Being the only 'OldStyler' in your friendship group.

elizabethhull

Pollycat wrote: »

I agree.

I hosted a tupperware party in my tiny 1 bedroomed flat when I first got married.
Mum & Aunts came, loads of people from work, we could hardly move.
And then came.........Pippa Dee parties.
I never really embraced that as I made all my own clothes at that time.

Oh I remember all that party selling. A friend of mine who did Pippa Dee said she did by far the best on council estates because they all wanted to be SEEN buying clothes, whereas elsewhere they didn't care.

I think it is more difficult than ever to be one of the have-nots. We, like many, were pretty skint when we got married and seemed to spend an unreasonable amount of money feeding the damn electricity meter - but no-one would have sneered at us for always taking packed lunches, always cooking from scratch, always taking food/coffee on a journey. We rented a TV from Radio Rentals and the rent went DOWN every year we kept the same model !!
When, later, we took the children on caravan park holidays, our last lunch on the way home was all the bits and pieces we had in the fridge - never threw away an ounce of marg !! Their holiday clothes all came from jumble sales which we thought were an enormously fun way of spending a Sat afternoon.
For several years, a friend and her children used to come between Xmas & New Year and we had a leftovers party - everyone loved it . Even now my elder daughter is a massive fan of 'leftovers'.
We are lucky that we never remotely starved (a wholesale butcher down the road kept us in some very interesting cuts of meat !!)
Both my now grown-up girls have had great success with things like a fridge, sofa, bed etc via Freegle, and they Freegle their own unwanted stuff in return.

But now, it seems 'everyone' has to have money for Costa, the latest iphone & other expensive gizmos, holidays in the latest fashionable destination, and normal 21st century life is almost impossible without an internet connection. Adverts try to convince us that we HAVE to have certain things, and it is this relentless pressure that can make modest living feel shameful. It's not right, but I don't know what one can do about it.

It's difficult to stand up and preach the virtues of economy when you have no choice, but if you play the 'green' card, that is perhaps the most acceptable way, and although we shouldn't mind about fitting in, man is a social animal and the desire for approval and acceptance never goes.

(Sorry for the ramble!)

monnagran

Elizabethhull: love the idea of a leftover party.
I used to use all the bits of leftovermeat to make a pie after Christmas. The family referred to it as 'Remnant Pie', and it was very popular.

A while ago I read a recipe in a glossy, foodie magazine for a pie with chicken, sausagemeat, ham etc in it . I can't remember what they called it, but I know what we call it!

The Jones's are catching up with us.

Rosemary7391

GreyQueen wrote: »

Funnily enough, I tend to look at a worn-out handknit sweater as a yarn mine for other projects, like the latch hook rugs. I made my first full size rug when I was 9 and it's still going strong.

I've just looked those up - that looks like a brilliant way to use up yarn ends as well as old knitted clothes. Reckon a crochet hook would do as well as the latch hook?

thriftwizard

Rosemary7391, a latch hook makes the knotting process very easy; two smooth moves. With a crochet hook, it's hard to pull the tails back without catching the loop; the latch makes it possible to pull them back through without catching. You often find them in charity shops for pence, with the knitting needles.

NewShadow

thriftwizard wrote: »

Rosemary7391, a latch hook makes the knotting process very easy; two smooth moves. With a crochet hook, it's hard to pull the tails back without catching the loop; the latch makes it possible to pull them back through without catching. You often find them in charity shops for pence, with the knitting needles.

Can't even getting knitting needles around here nowadays - not sure if it's 'health and safety' or no-one's donating them.

Same as the basket of wool and tubs of buttons seem to have disappeared - used to love rummaging through those.

Lynplatinum

Evening All

Have just washed my latest charity shop bargain - a £1 tee shirt (a plain round necked one in a rather lovely dark blue) . Its come up a treat!! Not sure it had ever been worn before. Will dress it up with beads and scarves again and someone will say 'ooh I like your top' and I will say 'oh its just from a little shop I know!' He he he

Frugaling on folks!

