No matter how broke I am, I will not compromise on

[NorthEndGal]

Butter
If I only had a few dollars left, I'd still buy butter.
Not margarine, not 20-80 spread, just real pure butter.

Anything else, I'll do without, or by a substitute, etc

What is your "I'm not going without" thing?

@NorthEndGal I don't think you're stupid at all. It's a bit like telling someone that they're an idiot if you didn't choose exactly the same as them and that's daft.

I really don’t like this thread.
“Gosh imagine how awful it would be to have to use ......margarine! The shame! And smartprice paper to wipe ones arse on... oh how dreadful!”
You have no idea about the lives of others outside your wine club do you?

No appreciation on this thread of how little choice some people have. If you are broke there often isn’t a compromise.

It's okay to not like things; and wtf is a wine club?

dou egberts coffee, if at all possible. I could go without a lot of other things, (like either breakfast or lunch,) but a cup of coffee in the morning is a must. I could stretch to half a cup in the morning and half in the evening.

Feeding my children

Honestly? Nothing.

When dh first lost his job and we were tightening our belts there were lots of things we'd not compromise on: Kellogs Cornflakes rather than own brand, Heinz ketchup & beans, organic eggs.

Now all of those are gone and have been for a while. Some of them I hope to go back to one day, but it's not really been that big a deal to save the money by going with the cheap option.

We're not nearly as fussy as we thought we were.

Northendguy it’s not about not liking things

"I really don’t like this thread."

And that's okay, but using it as an excuse to shitpost on an otherwise innocuous thread isn't the best way to deal with it. Besides, it stifles the genuinely engaging conversation everyone else is having about things they can and can't do without by shaming people for their opinions.

Proper coffee
Free range eggs
Real butter
Maldon salt

These!

Also Morrisons’ “the best” kitchen roll. Brilliant stuff.

Bloody hell. I see it didn’t take the fun police long to ruin a light hearted thread with po-facedly having to tell us some people sadly can’t even afford the basics. (Clue - we know).

On this website which to me seems more populated with people boasting about their 7 figure earning husbands than anyone genuinely living in poverty

Honestly, I’m guessing none of you have ever lived in poverty. It’s not a joke. I mean, are you serious? If you had £2 left to last you the week then you wouldn’t even have butter.

M&S knickers??
Malcom salt?
Real leather boots?

I know that nobody ever thinks that they themselves would end up in this situation, but being genuinely broke means you get NO luxuries. Even nice butter. It’s just hard for me to read. My life is horrible at the moment and here are people having fun thinking about their precious luxuries in the context of being broke when they truly have no idea at all.

No, you wouldn’t buy real leather boots- because you’ll have no money to save. You Your underwear will always be from Primark. If you want butter then it always has to taste like shit. Veg is generally tinned or frozen, lest it go off. You can’t afford a haircut. New makeup is cheap and rare. You don’t look good and cant do anything about it. Hobbies only exist if they are free. You feel guilty if you dare buy a coffee while out. Some people’s lives are like that.

I know this was lighthearted and supposed to be used in the context of personal wealth. I just don’t think anyone has the right to call themselves broke if their “things they’d never go without” include leather boosts etc. It’s all fun and games to speculate hypothetically but I see far too many posts on Mumsnet that minimise the struggles of poverty; the “I would never go a year without a holiday no mater how broke I am”; the “oh dear, I only have £1000 of luxury spending money (not including any bills) this month, will I possibly manage?” posts.

Because it's insensitive posting stuff like this.

Is it? What about the threads about gazillion pound earning husbands and exorbitant private school fees?

All you people saying bacon and ham. The pork industry is so cruel, I don’t know how you people can live with yourselves. Seriously. And it gives you cancer.

Actually @lifeinthedeep, you're right. When I didn't have a pot to piss in I didn't have any of the ridiculous things I put on my list even in my flat. I feel embarrassed that I put them on there. FFS sunglasses?

