To have frugality fatigue. (Cost of living.)

[KnopkaPixie]

Just that really. To do so well with finances for nearly a month then get an unexpected expense out of left field, pretending that lentil dahl is absolutely delicious, to have signed up to do surveys on YouGov and the rest and have made sod all, can't work any more hours, can't cut costs any more, can't claim anything off the state and to be kicking myself for not saving more when I had the chance. Just a moan really.

I never wanted to be that kind of miserable gît that resents every penny or knows, "The cost of everything but the value of nothing" But that's the way the value brand cookie is not crumbling right now.

Perhaps a bit woo but sometimes I wonder whether a real poverty mindset becomes a self fulfilling prophecy and perhaps a more speculate to accumulate mentality might do me better? Not any manifesting flapdoodle but just an idle thought.

It. Is. Expensive!! A pot of cheap spices costs the same as a bag of Maris Pipers! Which one will feed your family?

OP - totally sympathize am not there any longer but have lived many hand to mouth days and remember how miserable it was walking home in the rain to a cold damp flat and the fourth day running of some anodyne slowcooker mess of wonky veg and pulses) but your depictions of the lifestyle blogger are hilarious and well observed.

How about doing a satire of her genre (not the person herself but the whole ' blogging a Year in Provence style) but showcasing your real life and lifestyle? Someone upthread used the phrase 'I feel like a Poundland ghost' which would make a pretty good name.

I suspect it would touch a nerve for a lot of people
(Plus you would never have to worry about what sort of content to make, and how to keep viewers because the whole emphasis would be repetitive dahl recipes with limited shots of your dads kitchen)

Well you get free prescriptions, dental, free school meals (I have to pay now) etc that we don't get in England. If I got the extra child money on top I think we would be managing very indeed. I am not sure why you can't understand why others aren't managing on UC?

Sigh. Spices built up over months- a pound at a time the way millions of people worldwide do it including in countries with no benefits- make Maris Pipers and everything palatable and exciting. Preferably from Asian supermarkets.

Not everyone lives near an Asian supermarket, not everyone has a spare £ in their budget.

I think the point is that when you find yourself suddenly stuck, you might not have months' worth of spices built up in the cupboards. And not everyone can get to an Asian supermarket.

I remember the looks on my housemates' faces when I used to return to my houseshare with deep grooves on my hands from carrying the shopping home on foot from the Aldi a couple of miles away. They couldn't understand why I wouldn't just get the bus or shop at the Tesco express down the road.

But to build up your stock of spices etc takes time and money. If someone is so broke that every penny counts, £2 for spice vs £2 for enough beans on toast for a few meals, isn't even a consideration. Nobody will skip those meals in favour of "this bag of spice will benefit me in 6 weeks time when I fancy a curry"

I agree that eating veggie isn't expensive compared to eating meat, but that's assuming you can afford to eat whatever way you want to in the first place.

Fair enough. There are ways to eat more cheaply and sustainably though that are not used by lifestyle bloggers, but by actual poor people. Poorer than most in the country as they are not eligible for benefits.
None of this is to say this level of poverty is ok or even tolerable for anyone.

Thank you. Plus a £1.65 on spices or £1.65 on the electric ... £1.65 on spices or a bus fare to work... £1.65 on spices or £1.65 towards a roll of gaffer tape to bodge a temporary fix on something in the home

This is the kind of mental gymnastics the OP is talking about and what is so exhausting about living on the breadline.

When we were little we were pretty poor. Among other things - Food was a big pot of something made on Sunday and eaten through the week, 1 or two meals a day, sometimes once. same food everyday - all came from the big pot, it was normally rice mixed with meat and mixed veg. It’s exhausting and painful - I’m ok now but I remember what it’s like OP. I hope you feel better soon.

Totally get this OP. I've started looking at how I can save money every month. I've cut down on the weekly shopping and buying clothes and have actually saved some money this month.

I've had to go to a private dentist so I want to have some savings in case I get caught out again and have to pay a fortune for a filling.

Not easy is it? I often wonder how people seem to afford holidays abroad every year

Even Dahl has doubled in price. Ok, it's still reasonable but a few years ago it really was "pennies". About 70p
It's rubbish op and I really feel for you. I went through this for a while and although we managed with a really frugal life, what was soul destroying was not being able to afford petrol to visit my family and I'm the type that can't turn up empty handed anywhere so I really had to limit visits.
Also gifts for parties.
I had young kids who thankfully didn't notice as we still went to the library and parks regularly and were able to have fun.
Hopefully you'll find your way out soon.

A Sunday roast of beef would go for a stew/pie or shepherds pie the next day. A lot of traditional British dishes are foods made out of necessity and poverty and a way to use up leftovers while bulking things out with seasonal vegetables from the garden/allotment. Obviously that's not how modern life works these days because few people use their gardens for food production and allotments are rare as hens teeth. Same as rabbits, pet rabbits were kept solely for food, same as chickens.

