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

elsien

In defence of younger folk (I’m not one) I do think it’s important to recognise that phones/WiFi are becoming more essential in the modern world. 

Things like the higher savings rate bank account which are app only, companies which have abolished their phone lines and you can only contact online/via Twitter. 
Those who can’t afford broadband or ego don’t have it for their own reasons are becoming more disadvantaged. Tales of the old days are all very well, but we do live in a different world now. 

OrkneyStar

elsien said:

In defence of younger folk (I’m not one) I do think it’s important to recognise that phones/WiFi are becoming more essential in the modern world. 

Things like the higher savings rate bank account which are app only, companies which have abolished their phone lines and you can only contact online/via Twitter. 
Those who can’t afford broadband or ego don’t have it for their own reasons are becoming more disadvantaged. Tales of the old days are all very well, but we do live in a different world now. 

Exactly, times change, I think rose tinted glasses can give an interesting perspective! As for younger, I lie probably in the 'middling', grew up in the 70's/80's but heard about my parents lives growing up 20-40 years earlier (dad was in his 40's when I was born), and also see my niece and nephew (20's, both hard working and really stepped up to support their mum when their dad died), and my son (nearly 15 now, he didn't get a mobile until a few months ago, but having one has made his life, including school life, much easier as it's expected they have one nowadays). Let's be supportive and encouraging, while being realistic, instead of critical.

Brambling

elsien said:

In defence of younger folk (I’m not one) I do think it’s important to recognise that phones/WiFi are becoming more essential in the modern world. 

Things like the higher savings rate bank account which are app only, companies which have abolished their phone lines and you can only contact online/via Twitter. 
Those who can’t afford broadband or ego don’t have it for their own reasons are becoming more disadvantaged. Tales of the old days are all very well, but we do live in a different world now. 

Also required for job hunting it's been 9 years since i had to do any but even then the job centre assumed I had access.  Most secondary schools also assume that children have access to PCs and wifi at home with homework being accessed online for the schools here.

I agree about living in a different world now I've been there done that don't want to have to do it again! 

tooldle

Picking up on an earlier point on bags of pre cut veg, I wanted to add this is an absolute godsend to so many people. My sibling is severely sight impaired with poor motor skills. There are doubtless many with similar issues, neurological disorders etc who find prepping veg to be difficult and / or dangerous. I think it great, the world of retail is finally catching up with the needs of the whole market and not just the needs of the able. If you find the supermarket packs to be expensive, have a look at your local veg shop or market stall. In our market one of the veg stalls display a small amount of prepped veg and will if you ask, prep veg there and then for customers. If you only want two carrots, you can have exactly that. These are small family business with long memories. You ask once and on the next visit the staff will remember you, and ask how you want the veg prepped. 

London_1

Indeed I am in no way denigrating the younger generation I have seven grandchildren who are all hard working youngsters, but there are folk of all generations who live and feel entitled to more out of life than they put in.

 I have never envied anyone better off than I am, as its pointless, as was once said "the poor are always with us "

There are times in my long life when the wolf was not only knocking at the door it was hammering but survival is a great instict and luckily for me I was brought up to survive on, at times very little.

 I am now at the age where life is easier for me ,my children are grown up as are my grandchildren (although I do help them out a bit) and the next generation of great grandchildren are arriving.

I do see a lot of folk of all ages are becoming worried about the future, and life ,although a lot better today, is still uncertain for many.

Maybe the pandemic and the problems arising are a way to slow down the world a little and perhaps returning to some of the better things from the past and not the worse will help a little . 

I think food wasteage in the 21st century is dreadful and I know the high cost of fuel and heating will be a worry for millions this year. But sometimes it could be a  case of small adjustments to help to make things go further. 

Fuels prices with be high so turning down unnecessary things will not only help your purse but also help the planet. maybe eating slightly less meat as we had to during rationing and less sugery sweet things will help folks health and extend our food supplies.
This country went through 6 years of tough times with war, and 14 years of rationing yet we survived (those lucky enough to ) and learned how to cope. 
Perhaps by adjusting our wants to actual needs may help some .

Walking to the shops if possible, instead of jumping in the car fuel saving and less pollution

Buying fruit and veg in season, instead of just because its available will cut the import bill a bit .

I shop as locally as I can,and if possible will use smaller businesses rather than the larger shops. When it comes to meat etc I use my local butccher who buys from a local farm its not cheap but as I use less its tasiers and the cash in in the local economy.

So checking out charity shops or second hand sites for preused stuff may cut back on landfill.

Only small adjustments but as Mr Cohens company would say "Every little helps".

I used up the last of my kilo of carrots yesterday and a couple of diced sprouty spuds and some herbs and garlic spices to make two litres of spicy carrot and coriander soup. it will do me for 4-5 lunches.Thickened up with a handful of lentils cost pennies to make but nothing was binned . a tin of the same soup in the supermarket which would do only one meal would have been around 50p+ my 4-5 lunches will cost less than that.