[Deleted User]

We always had a 'I'm bored-with Christmas -already party on Boxing Day and we would phone everyone we knew, and say bring with you something you think you won't eat.Everyone turned up wearing what they felt comfy in (including slippers if you felt like it )and brought something that got put on the table in our kitchen diner.We had half eaten piles of cake,sausage rolls and all sorts of stuff.The men would bring odd bottles of wine and different drinks in bottles and it also would get put in the kitchen and it was help yourself .The sitting room furniture was moved out of the way and games,dancing and general nattering was the order of the evening When folks went home they were told to take anything they thought they could eat home with them.All our family and friends had a great time and things that had been bought for 'Christmas eating' got used up. One friend of ours brought a large black forest gateau with two slices taken from it and went home with half an edam cheese the cake was eaten up by the way.We did this every year for about 8 years until we finally moved house ,but everyone said it was great to relax and enjoy themselves and no one cared what they wore,ate or drank.There were very few left overs and everyone went home happy My OH used to say great now we can eat normal food again I know what he meant as we all tend to overspend on stuff at Christmas that often we are sick of the sight of before New Year This was back in the late 1980s and everyone liked the fact you didn't have to dress up and you could just be yourself.Nowadays I am not even at home at Christmas as I have to 'share' myself between my two Dds houses from Christmas Eve until 2nd or 3rd of January Then I too am happy to get back home and have 'normal' food again :):)

Pollycat

Lynplatinum wrote: »

Evening All

Have just washed my latest charity shop bargain - a £1 tee shirt (a plain round necked one in a rather lovely dark blue) . Its come up a treat!! Not sure it had ever been worn before. Will dress it up with beads and scarves again and someone will say 'ooh I like your top' and I will say 'oh its just from a little shop I know!' He he he

Frugaling on folks!

Hi Lyn

Not sure if you've seen this thread:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3859129&page=274

Edina_Typhoon

You could probably afford the odd coffee and go shopping for the fun, chat and company. You don't have to buy anything. If you weaken and make a purchase then realise you couldn't really afford it, just take it back. simples!

Caterina

A while back I started a thread commenting on the envy of others, it was very much about being the only OS person in my circle of acquaintances and how, because I have always lived well and never whinged about being skint, I was considered "rich" and have had a lot of envy directed at me.

As a result of feeling isolated and lonely in my lifestyle choices I started organising OS meetups and I have made lovely friends that way. This forum also has been invaluable for support and as a never ending source of ideas.

Unless people are in a dire situation, homeless and totally destitute, in which case it is a matter of survival ( and who gives a fig about appearance in those circumstances), I have never known an OSer to live less than well, within their means and circumstances.

The beauty of OS in my view is that it allows people following general OS principles to treat themselves to the lifestyle of their choice, within reason, by saving and scrimping where it does not hurt (or only mild discomfort) such as YS shopping, scratch cooking, vouchers, chazzer fashion etc...so that the non OS acquaintances often have no idea of the choices that we make as OSers. It is due to our daily OS choices that allows many of us to afford, say, a holiday, or piano lessons, or a new(ish) car, or whatever takes our fancy. Nobody realises that the average OSer takes a myriad of everyday decisions which allow them to save in areas where the non OSer would not dream to go.

I have lost count of the times that I have heard people express disgust at the idea of wearing second hand clothes, turning their noses at the idea of eating food past its best before date, who would not dream to go camping instead of package holiday, who would not walk or catch the bus in favour of car use...the very same people who then whinge about being "skint". The same so called "friends" who wonder how we can go on holidays as a family on a one-person salary!

As a family we have been well and properly skint for many years, when I raised the kids and my husband's salary, after mortgage and bills were paid, was less than anyone would ever consider liveable, but guess what, we did it, and well, too, by being very very careful.

The year that my husband was made redundant we lived like ants, but still well, thanks to a tiny baking job I held, that paid a misery in cash but allowed me to get free food, together with a well cared for allotment. Nobody other than our family knew about our circumstances.

Now, many years later, mortgage paid, husband retired after getting better and better jobs, we are really much better off, but we follow the same lifestyle, drive (only when necessary) a very small used car, grow our own veg, buy used clothes and books...true, we go on holiday! But I am writing this from the comfort of a lovely little 1star hotel in a small seaside town abroad, probably much cheaper than the cheapest B&B in the UK. we could afford more stars for our accommodation now, but why bother? The bed is comfy, the bathroom is clean and the breakfast food fresh and abundant. The savings allow us the odd meal out and bottle of cava, and if we can live on very little while on this holiday, we have more money to go on the next one.

OS is not dependent on how much you have in the bank, although if you have very little it helps make life bearable. No, it is a mindset. I know that if I won the lottery (not that I play, mind you, considering it a waste of money), after buying a house each for my kids I would live very much in the same way as when my kids were little and we were skint, for real!