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5:38 pm
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Sun 19-Sep-10
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Having completed year 1of our 4 year CSA induced family poverty plan , i thought id reflect on some of our stranger moments...lol..
The rather bizarre conversations with debt recovery companies once you explain that they can threaten you all they want , because you happen to be a bailiff and you really do know what youre talking about
The fact that the kids have lost weight and ive gained loads , maybe this is due to lack of protein in our diets , and the fact i grow far too much veg that i love , errr does this mean i would become a total heifer if i turned vegan?
Do my family really not realise what goes into their meals ?
The things i miss .......a can of Coca Cola ...any form of pop is a luxury we cant afford, but i really draw the line at cheap toilet roll
There are things my mother was right about !!! you can clean most anything with bleach or a bit off vinegar the list is endless , do we get on better as a family . yes we do ..though my daughter has decided to do politics at uni next year because she wants to change the world
5:53 pm
Moderators
Tue 22-Sep-09
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I'm crossing my fingers that your daughter can really do that. Are you truly on a four year plan of poverty? I feel for you Kaye, I really do my dear.
I'll try that again!
7:16 pm
Supreme Being
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Mon 7-Jun-10
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I lived in Gibraltar back in 1967 so I am going back a bit. A girl friend (you could have them back then) and myself ran a bar, seven days a week, 9-4.30 for eleven pounds a week between us. Our flat was 6 guineas, we had to pay for water and electricity, no phones in those days to worry about, and food. We used to get our tips monthly and they bought a half bottle of Scotch for her and a half bottle of brandy for me...luxuries. So she went to the fridge, the door swung open and you can guess whose bottle landed on the kitchen tiles...and not a tear was shed..that's life. I think we lived on toast mainly, baked beans and crisps.
Well done you for knowing your rights....blood out of a stone...it just doesn't happen and I'm with you on the toilet rolls.....
Who lives long sees much : The diary of my life in Bulgaria
7:55 pm
Supreme Being
Mon 21-Sep-09
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Poverty with creativity can have an element of fun, but wearing after awhile. I can't say as I was in poverty but there were times when things got decidedly tight and it is amazing how far meat goes with lentils and what's a holiday again? I did nearly burst into tears though once when a vacuum cleaner drive belt broke, not because I am the sensitive sort but because it was the last straw in a string of costly failures we could ill afford. Hope the next three years fly past for you Kaye
4:11 pm
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Wed 11-Nov-09
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We are living on an extremely short shoestring here, but thanks to the veg garden, kind neighbours and excellent markets we aren't going hungry. And let's face it, you'll never starve if you've got 7 courgette plants! Whenever I've got a little bit of spare cash I stock up the pantry and freezer. Despite our frugality (which I actually enjoy in one way) we still constantly get clobbered by the unexpected - problems with our well this month mean a looming bill that we can't afford, but what can we do, got to have water. And the dog desperately needs a haircut, he's suffering in this heat, but we haven't got the money to pay the groomer. I might have to have a go at him with the clippers myself, poor fella.
5:16 pm
Supreme Being
Mon 21-Sep-09
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I agree with you Bib, you can never go hungry with 7 courgette plants and frugality is not as bad as some folks make out, it can be fun to rise to a challenge.
11:35 am
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Sun 19-Sep-10
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sometimes i feel positively hunter gatherer when im working , yesterdays odd purchases 2 large packets of coconut milk powder 25p foreign well in date with an english label , sure i can find a use for it...lol...polish blancmange 10 packs for a £1.00, seafood dried rice 10 packs for a £1.00...im getting quite good at reading foreign labelling these days...lol
6:20 pm
Supreme Being
Mon 21-Sep-09
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It was most amusing to be shown around a supermarket by an American friend, as she was trying to be helpful, but I recognised most of the packaging due to my forays into Lidl and the like, however, if someone had done that for me in America it might have been more helpful as I hadn't a clue what some stuff was.
9:23 am
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Sun 19-Sep-10
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in an act of insanity i purchased 2 huge bottles of squeezy cheese for £1 , it is the school and college holidays so i figured the vultures would soon nobble them..lol....the unanimous verdict is that this is not a food product , my excuse is it was cheap and it is American , but my son was heard muttering to his brother yesterday " god help us, you know its going to turn up in something she serves from her cauldron"
im just trying it in the breadmaker if this is a sucess it may be made into pizza bread , cheese scones and cheese straws , i have to say this is even worse than cheap orange cheese slices
10:34 pm
Supreme Being
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Tue 22-Sep-09
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Cauldron indeed!
8:54 am
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Sun 19-Sep-10
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bread maker wasnt a huge sucess , tasted good but all the cheese migrated to the crust and became rather concrete like...lol...its now been turned into breadcrumbs and no one will be any the wiser , cheese straws were a much greater idea ...asked on one of the American frugal websites and had some interesting suggestions....lol.....the big question is will we all die from chemical poisoning while on the poverty plan ?
Best suggestion from daughter rub it into your skin and use it as fake tan...lol
3:00 pm
Moderators
Tue 22-Sep-09
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Really that bad was it Kaye?
I'll try that again!
8:30 pm
Supreme Being
Mon 21-Sep-09
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False economy I guess, but sometimes you just have to try these things out. I used to eke just about everything out with lentils and my kids are just beginning to find out the joys of eking out their pennies using the very same things
8:54 pm
Supreme Being
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Mon 7-Jun-10
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JoannaS said:
False economy I guess, but sometimes you just have to try these things out. I used to eke just about everything out with lentils and my kids are just beginning to find out the joys of eking out their pennies using the very same things
Can you use lentils as currency? I suppose they just slip the odd one in when no one is looking.
Kaye....I like the idea as plastic cheese as suntan supplement....daughters have the best ideas....sons...stagnate....
PS..Joanna...I can't get into your blog from the page link...
Who lives long sees much : The diary of my life in Bulgaria
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