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

littlemoney

I read recently that people particularly will find life  harder in the autumn when they return from their holidays and there is nothing left in the kitty. I know  it is a generalisation but I can  see some truth in it  as well.

Floss

I think there will be a fair few families who won't have the luxury of a holiday this year

ladyholly

Frugalista said:

ladyholly said:

Yesterday I made very much soup, from two butternut squashes, a large pile of meh carrots, onion, ginger, peanut butter (no, really) and stock.

There was enough for five meals for two of us., and it probably cost about £4.

Would you post your recipe please.  The addition of ginger and peanut butter sounds interesting!

Sorry. The piece I posted was lifted from a Facebook post so I have no idea of the recipe. I do know there are recipes for butternut squash and ginger recipes on the internet so might be worth having a look.

Wraithlady

-taff said:

Yes, there are many social situations ranging from extreme poverty to extreme wealth but the point is that there is a lot of privilege going round 

I don't have any interest in joining the argument, but from an alternative perspective, it's possibly the actual word 'privilege' that may be causing some of the cognitive dissonance.

For 99.99% of people, 'privilege' means 'having wealth and power' - so when they respond with 'hey, I don't have privilege', what they actually think they're saying is 'I'm not wealthy or powerful'.

Just a thought.

OrkneyStar

(pasted this grey bit by mistake.....just ignore it.....)

My last words on privilege, and some thoughts on holidays. I fear the privilege thing has made us digress, I apologise if any of that is my fault - I suspect those of us are concerned about these topics will have other outlets to discuss it, so I won't say anything else on here (I think myself and others have made some valid points, especially around this issue of what privilege really is and how we often have it without knowing).

euronorris said:

Not everyone makes decisions without taking those things into account. 

And we all have our own sub conscious biases that influence how we view and treat others, whether we recognise it or not. 

Anyway, petrol up another 2p/litre this week. Up and up it goes again.

This sounds like a bit of a get out clause for discrimination - I am going to assume that's not what you mean though (based on what I know of you here).

Wraithlady said:

-taff said:

Yes, there are many social situations ranging from extreme poverty to extreme wealth but the point is that there is a lot of privilege going round 

I don't have any interest in joining the argument, but from an alternative perspective, it's possibly the actual word 'privilege' that may be causing some of the cognitive dissonance.

For 99.99% of people, 'privilege' means 'having wealth and power' - so when they respond with 'hey, I don't have privilege', what they actually think they're saying is 'I'm not wealthy or powerful'.

Just a thought.

Privilege isn't wealth or power though, it's simply having an advantage which others do not have. It might not even feel like an advantage, until you don't have it!

Floss said:

I think there will be a fair few families who won't have the luxury of a holiday this year

As my name suggests, we live on an island, and for island folk it's really nice to get off island every now and then - we did get a short break to Inverness in April (which was nice after not being away for 2 years). We are currently deciding if me and DS can justify another couple of days off island, but it will likely be just 'over the water' for a couple of days if we go (change of scenery and also bigger Tesco, B and M, Farmfoods etc). Some folk still seem to be booking holidays abroad, but some will be ones postponed from the last year or so (and so potentially already paid for and money lost if not taken). While I think being frugal is good, I also think if folk can afford a break then go for it, it does us so much good to get a change of scene and who knows what life might bring in the future (Covid showed us that best laid plans can be unlaid, and so there is an element of making the most of this life here and now, for me at least).  Of course many simply cannot afford a holiday right now and so I appreciate that hearing about holidays, trips etc might be hard on them. Let's hope we get a decent summer so we can at least enjoy some time in the sun at home/nearby park/nearby beach etc.

euronorris

Oh no, not a get out clause at all. More of a 'we all need to be aware that we have biases and try to recognise what they are so that we can try to overcome them'. It's an ongoing thing. I think it's very easy to think of oneself as 'absolutely not racist/sexist/ageist' because we don't do x, y or z. But that doesn't mean we don't still have biases that affect how we treat others.

My employer had us all do a course in November, a couple of weeks after I joined, which was really insightful.

OrkneyStar

euronorris said:

Oh no, not a get put clause at all. More of a 'we all need to be aware that we have biases and try to recognise what they are so that we can try to overcome them'. It's an ongoing thing. I think it's very easy to think of oneself as 'absolutely not racist/sexist/ageist' because we don't do x, you or z. But that doesn't mean we don't still have biases that affect how we treat others.

My employer had us all do a course in November, a couple of weeks after I joined, which was really insightful.

Thanks for clarifying, I agree with what you are saying, and it definitely is an ongoing process.
Being open to learning and listening to others is key too.

euronorris

A colleague of mine has just shared an app that they have been using which I think is absolutely fab. It is called bankthefood. It will tell you, in real time  what items your local food is in need of, so that if you are looking to donate you can focus your efforts on what is needed in your area.

Just thought I would share for those of us who are still in a position to be able to donate (and wish to).

Slinky

We are fortunate to be able to afford to donate to our local foodbank. We do it through a standing order and as they have charitable status, they are able to claim gift aid on our donations. We thought this a good option as not only do they get more money, they are also able to spend it on things they are missing from donated goods. Another option to consider if you are able.

It also means my OH can claim it back against his tax, so we benefit a little from that also. Makes more sense for us allround than our previous donations of random things in the supermarket collection point.

YoungBlueEyes

Two good ideas there, probably better than what I currently do. 

If there’s something I’m buying that’s a multiple (bogof shower gel, multipack of beans or whatever) I’ll put one in the donations basket. 

Your ideas are better I think.