Utilising what I have before buying more has become my mantra now. I use my car far less than I did as ,especially with the nicer weather  I am walking more which is healthier for me, and better for my purse with fuel at around £7.50 a gallon now. 
 So sitting thinking about how to extend my existing stuff I have I am working out ways to make things last a bit longer. I already bake my own cakes aand biscuits, but also I have found by actually shopping less and only buying essentials that I have run out of I am making better use of my budget.

My DD says I am the 'lighting police' as I turn things off all the time if not in use years ago when we first had a tv it was fairly normal to turn off the mainlight when watching it. Now I do the same .i have a good few tea lights and candles so if I watch tv I am in a soft warm glow which again costs less than having lights blazing (another saving on costs. )

So today perhaps sit for 10 minutes and think how by tiny adjustments you can broing some costs down . Use the libraries more perhaps, if you are in walking distance, use left over water for the garden or to flush the loo. Have a throw over your legs and a hot water bottle for your feet instead of turning on the heating As Martin says 'warm the body first ' Thermos flasks with surplus hot water from the kettle will make a nice cuppa. Lots of little economies that we all can do without it becoming a chore .Even if you only try for a week and see how you get on, you may find it works for you. One of my grandsons has said he's all for using up stuff first, and has become quite good at reminding his Mum and Dad about lighting indoors, and not throwing things out as they used to. bless him I think my ideas are rubbing off on him. One down only the other six to go  
JackieO xx

ladyholly

I would love to shop local but the only shops local to me are supermarkets.we have no butcher, baker or green grocer without a 15 minute bus ride or a 15 minute walk which is too far carrying shopping (no bus route) for me and no I don't live in the sticks but on a housing estate on the edge of a town. 

euronorris

Sometimes a butcher and greengrocer are easier to find in a small village, than they are a town. We have a few in our town, but at least 2 are too expensive for us, another went bust and the last requires parking in town at a minimum cost of £2 each time. Its a shame, as would prefer to use a butcher, and the ones that are too expensive for me probably aren't price gouging either, but it still remains outside of our budget.

I think kids are just warmer than adults I'm general. My 5 year old daughter has taken to sleeping with a thin blanket the last few weeks as she's 'too hot' in her words. And her pyjamas at the moment are shorts and t shirt (she has winter ones, but refuses to wear them at the moment), and radiator off in her room. Now, granted, the house is well insulated, double glazed etc, but I just wondered if that colours our memories of not feeling cold during our childhood, despite growing up without heating?

I'm 39. We had central heating, but it wasn't on often as it was too expensive. And until my parents replaced the windows with double glazing, we too had ice on the inside of the windows in winter. I remember going to bed with coats and extra duvets sometimes, but I don't remember ever feeling particularly cold. I guess I must have at one point, as we had a gas fire in the living room and I once stood too close to it (despite being warned repeatedly not to) and the pockets on my highly flammable dressing gown burst into flames (thankfully I was quickly patted down by several family members and escaped being burnt).

Pretty much everyone will need to adjust. My parents struggled hugely in the past, bit have been much more comfortable over the last 15-20 years or so, as we all grew up and out etc, and they are now very used to heating without worry, lots of big shops and 2 freezers, and frequent breaks and days out, and treating the grandkids. Which, of course, is lovely, but it is going to be an adjustment to have to cut back on a lot of that due to price increases across the board.

lesleyb

tooldle said:

All this talk of hot water bottles made me think of electric bed warmers. I had one, acquired from a jumble sale in the mid 70’s. It was pink in colour and basically a metal shell with a light bulb inside. Probably about the same diameter as a dinner plate. 

I had 1 of those as well, I was amazed when I found out it had a light bulb inside 

Floss

Digital poverty & exclusion is a growing concern:
https://www.local.gov.uk/parliament/briefings-and-responses/tackling-digital-divide-house-commons-4-november-2021

littlemoney

tooldle said:

OrkneyStar said:

tooldle said:

All this talk of hot water bottles made me think of electric bed warmers. I had one, acquired from a jumble sale in the mid 70’s. It was pink in colour and basically a metal shell with a light bulb inside. Probably about the same diameter as a dinner plate. 

Never heard of such a thing - did it work well? We never really had electric blankets as kids, rarely hot water bottles either, it was just another blanket on the bed. I don't remember feeling that cold. We did have double glazing, but didn't use the heating that much (it was air vent things that blew out hot air), I did have warm pyjamas and I remember drinking hot Ribena to warm me up. My teeth suffered from the Ribena, but otherwise good memories. We were happy.  

Yes, it did work well. The advantage being these didn’t burst, as had happened with several of our hot water bottles at the time.  We had single glazed sash windows and no heating other than a coal fire and as others have mentioned, the good old Aladdin paraffin heater (in our case used in the bathroom but only at bath time). I’ve robbed the image from eBay. The listing says this particular item was from the 60’s

I remember one of those Belling bed warmer in beds as a child.  Also had a stone bottle for my feet and a rubber hot water bottle beside me to keep warm. The bed warmer was bigger than a dinner plate though.