Miserable News

aliwali

weegie wrote: »

Good thread....:)

I also find not wasting food difficult. for example....last nights dinner for the kids was a free range asda chicken reduced to £1.10 from £7 odds. Remainders are in the fridge tonight and I know I need to use them by tomorrow.....but I work full time, and when i come home the last thing i think about is cooking as i want to spend time with my kids....and trying to cook meals using leftovers sometimes can be a nightmare - I just grab the easy option (toast and banana)

We always have left over from roast chicken, lots of easy things you can do. Curry sauce warmed through with rice is out favourite. Or Chicken Salad with homemade dressing. Jacket potatoes with Chicken mayonnaise (really easy as they can be cooking in the oven/microwave while you play with the kids. Or wait til the kids are in bed and make a chicken and mushroom pie, mix with a can of condensed ,mushroom soup and pastry and cook. I love left over chicken!!!

Hope this helps
Alison

[Deleted User]

mary43 wrote: »

OH
I've got my bus pass so can travel free but to go the 20 miles there and back for bargains such as they have in wilkinsons, poundland etc I'd never be able to carry them back.

I invested in a wally-trolley from a boot fair for a couple of quid and get all my shopping in that I had a mastectomy lat august so I cannot carry anything very heavy at all so my 'bargain trolley' was worth every penny.It even carries my libray books for me .:D

liz545

Claire70 wrote: »

Brown borrowing money to give donations to other countries so he looks good for the election.

While I totally understand that there are a lot of people on low incomes who are feeling the pinch at the moment, I can't let this comment go - in the past couple of week thousands of people have died or lost everything due to natural disasters in Burma and China; giving money in this case is not to "look good" it's because it's the humanitarian thing to do. We may struggle to make our money go far enough, but there are people who have literally lost their whole families and homes, surely we can't begrudge them much-needed aid and support? It's hard sometimes to see the world outside of the small bit we occupy, but it's important to keep a sense of perspective - at least we still have homes, clean water, and food to eat, and our loved ones are safe. The aid workers and people who are giving what they can in this desperate situation truly are :A

Penelope_Penguin

liz545 wrote: »

While I totally understand that there are a lot of people on low incomes who are feeling the pinch at the moment, I can't let this comment go - in the past couple of week thousands of people have died or lost everything due to natural disasters in Burma and China; giving money in this case is not to "look good" it's because it's the humanitarian thing to do. We may struggle to make our money go far enough, but there are people who have literally lost their whole families and homes, surely we can't begrudge them much-needed aid and support? It's hard sometimes to see the world outside of the small bit we occupy, but it's important to keep a sense of perspective - at least we still have homes, clean water, and food to eat, and our loved ones are safe. The aid workers and people who are giving what they can in this desperate situation truly are :A

:T :T :T :T :T Excellent post :A

Penny. x

Merlot

liz545 wrote: »

While I totally understand that there are a lot of people on low incomes who are feeling the pinch at the moment, I can't let this comment go - in the past couple of week thousands of people have died or lost everything due to natural disasters in Burma and China; giving money in this case is not to "look good" it's because it's the humanitarian thing to do. We may struggle to make our money go far enough, but there are people who have literally lost their whole families and homes, surely we can't begrudge them much-needed aid and support? It's hard sometimes to see the world outside of the small bit we occupy, but it's important to keep a sense of perspective - at least we still have homes, clean water, and food to eat, and our loved ones are safe. The aid workers and people who are giving what they can in this desperate situation truly are :A

Excellent.:T

We have mobile phones/sky tv/dvd rental which could be cut down or got rid of if the current food/fuel prices are affecting you, I bet those people in China and Burma wished they had that option of reducing there outgoings, but no, many are dying as I type from disease because of a lack of clean water.

I know times are tough economically in the UK but lets spare a thought for those still trapped in buildings in China or the starving/dying in Burma.

Merlot.x.

pigpen

Quote:
Originally Posted by pigpen
not being eligible for some kind of tax credits would imply to me the family has more income than they are realising..

Not always the case - DD is 19, so no child-targeted benefits, although I do charge her board (which I hate having to do - I would anyway because I think kids need to learn the lessons of life, but I hate having to rely on that to supplement my income IYKWIM). I still have a mortgage, council tax, water rates, etc. that I am in effect the sole breadwinner for.


Quote:
Originally Posted by pigpen
a night in would pay for a weeks worth of food.. even in my house! Time to look at switching credit cards again? utility providers? Drop a tariff on the mobile phone? ..

