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You know you're truly skint when...

999 replies

ratflavouredjelly · 11/05/2012 13:46

I've decided to humour myself and start this thread laughs hysterically. Anyone care to join me with their stories. Maybe we can out skint each other...

So, you know you're truly skint when:
Shopping in charity shops are no longer ironic.
The middle of the month arrives and you panic about feeding the family.
You can not afford the petrol to work.
You're growing your own veg but cannot stretch to compost to enrich the soil.
DS and DD's shoes are too tight (something you never thought you would allow to happen)
Your bra is too tight, buying a new one is out of the question, so you just 'get used' to the pain.
Yadda harumph harumph

OP posts:
DairyNips · 18/05/2012 09:47

When you dread may because there's 5 family birthdays.

When you're already worrying about Christmas.

When you sort out your clothes and take them to 'cash for clothes' to pay for your ds's first school photos.

When you're pregnant but have spent the whole pregnancy wearing the same two pairs of jogging bottoms bought for £4 a pair in a size bigger than usual as you can afford maternity clothesBlushl

When you have one pair of fake crocks all summer and one pair of boots for winter.

When you get excited that payday falls on a weekend so you'll get paid 2 days early.

When you count how many slices of bread are left till payday.

When you can't go to your nieces birthday down south cause you can't afford the petrolSad

When you keep Tesco vouchers to buy birthday presents.

When you ask for money for your birthday just so you can afford some clothes for yourself.

When you get your hair cut twice a year cause that's all you can afford.

When you get a repair bill of £300 for the car and consider selling it.

When you get the children's feet measured at Clarks then buy them 2nd hand Clarks from eBay instead of new ones.

When you know the price of everything when going food shopping and notice any little changes.

When you sell presents on eBay and feel really guilty about it.

When you sell your wedding dress just to afford a decent birthday present for your husband.

When you use half the recommended amount of washing liquid to make it go further.

JugglingWithTangentialOranges · 18/05/2012 09:49

Oh lardy - that sounds such a long walk Sad Is there no way you could pay them later - my DCs school is quite good about late payments ?

sparetime Nothing wrong with being happy about getting a pencil case for your birthday. My DD, bless her, asked for some seeds for her birthday present
(she's really into gardening ATM)

Having children that appreciate simple gifts is great ! I try to remember that we all have so much compared to people living in much poorer parts of the world. But I know that's easy for me to say when we're not having it as hard as some here.

JugglingWithTangentialOranges · 18/05/2012 09:52

One year I found about 30 dolls dressed in national costume (someone's collection from a magazine series) in our local charity shop which made a fab present for DDs birthday.

Perhaps I should have saved them and given her a couple each year Grin

Badvoc · 18/05/2012 09:57

One thing I have noticed is that kids tend to play with the stocking fillers you buy last minute (usually with tesco vouchers/nectar points whatever) and the expensive gift you spent ages saving for is left in the corner! My 2 ds's do this all the time! Fave gift of ds1 last year? An RM helicopter costing £12 bought with vouchers (ps3 my family clubbed together to buy him was unused til March!!) Ds2s fave gift was an octonaut toy bought with tesco vouchers...he has never even looked at the (half price) VTEch smile console I got him!

It is making me feel better about this xmas actually as I know that I can get them lots of little things/stocking fillers and they will be happy Smile

Ds1 also wants to have a "victorian xmas" this year Hmm I draw the line at eating tripe! We will make decs and some food. Will be fun Smile

So very sorry for everyone. No one should have to live like this in a 1st world country in the 21st century Angry

lardylump · 18/05/2012 10:00

i dont want the school to know how bad things actually are!

we dont qualify for any benefits at all, because my husband earns a decent wage, but becuase of all the debts we cant manage. If he didnt have the debts we could live comfrortably on what he brings in. we are just treading water with the debts, [paying off the min] and some months we cant do that. we are behind on the mortgage, the car only leaves the path to take DH to work or to see PIL who are ill and infirm and who need much more help than we can give them becuase we cant afford the petrol to get over there.

But dont worry.... 'this time next year, rodney, we'll be millionaires'

stressedHEmum · 18/05/2012 10:01

You can knit little dolls from odds and ends of wool, make jigsaws by sticking printed out colouring pages onto card , getting kids colour them in and then cutting them up - good for little kids.

it is good to have children who are content with what they have and who appreciate simple things. It's also a good life lesson, in the long run.

JugglingWithTangentialOranges · 18/05/2012 10:08

LOL at drawing the line at eating tripe Badvoc Grin

Talking of lines we like to hang a string of cardboard robins along the stairs in the hall - apparently that's a Victorian tradition. I'm sure you could have fun making something like that Smile

The Beatrix Potter DVDs are also good for an insight into Victorian Christmases.
We also like to watch "A Christmas carol" which is often on telly over Christmas - for the story of Scrooge and the classic Victorian Christmas story with Tiny Tim's Christmas dinner etc.

Retro is a good way to go I'm sure !

revolutionconfirmed · 18/05/2012 10:13

We try to make our own decorations too we have a robin garland made from red ribbon and coloured card, metallic lanterns, popcorn tinsel, homemade truffles wrapped in foil as baubles etc. We buy a few little bits in Wilkos if DD1 spots something but it's not all store bought. We make our own magic reindeer oats too.

