Live on a tenner a week ???

VfM4meplse

Lynplatinum wrote: »

Hiya
Re YS when I used to end up near a little co-op the staff used to get v annoyed with a couple who came every day at YS time. They were physicaly big people and would elbow their way in front of everyone and grab masses. The staff knew from overhearing their conversations that a) there were only the two of them b) their freezers were full c) that they often said that they ended up throwing stuff out cos they couldnt eat it all. I found out because someone complained and asked why the manager didnt kick them out. the staff were v sympathetic but felt they could do nothing. I felt sorry for the staff.

I really think life is too short!

Just doing some OS daydreaming (its free, after all ) and thinking about taking a spring break somewhere warm, feel the sun on my back and soak up a load of culture. One of my more memorable trips was to Sorrento and Amalfi around the spring equinox, freezing cold here, but 17 degrees there! That was 5 years ago !

If you have a spare minute to dream, this is worth watching to get the most out of your travels!

[Deleted User]

VfM4me I just watched the short film and its so true I went with my oldest friend to the U.S. in 2007 and we toured in a car.

What a great road trip we had. Met some amazing people who loved the idea of two elderly English ladies doing a "Thelma & Louise' on the back roads of Pennsyvania and New York.We got down as far as Raleigh and crossed an 18 mile bridge over the sea. A fantastic trip that I will never forget,.Everyone was so kind and somewhat bemused that we hadn't wanted to go to Florida or Califonia.But we wanted to meet the ordinary people who were just like us. We stopped off at Libraries where you get free use of the computers to email home, and the librarians at one country library actually phoned around to some of her friends to come in and say hello to her foreign visitors :):)
We even met a crowd of 'hells angel bikers' who gave us an escort back to the main highway when we got a little lost.We were treated with the utmost respect and kindness by everyone we met. Now my friend and I are quite a bit older we not tour the Uk on our 'Spring Breaks '.

This year we will be going to Leek in Staffordshire for a week and wandering around the local countryside nattering to people we meet and exploring odd and out of the way places.
I wonder if there is a rough guide to middle England :):)Over the past few years we have explored the Cotswolds,Norfolk,Shropshire, Hampshire, Dorset, Derbyshire, Glocestershire and Y.orkshire.
Have fun, will travel, nomatter what your age :):)

candygirl

Will watch the videa V4MEPLSE, n JACKIEO your trip sounds fab :j I love travelling, n am in love with India, n can't wait to go again, when I can afford it

FunBrum

Honeythewitch. I don't think it matters who you are,. People should be courteous and not snatch oranges or anything else....it's just good manners.:)

I shop for my friend and head to the YS to save him .money even though he is quite well off, but it grates on me to pay full price and see waste ,even when it's not my money!
His local is the Co-op and is near the univercity so I often am shoulder to shoulder with these young scholars!
I've always found them fine and pleasant, but my daughter said she once witnessed a fight break out in Asda a over the YS produce. Real fisticuffs! She refuses to go down that isle now! :rotfl::D

f0xh0les

My YS crowd in Salford was lovely, there was a foreign gent, I think he was originally Greek, and we used to stop and chat while waiting for the bargains to be wheeled out, when a gent in his 20s wandered past, gave us a filthy look and muttered loudly about f*king foreigners, he asked me what the guy had said (he knew full well what was said), so I told him he was just being rude about me. We were firm friends after that.

In Sheffield, it was strange, properly sharpened elbows between 2 men, the ladies all stood well back! It actually came to a tussle between them, but that was the only place I have ever seen people pick up a whole green basket, put them in their trolleys and wheel the whole lot around the corner where they would pick and choose what they wanted. That was downright rude!

Leicester is a bit odd too, a few people who have no manners, I mean you take what you need, there is no need to push and shove, they reduce things every day. One old woman with a stick shouted at me ''you have to grab grab grab'' but I just said there is more than enough to go round, you help yourself first. She didn't know where to put herself after that.:rotfl: I like to think it made her stop and think. We all like getting a bargain, but honestly if someone is in need of a box of grapes that badly, they are welcome to them. And while you are burrowing, I find if you say 'oh, have all the grapes gone' loudly enough, the person with 4 or 5 packs will find you in the next aisle and offer one or two to you.:)

PasturesNew

This year I've been keeping a spreadsheet of every penny I've spent when in shops buying food/drinks/etc. So far it's all gone down - and when I grab from the cupboard something I already had I add that cost into the list too, so I don't "fool myself" on how much I'm really spending.

I don't get YS stuff as I shop 98% in Ldl. I have three categories: Food (anything which is eaten), Drinks (all items to be drunk), Other (loo rolls, kitchen towels, washing up liquid, washing powder, bubble bath, shampoo, etc).

So far this year I've spent:
Food £70
Drinks £11
Other: £10 - although most of this will last 3-4 months as I stocked up.

Of the £70 food spend, I'm pretty much stocked up now, so £20 of that hasn't been eaten yet. So I've spent/eaten £50 of food so far. That works out at £6.50/week (just food)

That includes all sweets, treats, crisps and goodies I see and fancy, buy and scoff.

This is my "usual spending pattern". I could decrease it if I needed/wanted to; I could splurge out and buy pricier things and more often. But £6.50/week for just food is my regular just buying what I see/want and then eating it cost.

I am guilty of not splurging out and being too tight to treat myself to takeaways..... I should just go mad more often. I did go mad last week, I bought a Pukka Pie full price, 99p.

£4 this year just on mini cheesecakes

[Deleted User]

PasturesNew Wow that's really good and keeping a firm eye on your spending ,yet having a treat now and again is what its all about. I have one more small shop to perhaps do on Saturday but I am pleased with what I have spent so far this month and I know I will have some left over on Monday (last day of the month) This will get put into my holiday savings for our family holiday in August

Siebrie

I love reading about all the discounts! The local sm does not do such good ones, the best I've seen is squid from 35 for 25 euros.... They have renovated and seem to have gone for the higher market segment after reopening, selling live lobster, and having a fresh sushi bar with 5 chefs in.


A long time ago I lived on a tenner a week for a whole year, when I went back to university on my savings and the amount in my savings account had to get me through the year. I loved the creativity it unleashed, and would love to do it again (on a slightly less tight budget), if it meant not having to work in what is becoming a well-paid-but-dreary job (or is that just February speaking?).

VfM4meplse

Siebrie wrote: »

if it meant not having to work in what is becoming a well-paid-but-dreary job (or is that just February speaking?).

If it is, its saying the exact same thing to me. :beer:

savingpennies

A great thread. I'm trying to cut down on our food shop, getting ready for when the pension kicks in.
We aren't extravagant but I feel we could do better. I've bought a few YS items but its been mainly meat and fish items for the freezer, and nothing priced at 1p or 10p. I make as much use of my SC and freezer as I can and try to make things stretch as much as possible. Sadly incomes are dropping and food is for some becoming an expensive part of the budget.
Like several people on here I lived in a time when takeways and eating out just never happened. I remember one occasion when my mum had run out of money and pay day was two days away. Off we went to my grans to borrow money for bread and potatoes, chip butties soon filled us up. Gran always had a few pounds in a jar for emergency rations as she called it. She had ten children so the ration money was often used. Come pay day you had to pay her back so the money was always there for emergencies.