It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

Rosa_Damascena

tooldle said:

ladyholly said:

I don't eat any of the above. I have soup in the freezer which I'll defrost if I'm desperate, ditto curry. I am rather fond of bread, cheese, salad and cake.

Without wishing to citicise. How do you make curry if you dont cook. I assume you buy it ready made and the same with soup. The prices of ready made food is generally higher than cooking from scratch and would be out of the budget for many famillies.  Obviously I dont know what elese you eat but for someone doing a physical job cheese salad would not provide the nutrients or calories needed to stay healthy. Not everyone who has a very limited budget is retired/ unemployed.

I think Rosa does cook, he/she just doesn't eat their food hot/warm. 

I cook very occasionally, but when I do its in my 8L stockpot so I can make a substantial amount of soup, or veggie curry to a lesser extent - depends on what I find to be an irresistible YS in the veg aisles. I portion up in ?600ml containers and probably defrost one every month, getting 3 meals out of each. Sometimes I'll take something out on a Sunday for a week and its still in the fridge on the Friday. I think my problem with hot food is the smell, which is why I don't enjoy cooking. I can feel it seeping into my hair, clothes, through the walls etc. I have no less that 4 large windows in my kitchen - I was lucky enough to have the luxury of designing the kitchen of my dreams from the footprint onwards - and that makes life more pleasant if I have to cook. My mum will often give me food which I know I won't eat within the next couple of days and that too ends up in the freezer but won't necessarily require heating.

As a child I hated my mum's food and would have a sandwich / cereal instead. Mum said I would get sick of eating bread within a couple of weeks but I never have! I don't have a manual job but I do work very long hours and it is unusual to have a break at lunchtime, but I like to take 15mins out for my coffee around 2.30pm. I didn't realise what is normal for me is so unusual for other people!

Tea and toast is fine for a spell as many of us have reserves to keep us going, but its not what you would call a balanced diet suitable for a long period of time.

CCW007

Spot on post as always @EssexHebridean

ladyholly

I am trying to grow cucumbers unfortunately something in the garden seems to think the plants are for them. Any suggestions gratefully received.

EssexHebridean

ladyholly said:

I am trying to grow cucumbers unfortunately something in the garden seems to think the plants are for them. Any suggestions gratefully received.

We use crushed eggshells as a slug deterrent - I throw ours into a plastic tub to dry out but you can speed the process by putting them on a tray in a low oven - or I suspect even in the oven immediately after something else has come out to use the residual heat? Then crush them up and sprinkle liberally around the plants - the theory is that the slugs and snails aren't fans of "sliming" (for want of a better description) over them, so go and eat something else instead. 

SadieO

Rosa_Damascena 

Wedding young is nothing new and opportunities were far more limited in previous generations. No grown up likes living by another's rules but that was all the more incentive to prepare for the future: patience and saving were a standard approach back then. There's still an element of saving (although far less at the end of the month to save) but fewer of the younger generations who are used to having what they want in real time would pass the Marshmallow Test.

I think this is a bit of a generalisation. When my parents got married in 1971 they had very little money but my dad had a job so they got a mortgage for their first house and moved out of their parents' as soon as they got married. These days FTBs save years for a deposit.

And I remember my grandparents talking about people getting things "on the tick" and "the never-never"! I don't think buy now, pay later is a "younger generation" thing, it just comes in different forms these days. 

ladyholly

Thank you I will try that.

tooldle

SadieO said:

Rosa_Damascena 

Wedding young is nothing new and opportunities were far more limited in previous generations. No grown up likes living by another's rules but that was all the more incentive to prepare for the future: patience and saving were a standard approach back then. There's still an element of saving (although far less at the end of the month to save) but fewer of the younger generations who are used to having what they want in real time would pass the Marshmallow Test.

I think this is a bit of a generalisation. When my parents got married in 1971 they had very little money but my dad had a job so they got a mortgage for their first house and moved out of their parents' as soon as they got married. These days FTBs save years for a deposit.

And I remember my grandparents talking about people getting things "on the tick" and "the never-never"! I don't think buy now, pay later is a "younger generation" thing, it just comes in different forms these days. 

Here’s a contrasting story for you. My parents married in ‘61 and went into rooms for roughly 18months. They were saving long before their wedding and it took roughly 5 yrs to raise a deposit. Finding a house was difficult as housing was then in very short supply. There are so many variables meaning everyone will have a different story as to how long it took to secure their first property.

OrkneyStar

Really well put @EssexHebridean!

jennystarpepper

Do current FTB have it hard?

Things are cheaper now than back in the 60's, 70's and 80's, minimum wage, more equal pay for women.  I bought my first house in the late 90's, I had a bed and nothing else.  Most things we need / use now are much, much cheaper... Tv's, washers, microwaves and so on and no internet so finding and buying and find cheap deals was limited.   Supermarkets didn't do 2 4 1 or 50% off and no cheap shops such as H3ron (not that I remember anyway).

I bought my first laptop in 2003 I am now on my second one, I have a tablet which is still going strong bought 2016, my current mobile was bought late 2016.  Current children / relatives children have had many, many more.

I have 2 step children at university, both have expensive 1k or more mobiles, one drives a German car, both of the cars they have are quite new, they both work and save which I have helped with, but they don't appear to grasp the concept of 'you can't have everything'.   I am proud of them as they have a good work ethic.

Being a FTB can be hard at anytime, I do not think current times make things harder... (excluding London / or similar areas).

euronorris

Yes, it is harder for FTB now. The income to house price ratio is much higher. In 1996, this ratio was 3. By 2020, it was closer to 7. This ratio is much higher in London. House prices have risen at much higher rates than the average income, sadly, and having other things available at a cheaper rate is no longer sufficient to plug the gap (it was for a while).