I think I'll need to get crafty. The cakes sound like something she'll definitely like as do the coupons (she'll want one every Saturday while the X Factor is on!)

Badvoc · 18/05/2012 10:17

I am lucky really - ds1 isnt into the expensive gadgets and things his peers are into - so he is happy with some dvds, books, etc. My mother however, seems to think every boy should have the latesst games consoles each year -like my nephews whose father earns crazy money!...sigh. I try to tell her, but she wont listen. She was a bit put out the other day when I told her that the dc dont really play with them much Smile

Have to say I am dreading getting new school uniforms etc...the dc are growing at a ridiculous rate!

Badvoc · 18/05/2012 10:18

We made Marchpane (marzipan) at xmas last year like the tudors did ...we made a boars head! PILs ate the lot! Smile

JugglingWithTangentialOranges · 18/05/2012 10:20

Robin garland - collect all your robin cards one year and cut out the robins to make a robin garland for the next year ?

SummerRain · 18/05/2012 10:26

You start eating like a teenager again (exist on cereal and koka noodles) so that the kids can afford to eat proper food

You children are running out of clothes drastically.... dd is wearing some size 2-3 clothes still (she's 7, but really skinny so can still fit them) and ds1 has one pair of shoes, which have a hole in them.

You panic when you realise the sports event that you brought the kids to charges 2 euros a child as you don't think you have enough money on you to pay for both of them

You need to take money from you child's piggy bank to buy coal as you have no cash and the heating oil has run out and it's freezing

Your rent hasn't been paid in months

DP is starting a business but after years of being on the dole we didn't exactly have any surplus cash to tide us over til things got going so skint doesn't quite cover it atm Sad

JugglingWithTangentialOranges · 18/05/2012 10:26

You can't afford a proper lump of cheese but only ten cheese slices for a pound
(one slice each melted on top of pasta for supper)

Rowood · 18/05/2012 10:30

Tell my children to hide when the window cleaner payment man comes- and go mad when one of them answers the door Blush

JugglingWithTangentialOranges · 18/05/2012 10:30

Oh, and you're walking around not being able to see properly as you can't afford new glasses (how did I forget that one ?!)

Rowood · 18/05/2012 10:33

Oh and mending the arms on my broken glasses by buying a dirt cheap pair and having to file the plastic so the screw holes meet with a foot file. Grin

SummerRain · 18/05/2012 10:41

Forgot the worst one in some ways....

You spend two months changing wet pooey pants every few minutes as despite ds2 not getting potty training at all you can't afford nappies so have to put him in pants Blush

I also have the sneaking suspicion my mechanic is doing me massively under-priced work as he knows I'm screwed for cash. Thank god though as his kindness is the only thing keeping my 11 year old knackered lump of scrap metal on the road (although the engine light is permanently on) and we live 5 miles from town and the kids have appointments in towns 20/30 miles away regularly.

argghh · 18/05/2012 10:43

You were your only pair of supermarket jeans until they literally fall apart then have to wait until the beginning of the month to splash out a new pair of supermarket jeans

On very bad days you only eat porridge.

You cant afford the petrol to go to a hospital appt.

You sell anything you can - even your oldest sons birthday vouchers that he had forgotten about

moomoo1967 · 18/05/2012 10:47

I have four huge bags of DD's old clothes ranging from age 0-12 years. I don't drive so at present they are just sat in my bedroom, cluttering it up. If anyone could find a use for any of the clothes you are welcome to them ? You would save me several walking trips to the charity shops with a carrier bag in each hand, it would prob take me about 20 trips.
PM me if you are interested, they really are too many to list. Alot of them are Next, Gap and a few are Matalan or Primark

JugglingWithTangentialOranges · 18/05/2012 10:48

Glad you have a friendly mechanic SummerRain

My DSs karate teacher said he could stay on in lessons for free (after he got to black belt) I wonder if it's also because he suspects we're skint and didn't want DS to have to stop going. It's great when people are kind. We get nearly all the DCs clothes as hand me downs from kind friends and family, and always have done. Only buy them underwear really - especially socks as I'm always loosing them Blush

akaemmafrost · 18/05/2012 10:52

This thread has made me cry Sad. I've been there but I was on my own with no kids to worry about so it wasn't anywhere near as bad.

TwllBach · 18/05/2012 14:43

I've just has a little cry at some of the kind things that people are doing for others on this thread. I cry at everything though Grin

TwllBach · 18/05/2012 14:49

Also -

You know you're skint when your contribution to a thread about making MNers lives easier is "learn to say no and stop trying to please others" or something similar. Everyone else posts about Roombas and outsourcing the ironing Blush

Badvoc · 18/05/2012 14:50

Sigh.

Just had the letter from school about the jubilee celebrations....the children have all decided what they want to do...they will be waering "posh" clothes. (ds1 has no posh clothes) and they want to make crowns and there will be a competition.

Oh buggery bugger.

To add insult to injury I am a ruddy rebuplican!!! Grin

Any tips on how to make a crown gratefull accepted!

brighthair · 18/05/2012 14:51

If anyone wants some bras I have 2 or 3 in a 32H (ish)
They are labelled as 32J but are so not that size!! Just pm me