The cost of living

Just my opinion but yes bills may have risen, but food wise if you shop around you can eat comfortably. I feel people are drawn into the more expensive it is the better it is, which isn't always the case. If you budget better rather than sticking to your routine you can make huge savings.

 

You can eat very nutritionally dense meals for only a couple of pounds per head, a lot of the poorest in society don't have the knowledge or even patience to spend the time cooking a meal, sometimes kids get used to high sugar and salt foods and end up preferring them to something more muted yet nutritious like a plate of veggies and meat. It ends up being a bit of a cycle.

I think food prices were very low for a long time and now they're more expensive it seems unfair, when I have a surplus of eggs I put them out for sale at £1.50 for half a dozen. Truth is they're worth an awful lot more than that, but I doubt they'd be bought if I put them higher.

 

How big is your family Becs?

 

When I first started to get cider in it was 99p a can five years ago now it’s £1.35

£1.30 for a litre bottle now £3

£3 for a 2.5 litre bottle now £6

 

I do everything the same as you mate. Virtually buy no veg or fruit, the house came with a orchard that has 50 year old trees in of every variety, I also produce all my own compost just like Monty does
This year I have grown these new to me dark blue potatoes, they are ready now when I get home from our lads.

 

Just two of us usually but three for tea last night.

We didn't eat it all! I get the big packs, split it up and freeze the rest.

 

The only thing I don’t grow are peas, they grow well but for the effort and amount of space they take up they aren’t worth it, get mine from ALDI buy 6 bags at a time and stick them in the freezer.
Also it’s coming up to apple crushing time, I take the apples down to the garden centre and end up with gallons of apple juice.
I freeze it and end up giving loads of it away, still have about 7 bags left from last harvest.

 

Always had our own chickens but don’t now,
We go away quite a bit and they tie you down.
I envy you mate nothing more pleasurable than collecting your own eggs and having a natter with your hens.

 

When my son was younger, he wanted to keep a pet cow in our back garden. He was set on the idea of taking his bowl out on a morning and squeezing fresh milk onto his cereal

 

More power to you mate..

I am afraid I can't stand gardening, I like the lawn but it's a pain to cut it so regularly.

We do have an apple tree, which reminds me, after the storm yesterday, I need to go out and harvest/pick them.

 

Food shopping is mad nowadays.

I’m useless at shopping and often just ‘buy on the day’ if you want a decent steak dinner as an example it’ll cost you about 70% of a restaurant cost to eat at home, how can low income families with kids do that?

Healthy, good quality food costs are crazy, they can sugar tax all they like but what they really are doing is forcing folk to frozen food etc which is fine once or twice a week but if you live on that you’ll feel grotty and low energy real quick.

Even pasta and decent cooking oil has gone up about 300% in a couple years.

We don’t have money worries, but I can see how folk struggle it’s insanity. Fuel costs are actually reasonable here if you see cost in Europe nowadays, but I’ve a pal they’ve got a young kid and both have good jobs, like waaay above national average wage. The cost of childcare and dog care for them to work is eye watering it’s like a second mortgage.

Factor in mental energy costs, cost of Sky and decent broadband, car insurance. They say national average wage is around 32k and I don’t see how you can live on that with a bairn or 2 and pets.

There’s got to be a better way to support these people. We all know what it is. If someone wants voted in to run this country, just tell us you’re gonna tax the super rich appropriately.

There’s enough money in this country for it to pay for itself.

Oh. And ****ing legalise and tax weed. ****ing hell people are gonna get it anyway that alone would fix the NHS.

 

I am in a quandry, reading about hens and cows, I always wanted a small holding, but that is so tying, my dog is on her last legs, I would love another one, but once again cant do holidays as easy, and vets take the piss.

 

Couldn’t not have a dog. Have my best conversations with him

Have a break in between though, you have to grieve them like a human. Had a year between last 2.

 

It may only be a rumour but, apparently
F agash is going to introduce a £1,000 dog licence. Its estimated that there are 13,500,000 dogs in the UK. That licence fee will raise £13.5 trillion, towards the deficit.

 

Vets, there’s another story I could write a book on.

 

When they had dog licences in the past, my Dad went to the Post Office to buy one. The lady filling the form in said "and what's the name?" so he said Snoopy. Then she said "and your address Mr Snoopy?" He had to stop her and explain Snoopy was the dogs name and not his

 

I have a sad but good story about vets. I walk my dogs on the cycle path at Ryhope around 5 in the morning. I had 3 dogs, one was supposed to be a lurcher, more of a whippet, walking them one morning and he was off, fox deer or rabbit, I dont know. Whistled for him, he didnt come back, so took the other 2 home, gave them breakfast and went out again looking for him. Nothing. Got back home again and noticed a missed call on my phone, called it back, someone had picked him up from the road as he had been hit by a car, the **** hadnt stopped, the lad behind him had and dropped him at a vets in Gateshead. I rang the vets and he explained his injuries, broken legs, ribs and internal injuries, I told him to let him go. Drove up there to see him, looked like he was asleep, makes me cry now. I took his collar off and asked where do I pay. He said it costs nothing, I put him down as a stray, he had my name and telephone number on the disc, I had called him and we agreed to let him go, some dust in my eyes here, poor little Niall.

 

I hope they put that out before the election. Good luck with that one. Can’t pay won’t pay.

 

Absolute joke isn’t it. I saw one the other week and I had two things for them to look at. They said I’d have to book another appointment for the second at 60 quid a look. I have a new vet.

 

Nice story mate, not all badduns.