to think that some items/services are luxurious and you should not claim poverty whilst simultaneously watching sky and tapping around on the old broadband.

[QueenHerod]

I am getting peeved with hearing how awful their lives are now they have to cut back to eating smart price carrots in a tin etc meanwhile they are subscribed to things that I would not consider a necessity.

Like sky tv and broadband etc.

AIBU?

Hmmm - did you catch the GMTV news thing on, I think, Tuesday morning?
It was highlighting the fact that there are still thousands of children up and down the country on the poverty line
They interviewed this couple who were on this income level and the dad was saying that he often went to bed hungry.
After he said this, the camera panned around and there was a widescreen TV and a Sky+ box.
Now I confess my first reaction was if they were so poor they can't afford to eat, they ought to cancel the Sky+ subscription to start with. Then I thought, well GMTV could have picked loads of families also on the poverty line to interview who don't have Sky+ and a widescreen TV.
So then I thought it very was cynical on GMTV's part showing that particular couple knowing people would react they way I did intially.
The fuckers.
(GMTV that is not, the couple!)

Who are they that you speak of QeuunHerod?

YANBU about sky, but you ABVU about broadband.

dp lost his job last month.

We have sky. We are tied into a contract that would cost a ton to get out of. We have downgraded to the minimum requirement, but twould cost a lot to stop it all together so we still have it.

dp is a computer programmer so we really do need broadband so he can find a job. Tis tied in with phone line etc. and is the cheapest we can get.

We've always bought value products and grow a lot of our own veg. The chickens we are getting in a week or two will hopefully provide all our eggs as well as compost for the veggies.

so in my case, yes, YABU.

Each case is different and to say that we shouldn't have sky or broadband if we are skint is just silly.

I saw that Bouncingturtle, and thought the same.

Yes, yes but are any of you eating tinned carrots by smartprice in order to keep the broadband?? hmm, hmm, well are you?

I have no problem with people saying they are a bit skint this month etc but it's every blardy week they are moaning at me about it.

mutt not sure how relevent my incomings and outgoings are in all this. I am not pleading poverty.

If eating smartprice tinned carrots was the only way to keep my mumsnet...

I would of course!

(I'd probably feed the kids something a tad healthier though, but for me... yep!)

QueenHerod I've just had a brainwave.

As your not pleading poverty, you could buy them some nice organic carrots from Twatrose that way they get the best of both worlds

They are at mine for dinner more often than not anyway as they are family.

Obv they have to leave early in order to catch their fave programmes in hd as we don't have sky

They can spend their 'pennies' however they please but it would be good manners to spare me the 'I'm so hard done by' speech at every meal.

NO way is broadband a luxury. I save a fortune by shopping around on the internet (e.g. £13 off Tesco groceries this week). We also have a VOIP phone for cheaper calls and no line rental.

Sky is definitely a waste of gin money luxury though.

hate these judgey squawky threads a variation on "i know someone unemployed with a big TV.humph"

dont be so horrid herod.many people are really experiencing difficult times, and have consumer durables based on an expected income. not unexpected unemployment

are you feeling smug and unaffected by economic meltdown?

or do you just like bellyaching

I am pretty skint TBH but signed up for BB when I was a bit better off, total change in circumstances so am stuck in a contract but I'd be lost without it it actually kjeeps me sane I tells you LOL. I haveFreeview though so won't have SKY and don't intend to either. If I were really really skint though first thing to go would be TV because really you can watch your TV through BB too an dyou don't need to pay a TV licence which I do at the moment before I start a riot LOL. I think I'd be driven insane without MN.

I'll admit to being the BB part I started a thread the other day about being skint and how can I get out of cantracts.

Although I do have a blardy expensive BB for some reason. £20 a month tyhat's what I get for asking DP to arrange that eh? He went with the one that his well off mate has... need I say more PSML.

Well, it is rude to bang on and on about how skint you are so I understand why you are annoyed. My in-laws are always winging about money but I got my revenge last year (finally)

conversation went like this:

inlaws - oh dear, we won't be able to spend a lot on the kids this xmas (when the fuck have you ever? thinks me)

me - I'm not surprised, after a fortnight in the Caribbean and 3 weeks in Australia

That shut em the fuck up - say something like that to your rellies. Or you could say it in a more pleasant, jokey way

i would sell everything else in my house before i got rid of broadband..i mean, how else would the nice tesco man bring me my tinned carrots if i couldnt order online

ROFL at nametaken trust you to come out with a comment like that (I'd do the same)

Agree that many people get sky , bb, big tv in times of financial stability that isn't prevalent at the moment!
Harsh to judge without viewing the whole picture imo!

Oh yes Mutt swimming in my carrots I am. All that lovely random chemical juice which is in the tins has flooded me blardy kitchen, oh well will save water when I bath DS in it...

No no dear I use the bag of smart price carrots I'll have you know.

They are family as I said earlier Mutt. I love them dearly and am not being horrid to be a little bit pissed off that they moan about their situation, I feed them then they mosey on home to watch their (recently aquired)sky.
We have an income below 14,000 a year, they have no dc and do not manage to budget efficiently and so I help them out by sharing meals I make with them etc.
Their income is higher than ours but that makes no odds as they have less disposable income due to subscribing to all this bumf (gym is another one) and leave themselves short every month.