WHY are you old style?......

OrkneyStar

Hi there,
I think I have been OS all my life, I just did not call it that.
Have always loved making things (knitting, sewing), cooking/baking (although much better now), getting value for money/bargains, jumble sales/charity shops etc (I used to have a very unique style lol, a bit more tame now). Used to always work but now am a SAHM to DS money is [STRIKE]quite tight[/STRIKE] very tight (esp with the big car service bill we have looming- bloomin' timing belts lol- getting it changed before it goes lol, damage prevcention!).
Great to hear people's stories and I love the welcoming friendly OS board.
x

LameWolf

I'd say I'm an aspiring OS-er.

Why? Well, let me think....

1. I'm basically stingy.:D Seriously, when I first [STRIKE]escaped[/STRIKE]left my parents' house, I often was so hard up by the end of the week that I had to skip meals; I've been careful ever since.

1 (a). My ex-not-so-DH was a spendthrift - a fact which contributed in a big way to me having to skip meals and dress out of the rag bag. (He'd think nothing of blowing £100 on a Hornby engine when we were having trouble scraping enough for the leccy bill):mad:

2. I don't trust ready-made food. I have to be careful what I put in my stomach, and if I've made it myself I can be sure there's no hidden gelatine/fish extract/anything else I don't want to ingest.

3. Believe it or not, some OS style things are fun. And as a (reasonably) intelligent bod, confined to home through no fault of my own, I want to keep the old grey matter functioning; certain OS projects help with this, IMHO.

4. Mr LW loves it when I've created something myself; he reckons it has a part of me within it IYSWIM and he appreciates that. For instance, if we're making jam, we both take turns to "stir in the magic". (Hope that makes sense!):D

Olliebeak

Although I'm reasonably well-paid (well - better than I ever have been in my life - so must be reasonable ), don't have a mortgage, have a subsidised rent due to live-in job, don't drive, don't smoke or drink, I DO believe in getting full value-for-money.

I spent 17yrs with my ex-OH on a very limited budget (Income Support) while he had his own priorities of what to spend it on :mad: . I had to 'make do and mend', make my own (and lots of the kids) clothes, cook very basically from scratch (while learning to cook and trying to remember what my old-style grandmother used to do), shop from charity shops where/when I could and earn bits of money by sewing/knitting/crocheting for other people for christmas spending money. We were forever scrimping for money for the gas/electric meters and often had to decide between one or the other .

When we split up, I made up my mind that proper budgeting was the only way to get by. At first I was earning around £55-65 a week (less after tax and NI contributions) - 19 years ago - and paying £30 per week rent for lodgings. On top of that was my contribution towards the utility bills and phone. Some weeks I would only have around £5 for food though it was usually around £7 and I would walk the mile and a half to/from work for 3 nightshifts and 2 evening shifts.

I now have a much better job and a 3 bedroomed house (part of my job) but the bills don't come cheap. This is my home and my bf has his own place. My children are all grown-up and I have 5 grandchildren ranging from 10yrs to 3mths. I like to be able to help out where they're concerned when I can.

I still make all my own clothes, including work-wear; I have my hair cut every 6-8wks by a mobile hairdresser; I cook from scratch; batch cook and freeze; use up left-overs; buy whoopsies and freeze them; shop on 'value lines' where I find them acceptable; I economise on the gas/electric useage; I shop ahead (buying for birthdays/christmas in advance); I have a water meter (the house is a newbuild); I have a prepay prescription for my medication; I don't go out in the evenings (unless I'm babysitting!) and I won't compromise on my Sky basic package with broadband .

I don't have travel expenses for work :T (lucky me!) but I am at home all day - so when it's cold, I'm cold - unless I put the heating on . (Definitely swings and roundabouts there !)

My biggest expense every year is my annual holiday to Scotland. We spend 2 weeks in a caravan (not cheap as it's one of the best sites in the country); not having a car, we get there by National Express/Citylink which, isn't cheap - just under £100 return for the 2 of us (9hr journey each way!) but cheaper than the train; I still practise old-style cooking while we're away, but we do have a few meals out as treats; we travel around by public transport while we're away, and again this can work out quite expensive. BUT that holiday is our own personal indulgence and is 'set in stone' - will not compromise on it at all!

