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LB
Next you will be sending back your Tai boy who services your other needs
I've not cut back one bit, my household has substantially more coming in than our lifestyle demands.
If I want something I will buy it without giving it a second thought.
Too bloody right I am! I've allowed him one day off and he's under my feet already!
He has an interview for a new contract this week. Rates haven't dropped for IT thankfully so its not Farmfoods time like Dave just yet.....
Times is tough in the BDB household. Currently out of work and the money has run out. I've bought 1 shirt in the past 6 months and that was only £12 - a real luxury at the moment. I don't know how much longer I can pay for a phone and internet. I can't afford to change my phone and internet provider as I'm with Virgin and there isn't a normal phone line into the flat, so it would cost about £100 to install. Food will seriously rationed in the coming weeks but I do have chicken and fish in the freezer for a couple of weeks so I just need fresh stuff.
It's very hard. But the upside is that I'm bound to lose some weight and I'll need to use my bike instead of the car (which may need to be sold). Hopefully I'll find some work soon. I never thought I'd be this hard up, but I'll get through it.
Looking at it now, couldn't justify having two anymore.
Before the kids came we used to have spare money, but recession and nursery fees have put a stop to that.
Going on a Sun holiday next month as we can't afford a proper foreign holiday anymore. TBH it's great as we have visited different areas of this country and the kids have loved it.
I guess we all adapt to our circumstances in our own way and make do. I just wished I had saved more money in the years before kids. But i have no regrets.
I'm still in work but have split up with my BF and I was living in his house rent-free. Luckily a friend has offered me a cheap room until the end of the year. I have a good network of friends in the city I live in, but I may be forced to move away as I can't afford to rent or buy here. My situation makes me feel very up and down - one day I feel like the World's my oyster, the next I feel like I'm being forced out.
EDITED for bad grammar.
Thats so funny.. I don't think Chester has a Farmfoods, unlike Warrington...
We do get a lot of food delivered direct from the farm (we have them in Cheshire)
I've not had to cut back, but I live a fairly modest lifestyle anyway. No Sky or similar, no home computer, no landline, even!
Rarely go out, I prefer to cook at home (there are very few places I'd want to go to in Chavsville anyway), and although I do like a drink, most of the wine is bought on French shopping trips, and is much cheaper than here.
My tracker mortgage has dropped massively, but I've kept the payments the same, and even increased them, so that I don't get used to having a lot more cash each month then have to give it up when the rates go back up, and it means I'm paying off capital at a much faster rate too.
I have to take the train to work (in London, so not worth driving there) - it's over thirty miles - but I've been using the bus much less, and walking instead.
My wages have decreased in real terms over the last few years. My ‘tracker’ mortgage has been my saving grace to make up the shortfall for the time being. I don’t have an extravagant lifestyle really. In 2008/9 I went without a car for just over a year, which was tough. Now I drive a £300 banger and I can just about keep that ticking over and save petrol by cycling short journeys and sometimes commute to work. Thankfully I have no major regular commuting costs. I don’t have Sky or anything like that. I don’t spend money on going out and getting hammered (or getting hammered at home for that matter).
Single person households… someone said earlier they felt they weren’t affected. You pay proportionately more Council Tax than a 2-adult household as the single person’s allowance is not half of the full whack but more like two thirds to three quarters (despite only creating half of the rubbish etc etc). There is no one to share a mortgage or rent with so your outgoings are proportionally higher. You pay proportionally high income tax and don’t get the various (often non means-tested) benefits families are entitled to. Well, I can certainly feel it.
Thankfully our business hasn't been affected at all - an osteopath isn't necessarily a luxury item. In fact the economy has been good for our other business (we train people in massage and allied therapies) - business is booming actually as alot of people are retraining in new skills - we had quite a few new students this last year who had been made redundant from their jobs or put on short time.
I do really feel for those who are struggling - it must be hard.
No sky tv, in fact no tv at all, no gym membership, no car, £40 second hand bike, £7.5 per month mobile contract, rarely drink alcohol and no foreign travel this year.
But then again there are things that I refuse to compromise on. Always buy good quality meat and eggs. Still enjoy cheap dinners with friends and I have a ferociously sweet tooth that can only be satisfied at my local cup cake store. Basically, living like a peasant, eating like a god!
I was lucky enough to be able to save some money so I could quit my job in Feb and become self employed. Timing wasn't ideal but it never is.
Money is over rated and there's a lot of fun to be had on the cheap as long as you can cover accommodation and food. I do feel bad for people who are genuinely struggling but there are so many who waste money needlessly on junk they don't need.
luckily we haven't been affected too much....... a hard 3 months as they took back an overpayment of tax credit in 3 months not over 12 but that should have finished this month,,,,,,,,,,,
we just used it to cut back on christmas presents on the kids even more...............we never go over the top with presents for the kids and birthdays they just have the equivalent of about £15.........but we felt we had started going further than normal at christmas so pulled back a bit.........
we live very quietly anyway and spend little on clothes and things.
the tracker mortgage thing has helped so that now we are paying massive chunks off the mortgage and will hopefuly finish in the next 2 years....
fell sorry for those who have been badly affected..........( apart from the overpaid lot whose bonuses etc got us into it )..............
It was me who said that I didn't feel that as a single person household I didn't feel as affected Nam. What I meant is that I didn't feel I had as many hard decisions to make as those with kids. If I am having a bit of a skint month (which I am this month) then I eat out the freezer & don't buy anything not essential and nobody is affected but me. What I don't have is the added stress that children will need new shoes/sports kit/school trip money which would require money to be found from somewhere.
It irks me greatly that I only get a 25% discount on my Council Tax versus the family of 5 who live a few doors up from me. They have 2 full rubbish bins every fortnight, my one is about quarter full as I recycle everything I can.
I see what you mean TP in terms of decisions about money only affecting yourself when you live on your own versus people with kids having additional worries... but then... that's their choice isn't it.
And yes I agree the Council Tax system is hugely unfair to single-person households!
Conversely Nam, it's our choice to live alone.
With regards to Council Tax, it's not just about rubbish collection is it. A house, regardless of occupants needs the same street lighting, street cleaning, Policing etc. It's not supposed to be about everyone paying the same. Remember when we had that system? Riots and everything.
as a single person it pisses me off i have to subsidise breeders and their sexcrement who use central and local government services more.
gingerfurball, take it you are in Northern Ireland then?