How do people manage on little money?

[istheheatingonyet]

Ive just spent the best part of £300 on getting my teeth cleaned by the hygenist, a weekly shop for 2 ( adult son also here temporarily) and getting my hair done.
Now I know the third is a total extra but it's one of my few extras.

How do people manage? it's madness.

Not been to the dentist for 4 years, get hair cut once a year. We’re not even skint just different priorities. I do have very expensive hair drier and hair products to negate the lack of hairdresser visits. But you can have nice hair with Home Bargains shampoo and conditioner and some cheap straighteners. Good, depends what you mean by ‘good stuff’ , we spend on decent meat but tinned tomatoes, rice pasta, fruit, veg doesn’t have to be expensive. Tofu chilli, bean burritos, toddler eats a lot of ‘snack plates’ fruit, veg hummus breadsticks pasta and pesto type stuff. I’d never buy branded stuff when unbranded is just as good. I’ve a friend who spends £500 a month on hair, nails, eyebrows and eyelashes, spray tans and facials. No childcare costs tho because her mum does it all for free whereas I spend £500 on childcare, she thinks I’m mental I think she’s mental it’s just different priorities

It must be very difficult and anyone could end up in that situation especially the way things are going with the economy. I’m not really sure why you’re asking this…..the answer is you would struggle and make do as best you could I’d imagine.

This. We need to be more French! Couldn't agree more.

Excellent point . key workers , who got us through the pandemic , not being able to afford basics is a disgusting indictment of society . A real kick in the teeth . Yet the wealth gap widens !!!!!!!

More French ?

What does that mean ?

Genuinely curious

What a bizarre / Bragg thing for your friend to say (500 childcare costs ) - if she didn’t have free childcare she would have no choice !!
Or , wouldn’t be able to work !

@CarpetKnees , in the absence of any human to talk to I threw my thoughts out there.
I have clarified a few things...I can't afford the 300. It got me thinking and feeling empathy for people who are struggling. A hair cut is an extravagence. I will try my local college.
The teeth are an utter nightmare, not of my own making.
Thanks.

I think " be more French" means kick up a stink? Complain?

People saying they don't go to the dentist, please try.

I've been in the situation where I was literally scraping green beans off the bottom of the freezer so we had something to eat. As others have said - you just don't spend money on anything at all that you don't need to stay alive. Forget the hygienist, sometimes that means not buying toothpaste. Get the cheapest of everything. No snacks, or if snacks only things that are real food, like fruit or bread. Using food banks (in my day it was free butter and cheese due to the European cheese/butter mountain - an excess of provision over demand). You never EVER go out to eat or have takeaways. Treats (when there were any) were always food, as we had to eat anyway. I used to cut my children's hair myself and my own hair never got cut. Clothes were hand me downs or from charity shops. My children were always warmly dressed and had enough to eat - but there wasn't a lot of fun in our lives.

I can remember the panic feeling when they came home with a letter from school asking for money. Also having to buy and pay off through catalogues for white goods, vacuum etc.

Am I the only one who still does the Mumsnet haircut?

Well you really did ask a stupid question. How do people manage on little money? They just only spend what they have.

Nobody cares what you spent on anything, it's your money. It was the stupid question people are reacting to!

People saying they don't go to the dentist, please try.

Most people aren't going to the dentist because they can't afford it - it's not through lack of trying.

Where I am, there are no NHS dentists. Luckily DH and I can afford to pay for private dental care but if we couldn't, we just wouldn't be able to go. It's not through lack of trying - it's because there just isn't another option.

I get my hair cut about every 3 months, I do have lo lights every 2 months. When DH lost his job (, instant liquidation on the spot,) I was just about to change jobs, from night nursing in Surrey,, London weighting etc, with just over a 100 mile round trip commute,to local hospital PT days, I kept my job, went back to ft nights. I didn't have my hair cut for a couple of years,(tied up at work,) I bought box dye,it was a couple of pounds, I mixed a tiny bit each month, just for the roots,a box lasted months.. during Covid,my blonde hair was pure white at the front. It's my treat. My hair was a weird shade of orange in the sun,I had to spend years growing the colour out, not risking it again. Have just looked at dentist prices, our dentist is NHS, but the hygienist will be £60, this year..I hadn't had that for 10 years.weve had our dentist a long time, I trust her.. we don't go out very often,beach walk with the dogs, occasionally a flask of drink,last holiday was 16 years ago. Last time we went out for a meal DD took us out on my birthday 4 months ago.

Cheers, have a nice day. I am alone, I am depressed, a parent is dieing. But no worries.

Thanks

just ignore the snarky comments.
Sorry about your parent x

You can just clean your own teeth

Ah well, you've given me a laugh.

Unfortunately,you can't remove hard tartar from your own teeth. I've got a sonic toothbrush and water flosser, back in the summer, I had a pain in my gum and between 2 teeth. I couldn't see anything, after a week, not improving, went to the dentist. A seed from my seeded granary loaf was embedded in the gum at the back , in-between the teeth. It was really painful.

Everyone is being mean, sory op.

Please do prioritize your health and dental
Hygiene it's very important. It's not a luxury. It comes before feeding an adult son tbh.

For hair, do you live near a college or hairdresser training school? Trainee hairdressers are really cheap (it just takes a while and you have to go on weekdays) I've relied on this before. I have also followed YouTube advice for trimming my own hair when essential. Keeping conditioner in for hours at a time helps it stay in good conditioner.

Other tips are - sell anything you can on Vinted and look on Vinted first before you buy any new clothes.

Also food - use ai chap gpt website to meal plan cheap staples like baked potatoes and chick pea curries are so lovely and cheap too.

Not yet anyway!

Groupon is also good for hair and beauty deals

Thanks @Unexpectedlysinglemum , perhaps the mean ones are hungover?
You are right re adult son, I'm too soft.

A lot of people are barely managing OP. That’s kind of the point

I'm not sure anyone has been mean to you - they're just being realistic/honest.

People get by on less because they have no choice. The idea of spending £300 in one weekend would simply never cross their minds as they don't have that kind of money sitting around to begin with. They can't (as you say) "try" to get to the dentist because it's so far out of their reach as to be impossible.

When all your money goes on feeding yourself and paying your rent, you don't even think about going to the dentist or the hairdresser. You cut your own hair over the sink or trade favours with a friend. You clean your own teeth as best you can and pray you don't end up with an infection or an abscess.

And to an extent, you learn to cope with a lot less money. I'm lucky in that I could afford to spend £300 on a Saturday but because I've been in that situation where I couldn't, I don't. I still think about what the cheapest option is and still cut my hair over the sink because I'd rather keep the £50 for an emergency instead.

When you don't have it, you don't have it. You can't think about saving for an emergency or a rainy day when you can barely afford to live "now".