Things you've done when things got desperate!

hur575

LookingAhead wrote: »

Imelda.....I take my hat off to you! Loved the story about the wallet!

Totally agree :T Imelda your story touched me but never mind I can relate to your story my dad was useless too, I wish I can pay my debt and be finically free and able to make my mum live comfortably that is my main dream to be able help mum live better life.

monicainplymouth

many years of collecting out of date food behind sainsbury's and picking up over-ripe fruit and veg outside fruit and veg wholesalers has produced two extremely healthy strapping teenage boys, you would'nt believe what variety of interesting dishes you could produce from 3 suitcase sized boxes of sweet peppers!!

bobble_hat

and my mother was the mother of invention. We had little or no money growing up as Dad drank and gambled most of it (he was a lovely man though, just very unhappy).

We all learnt to knit and sew, all our clothes were hand-me-downs, charity shop and recycled. We would customise them ourselves, was a bit too balshy to get picked on for it, thank goodness but I did feel out of place. I remember when my brother was a baby Mum ran out of plastic nappy pants, he had terry towelling nappies, so she used a carrier bag, made leg holes in the bottom and looped the handles over his shoulders, he thought it was great. :rotfl: :rotfl:

Found out recently that there was never enough food around, so Mum would breadcrumb the meat and do the same with a slice of bread for herself so we didn't realise she wasn't eating. Everything was bulked out with lentils or porridge oats. She used to get really upset when we left food, but because she hid the fact that she couldn't actually afford to buy much we just always assumed she was just being mean.

When living in a bedsit I survived on bread and 9p noodles (I think they were 6p then).

My happiest in debt time (if that's possible) was working in a chip shop, where my boss and his wife paid my debt with my wages (weekly cash) before giving them to me, with a pre-arranged amount, fed me with leftovers in the evening and gave me lunch, plus did all my clothes washing and grocery shopping (money came out of my wages for the groceries). They even sorted out a room in a shared flat for me for £25 a week.

They are still my longest-standing friends. I can never repay them enough. I actually managed to become debt free for a short time, but I got a new job and things spiralled again because I had walked away from the support because I thought I was ready. I was in constant debt right up until last month, so nearly 10 years.

My lowest point was living on store and credit cards and swapping the money between them constantly to avoid charges and still be able to eat, believing that I would never be able to pay anything back and things were just getting worse. For a long while I couldn't see a way out.

hur575

Wow people your stories is very inspiring, it put me to shame for feeling sorry for myself that I can’t afford expensive things and been on budget. Amazing :T

Kaz2904

Imelda I don't think that reallocating your Dads wallet was shameful. On the contrary, very brave I think and admirable. Has your Mum ever let on that she knew or is it just not talked about?

Cazzdevil

A vast majority of these posts go to show how evil and all-consuming debt can be. No-one should EVER be allowed to get into a financial position which results in some of the desperate and pathetic situations described here (and I mean pathetic as in it's a disgrace that people have to live like that in this day and age).

Something's drastically wrong when it comes to money lending in this country if this is the consequence.

cdg1111

My son is nearly 15 but for his first birthday we wanted to have a bit of a do - having avoided it due to us both working and being skint. We didn't have a bean but we raided the coppers jar and it came to around £10.

We held it on a Sunday afternoon in August and from what I remember, this is what we had - I am sure there was more. I know it wasn't very popular amongst the older rellies but it was a 'dry' event.

Value sausages cut up and put on sticks, jelly, value ice cream, squash, home made birthday cake - hired a tin shaped like a teddy bear and it is still in my top 10 accomplishments!

I made party bags from ordinary white paper (from work) that we had decorated with felt tip pens (highlighters actually - also from work) and made into cones and filled with cheap goodies - multi pack pencils, rubbers more cakes.

Vegetable sticks, grated cheese sarnies, marmite sarnies, tuna sarnies, home made small cakes.

The point was to have a bit of a do to celebrate DS first birthday - not to try to impress anyone.

When everyone had gone home DH found a bottle of bubbly from our wedding 3 years previously and we toasted to getting over the first year of parenthood!

Mizz_Pink

I cant believe you all did things like survive on noodle sandwiches for weeks on end and all the other stuff you did, how awful and how naieve am I ?

Also its made me realise how lucky we are, I might be down to my last fiver but get paid tomorrow and have enough food in the house to feed an army according to how all you lot survived on

MoaningMyrtle

edited....

newcook

Well I have been doing the noodle thing at work all this month (local indian shop sells thier own version of super-noodles but a lot nicer!) I would have taken sandwiches but as OH is off work at the mo I leave the bread so he eats in the day as its only been the last few weeks as he has got better he has been eating more (he shot up from a 28inch waist to 34-36 in a matter of weeks!!!)
Anyway, hopefully we wont be having to live like this next month as OH was told by doc last week he can go back to work if he feels ready and has an interview tomorrow!!!!! So please, please, please everyone keep your fingers crossed his interview goes well!!!!
I can almost taste the 'proper' food instead of the 'value' food!!!!!