To have frugality fatigue. (Cost of living.)

You really deserve a break! I hope someone does something wonderful for you soon! Really sorry to hear about your husband, life is so shit when you are trying your best but can’t catch a break!

I don’t mean to say the squeezed middle is worse off than those that live in abject poverty in a third world country, what I mean is that in third world countries ppl are still able to eat unprocessed healthy fruit and veg while people who are poor here cannot afford that as price of food has really gone up. I know ppl in full time employment who are living on cans of soup or biscuits as the only meal all day, that is ridiculous if you think about it. Also the squeezed middle if they are of asian ethnicity for example are more likely to go back home where they would have a lot more disposable income than here!

Jesus Fucking Christ!

I agree about taxing the wealthy, but if you feel that people on benefits are really better off than you (I mean, Jesus. Fucking. Christ.), then give up your job, go on benefits, and have an easy fucking life 🙄

Get the Iron suppliments ! I have not been taking mine and I almost fell outside being out of breath. Loosing hair, cold feet and hands, fatigue, headache. Stupid as I am I stopped taking them because they constipate and I had to get laxatives. But Iron deficiency is serious and your immune system gets really weak so you will be vulnerable to all colds, covid, flu going around. I will start taking mine tmw and I recommend you to buy them because they are vital.

I would too! Years ago when we were in our 20s I was much better off than my DS who had young dc & a week to week existence. I treated her to lunch, coffees etc regularly. Now our income is more equal & she pays more often than I do (at her insistence) in acknowledgment of this. But if she was still skint I would happily take her out for lunch etc. I would hate my close family /friends to be living such a grim existence. Makes me sad & angry reading this thread! I often think if I was mega rich I couldn’t enjoy it knowing so many are going hungry in cold damp homes.

Op, some things that help when I'm feeling the grind.
We arenapproaching christmas, if you receive presents, ask for a 'luxury' item that will make your daily life better. For me, it's things like nice toiletries, a good candle. Some fancy glasses I lusted after but would never buy. Made drinking water a bit nicer. (Wine when affordable.) A really nice duvet cover. Topically, one year my mil gor me a load of spices on a rack. It actually made life better.
I also try to improve my money mindset. If it doesn't work, it won't have cost you anything. If it does, it can really help.
Also, remember to see friends and family. We all need a laugh sometimes. Stay away from the moaners, surround yourself with the fun, happy ones. Have a coffee at theirs, or yours, make your place look nice. Put cheap biscuits on a plate, use a teapot if you have one. Pick some flowers/branches. Basically, make it an occasion, even if it isn't. Hope things improve soon

OP - apologies, not read the whole thread but have you got a community fridge near you? Ours has an amazing variety of food which is fairly shared in the twice weekly sessions. No need to sign up, not means tested, totally anonymous. It's all about saving food waste.
It won't get you out of your situation but food choices may bring a little more joy to your world. I do wish you all the best

The post is about how having to make continual decisions around affording food and not having any choices grinds you down. It's not about a comparison with absolute poverty in other societies. We don't define poverty in terms of 6 dollars a day in the west. We use measures around being able to participate in society and have some discretion in how we live. To respond 'there's people worse off' misses the point and is a shit thing to say. It perpetuates the normalising of these situations too.

This is really well researched. If you are brought up in very poor conditions and hungry as a child the 'fear' never leaves you. Even self made millionaires who were poor worry about being poor again.
If you were brought up affluent and become poor you always believe you can turn it around and will not stay poor. It basically not something you worry about if you were not poor as a child.

Oh give over. They're exactly right.

I do this the first Sunday of the month
Write down what we have and meal plan around the freezer that week.

As we go through I cross out what we have used. Stops the finding things a year later problem and encouraging me to use what we have. This is especially a good idea if like me you are a yellow sticker shopper and have all sorts of random bits in there

Well done for the worst post of the day. So early too.

I don't think OP had Dhal issues.

Taxing landlords and assets isn't the solution - 2% would raise £150 a year on a house on LHA in our area. So someone who is already struggling will see a rent rise of £3 a week because LLs won't be absorbing it. Yet more unintended consequences.

It would help if the government could define working people before saying they won't be hit by rises. If 90% of your income comes from PAYE and you own one rental, are you a working person? If you're a small business owner who employs 6 people and takes dividends, are you a working person?

Maybe no suggestions only empathy is best in this forum.

I think we chalk this one up to healthy professional difference.

I work in acute medicine in hospital so don’t deal with foodbank referrals.
Using coconut milk in dhal is not a silly suggestion when it can be bought for 79p as per pp and adds calories/taste.

There is an ‘eat for £1 a day’ group on Facebook, loads of cheap meal ideas shared there x

Is that what you tell your patients when they come to youasking for a foodbank refferal ?

Do you also ask patients struggling to lose weight whether they have considered having carrot sticks as a snack ?

Given the rest of the thread it was tone deaf.

Context here is everything, over several pages similar unhelpful suggestions eg: adding fresh corriander, cumin and mushrooms to the dahl had been made and the OP had explained that she was an experienced cook but had parred everything down as far as possible and was left with just the very basic ingredients. Other posters then continued to talk about spices, going to Asian supermarkets etc, other posters explained that the money for spices might be needed elsewhere, that cooking it for a longtime is expensive etc.

Then after maybe 6 pages of this the poster suggests coconut milk. IRL if somene had repeatedly explained it was not the skills or knowledge that they lacked but the basic resources and some one had then suggested that there difficulties were due to lack of knowledge. I would have been pretty fed up and annoyed with them.

As I said I have worked with families close to the poverty line for 25 years, it infuriates me when mostly people who have never had to or only have brief experience of living on very limited resources have the audacity to tell poor people they are somehow " doing poverty wrong". People who have lived experience of entrenched poverty know how to spend their money to get the most bang for their buck having had to do it for years and years. It reminds me of these useless Tory polictians living for a week on the minimum wage.

That or the Pulp song. Clueless.

Well guess what neurodiversity, I am a medical doctor too. And I thought my coconut milk suggestion was quite good. What speciality are you in?

Sorry , the ice on my lap top prevented me from spelling correctly.

The trouble is OP speculating to accumulate is a luxury only people with plenty of spare money can really do (imho). I know some people just seem to have a knack of turning a tenner into a grand and onwards and upwards from there, born entrepreneurs I suppose (or born privileged). Unfortunately I don’t have that entrepreneurial flair.

Labels and to write down on a piece of paper everything you have in the freezer. That way it’s easy to have a quick look and see if you can put together a meal of what you have and not forget anything.

I used to work extra as a secret shopper. I got to buy things in shops or go out to restaurants and eat.