As I live 'on the job', as it were, my weekends off are often disrupted by my work responsibilities - at least on my holiday nobody can find me :j .

jorichste

Apart from the obvious, practical stuff like feeding my family healthy food at a fraction of the cost of the supermarket stuff, cleaning my house without causing a huge mess to the environment and saving dosh there too.
What I really love is that all you lovely guys are willing to give your time and knowledge to a newbie like me, even though often there is little I can offer i return other than thanks.
Big hugs to all xx

Hardup_Hester

I agree with you there, but I think we all have something to offer.

glitterycloud

This site has given me the confidence to be both a 20 century girl and live using recipes and techniques of os, I too don't have much to offer as I am still learning so much but if I can I will!

Thanks to you all

Penelope_Penguin

jorichste wrote: »

Apart from the obvious, practical stuff like feeding my family healthy food at a fraction of the cost of the supermarket stuff, cleaning my house without causing a huge mess to the environment and saving dosh there too.
What I really love is that all you lovely guys are willing to give your time and knowledge to a newbie like me, even though often there is little I can offer i return other than thanks.
Big hugs to all xx

How nice :A I'll add you to the Why are you OS? thread

Penny. x

Cinny91

The only real reason I'm OS is because if I want a treat I make myself bake it (all recipes stored in my head). My mum cooks all her meals from scratch in the slow cooker and that's rubbed off on me, but I am known to be lazy and just go and get a pizza from MrA (still then, it's woopsied)

What's great is, having a busy day at work surrounded by computers, ringing phones, buzz of the photocopier and then going home to a scrummy homecooked meal, snuggling up on the sofa wrapped in a dressing gown, shutting the world off and knowing it's costing us next to nothing.

nesssie1702

I'm an OS for a number of reasons, but principally because I grew up in a family where money was tight and had to be stretched in order to feed a family of 6. My folks made me appreciate that if you didn't have the money for something then you couldn't buy it. Money doesn't grow on trees, you know!

One of my mother's adages was "Never a borrower or a lender be" and while I might not be able to stick to it all the time, I do try and follow it.

My DH has the opposite attitude to money compared to me - easy come easy go. As far as he's concerned, you cant' take it with you and there are no pockets on a shroud. But then, he lost his mum when he was 6 and his dad passed away when he was in his early 20s - so, maybe he's got a point? So, between us we've got to strike a balance.....

I love cooking meals from scratch, as well as being able to use natural resources like fresh air for drying clothes, rather than tumbling them. I'm sure I could be more OS, but little by little I'll get there.

The OS section of the Forum is great and there are so many friendly words of advice as well as hints and tips on getting the most out of just about every domestic situation you can think of !!

EagerLearner

I think my gran taught me alot when I was little, without meaning to - I mean it was part of her way of life and my grandads, to 'make do'. She had raise my mum on her own whilst grandad was in the Navy in WW2. So she used expressions like 'never a borrower or a lender be', 'a stitch in time saves 9' and 'try not to borrow from Peter to pay Paul - but sometimes you have to'.
She did save all paper and envelopes to cut up into shopping lists. Also cardboard boxes etc to cut up as shopping lists etc. Plus got me into the 'loyalty' and own brand mentality as she used to buy Co-Op own brand items, as the taste was 'just as good', plus she'd earn points to collect stamps, which went in her special stamps booklet, later to be redeemed when full for £1 off.

For me, also the fact that when young my mum raised us on her own and only had so much for clothes and things that we needed. So when I hit 12-13 and got a couple of pounds a week pocket money, I would try to save and buy my own things with it. That stayed with me as an immediate way to gain independence. Plus I was enterprising and sold items I could pick or collect from nature (fruit, seafood etc) to make extra money. Saved every penny from jobs in Summer holidays etc. Then came to UK with that money, with £80 in my pocket and nothing else... a little hobo story ha ha!

Anyway now I am 32 and find that the 'adapted' O/S lifestyle suits me fine - some items I can't give up, but I definately enjoy batch cooking, usign a slow cooker, re-using items, buying 2nd hand, living and cleaning in a 'greener' way, growing what I can (in a small flat) finding deals etc. I continue my entrepreneuring(sp?) skills but this time online to make extra cash. I learnt from my ex that debt can be crippling and that you can't help someone who won't help themselves...

I salute the O/S way and continue to learn loads and loads from folks on here - seems it's the only way to go given the recession and also talks of -deflation... I am just glad I started 2 years ago, so it doesn't hurt so much now!