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

-taff

I remember when my sister and I were younger, we'd have half a chcolate bar each and no matter what it was, one of us cut it, the other one chose their piece. Absolutely the easiest way to ensure both pieces were exactly the same size...

Floss

-taff said:

I remember when my sister and I were younger, we'd have half a chcolate bar each and no matter what it was, one of us cut it, the other one chose their piece. Absolutely the easiest way to ensure both pieces were exactly the same size...

I and my 2 older brothers had to do that too! 

EssexHebridean

My Mum used to occasionally buy a Mars bar (were they really bigger then?!), cut it into slices and freeze them for treats - clever way of making a chocolate bar last for days! 

Brambling

Floss said:

-taff said:

I remember when my sister and I were younger, we'd have half a chcolate bar each and no matter what it was, one of us cut it, the other one chose their piece. Absolutely the easiest way to ensure both pieces were exactly the same size...

I and my 2 older brothers had to do that too! 

My sister and I still do when we go out for tea and share a slice of cake 😁

London_1

Oh the wonders of a Mars bar . When we were lucky enough for my Mum to buy one, it was divided into thin slices between my two brothers and I.
Every bit was equal and there were never any arguements about it.We took it in turns to have the 'end' bit as it had more chocolate on it
Mum was very strict about us all having equal amounts even though there were four year between each of us. To this day over 70 odd years later if I have a Mars bar I still slice it into thin slices and put in the fridge to get really cold.
When I used to look fter my grandchildren, 5 from one daughter, and two from the other. I did the same for them, and bless them the boys, are all young men now, and will slice their Mars bars up as I did for them when they were little, and my late Mum did for me old habits die hard

Because of rationing sweets were not easy to come by as children after WW2 and any pennies you did manage to get for doing some chores would be spent buying 2 ounces of dolly mixture or any small sweets, and trying to make them last as long as possible .

My middle brother loved Polo mints and a two penny packet of Polos would last him almost a week.

My eldest grandson now lives in New York and every year as part of his Christmas presents and birthday presents I always send him a 5 pack of Polo's but they are about £1.30 for packs of five now But our Danny loves them as he can't buy them in the US. They do sell 'lifesavers' but they aren't like a good british polo mint . When my DD goes out to see him ,usually about twice a year she always takes Cadbury's chocolate as well as the US chocolate is awful and has a strange taste  

Good to hear that some of the old ways of streetching food out is returning though We never ever had crisps when I was little as my late Mum thought it was extortionate to charge 2d for lest that a fifth of a potato.

JackieO x

cornishchick

You reminded me of the mars bar sandwiches my late husband would insist on for family picnics.. totally not money saving but a lovely memory . Thank you  

weenancyinAmerica

You can't get Peppermint Cremes in America either. It's been awhile since I have been the British Isles - can you still get them there?

joedenise

JackieO - you can get a 5 pack of Polos for £1 - try £land or B&Ms; both sell them for £1, suspect Home Bargains do too.

I don't remember having chocolate as a child.  It was usually something like black jacks or fruit salads because we could get 4 for a penny!, or if we had more than a penny then 2 oz of something!

Spendless

London_1 said:

Not a throwaway society as it seems to be today. perhaps re-evaluating our lives might not be such a bad thing I appreciate no end having today, what my late Mum could never have envisaged. but I also never taken it as a given that life would always be easy.

JackieO x

Items became cheaper and not as long lasting. As a teenager in my first jobs during the 1980s, I regularly paid for my shoes to be re-heled. There were several heel bars in town. By the late 90s one of my favourites closed. I knew someone who worked there, she said the custom had gone because shoes had become so much cheaper so the price of replacing was too similar to a repair cost.

Back in 1983 my parents got their first microwave. It cost £300. They replaced it 11 years later and gave the original to me who had just moved into my first home. I used it until 2000 when it broke. 17 years that first microwave lasted. Over the following  17 years I lost count of how many microwaves I bought and didn't last beyond a few years. A quick google tells me I can pick one up from a supermarket for just under £50. 

euronorris

Almost 40 here, and my mum also used to split a Mars bar between us as kids (and there are 5 of us). I remember finally buying a whole one to myself once with my pocket money and quickly realised that I couldn't finish a whole one by myself. Too rich. I still think they are too rich now, despite having no trouble eating too much of other chocolately treats! Lol