To enjoy being a bit skint

[Welcometotheterrorzone]

I realise this might sound really privileged to some.
We are by no means struggling to pay our mortgage or buy food. We both have alright jobs, low paid but steady and enough to pay for a lovely house in a rough part of town. Like I said, we do alright but have to budget in order to have Christmas and holidays. We camp, we don't eat out, we share subscriptions with friends, we have one car, we buy second hand everything, we use freetogo apps etc to save. I am an obsessive yellow sticker shopper and do not pay full price for any meat, bread, milk or fruit as I hit different supermarkets at different times and have a huge freezer to store it all in. We eat veggie 70% of the time too.
Yesterday it was a one off treat day for DS as he's starting school. I had £24 for the day and no access to anymore money. We had such a lovely time, bakery lunch, went to a national trust place where just going in the grounds is a lot cheaper than tickets for the house so did that, treated them to an ice lolly and found a Poundland on the way home for a toy instead of getting (the same quality) toy in the gift shop. I was a bit worried at one point as we walked past this amazing sweet shop and I thought that they were going to ask for something I couldn't afford (only had £2 left by this point as we were on our way to the train station) but brilliantly they had a reduced section with these Harry Potter chocolate bars for 50p so still had a £1 at the end of it.
My aibu is that I don't want to lose this feeling of joy that we have found something that fits our budget and makes me feel like I'm treating them. I've had times where I felt really down that I can't just say 'choose whatever you like' but I think every parent sets limits so I'm not being unnecessary harsh. I'm trying to teach them to find pleasure in small things, and that finding the right toy in a charity shop is better than going to a big toy shop full of plastic where you can choose anything. I hope they don't resent me for it.
Luckily it's payday tomorrow!

I get that lots are really skint, luckily never been.
I think it was insensitive, and shops do not have unlimited yellow stickers, so not for all, sadly, luck largely

Yeah, it's your wording OP.
If you really didn't want to offend people you would not have, I mean if you possess enough insight to realise how privileged you actually are/sound then I can't fathom why you wrote your post this way and why you don't ask HQ to take it down.
You enjoy budgeting and grabbing all the reduced items you're hardly having to use a food bank or send your child to school in last year's uniform.

I get you OP .You are pleased you got a good "deal" as my FIL would say.You are careful around money which is a good thing. Many people would be envious of the NT MS(which isnt free as you pay monthly)! Others would be off to a Theme Park spending 4 times as much! Lot of people would be truly skint if off to the local park and couldnt afford an Ice Cream there!

@handtofold

You had £24 for the day OP. Of course you didn't mind/got a bit of enjoyment of out a 'being skint' novelty!

Try having £24 left for the rest of the week, two weeks even.

This.

Quick everyone there is a thread on AIBU about how much you spend on shopping a week and the OP spends over £100 ... better go tell her how privileged they are and how insensitive it is to others on here that can't afford even half of that !!! Like you all have on this post

ThanksIgotit Yes I do have back up plans. I class it as common sense. I’d make sure I had some cash tucked in purse, a debit card, phone charged and bottle of water. I tell teen to do same.
Maybe I have back luck with trains but I’ve 3 occasions where plan B was needed. ‘Bomb’ scare I mentioned, once on train Sunday night and they suddenly announce termination 4 stops before mine as driver out of hours - no buses got taxi. Another one where they cancelled train - got train to nearby station and got a lift back to intended station.

I really really get what you were trying to say….I’m not offended by it, I have however just burst into tears. Because I’ve got 86p in my bank account and will received not a penny more for 3 weeks. Skint doesn’t even begin to describe it.

Its a good way to go about things. I have always been very frugal with mostly everything. Maybe to do with my age though, as in being an oldie. Family had little years ago, but when things got a bit better, and you could afford one or two nicer things, you really did appreciate it. I still go by this principle, of only buying exactly what you need,and can afford.

Why are people so nasty.
If your on a tighter budget and get bargains you can be happy.
I went supermarket shopping and someone told me to check my offers, I did a supermarket sweep and got all the items on the list and as it was my big shop I also got double the points. Total points 450
My DD is in London and she took her gran out for a Pizza, swapped some of the points we had collected in the last year and Mum was telling our family group it cost them 79p in money to eat.

‘I really really get what you were trying to say….I’m not offended by it, I have however just burst into tears. Because I’ve got 86p in my bank account and will received not a penny more for 3 weeks. Skint doesn’t even begin to describe it.’

So if you’ve only got 86p to last for 3 weeks you must have already be sorted for food unless you’re saying the 86p will also need to feed you for 3 weeks? And if you’ve still got to get food out of that, how are you paying for internet?

