And The OS'ers Would Tell Them To . . . .

Softstuff

I think when you choose to have four children, and stay at home, making "sacrifices" such as not having your nails done or buying "special" food is pretty much par for the course. The less I say about that video the better. IMHO they're damned well off.

fizzel81

That was almost me pre mse (but i only had 2 children at the time) i now have 3 and have found myself being a single parent

they may have there head in the sand to a point where budgetting, shopping and cooking are concerned

before i come on here i must admit in a sense i was lazy, i knew how to cook and my mother was very os style it was just a case of re educating myself, saying that i couldnt go back now to how i used to be, i spend less a month than i used to in a week

recovering_spendaholic

They certainly didn't seem to be particularly badly off to me! They just seemed to be very bad at planning and need to prioritise. I don't have a breadmaker but wouldn't say that seedy bread is either necessary or that much healthier - I buy own brand wholemeal for 65p and it is fine. Fruit is not that expensive if you shop around and there are always 2 for so much and the like in the supermarkets by me. I also buy alot of tinned fruit in juice which is still fairly reasonably priced - the pineapple is 25p for a small tin and 46p for a large tin. I think the Guardian could have picked a better example of a family trying to cope. I sometimes buy fruit corner yoghurts but not that often and wouldn't dream of paying the inflated price of ready made strawberry milk - you can get mix for it and then make your own for much less cost.

Magpye

fizzel81 wrote: »

they may have there head in the sand to a point where budgetting, shopping and cooking are concerned

Head up their !!!!!s if you ask me!

Biscotti? Strawberry milk? Extra special juices?! I'm going to sound harsh here, but they need a short sharp shock (and probably an introduction to Lidl.) I still manage to buy free range eggs as my conscience will allow nothing less, surely they can save the difference somewhere else in their budget. I can't believe anyone could justify spending £170 on shopping and then have to go back two days later - that money would have lasted me a couple of months even when I wasn't being OS!

I had to laugh at her attitude though - I got the impression that she thinks the more expensive the product the healthier it is! :rolleyes:

katie_jane_2

i too have four hungry kids and husband who never stop eating so:
i bought a bread maker
i batch cook
i pad out with veg
i buy any reduced milk since we get through 8-10 pints a day short shelf life isnt an isue!
toddler snacks and baby food is way cheaper home made
and i down brand try the v cheapest and if its horrible step up one brand level at a time until i get to one we are happy with (usually 1 up from value brand)
shop online where possible and use codes
This can be acieved healthily my hubby on low cholesstrol diet so that is factored into meal ideas whilst ensuring the sprogs get necessary fats for their ages. i do this inc nappies and baby milk for around £100

Churchmouse

HariboJunkie wrote: »

I still think everyone's being mean.

There will be lots of people cutting back and adopting OS ways because of the downturn in the financial markets. Who are we to judge how people have behaved thus far? It's like the greenies who moan about people jumping on the eco bandwagon. Surely it doesn't matter as long as people are going to try. Everything is relative folks and just because people have not cut back as much as a hardcore OSer doesn't mean they're not heading in the right direction. (IMHO)

:T :T Thank goodness for this:D

I'm sorry, but I wonder if I've just watched the same video clip as some of you. As I understand it he shops to stock her up for the two weeks he's away on the rigs??? So not shopping every day during that fortnight. As for her learning to drive, on the basis of a 3 minute something clip we don't know why she doesn't drive. Maybe there's a medical reason? Maybe she tried to learn, but doesn't have the ability? She's being accused of being lazy. Her house looked pretty good to me, and her children were clean and well turned out. That does take time and effort. Not everyone can get to the supermarkets at closing to pick up bargains, and mine doesn't even bother with bargains then, they'd rather throw stuff away. She said they had cheese and ham sandwiches the previous day. Now that might have been both in a sandwich ( one of my favourites;) ) or it might have been that some of them had cheese and some of them had ham. We don't know, the film certainly did not make it clear

I'm sorry to ramble but I find the harsh judgemental attitudes, based on a 3 minute clip from what was a lot longer filming, pretty hard to stomach:o

katie_jane_2

thing is if ya dont know all these os trix ya dont use em.so although she isnt portrayed very well its like everything only easy if you know the answer

skintscotslass

I think the family are fairly typical. People dont know how to budget or shop anymore. The OP asked 'and the OS'ers would tell them to?' My answer is budget, menu plan, join us on the Grocery Challenge and take the downshift challenge. If internet shopping is available in their area, check that out (it may not be, its fairly new to my area)

angchris

i know plenty of people like that family...they go to the shops pick up exactly what they want ie plenty of processed rubbish they spend loads then struggle like mad for the month doing as much overtime as they can to pay for it :undecided
people in general have kinda forgotton what real food is and how to cook it and much prefer to go and buy something already prepared, kids nowadays dont see things being grown in gardens as we have become lazy and complacent.
i asked my friends 9 year old lad the other week where his potato waffles came from, he said "from the waffle factory" i then asked him where potatoes came from he said "from the potato factory" :wall: :wall:

Kadeeae

thriftlady wrote: »

..... OK, if you are really strapped for cash skip it but it isn't in the same league as biscotti, muller whatsits and manicures.

I agree that it seems there a quite a few things they could do before having to cut out the cream

I'm guessing that they've never really given any thought to spending and now that it's creeping up - what seems weekly - they probably don't have a clue where to even start. Hence a perfect family to have a Martin visit . . . don't you think? :T