That’s who I thought of. I used to read her blog before she moved and thought she could be rather judgmental of people who were not frugal enough. She isn’t the worst though I tried to cut down expenditure and stuff before I retired and there was one YouTube channel which is supposed to be frugal and minimalist who buys an awful amount of crap from B&M.

I couldn't say I was poor at all, especially as myself and my partner have assets, so if the proverbial really hit the fan, we have a safety net, however my self-employment earnings are very meagre (below minimum wage) and my partner's job, despite being fairly skilled, pays very badly, but we live rurally so don't have many options. We cut each other's hair, I wear really old clothing and do many of the usual frugal things. I don't have TV, or subscriptions (other than the internet), I don't go to restaurants, or the cinema, and very rarely go on holiday. I don't even use a mobile phone.

I am lucky in that I do have land, and I grow a lot of food, have an inexpensive polytunnel, keep chickens and have fruit trees. If you worked out how much time growing vegetables takes, it's not quite worth it purely on an economic basis, however the quality and taste, and the exercise it gives, totally compensates in my opinion. If you have very little space, you can grow a lot in pots, vertically. You can even grow courgettes vertically. I eat quite a lot of rice and pasta and porridge oats, which are all inexpensive, and most dishes are made from scratch using ingredients from the garden (we don't eat meat). It's part of the reason we don't go to restaurants, not only because of the cost, but because it's very rare we find one that does better food than we have at home! When I need to supplement, I visit several supermarkets and pick and choose from each, with a good knowledge of prices... Winters are more tricky; I have things like salad, Jerusalem artichokes, potatoes, and produce like squashes that I've harvested in the late autumn and store for months.
I burn logs in the winter, and usually wrap up in multiple layers and tolerate the cold, although a couple of winters back I started getting chilblains in my feet for the first time in my life, and that wasn't very pleasant. A decent pair of socks and slippers seem to help.

In essence we're relatively asset rich, cash poor, which is pretty much like being poor but with a safety net, which certainly gives some peace of mind!

So true. And even those who get help with their rent struggle, because the maximum permitted under benefit rules is nowhere near the average rent.

In my part of the SE, the median rent for a 2-bed property is £1700 a month, but the max that can be paid in UC or housing benefit is £1200.

ETA: that's why I'm in favour of a massive programme of building social housing. Not only would the people living in them be better off, but the "benefit bill" would go down, too.

Blog is called Frugal Queen in France . I used to follow, abd enjoyed , this blog when they lived in Cornwall and were paying off a large debt.
They then had an inheritance, bought a holiday home in France and eventually moved there full time . They have two public sector pensions and an income from UTube . They are now just pretending to be poor abd have become smug and insufferable.

I think this is a great idea for you OP, you have a great turn of phrase and wit and observational skills. Of course this doesn't solve the larger problem of why so many people are having to live like this but for you it might be a more enjoyable way of making a few extra pounds than filling in bloody surveys.

Back in 2006 I was facing homelessness with two young children courtesy of their father becoming an alcoholic. I had no money and was in a permanent feeling of nausea and worry. If I could post my opinion of you without getting banned I would, but I don’t want to get banned so I will just ignore you after this. You know nothing.

It is very very tiring indeed, even with secure above average income, savings and no debt. Because I only have those things thanks to the never-ending frugal shit fest - constantly comparing prices, shopping around for a better deal, mending, making do, stretching out, paring down, cutting out, going without. Yes I am well aware that many more people are living with much less than I have, but bloody hell they also probably have less expenses to deal with! Surely that piece of population living on 2 dollars a day don't have to deal with ever rising costs of council tax, mortgage rates, water and energy bills, boiler repairs, fuel duty and god knows what the new budget will bring us next week. And to make it worse my favourite olive oil is going for 14 quid a bottle FFS - used to be £8.50. I am tired. I want new fluffy bath towels, but have to make do with refreshing my faded ones with pod of Dylon instead. All those years of studying and working hard and I can not afford a bloody towel set because that would throw off my budget for a month.

How is someone on the breadline supposed to pay the cost of emigration? The days of the £10 Pom are long gone. What a ridiculous suggestion !

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I eat like this too - Meat is too expensive and actually I see the food choices I am making as a silver lining - As a single person the idea of spending £4.00+ on a food item that is additive (meat) when I could cook the same dish with chick peas at 54p a can is a no brainer, and a lot healthier https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2024/oct/25/cooking-with-water-health-issues

I will, between 2 of us working 3 part time jobs, we earn approx £1800 a month and we get £150-£250 UC a month for us and our son, but for 2-3 months of the year we get £0 because I work in retail and get paid 4weekly not monthly so according to them I get paid twice in the 30 day assessment period and don't need UC. I have tried contesting this til i'm blue in the face, but it's the rules and that's that!
I honestly think they make the rules up as they go along, they never get back to you when you try to contact them urgently and you are made to constantly jump through hoops, it's a disgrace! At least when I was on tax credits I was getting £90 a week that covered the food shop.

Is that £1800 each or combined?