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.

.

This is a piss take. Using bones that other people have sucked to make stock? No-one does that!

If it's true then the OP is a miserly cheapskate.

What you are doing is going to be weird to a lot of people & it IS extreme.

But hats off to you, if everyone lived like you, we wouldn't be drowning in plastic & facing a climate emergency

PLEASE don't feed pigeons. They breed within their means of finding food all year round.
If you eat the greggs crumbs yourselves you won't need to boil your visitors into soup. Or have pigeon pie.

I think this is a reverse. £120 isn't showy offy levels for a new bed!

I second this ....

I take my hat off to you @goawaywillya

We're in an over consumption epidemic that's having an effect on our world. You're not 'cheap' or even 'careful': you're considerate and that's to be commended 

Keep going and ignore the comments 

@NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace, very valid & lovely response.

Wow OP I'm seriously impressed by some of your efforts & skills.

Stuff what the others think & keep doing you & what makes you happy xX

I have invited family to dinner and kept their left over bones to make stock

House of Atreus?

Although I do think the homemade sunscreen could be a tad dangerous OP if you are relying on it to protect skin.

Although I do think the homemade sunscreen could be a tad dangerous OP if you are relying on it to protect skin.

Someone suggested zinc. If you superglue old batteries to your body that should give a good level of protection?

These are brilliant OP. Ignore the haters. I want the recipes for all your cakes and puddings please!

Dinner round at @goawaywillya ‘s

@Broken11Girl...I’m sorry for your phobia but it’s really not everyone else’s problem. Pigeons live in cities and towns due to the high amount of waste food, someone feeding them crumbs is not going to make the slightest bit of difference.
And I say that as someone with a phobia of a very common household object, it’s not anyone else’s job to stop living their life because of my issues.

Fuck sake, I've nearly wet myself reading this lot 🤣🤣🤣

There are some very weird threads on here tonight and I can’t decide if I’ve had too much wine or not enough wine.

Whew, that’s a relief, it appears I haven’t had enough wine.

Is it a full moon?

Crying 🤣

What did you do with the rest of the sardines? Can imagine pinching heads off 😂.

Do you throw out the banana, and just use the peel?

Fwiw you are not careful not cheap, unless you are very very poor I'd say crazy, your poor poor dcs.

After a shitty evening, I have tears streaming down my cheeks from this thread.

OP do you think you were a tad rude trying to 'teach' the other school mum about her extravagant ways. Little did she know about ALL the special things you do!

I'm surprised to hear you use heating though. You could wear a thick jumper and layer extra blankets on the bed surely. Such needless extravagance!!!! You could then love winter and summer!

LikeDolphinsCanSwim
Full moon’s tomorrow. I know this because I checked because of another weird thread.

How is making vinegar out of manky old apples fun in any way?! what a brilliant post. Batshit.

"I make my own laundry liquid/powder"
How do you do that? I'm getting serious about reducing the plastic coming into the house, and I've not heard of this before.

Yes you are a complete tight arse, cheap as they come in afraid!

whereyouleftit Try Pinterest, they have recipes for everything, from making husbands to penicillin to laundry powder.

DIY suncream ??? Fuck me 🤣

There won't be any magic ingredient in the brownies.
That costs more than a fiver!

OP would surely grow her own though?!

Seriously though, I admire some of your thrifty ways OP but don't take it too far. Treat your kids to a meal out occasionally, yes it's a waste of money, but it's part if life these days and imagine how embarrassed they'll be admiring to their friends in the future that they've never been to a restaurant.

I wish I could replace a zip.

Sewing on a zipper? Fine. Making your dd wear dresses as tops, fucking tight and miserable.

Sardine head pizza? So good you only had it once, a long time ago.
Seriously, life is for living. If you can afford it, it's okay to spend money just having fun or on a night off from the kitchen.