My life is different now, thank Christ, as I was on my knees for a few years. Maybe I've lost sight of what it was like. I can remember having half a loaf of bread and Smash potatoes to do me for 3 days, that was it.

I'm really sorry if I made you feel crap, I didn't mean to and you have really made me think.

All you people saying bacon and ham. The pork industry is so cruel, I don’t know how you people can live with yourselves. Seriously. And it gives you cancer

There’s always got to be someone popping up with their irrelevant, uninvited, and unasked for opinions about what other people eat, isn’t there.

Butter
Clingfilm ( cheap clingfilm is just appalling)

Washing up liquid. Fairy really is that much better. Plus I will basically clean and wash everything in it if needs be. Including my hair.

Most washing up liquid gives me horrible rashes, as well.

Food for my children. Shoes for them and clothes appropriate for the weather.

Other than that I could pretty much manage with anything.

Even though i shop at Waitrose now I grew up shopping in kwiksave and was in charge of counting up the total as we went round so we wouldn't be humiliated about our £12.52 or whatever not stretching to cover everything. Kudos to everyone struggling out there. It's a really crappy place to be

Yoga
Good running shoes
Organic milk, berries and apple
Best children’s shoes I can possibly afford (comfort rather than style!)

Using the washing machine and tumble-dryer as much as I like. I am dealing with incontinence (not my own!) and so the washing mountain is huge. My deal to myself is to use the tumble-dryer and not feel guilty. I do often think about what it would be like dealing with this in a country without western conveniences (e.g. with no washing machine at all).

I know that nobody ever thinks that they themselves would end up in this situation, but being genuinely broke means you get NO luxuries. Even nice butter. It’s just hard for me to read. My life is horrible at the moment and here are people having fun thinking about their precious luxuries in the context of being broke when they truly have no idea at all.

Well you don't know what people's situations HAVE been. I've been so skint when in college, living on my own, that I had to make 3 quid last a week. I'd get a loaf of value bread at 25p, a few tins of 6 or 9p beans, a tub of 'spread' and maybe a couple of potatoes and lived off that all week. After leaving an ex I lived on value beans at 9p, value fish fingers at 25p and 1kg bags of chips from iceland at a pound.

I didn't eat any of those again for years. and I will never eat 'spread' again.

Just because some people can shop comfortably doesn't mean they have never been skint and shouldn't be able to talk about being comfortable just because other people have less.

I think sleepyhead is right your perspective rapidly changes when you really are broke.

I never thought I'd delay getting prescription meds as if I waited I could pay the charge without going into over draft and incurring charges, but I did and it became fairly normal thing to consider as other things took priority - and that wasn't when we were broke just when things were tight.

The horror of spreads is odd to me I was raised with them real butter was rare - DH family use spreads as well. I use more butter than my Mum because I tend to bake with real butter as I've read it's better for asthma.

But if your raised on real butter or have got used to it I image spreads are more of a step down and a signal things aren’t right in your world.

@lifeinthedeep thank you for the reality check.

I said butter. (I meant it though, I would be much sadder without butter and honey) some margarine are much dearer so it's not a step down or anything, I just love butter so much that sometimes I wake up worrying that they will change the recipe.

There is a homeless guy where I am and he has nothing but still buys cigarettes. He spends his last few pence on smokes and is absolutely starving. So we don't really know what anyone would do or do without in a poverty situation but your post has been an eye opener for sure. It's easy forget how lucky I am to have butter and honey every day.

Maybe a thread called : what would be the last thing you would give up if Money was very tight

I know that nobody ever thinks that they themselves would end up in this situation… here are people having fun thinking about their precious luxuries in the context of being broke when they truly have no idea at all.

In fact plenty of people on here have pointed out that they DO very much have an idea of what being properly broke is like.

I just don’t think anyone has the right to call themselves broke if their “things they’d never go without” include leather boosts etc Here's the thing: of course people have the 'right', unless someone has just made you the thought and language police?