fortune as I wreck the appearance of my shoes very quickly:eek:. I find marker/felt tip pens have a multitude of uses. Someone passed on a carpet to us when we moved into our first home. It was beautifully patterened and colourful but after several years of use by us became very threadbare. We couldn't afford another so went to work on it with a pack of felt-tips. Fantastic result and no-one ever knew it was on its last legs. Whenever the backing showed through in other places out came the pens. It lasted us for donkey's years:j .

lorac3

Hello All total newbie to posting here tho' I have lurked for a while, this thread has really touched me as I have been there at rock bottom too. My worst time was in the Miners strike in the 80!s, on strike= no pay and a paultry dhss giro every week. I had a 3 year old, a new baby and found out I was expecting again !! my oh went picketing the other pits for £1 a day which bought bread , milk and spuds. We had a open coal fire and at the time the council were changing the fuel to smokeless and dropping off 1 free bag of smokeless at every house. As it was winter it got dark early so we went out and 'borrowed' as many of the bags that we could and piled them in the kitchen also the council had planted trees on a green nearby supporting them with posts, the post also ended up on the fire too. The lovely wooden fence surrounding the pit burnt well !
I remember walking round Kwiksave with a pen and paper adding up the prices so we would not get to the till and not have enough money ( the shame ).
I have swopped price labels of dearer items to make them cheaper ( pre scaninng).
Lived off stew for weeks on end ( courtesy of the local fields )
Gone apple scrumping and picked blackberries from the above farmers.
Made porrige with water.
Sat and unpicked wollies and the re-knitted for the kids.
Used cheap washup liquid for everything ( baths, cleaning and even hairwashing ).
Got someone to 'fix' the electric meter with a wire so it never needed as many 50p's.
Washes clothes in the bathwater as we only had enough hot water for a bath every other day.
Too many to mention !!

Tetsuko

I've just volunteered for a clinical research study because if I can get on one that is really well paid it will clear all my debt and leave me with a couple of hundred pounds to get on my feet.

*Louise*

Tetsuko wrote: »

I've just volunteered for a clinical research study because if I can get on one that is really well paid it will clear all my debt and leave me with a couple of hundred pounds to get on my feet.

Be careful!!

Remember those guys on the news last year who took a bad reaction and nearly died - their heads were swollen to twice their normal size!!:eek:

Mrs._Irwin

I always make porridge with water! But then we don't have milk in the house.
That also saves on making drinks for any guests, as most folk don't like coffee. I did offer a friend Earl Grey with soya milk once, I warned him, but he tried it anyway, didn't get halfway down the cup.

Mrs. Irwin

heather38

i bet most women here have gone without for their children or husbands. so sad