Miserable News

Austin_Allegro

As Monty Python famously sang, 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life'.

I know it's difficult amid all the gloom and doom but remember the positives:

1. We are already living in one of the richest countries in the world.

2. As frugalistas, we are the best placed people to weather the coming storm because we have realised the need to save and get out of debt, and more importantly, have grasped the concept that endless growth, consumption and spending are not the routes to happiness. Also, 'keeping up with the Joneses' will become less of a hobby for people when access to easy credit is restricted, so it will be easier for people to 'come out' as frugal.

3. We have a wealth of information to help us through the bad times on the internet - including this most excellent site of course - plus the reminiscences of those who got through equally bad times in the Great Depression and the two World Wars. I've even found useful information on frugality dating as far back as the Civil War! Remember people in many countries don't have this information at their fingertips.

4. We are all educated and literate enough to be able to make use of this information, which again is more than many people in the world are.

5. A recession might (I say might, as my faith in human nature is not boundless) lead to more people realising what really matters in life.

6. Less growth can in some ways be good for the environment. We all talk about reducing carbon footprints but if oil becomes too expensive, people will have no choice.

7. Restricted credit means that house prices will continue to fall. Now, I know this is bad news for many, but it is also good news for those who at the moment can't afford property, as it means their savings will at last have a chance to catch up.

So keep your chins up!

bertiebots

Austin_Allegro wrote: »

As Monty Python famously sang, 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life'.

I know it's difficult amid all the gloom and doom but remember the positives:

1. We are already living in one of the richest countries in the world.

2. As frugalistas, we are the best placed people to weather the coming storm because we have realised the need to save and get out of debt, and more importantly, have grasped the concept that endless growth, consumption and spending are not the routes to happiness. Also, 'keeping up with the Joneses' will become less of a hobby for people when access to easy credit is restricted, so it will be easier for people to 'come out' as frugal.

3. We have a wealth of information to help us through the bad times on the internet - including this most excellent site of course - plus the reminiscences of those who got through equally bad times in the Great Depression and the two World Wars. I've even found useful information on frugality dating as far back as the Civil War! Remember people in many countries don't have this information at their fingertips.

4. We are all educated and literate enough to be able to make use of this information, which again is more than many people in the world are.

5. A recession might (I say might, as my faith in human nature is not boundless) lead to more people realising what really matters in life.

6. Less growth can in some ways be good for the environment. We all talk about reducing carbon footprints but if oil becomes too expensive, people will have no choice.

7. Restricted credit means that house prices will continue to fall. Now, I know this is bad news for many, but it is also good news for those who at the moment can't afford property, as it means their savings will at last have a chance to catch up.

So keep your chins up!

I agree with you in so many ways!!! By the way I have to mention we had an austin allegro when I was about 10 and it was cream with a brown roof:D .My mum hated it as she said it drove like a tank and you needed the whole tesco car park to turn around!lol!:rotfl: :rotfl:

zarazara

very good idea quasar re the savings idea. i'm going to implement that.

Downsizing__for_sanity

JailhouseBabe wrote: »

Washing powder tablets - not very OS! I used to use these - i think it worked out at about 20p per wash.
Now I use a washing powder mix (2 boxes supermarket own brand washing powder, 1 box of branded (with a nice smell) and a bag of soda crystals). It works out at 2p per wash max.

I use Aldi's non-bio and dilute it about 1/3 with water and shake. Get about 30 washes for £2 - and husband doesn't notice!:D

Justamum

pickle wrote: »

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!

That's where a "value" item isn't! Buy a 500g bag, cook and freeze. A bag is the equivalent of 5 tins. The other day I was in our local supermarket and found Waitrose black-eyed beans reduced from £1.10 to 10p which, when cooked, equates to a "tin" for 2p! There were quite a few packets but I restricted myself to 5 :rotfl:

Actually, thinking about it, the tin should state what the drained weight is. Obviously 5 beans would be nowhere near that. Would that possibly be a breach of some law? (Sale of Goods Act maybe )

bertiebots

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

I did mention this on the first page of the thread!!:D I had to hide when the news was on last night (couldnt bear to watch ) as they showed schools full of crushed children. I know its hard but we are still soooooooo lucky.

lindab15

With the food prices hitting the news the other day, it made me smile (albeit through gritted teeth !), listening to a 'women in the street' interviewed by the local radio station.

She was saying how terrible it was that food prices had increased so much - apparently she'd actually had to go to the incredible lengths of making soup out of a chicken carcass, after having it roasted for dinner, sandwiches for lunch etc. :eek: She sounded truly horrified that we'd reached such a terrible state of affairs . If only I'd interviewed her !

Completely agree with previous posts about remembering to put things like this in perspective. I also couldn't watch the news showing the collapsed, crushed schools with bodies being recovered. Get tears in my eyes even thinking about it - horrific situaton.

Not saying I'm happy about the price increases -far from it. But I sometimes think prices had gone so low that it had devalued our produce. So many people just dont seem to respect food these days.

Think we should make OS compulsory. I'm not perfect but I do try to keep the OS faith a day at a time ! Just off to get the Stardrops and blitz the kitchen !

Bargain_Rzl

lindab15 wrote: »

Not saying I'm happy about the price increases -far from it. But I sometimes think prices had gone so low that it had devalued our produce. So many people just dont seem to respect food these days.

I totally agree :T I posted the same on another thread recently: I spend the same on food now as I did when I went to university twelve years ago, if not even less. My net income is now seven times more than it was then :eek: and I eat far better now, but my expenditure just hasn't increased.

This is the first time IN MY LIFE that I have had to consider upping my food budget. There's something strange going on when that's the case, don't you think? I know the recent price increases have come as a rude shock, but things couldn't keep going cheaper and cheaper. It was just unsustainable...

Claire70_2

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

I didnt say in the post that I felt that we shouldnt be giving to these people nor was I be-littleling what had happened the point I was making was the government make policies which make no sense.

Strange how everybody didnt read the post but jumped straight on what I didnt say