@JackieWeaverHandforthCouncil

‘I really really get what you were trying to say….I’m not offended by it, I have however just burst into tears. Because I’ve got 86p in my bank account and will received not a penny more for 3 weeks. Skint doesn’t even begin to describe it.’

So if you’ve only got 86p to last for 3 weeks you must have already be sorted for food unless you’re saying the 86p will also need to feed you for 3 weeks? And if you’ve still got to get food out of that, how are you paying for internet?

Even if you have got enough food it, having no other money is extremely stressful. You just don’t know what emergency will crop up.

I’ve been in similar situations, it’s hell.

And I paid for internet at that time because all my bills come out on 1st of the month. Internet was a must as I did a bit of work from home.

@SparklingLime

Jesus, this is so blinkered and yes - offensive to people who are actually “skint” and struggling hard with it.

Indeed.

Privileged people just cannot see it because they don't 'get it' at all.

Yep - the OP enjoyed the feeling of being skint because it is a temporary illulion and she feels clever because she managed to make £24 stretch to a day out - some people don't have that for the week, hence the food banks. Have a @Welcometotheterrorzone it will save you a few pence but you still won't get it at all.

"handtofold
You had £24 for the day OP. Of course you didn't mind/got a bit of enjoyment of out a 'being skint' novelty!
Try having £24 left for the rest of the week, two weeks even."

i love that feeling when you get a day out in budget, we went to the beach and at the end of the day i counted up all the change in my purse and we had enough for chips! felt like i had won the loto

Oh leave here alone you fucking horrors.

"araiwa

Op,

Do you come from Greece?
Do you have a thirst for knowledge? "

Does she wanna live like common people
Does she wanna do whatever common people do
Does she wanna sleep with common people
Does she wanna sleep with common people like you?

Oh ffs. Why don't you pull this shit on other threads where people are talking about their cars/houses/handbags/school fees/nannies etc etc?

It was a nice post about how a young mum with not much money is enjoying making the most of things for her kids. The OP sounds like a lovely person. The posters who kicked off are the ones who are insensitive. Don't care who you hurt as long as you can virtue signal about how great you are.

You all sound like Titania McGrath, but not as nice. Give your heads a wobble.

Based on the opening post I didn't think the OP was being unreasonable, I think it was worded badly but she at first sounded like someone who'd taken joy in a cheap day out and spending quality time with her child before he returns to school. She sounded like she saves for Xmas and birthdays and spent time going to avrious supermarkets for yellow sticker meat. That great if your local to the supermarkets and you have the health and transport to do that a few times a week. Fil does it everyday but I don't think he's actually saving anything, it's a 20 minute drive to the aupermarket and

I thought she just worded it a bit badly. Based on only the opening post I wouldn't say skint, more choosing to be frugal and enjoying the simple things.

Then the dig about kids in after school clubs versus kids of parents who don't work and her friend on universal credit having more than her.

Then it transpires she can't actually afford her electric and it's been cut off twice recently causing all her food to defrost. If that's true then I'd say she is skint and not as good as budgeting her OP made it sound because maybe filling a chest freezer with reduced food isn't saving her money when it's been ruined twice recently cos she can't afford to pay her bills. That's skint, in which case £24 spent on a day out today probably wasn't the best use of the money.

My question to you OP, if you and your partner were earning double or triple what you currently earn, would you still be frugal or would you then be happy not to be skint?

I grew up poor.

Let me assure you, OP, you are not skint if you have £24 to blow on a treat for your kids.

I can see why people are offended.

Hitting different supermarkets at different times to not pay full price for bread and milk? Sounds like a waste of time and energy.

@Amandasummers, sorry to heat that , its a horrid situation, hope things look up

I get you op. It sounds like you enjoy being creatively frugal ,not skint.
I also know what you mean in that you are enjoying using your cash in a wise and rewarding way and appriciate the joy of that. Its better than being blase with money.

It’s all getting a bit 4 Yorkshiremen on here now.

People carrying on as if saving to have £24 for day out equates OP with Victoria Beckham.

This is why Britain has such shit governments. Such bitter people acting like crabs in a barrel so they keep voting for everyone’s lives to be as miserable as theirs. Nobody’s allowed to have anything.

Its not the OPs fault if she has a couple of pounds more than some of you.

Let her be pleased with what she’s achieved for her kids and focus on how you can make more money so that you’re not on here kicking off because someone else has temporarily more money than you.

You enjoy being frugal, not skint. Big difference.