The Credit Crunch hasnt hit us yet BUT...

[bramble]

whereto start,
You don't have to apologise for stating your point of view.
We can all only do the best we can with whatever means are available to us.
I am sure things are more expensive in relation to where you are living.
Its quite expensive too living here in Ireland.
We can all only make the best of what we have got.

[BarleySugar]

I find if I'm in a cooking mood, I will make lots of stuff, chilli, curry, soup etc, then freeze it in meal size portions. I might spend most of the day cooking. That way it uses less fuel, and when there's less time to cook, or you just don't feel like it, then use the frozen meals. I also freeze leftovers which can be used up another time. I get very cross though if people put more than they can eat on their plate, because then it gets wasted.

[Snadger]

Thats why allotment societies now find themselves with huge waiting lists while a couple of years ago they couldn't get them let!

Self sufficiency, or part self sufficiency has a lot to recommend it!

[Alice]

Wheretostart, I wasn't having a go at you. I was talking about all of us. I don't think we're half grateful for what we have and what ever people have they always seem to want more. That's why the world is in the state it's in - bad debt - as proved by the crisis of the credit crunch. The economy can't function without people borrowing money. I don't know how we get out of that one. Maybe people are just going to have to settle for less.

[bubblewrap]

I can remember a time before credit cards & if you didn't have the cash you would have to take out a "hire purchase" agreement if you got behind with payments the item would be take back by the seller.
In the 60s there were credit restrictions.

[willowstar]

I agree with Alice. I feel like we are both working ourselves as much as we can, we buy second hand (partly because of price but partly because I just like having older things and keeping them going) and we are only just about OK ish by our UK standards though we don't own our own house etc...but I am so very aware that we live in palatial splendor compared to many people in the world. for the most part we have got it great in this country. people all over the world have to work hard for what for them must feel like not very much at the end of it. Just life I reckon. I don't exactly sing my gratitude every day, but most days I feel quietly happy that I live where i do and we are pretty much OK.

[Sanjo]

Like Barleysugar, I cook in batches. I will make 3 cakes and cook them all at the same time. I then freeze 2 of them for another day. It costs the same to cook 3 as 1.

On Sundays when preparing the spuds for roasting I will fill the pan with spuds, take out the part boiled ones and continue to boil the others until done. I then Mash (NOT creamed at this stage) them and freeze them in portons for 2 people. Not only does it eventually save time, but because they are quick to make a meal around I am not tempted to be lazy and put something more expensive on the table.
My grandchildren are always singing the praises of my spuds. I don't make them chips. I lightly oil a pan and fry my mash in fish finger shapes. They come out really crisp and golden.
The mash can be defrosted and placed on top of mince for shepherds pie or mixed with cheese for cheese and tatty pie. It is very versatile and having defrosted it you can add milk and butter to cream it.
I can tell with a pub/restaurant meal if they are serving up roasted spuds that have been sitting around. I always thought that doing potatoes like this mash must mean that they have that horrible tang. But really - they don't.

I have also taken to making a quick soup on Sundays.
When preparing the veg, today for instance it was broccoli, I took all the thinner stalks (OH will not look at them on his plate so I would normally have thrown them away!!) and a couple of the smallerheads. Put in a saucepan with chicken stock cube and garden onions and boil until tender. I do have one of those hand blenders so I smash it all up in the saucepan. (sieving it will also work.) I crumble a little stilton on the top - luverley!!!!
There are lots of little things that we can all do to help our finances, it's just a question of working out what they are.

[Snadger]

I can remember a time before credit cards & if you didn't have the cash you would have to take out a "hire purchase" agreement if you got behind with payments the item would be take back by the seller.
In the 60s there were credit restrictions.

I remember me Mother sending me for a pair of new shoes with a Provi ticket!

[Marthaclematis]

Here's a fun thing to do to save money. My oh and I occasionally do a 'stock check' of the freezer and the cupboards and work the weeks menus around what we've already got. It is surprising how many meals you can get out of what's already there. Our freezer had bags of home made pasta sauce and in the cupboards we had lots of dried pasta, the fridge had chorizo sausage. We also had mince and frozen fish fillets. In fact, here is the list as dh has just passed it to me: two x minestrone soup / two x coley fillets / fish curry / Thai onion soup / small packet of dried mushrooms / large side of salmon (bought and not used at Christmas) / smoked haddock fillett / veggie bolognaise / chicken breasts / veggie mince / two x aubergine and potato curry / two x frozen peas (shop bought) / green beans / sausages / pitta bread / breaded cod / lime leaves and curry leaves / two times chilli con carne / fish fingers (shop bought) / pasta sauce x 4 / kippers x 2 / ham shank / black bean soup / meat balls / linda mccartney pies x 4 / cod fillett / lardons.
We have made up some menus for next week using as much as that as we can. We will need to buy vegetables and fruit but really we could survive for quite a few days on all that. Why don't you go and do a stocktake and see how inventive you can be. You might be surprised at what's there.

[Winged one]

I am using a slowcooker for the first time ever and finding it great for cheaper cuts of meat, with lots of veggies in it. I am also starting to learn to love beans (and will eventually get to things like lentils and chickpeas, I am sure of it) to stretch meals.

Bulk cooking, if you have any freezer space, is really worth it. A large batch of spag bol is a bit more hassle than a 1 day pot, but saves hours in the long run, as well as taking less meat and more veggies and stretching further (I make a batch using 2kg of mince and a bunch of carrots, courgette, celery etc grated into it, and this makes about 6 dinners or even more, where a 500g mince batch would make a single dinner).

[SlugLobber]

I get very cross though if people put more than they can eat on their plate, because then it gets wasted.

I've got two friends like this, and they both think I'm nuts for keeping leftovers for the next day. I went to one friend's house for dinner the other evening and she put a hopelessly large portion of spag bol on my plate. If I'd known, I'd have taken a container with me!!
Hope everyone rides out the 'Crunch' ok. I think we can whinge a little bit.

[madmax]

I think we should all give up whinging and be truly grateful for what we have. Half the world has nothing and they work in a way we couldn't begin to think of.

Good point Alice - but I have lived in many parts of the world, and have witnessed some heart warming things as well as many heart wrenching sights. I feel most of us are grateful for what we have, but the establishment wants us to feel 'grateful'. Are the oil oligarchs and energy companies grateful for their profiteering? Are we grateful for their commercial greed?

Frankly, we are made to feel grateful for what we have. I disagree with this ethic. We are entitled to what we have. Purely because we have struggled, sacrificed and worked for it. I know there are those who have nothing and my heart goes out to them. But Shirls and I have had nothing too at times: Homeless, jobless and broke. At least we had each other!