How old are the OSers here

Jacks_xxx

I'm 40 next year and my gorgeous hubby will be 50. My son is 20 and my daughter is 13. Our grumpy old moggy is 13 too and the last of his litter left alive so we indulge him terribly!

I was brought up OS in that I now realise that my mum worked miracles with very little money, but our parents protected us from the harsh financial realities at the time believing that children shouldn't have to be worried about such things. (Mine were 12 and 18 when we "got real" about our finances so I have involved them every step of the way.)

In my teens I made lots of my own clothes because what I wanted to wear just wasn't around - and I need to get that talent back now I think.

When I had my first baby I was OS and skinny through necessity but over the years as our finances grew so did our spending (and the size of my bottom!)

I'm still not a very good cook but thanks to OS I'm a better one - and I still want to hang out the bunting and have a parade if anybody compliments anything I have made!

Love Jacks xxx

Jasper27_2

I'm 40, OH is 47. I was definately raised OS as we didn't have money so there was no choice! When I first started earning I enjoyed having my own money and didn't save but didn't have debts either. Met and married OH very quickly and bought home with our little savings going on the deposit. After a few months of having little left to eat in the week before payday and the washer breaking down etc, quickly realised I would have to get on top of things. Luckily we are both pretty frugal and have the same priorities so we make a good team. For many years I worked in the County Court and saw what a mess many people get into with debt and the terrible effects it has on their lives and swore I'd never let myself end up like that. If we don't have the money we don't buy it, simple as that. It's taken time but we have a comfy home even if the kitchen was about 25 years old by the time we replaced it. Neither of us has a particularly well paid job but they are pretty low stress and allow us time together which is more important.

I would be more OS if I didn't have a full-time job and no garden. I have friends who know what we earn and can't understand how we can have no debts and still go out and have nice holidays but it's all a matter of saving where you can so you have money left for other things. (So it's cinema tickets on the nectar card and meals on clubcard deals). I'm a careful budgeter and a very careful shopper (even if my bargin hunting does lead to stockpiling and a lack of cupboard space). Cooking from scratch enables us to eat very well on a reasonable budget, many people spend far more on processed rubbish.

I was pleased to see my fellow OSers cover a wide age range. I think OS is more a state of mind than anything else. I don't want to be ruled by money and material things and find simple pleasures are often more satisfying. I think the terrible financial situation now will make more people join us as they realise that keeping up with the Joneses rampant consumerism is not the route to a happy life. You should control your money not the other way around.

I love this forum as it's nice to know other people think like I do.

Olliebeak

Jacks_xxx wrote: »

I'm 40 next year and my gorgeous hubby will be 50. My son is 20 and my daughter is 13. Our grumpy old moggy is 13 too and the last of his litter left alive so we indulge him terribly!

Having just seen your avatar, Jacks - I began to wonder if my Tiggy-tiger has been playing away from home! Then I spotted where you live - so I just know that there's no way he's been doing that!

If I could only wean him off his expensive Whiskas Oh So Meaty, I could save an even more money :rolleyes: .

~*Plushroom*~

I hadn't really thought about it until reading this thread, but I am rather OS. I'm 22 and can't remember a time where I haven't known how to cook or sew. I used to read a lot as a child and loved making things, so learning how to patch up/make clothes and make food from books was bound to happen really.

It meant at uni people didn't snigger at me for buying value products, and for making from scratch instead of using readymeals, and not throwing clothes away because I damaged them, but whereas they have left uni with massive debts and overdrafts, I've left with a reasonable 9K student loan debt.

It really is amazing how some people get by without these skills, but boy is it nice when they fawn over you for being able to do things like bake and sew! It's probably saved me a fortune in gifts too because so many of my friends would rather have my homemade cakes, sweets and soft-toys than something generic from the store.

In these times where people take so much for granted it's nice to be appreicated for the little things. I think I may be sounding like my grandmother there, but she's one hell of a lady so I'm glad I got her sense!

turfy6

Im 46 and my DH is 37 ( I Know cradle snatching) I have three children 15, 12 and 7. Got used to being OS about 10 years ago when I became a single mum, and now we live in Ireland and hubby is self employed and not too much work about. We have been renovating/extending our cottage in the middle of nowhere and have a dog, cat and 10 hens. I love baking and being a SAHM which after spending 20+ yrs working for the revenue in the uk is like a breath of fresh air!:j

thriftlady_2

I've haven't read the whole thread, so sorry if if I'm repeating someone.

I'm really surprised that the 40-50 age group isn't better represented. I would have thought that most of us would be in our 40s.

On reflection I think it must be because we are children of the Women's Lib movement. Our mothers were beginning to reject 'domestic drudgery' and seek fulfillment outside the home. Many of them must have lost their OS skills and embraced convenience.

My OS skills are almost all self-taught despite the fact that my mother did not go out to work and did cook mostly from scratch. However she did not place much importance on these skills and encouraged me down the path of education and career (a good thing of course), but I know she feels I have wasted my education and the little artistic talent I had -creativity in the art studio has been replaced by creativity in the kitchen.

From the results of the poll it looks like the next generation has had to rediscover OS skills because they haven't been passed down to them. It is wonderful to see that people want to run a home the old-fashioned way and to have a fulfilling job as well (if they want).

Lalaladybird

I'm 29 and I am learning all my OS money saving ways from this forum (your building blocks for the freezer is a particular favourite thriftlady:j) Some things I do now I remember my mum doing but now she denies that she ever had to do them :rolleyes: like using dried milk. She hated growing up in the '50's and loves modern conveniences and comforts. I cannot convert her to being an OSer:rolleyes:

I love living this way, it is so much healthier and I don't like wasting money:p

powershopper

I'm 65 and OH 64. Thought we had learned it all over the years, but since OS style came into our lives.......how wrong can we be! Learned LOADS........thankg guys.......

DianneB

I'm 54, OH nearly 58. 5 children - only youngest at home (13 going on 30). Always been OS, cook from scratch can knit and sew. OH teaches and is fantastic at DIY.

Soapy955

I'm 42 and my husband is 36. We have a 4-yr-old daughter and another baby iminent which was due on Friday..... (Come on Junior, get out!!!!)

I love the OS board. I try to do things OS, I actually love cleaning and sorting out things and decluttering. Once the baby is born I will hopefully be blitzing the house with my microfibre clothes and elbow grease cos I've let it all go lately!