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

Rosa_Damascena · 15 May 2022 at 11:00AM

poppy811 said:

I am struggling to understand what is going on. I went out briefly to the supermarket and noticed that every pub and restaurant was rammed. Likewise overflowing trollies in the shop. There seems to be a huge imbalance on what people can afford.

@poppy811 - life is imperfect and never fair, and millions of us are feeling the pinch. Don't forget that people's attitude to spending is different, some people will get themselves into debt rather than suffer a drop in living standards. Please don't leave this forum, your contributions are as welcome as anyone's.

Slinky · 15 May 2022 at 11:15AM

Wow, a lot gone on on this thread in the past few days, took a lot of catching up.

Somebody was asking about bank accounts with different pots, it may be worth looking at Chase which is an App only account. You can have several named pots and they are currently paying 1.5% interest.

London_1 · 15 May 2022 at 11:25AM

I have used the Aldi liquid non-bio detergent for about three years and found it excellent and reasonably priced. I use half the amount and a couple of dessert spoonfuls of washing soda crystals. Not the Calgon ones, but the Boots ones, same thing, but a fraction of the price. A decent dollop of white vinegar instead of the highly scented chemical fabric softerner and Bob's your Uncle

job done, and not broken the bank

I made and took a nice trifle to my eldest DDs last night as I was going there to dinner, in fact I had more than enough to make two. I lined two bowls with some sponge cake mad up a pint of orange jelly and poured half into each bowl and divided a tin of orange segments after draing them into each bowl and once set topped with custard mad form my tin of Birds custard powder. The I had a small carton of cream I whipped up in the blender and divided it on the top once the custard had set firm, and sprinkled some small cake decotations over the top.

The second trifle will go with me later this afternoon when I go to my youngest Dds for dinner tonight I costed it out and one jelly was 35p, one tin of orange segments was 45p so 80p then a pint of milk around 60p from the large carton in doors = £1.40, then the small carton of double cream on top 75p and a little bit of sprinkles I guess around £2.40 all told .Last nights pudding fed four of us after dinner, and tnight will do another four so eight portions @30p a portion. The bowls were the same size roughly as those you see in the supermarket with trifle in ,maybe slightly larger perhaps. My son-in-law said that the M&S one they usually buy is around £7.00 odd

so I'm quite happy to think my £2.40p double lot of trifles was a win-win against the supermarkets

Its how you can streetch your money out just a little bit further with a little effort. I had also made some Melting Moments bicuits and took them with my yesterday, and my son-in-law really enjoyed them and said these are really nice much nicer than shop bought ones

Bless him he has I think more money than sense at times, and when I said I made them and it takes around five minutes to knock them up and 12 minutes in the oven he was a little taken aback I think.
So I have promised him I will make him a batch just for him to take into his office next time he goes (he normally works from home four days a week.)
He's a lovely chap, but when we were talking last night he was saying that he had bought a good deal of fruit and was saying how lovely it was to have fresh pineapple instead of tinned .
Then he told me how much he had paid for a pineapple

I said HOW MUCH ! apparently he thought it was good value at £3.75

I said you do realise that often they are on offer in the supermarkets for around 80p.
I can see I will have to give him some lessons in economics I think

A lovely chap but little idea about the cost of food and how you can save on it at times. My DD does a very stressful job, and works quite long hours, so he does most of the shopping. Chatting to him I think I could probably cut his food shopping by at least half at times.When I told him what my monthly food budget was he was gobsmacked and said how can you live on that .there are just two of them at home now the children are both grown up and married and their food bill he said averages around he 'thinks' about ,in his words "Only around £120-30 a week"

definitely need helping I think ,and neither of them drink or smoke , I think there is a lot of stuff chucked out as he says if its in the fridge for more than a few days he will buy fresh again.His go-to shop is M&S food hall which explains quite a bit though.

Nowt so queer as folk when it comes to spending money is there. I know they can afford it, but its just so wasteful to be throwing food away. DD leaves it to him for the shopping

JackieO xx

OrkneyStar · 15 May 2022 at 11:33AM

Morning all, so, we are definitely feeling the pinch (partly due to external forces such as increasing food prices etc, and partly due to my desire to save for a couple of things that are coming up). I am being really strict with myself now, I have planned exactly when I am shopping (been a bit up and down about that in the past), have weekly (or longer) meal plans and shopping lists, am trying not to waste anything (though was miffed about the broccoli that went yellow very quickly after purchase and as a result was not fit for human consumption). I am determined not to buy any new clothing for me, even second hand, as I simply don't need it, and £3 here and there in the charity shop soon adds up too (DH similar situation though he saves for/gets own clothes, and DS is slightly different - has plenty for now but is still growing). I have my monthly gym/pool and plan to make the most of that (unfortunately there is a shop pretty much on the way home but I have decided I will leave my snack out/set aside in fridge for coming home so I am looking forward to that and not tempted!). I have plenty of craft (yarn and patterns) supplies, I can learn German for free, and I have decent boots/clothes for walking in, so I don't need to spend in that area either. Diesel purchases will be limited too, as using car less and less these days. DS will take snacks to school instead of buying cake etc. but will get his once a week school lunch chicken burger treat (he pops home on other days)! Wish us luck, we are determined, and also know we are fortunate compared so some.

London_1 · 15 May 2022 at 11:51AM

OrkneyStar well done on getting your ducks in a row so to speak. I too have abstained from clothes buying as I feel I have far too many in the wardrobe now that I rarely wear to be honest.

I find now its almost second nature when going for a walk around the lake in my local park to now take a flask as I was buying a £2.00 coffee every time I went there almost without thinking. Now my visits to CS are to off load books etc that I have read or decided I no longer need.I amhoping to move within a year so the more I can declutter the less I have to move with

I too have cut back on a bit on car useage, and try to use it mainly on a Tuesday when going to coffee morning then popping in to the library on the way home, or the supermarket when needed also on the way home
I have been noting my mileage this month, and its half way through the month and only done 70 odd miles literally half what I used to do.

Its small things that will help streetch the money out I hope. listening to the wireless this morning the chap on there was saying this winter is going to be tough for us all with prices getting worse the longer the Russia /Ukraine war goes on. We will experience shortages akin to the 1970s and prices through the roof, so every bit we can stash of our cash and squirel away the bette. 10% inflation is possibly an under estimate.

JackieO xx

Spendless · 15 May 2022 at 1:22PM

DD ended up being called into work yesterday. What none of us realised was this meant working late. She ended up with a choice of 2 trains home only
Choice A, 2 different trains, take 1.5 hours
Choice B , normal train journey of 22 mins, wait 2 hours after finishing work for it.

It's frustrating that train services still haven't returned to what they were pre covid times.

Mindful she also had work today, we paid for an o/night hotel with loyalty points from DH's work trips. We are picking her up from work today. She's done a lunch cover so doesn't get a break. Thankfully breakfast was included at the hotel. I'll take drink and snacks with me for her as I can guarantee she'll be hungry.

I found so many of my usual shopping missing yesterday, no 4 packs of baked beans only the more expensive individual tins, no filtered (own brand) milk, no laundry liquid (I like scented bio!). Had to go to a big name place instead for all these. With the exception of milk, I can't ever remember not being able to pick them up before. On the plus side they did have veg/sunflower oil in so picked up a bottle,