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?

I saw this as a light hearted thread. If I was "going to the food poor" of course I wouldn't care about brands. But I thought the OP meant a temporary hardship such as just before you get paid in the end of the month.

• food bank

I'd be interested to know whether those opting for free range eggs also opt for free range meat too (if they eat meat).

Decent butter ( pains me to pay so much for it though)
Fruit and veg
Bottled water( not giving up that for anything)
Getting my hair done occasionally

Proper sea salt
Decent toilet paper
Decent dish washer tablets and washing machine liquid

Free range eggs aren’t all that much better than caged tbh. Yes they get access to the outside, but it’s usually within a cage. There’s still 9 hens per square meter when inside which isn’t that great.

Try and but the highest welfare organic eggs if you can. And agree with a pp - if you’re worried about eggs you should definitely be buying free range or organic meat. Cheap supermarket meat is raised in horrid conditions.

I saw it as a thread which was really asking, ‘what things would you still buy even if you don’t have much money?’ Or even ‘what food would you really miss if you were on a desert island?’ Some posting here have been in situations where there has been no choice at all. But this thread is more light hearted than that.

@MustardScreams I agree with you. We can not afford decent meat so we buy eggs instead to avoid cheap sausages etc. When the kids do get meat though they tend to go a bit bonkers on it. Like a cat with fresh cat nip

There are so many different lifestyles and choices. For me, it’d be hard to compromise on Twinnings English Breakfast tea, unsalted butter, organic eggs/meat and decent bread. I will spend even more on tea - Whittard, Twinnings shop, Fortnum and Mason, as I cannot live without tea, but then I don’t really drink coffee, and we don’t buy takeways and hardly eat out.
That said, if I were broke I would eat and drink on the cheap. As cheap as possible. No contest here.

@CherryPavlova, I do, in fact, know what it's like to be "broke" I once lived on bannock and fried onions for weeks because I didn't have money for groceries. I also walked to work (no car or even bus fare), when I could find work at all, and relied on a combination of social assistance and food banks when I couldn't. Destitute, on the other hand would have meant, to me, living in my car or resorting to crime, because I was homeless (which I wasn't). I'm just sick of people carrying a soap box around while people are trying to have a light hearted conversation.

@NorthEndGuy agreed. I have gone through all the things Cherry says they "cannot imagine" - and much worse - and to me, their hectoring of the OP and other posters comes over as precious virtue signalling.

What are you all saying about 'good butter' I just buy butter at Lidl and it's lovely.

I have never tried Lurpak or French butter. Am I missing out?

Apart from the water (it was coal, and we used a supermarket trolley) and the kids schools (it was my school and I walked).

Hayu app subscription

Nutella. Keep all the cheap (and even expensive) imitations the fuck away lol Have never bought any cheap versions, have bought some of the brand name chocolate spreads like Cadburys and Nestle etc but none of them are nice. None of them are Nutella :D Dc agree with me.

Free range eggs. Organic milk.

Oh and Mac foundation and Lancôme mascara. If I'm being indulgent 😉

Luckystars - I have tried Lidl butter. Yes, cheaper, but poor taste and poor consistency. Perhaps it’s personal taste? But if not President, I rate highly Tesco unsalted butter. IMO better than Waitrose own brand or Sainsbury’s.

Simple facial Cleanser
A certain posh choc choc bar

HOLIDAYS!

Eggs - there is never any reason to buy eggs and support caged hen farming!

I grew up very poor as a child. There were six children and only one income as my mother couldn't work. The one thing my parents always insisted on were good quality shoes in our growing years. We spent hours trawling thrift shops and charity shops for suitable pairs. I remember being stunned into disbelief the first time I was given a new pair of my own when I was 8. They were shiny, from America and at least a size too big.
There is nothing I wouldn't give up if I was completely broke. I would prioritise housing, food, and heating in that order.

We have absolutely no money til DD gets her PIP next Friday, and I have nothing personally until I get mine on the 16th of June

Not asking for anything by the way!

But I still only buy free range eggs, and good quality meat. When it's gone, it's gone and we do without til next time

I don't really think any of you are actually broke, or have ever been broke.

Is this shit still going on?

Many people here have made clear that a) what this thread is about is NOT absolute grinding poverty; it's (meant to be!) light-hearted
and b) they HAVE at some point been truly broke.

Enough with the sanctimonious shite now, please.

I dunno on the coffee.. I’ve been properly down to my last few quid and would skip breakfast, cheap white toast and (horror!) spread for lunch, but I’d still pick up a jar of price marked Nescafé in the corner shop, because a decent cup of coffee got me through.