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

euronorris

Oh I like that idea. I made a dress for DD for the first time last weekend (a jubilee themed one for her school celebration at the end of this month) and it turned out rather well. I'd quite like to make more dresses for her, as I have quite the fabric stash to use.

[Deleted User]

Last summer, our council had funding for x3 activities per week for 7-16 year olds,  each of which was 6 hours long and included lunch. It was aimed at lower income families but was open to everyone. My children went to everyone single one and had so much fun. There was dance, art, sports and crafts. We either walked or caught the bus.

The uptake was no higher than 10 per session, and each session accommodated 35 children. Such a shame, and lots of food wasted. 

On a separate note, I confess I’ve skim read a lot of the past few pages as I find debate, even healthy, stressful. I wish you all strength and happiness in whatever comes in the next few months, and let us all stick together as an MSE collective rooting for each other xxx

dreaming

ladyholly said:

My mother made most of my dresses when I was a child and they tended to have deep hems so they could be let down. The mark that was left was then disguised with rick rack braid. 

This took me back a bit. I am the youngest of "the cousins" (quite a lot of them) and nearly all of my dresses had at least 2, if not 3 or 4, lines of rick rack on them by the time they got to me. My auntie (the mother of one of the older cousins) was a very talented seamstress so the dresses were well made and lasted for years.
Re learning to cook/budget etc., I did neither when I was little as my mother died early and my factory worker dad had to bring up 3 children. We did always have beef on Sundays, with the obligatory boiled-to-death vegetables, but by Tuesday we were down to fish fingers, instant mash (shudder!) and tinned peas, and Thursdays were often just bread and jam. I did domestic science at grammar school and my dad moaned all the time about the cost of the ingredients and the "fancy" food we made. Apparently we were being educated to be able to marry well and give dinner parties according to one of the teachers (this was late 60s). I learned to cook when I had kids and have enjoyed it since although I don't do so much these days as I live alone and motivation can be lacking.Somehow it seems I am naturally really good with money, which my exH was definitely not (and still isn't according to DD). The kids always "cooked" with me - measuring things, stirring etc. and the younger one is a much better, and more adventurous, cook then I am, but unfortunately tends to take after her father in money matters. The elder one never took to cooking but could budget like a demon. I am never sure if it is totally learned behaviour or natural inclinations - probably a mixture of both.

elsien

My problem with clothes is that I'm expanding outwards rather than upwards. Not sure a bit of braid is going to help with that. 

ragz_2

euronorris said:

I wonder if childcare is what held back some people from attending? If you're a single mum, already struggling to meet your bills, then you're not likely to spend out on a babysitter (even if it would help you in the long run). And they may not have a support network to call on.

Might be other reasons too, just one that sprang to mind.

When I worked at a Children's Centre (before I was made redundant and they closed loads of them down) we ran cooking and healthy eating courses with a free creche (also some sessions involved the little ones in the cooking). Always fully booked, often with 'struggling' families who I assume were signposted by their keyworkers, but it was advertised to everyone who visited the centre. They covered things like meal planning as well. It was really well reviewed by those who attended. 

Not sure how many are still open and running these, but they were very good. 

ladyholly

elsien said:

My problem with clothes is that I'm expanding outwards rather than upwards. Not sure a bit of braid is going to help with that. 

I have the same problem. I suppose we could try it down the side seams

Florenceem

I had to feed 8 of us on benefits in the 1980s - my first husband had a serious illness and was unable to work for a few years. We grew vegetables and kept chickens/ducks - blessed with a very large garden. I added Yorkshire puddings and stuffing to most meals to fill bellies. Always made a pudding - apple crumbles etc. None of my children were either underweight or overweight - however they were very active. The 3 boys were always out playing football and the girls cycled and attended Brownies/Guides/St John Ambulance. My children did paper rounds and walked or cycled to school. Times have changed and now a lot of children spend time sitting using computers etc when not at school.
Mr F does a spreadsheet in Excel to organise "pots" of money into categories in my bank account.

tooldle

I’d forgotten the dresses (never trousers) with deep hems, for adjusting. My mum made all our clothes as back then clothes were expensive to buy ready made. Completely turned on its head now, ready made can be very cheap and home made far more costly. The only times when I was able to choose, were jumble sales. God how I hated some of the things I was forced to wear. The tables are turned now and I am responsible for dressing mum, I try to be kind and get things that she would like, were she able to express an opinion.

JinJinBlue

Good evening everyone. I'm new here and never posted before although I have been a long time lurker. I just wanted to say a big thank you to you all for sharing your ideas and tips, the support and occasional laughs and for sharing your thoughts and experiences. Following your advice, I bought my first L1d1 veg box, which I shared with a friend. My freezer is full of ys things and I'm building a store cupboard. I probably won't post a lot but I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate this thread and always read it. You are all inspirational.
Love, 
Jin x

EssexHebridean

OrkneyStar said:

EssexHebridean said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

EssexHebridean said:

I cant count the number of people who have asked me how to make pastry for instance. Ok  not especially healthy but filling and a pie can be strtched a long way.

I’ll challenge this statement to a degree. Take a pie, filled with some form of protein plus a heap of veggies. A gravy based sauce rather than one with a creamy base, perhaps. Potentially that’s going to be a great balanced way of someone getting carbs, protein and fats, plus several of their 5 a day. Serve it with a couple of additional portions of veg alongside, and follow up with yogurt and fruit. There is literally nothing “unhealthy” about that meal. 

