All this talk of "cutting back" - we've been living like this for years........

[ssd]

does everyone else have a fabulous time out spending and buying food in M&S then?

since ds1 was born, we've been cutting back continuosly, don't think we've got much left to cut back on now

Snap. I think it's hit 'middle England' now and the journos are spotting it.

maybe thats it

we're in scotland and although a lot of friends have comfortable lives, we've been struggling on less than 17k for years

i think families have always struggled. its the singles or the couoples on two incomes perhaps who are now having t o cut back

ditto ssd

Ditto ssd here also. I've juet been posting on another thread; dh is being made redundant, we've been living frugally for what seems like forever and now it will get worse....

Yep, same here. We live from month to month and even before having DD we couldn't afford to eat out, go on holiday etc. We've never had that carefree financial existence when we could buy whatever we wanted, or shop in M&S.

I hate all these "I went to Aldi and SURVIVED" articles in the Sunday papers. Some people don't have a choice where they shop and have always had to eschew the fancy stuff, ie me!

It's insulting.

its is insulting I agree

Journos like us to think that most of us should be able to shop in the top end of the high st regularly and we go to Aldi, MK One and Costcutters only when we've overdone it with the foreign hols. I think it's helped to contribute to the debt problem- lots of people think that if they don't shop in M&S, John Lewis and LK Bennet then they're losers, because the media encourage it.

As a foreigner, I have never understand such a foolishly elitist segment of society who seemed to revel in getting ripped off by brand labelling. In other places, scoring a bargain is a point of pride - it shows cleverness that you weren't taken for a mug.

Paying more for no reason is rather silly, if you ask me.

check out the article in Red magazine August edition on the financial crisis. It goes on about how the writer spends her money buying four pairs of sandals 'cos she can't decide on the colour, goes to NY for shopping and spends on taxis and take aways. She then descibes the spending of her friends who just seem to live in cliche world of spend spend spend.

I thought when reading this - is this how people live their lives? - if so it would be easy to solve debt and money probs - just buy one pair of shoes.....

i got a nice pair of trainers in Primark for £2.

lots of sweatshirts and tshirts that the kids are going to have fun painting and putting handprints on with fabric paints.

woolie's has cold water dyes on sale. perfect for tye-dying fun with the kids.

Thanks for the great idea EPS - loads of fun for the summer hols - ( I used to love tye dying!)

good presents for the grandparents, too, daff, from the kids.

mine get the paint out and draw/paint on plain brown paper. we save this, and we use it to wrap presents from them to grandparents, aunts, cousins, teachers.