Things can change so quickly. I have done poor, been there, done it. I,mean, really done it. Then things picked up,,had my own business. Went bust - six year debt repayment plan, surfing, existing, scraping by. Then, last year, finally on a decent wage, dh working,majority of debts paid. And I thought, wow. This is what its like to live, not exist. To have days out, a coffee with friends, buy new clothes ( still supermarket,but new), go to the cinema,have a takeaway. These were all like luxury living to me. This year, for the first time ever, I started saving money, saving! I have £400 saved! At the end of May I will be made redundant. Dh doesn't earn enough to cover the bills. I will be 50 and on the dole. There is a very real chance that I will need to use a food bank. I am just glad I have been donating to our local one for months. This is the reality. Dd1 only has a part time job and still lives at home, dd2 is at university and needs financial help. Ds is still at school.
We already shop at Aldi, buy meat, sacks of onio s and spuds at the local market, use the slow cooker, batch freeze, grow salad and herbs....don't know how else to cut back.