Pie crust / pastry? Not good for you.

And probably won't stop me eating mince pies in December. The price might though!

On a separate note, I was sifting through the recycling and came across FF leaflet with vouchers and for once was less hasty to ditch it. I can see myself using the vouchers now if it means I can stock up on long life milk, juice, and other cupboard goods.

Absolute nonsense I’m afraid. Should someone be eating pastry on a daily basis? Probably not, as there are a wealth of other carbs out there that also form a great part of a balanced diet and eating the same food every day often indicates a lack of variety. Is pastry “bad” though? Also no. Classifying foods as “not good for you” without context is now well known to be extremely unhelpful - even harmful. Disordered eating, or worse - an eating disorder - delivers a poorer outcome for health than eating the foods that are demonised as “bad” in this way, ironically enough. The whole point of a balanced diet is that it allows unconditional permission to eat ALL foods - so far as allergies or other conditions allow - leading to a better relationship with food. The only reason anyone needs to exclude a particular food from their diet is where medical conditions, religious beliefs or moral stance comes into play, plus of course personal likes and dislikes! 😁 

@lefta@leftatthetrafficlights Both my Nationwide and Santander current accounts allow me to open associated e-savings accounts which can then be named as suits.  We use ours a lot - they’re invaluable for budgeting! 

@OrkneyStar I would say that a spin on that is “people are often in debt because they have never learned to budget” - we see that a lot on DFW. Not knowing how to - or being willing to - cook sometimes comes into play there too - it’s not unusual to be able to support someone to reduce their grocery spend by as much as 50% simply by signposting to resources like this board, making suggestions of easy ways of getting meals on the table fast…even meal planning can help as it reduces “thinking time” when someone gets in from work.

@freyasmum Getting the engagement often is the issue I suspect - and also where Foodbanks are concerned having classes that catered for everyone would be tricky too. It’s pointless teaching the person living with their three kids in a house with a kitchen the same sorts of recipes you might teach someone living in so-called temporary B&B accommodation where their only “cooking” facility is a microwave, for example. 

EssexHebridean said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

EssexHebridean said:

I cant count the number of people who have asked me how to make pastry for instance. Ok  not especially healthy but filling and a pie can be strtched a long way.

I’ll challenge this statement to a degree. Take a pie, filled with some form of protein plus a heap of veggies. A gravy based sauce rather than one with a creamy base, perhaps. Potentially that’s going to be a great balanced way of someone getting carbs, protein and fats, plus several of their 5 a day. Serve it with a couple of additional portions of veg alongside, and follow up with yogurt and fruit. There is literally nothing “unhealthy” about that meal. 

Pie crust / pastry? Not good for you.

And probably won't stop me eating mince pies in December. The price might though!

On a separate note, I was sifting through the recycling and came across FF leaflet with vouchers and for once was less hasty to ditch it. I can see myself using the vouchers now if it means I can stock up on long life milk, juice, and other cupboard goods.

Absolute nonsense I’m afraid. Should someone be eating pastry on a daily basis? Probably not, as there are a wealth of other carbs out there that also form a great part of a balanced diet and eating the same food every day often indicates a lack of variety. Is pastry “bad” though? Also no. Classifying foods as “not good for you” without context is now well known to be extremely unhelpful - even harmful. Disordered eating, or worse - an eating disorder - delivers a poorer outcome for health than eating the foods that are demonised as “bad” in this way, ironically enough. The whole point of a balanced diet is that it allows unconditional permission to eat ALL foods - so far as allergies or other conditions allow - leading to a better relationship with food. The only reason anyone needs to exclude a particular food from their diet is where medical conditions, religious beliefs or moral stance comes into play, plus of course personal likes and dislikes! 😁 

@lefta@leftatthetrafficlights Both my Nationwide and Santander current accounts allow me to open associated e-savings accounts which can then be named as suits.  We use ours a lot - they’re invaluable for budgeting! 

@OrkneyStar I would say that a spin on that is “people are often in debt because they have never learned to budget” - we see that a lot on DFW. Not knowing how to - or being willing to - cook sometimes comes into play there too - it’s not unusual to be able to support someone to reduce their grocery spend by as much as 50% simply by signposting to resources like this board, making suggestions of easy ways of getting meals on the table fast…even meal planning can help as it reduces “thinking time” when someone gets in from work.

@freyasmum Getting the engagement often is the issue I suspect - and also where Foodbanks are concerned having classes that catered for everyone would be tricky too. It’s pointless teaching the person living with their three kids in a house with a kitchen the same sorts of recipes you might teach someone living in so-called temporary B&B accommodation where their only “cooking” facility is a microwave, for example. 

My tired brain doesn't know whether you are agreeing with me or not, in short my view is that there is no one size fits all for helping people budget/reduce spends, so various suggestions can be put forth (in a non-judgemental way), while also bearing in mind that we don't all come from the same start point (resource-, knowledge-, time-, disability-, or physical/mental health-wise). It's also hard for some people to even ask for help, I guess that is an issue too. 

Complete, absolute total agreement, I assure you! 😁

and - JinJinBlue - welcome!