My nights out now consist of 1 night a week at a friends house with a couple of cheap bottles of wine. Mobile phone PAYG, approx £5 every 6-8 weeks. I've long run out of places where I can cut costs! Although, am happy to report that a work colleague gave me 2 tomato plants today - gave him a home-baked banana loaf in return. :beer:

At 16 my son is earning his own 'pocket money' and has been sinze he was 14. At 19 if they are in FT education they have those benefits if they are not in education they have a job, or live independantly anyway.. either way there is that financial contribution.. charging board is perfectly aceptable, and as you say an important life lesson.. at a level which suits you both of course. When I was at home (18 years ago!) I paid my mother £25 of my £75 a week and paid 1/3rd of the bills (phone, gas & electric), I bought all my own toiletries and clothing and my mother bought food and paid the standing bills (water, council tax). You would have to pay those bills if you lived alone so yes I understand where you are coming from.. but.. you'd have a rebate on the council tax (is it 25% off for single people/income?) would a water meter be cheaper for you than the standard charge? .. just a friendly thought it might make you life easier.. and might not be something you looked into.

We don't have a car so no costs there.. and fuel prices don't really affect us. We don't have a TV.. more money saved there.

My views however may radically change when my son reaches 18 and leaves college... ask me again in 2 years!! lol

I got 2 tomato plants for 50p each last weekend.. but would happily swap for a banana loaf.. :d.. can I have muffins too??

pipkin71

trying-very-trying wrote: »

I just wanted to remind everyone, that there should be a grant available from your local council to help with school uniforms. Obviously this is a means tested allowance, but for anyone on any benefits, even working families tax credit, it is worth checking it out.
The amount that you may get varies from one council to another, and it was certainly never enough to get everything, but it was always enough to get at least one pair of good leather school shoes.
I have been getting School Clothing Grant since my first dd started school 22 years ago, it was £50 then and it has remained unchanged since, at least in our local council.
I do hope that this might be of benefit to someone.

When DDs were at school, we could get a uniform grant of £50 too - this was primary, and although uniforms aren't compulsory, they were required hence the grant.

I've taken the children out of school, so don't have the uniform worries now thankfully. DD1 would be going to High school this Sept, where a school blazer is compulsory. That alone would cost £58!:eek: I don't even know how much the rest of the uniform would cost.

Pipkin xxxx

pickle

I've noticed how expensive things are getting but I have to say the other week things were particularly dire. I was looking forward to making a nice chilli and when I opened my ASDA own brand kidney beans and tipped out the tin there were only 5 beans in the tin and the rest was liquid. That was 3p a bean!!! Not happy!

marybishop

Just a suggestion for those with limited garden space for growing stuff - have you tried planting salad stuff/tomatoes in hanging baskets? We've got a couple of baskets with mixed salad leaves (one packet of salad leaves seed goes a long way!) which have been very successful, plus because they're off the ground no pesky slugs/snails!! Just have to remember to keep well watered as they can dry out very quickly.

Quasar

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

:rotfl: Quasar is MSE's top poster. She has 2000 posts more than no 2, and 20 000 more than no 3 :eek: :eek:

Penny. x

Thanks Penelope for making me feel even sadder than I did minutes ago... :rolleyes: :rotfl:
(Just noticed your post )


Anyway, I do not earn a large income. I'm a market researcher and half of my work consists of transport surveys (not interviewing) and the other half is mystery shopping. I have been working like this for the past 11 years. The actual money is not much, perhaps £18-20k, but the perks such as transport paid and the various freebies from mystery shopping all contribute to a reasonable life-style.

The key is to define exactly what is essential (basic healthy diet, basic clothing, etc.) and what is an add-on: fancy foods, trendy clothes, holidays, etc etc. Then appropriate budgeting will show what is left after taking care of the essentials. Counting our blessings also helps considerably in sticking to our resolutions.

I know there are people for whom their income does not stretch even as far as to pay for the basics, particulary if they have children and a mortgage, but as has been shown on this site again and again, most people have no idea how to make efficient use of their money. Even I, who has always been rather good with money, since joining MSE have been able to save about £800 per year simply by making a few adjustments here and there that I'd never thought of, and giving up things that I don't really miss anyway.

Another thing I do is: when I've done my monthly budgeting, whatever extra money is left I divide in two: half goes into my savings without fail, the other half I keep for treats etc. Often I don't even spend it all, so I have more the next month.

And liz545 - that was a great post! :T