To think I am 'careful' and not 'cheap'

[goawaywillya]

Okay a bit of back ground story. My dd1 attends a sn school and recently became good friends with a new girl in the school. This little girl is from a quite well off family and wants for nothing.
Today at a social event I got chatting to this child's mother who told me about how they had recently spent £120 on a new princess bed for dd and how they have a planned holiday to NZ next year to visit family. She also described going to the cinema or local play centres each weekend and how the eldest dd has violin lessons etc
Then she asked about my own circumstances and I described what I do on a frequent basis to save money she looked shocked and said ' oh. We should be cheap too'. I was a bit 🙄 and when she said ' if you can ever afford to eat out as a family you should try Nando's, they're cheap 'I was like

I'm not jealous of this family. They have good jobs and deserve to spend their own money as they see fit, but AIBU to see myself as 'careful ' rather than 'cheap'. Some of what I do is-

. Dress dd2 in ds old trousers as boys clothes are tougher anyway and her dresses are worn again as tops with leggings.
.once a week I raid the fridge/ freezer and dinner is a mix of this ( I hate waste)
. I sew and darn clothes and can replace a zip
. I have made sardine heads into a pizza topping before
.i have invited family to dinner and kept their left over bones to make stock
. Do not eat out because it's not affordable and I would be shocked by the prices anyway.
I make my own laundry liquid/powder
.i make cake out of banana skins and also out of whole oranges and lemons including pips
.instead of paying huge fees for holiday activities I take the kids to chase the pigeons and feed them sausage roll crumbs outside our local Greggs 😳 or just to play at the park
Our local children's centre does nice low cost/ free activities also.
.i have bought cheap products from Asda and placed it into an empty box of 'posh' product.
. I regift unwanted presents for birthdays or Xmas
.i make vinegar from 🍏 cores
.i once made a homemade suncream when I could not afford a bottle of the real stuff
. I love charity shops and bought dds birthday gift there for under £10. Plus we have taken the kids there to spend their pocket money on toys and books.
.if something is over £5 I will struggle to buy it on principle
.. I grate used bars of soap to make new full bars
. I love summer, i don't have to use the heating 😁
. I buy clothes for ages older than the dcs are so they grow into them and I feel I'm getting my money's worth.
. I got rid of my tv licence and now just use Netflix and YouTube.

See, it's nothing extreme, just trying to save money as we go along. I'm sorry this post is so long , it's just hard to stop once started.

.

spice mixes
powdered stock for soup
shampoo
natural remedies for coughs, hiccups, high temps and constipation, eczema, cuts and to stop nose bleeds etc
homemade bubble bath

These are all far more normal and sensible than refusing to buy anything that costs more than a fiver or putting orange pips in a cake rather than waste them.

Your poor kids OP. Yes I've done a million free trips to the park or beach but DC has ALSO had swimming, cinema - few times a year not every week I must say, one or two after school clubs or sports that change as he's grown, trips to cafes, nice family weeks away etc. Kids need different and fun experiences to develop social skills, playing together, knowing how to behave in a restaurant etc. I couldn't be such a tight arse as to make my children's childhood so joyless and lack of something to look forward to and have fun together.

SoyDora, lots of information on the internet but here is one link which explains well www.elephantjournal.com/2017/03/why-bone-broth-is-basically-bad-for-you/

also, OP - if you’re so keen to save money and avoid waste, why are you still eating meat? Not only is it expensive, there is no amount of apple core vinegar or banana skin cake that will make up for the environmental impact of your meat consumption. I know I bore on about it on every other thread, but it really is the the single biggest difference you can make to your environmental impact.

Oh and meant to say yes I find it completely weird that you would list all that to a new acquaintance. If I was her, I'd be giving you a major swerve from now on! (Although I really don't believe this is real, the Greggs crumbs was a step too far).

You struggle to buy things over £5(netflix is more per month)

Your children get birthday presents from the charity shop which they then have to spend their pocket money in aswell and they never get to go and eat out not even special occasions

I make smoothies and when I use 🥝 fruit, I include The skin 🙀🙀🙀🙀😂😂😂😂😂

Pineapple cores are tasty too 😋😛

Indeed! I don't consider any of my bones left over. Although maybe the banana peel cake would put me in a condition beyond caring about what happens to any of my bones.

😱🤷‍♀️😂

That's all I could summon 🤦‍♀️

I don't understand why people think the bones are likely to be sucked and gnawed. Do none of you possess knives and forks?

Citrus skins and pips are suppose to offer some protection against cancers.

🥝 fruit skins are full of fibre

With pineapple cores I just like the crunch

Think the op has gone. Maybe she ate herself and boiled her bones

@HBStowe I don't eat much meat and dairy myself but it is easier for the body to absorb nutrients from animal products than veg and nuts( irons and calcium for example)

I’d love to see your schedule! Self sufficiency always sounds so attractive and yet the routine of it baffles me.

SoyDora, lots of information on the internet but here is one link which explains well www.elephantjournal.com/2017/03/why-bone-broth-is-basically-bad-for-you/

I can’t see anything very worrying there unless you’re drinking buckets of the stuff (which no one is).

I’m sure I’d find a source on the internet to tell me any given foodstuff is bad for me.

I didn’t believe the health hype that was around a while ago either. It’s neither particularly good or bad. Just delicious.

I'm surprised you don't pick up roadkill for your meat, some people actually do this and it sounds like it could be on your list! I know I shouldn't encourage

@wizzywig maybe he/ she got sick of the school yard bullies?

imonlyatoyspider’s emojis are making my eyes hurt. Seems you’re as economical with actual words as you are with everything else.

Sardine heads into a pizza, NO NO NO

Leftover bones to make stock, NO

Kids chase the pigeons (REALLY!) and feed them sausage roll crumbs outside our local Greggs (AGAIN REALLY?????)

See, it's nothing extreme, YES THIS IS.

Interesting though about the TV Licence

'You don't need a TV licence if you only ever use services such as Netflix to watch on demand or catch-up programmes - except if you're watching BBC programmes on iPlayer. Remember, if you watch or record live TV on any device, you need to be covered by a TV Licence.'

How is £120 for a bed extravagant? Unless from a charity shop I think you’d be struggling to find one for that little.
Also, if the sardine head pizza and homemade sunscreen were 10 or 20 years ago, why are you even mentioning them now as examples of your frugality?

Wondering how well the sardines swim without their heads