austerity measures

[rosstheboss]

One of the best ways to save money on shopping if you don't have the willpower of a shaolin monk, is online shopping. We use Sainsburys, there are plenty of slots for free delivery, you don't browse the aisles getting tempted by crap and you're using someone elses diesel to get it to your door. Also each shopping basket is saved so the next time you want to shop you just check through what you want and it's in your basket.





p.s. it should be noted buying bananas is a minefield - 1 bunch one week, 1 banana the next, then 6 bunchs..... read the item description carefully!!!

 

[rosstheboss]

We used to collect blackberries, crab apples etc.

Lots of free fruit to be had if you live in the right place; some good spots for blackberries around my village - including the bottom of my driveway - plus quite a few kind folk locally will put crates of home-grown apples outside their houses on a no-charge self-service basis during apple season; not always in A1 condition but perfectly serviceable for pies/crumbles.

David

And a well looked after veg patch is surprisingly sustainable if you have a little spare time each week, you'll be amazed at how much produce can be err.... produced!

 

[David B]

We used to collect blackberries, crab apples etc.

Lots of free fruit to be had if you live in the right place; some good spots for blackberries around my village - including the bottom of my driveway - plus quite a few kind folk locally will put crates of home-grown apples outside their houses on a no-charge self-service basis during apple season; not always in A1 condition but perfectly serviceable for pies/crumbles.

David

And a well looked after veg patch is surprisingly sustainable if you have a little spare time each week, you'll be amazed at how much produce can be err.... produced!

There are also a few plum trees growing wild on one of my MTBing routes, but the actual plums, although tasty enough, aren't as big as the cultivated variety, with a disappointing fruit-to-stone ratio!

David

 

[Caramba Kid]

And a well looked after veg patch is surprisingly sustainable if you have a little spare time each week, you'll be amazed at how much produce can be err.... produced!

Yeah that's our next step - this autumn the last border of 'pretty' plants will be dug up and replaced with carrots, potatoes, onions etc.

The other border has been in fruit production for years - gooseberries, red currants, black currants, rhubarb & strawberries.
We also grow cucumbers and tomatoes in the summer.

 

[JohnH]

I have 6p in my pocket right now. Tomorrow I am still likely to have 6p in my pocket.

*cruelly taunts LGF with the 15p found in wallet*

Muhhaaaahhhaaaaahhhaaahh!!!

 

[suburbanreuben]

Get some chickens! Battery hens are on the scrap heap at 18 months ish, but our ex-bats are still laying an egg a day 3 years later. THey cost nowt, eat scraps, and a coop is a doddle to make, and the eggs really do taste way better than anything you can buy.
Hens are very addictive though, with very engaging personalities. THey know how to enjoy life!

 

[barry2017]

I am lucky. The boat was paid for after a year, and the rent for its (lovely)mooring is £1200 a year. If I move onto the towpath it will be nothing. My stuff is all really cheap, and the only mouths to feed are mine and Lucky's.

Need to spend a lot on it this year though. No travel, I'll have to stay around here and try to earn some money.

It's OK for me, but I really feel for anyone with an uncertain future, a mortgage and a family at the minute. I know a few people who have been forced onto benefits, and it's a nightmare. We are always complaining about spongers living really well on handouts, but from what I'm seeing with some of my friends nothing could be further from the truth.

 

[Pogo]

I haven't worked for a couple of months and since our daughter was born 20 months ago my wife is now part time instead of full time. So our incomes have plummeted whilst we all know the cost of living has rocketed. The only cost that has remained stable has been our mortgage, but for how much longer?

Got a job interview tomorrow, and if I'm lucky enough to secure the position it could mean me living away from home mid-week. But to put bread on the table, you got to do what you got to do...

 

[Ernie]

I haven't worked for a couple of months and since our daughter was born 20 months ago my wife is now part time instead of full time. So our incomes have plummeted whilst we all know the cost of living has rocketed. The only cost that has remained stable has been our mortgage, but for how much longer?

Got a job interview tomorrow, and if I'm lucky enough to secure the position it could mean me living away from home mid-week. But to put bread on the table, you got to do what you got to do...

All the best bud..hope you get the job..pain in the a*se working away..done that, but when you are home you appreciate it more

Ernie

 

[Ernie]

I am lucky. The boat was paid for after a year, and the rent for its (lovely)mooring is £1200 a year. If I move onto the towpath it will be nothing. My stuff is all really cheap, and the only mouths to feed are mine and Lucky's.

Need to spend a lot on it this year though. No travel, I'll have to stay around here and try to earn some money.

It's OK for me, but I really feel for anyone with an uncertain future, a mortgage and a family at the minute. I know a few people who have been forced onto benefits, and it's a nightmare. We are always complaining about spongers living really well on handouts, but from what I'm seeing with some of my friends nothing could be further from the truth.

Sounds if you have the kind of "idylic" life..you and your best mate{ i take it that him/her on your avatar. You mention about mates you have being forced onto benefits..spongers and people that cant work/redundancy is completly different..and i would like to think that the "retro" community could diffrentiate between the two.

Ernie