Hello Dear Reader,
If you think you’ve got it tough then you are probably right. Food, fuel and utilities have spiralled in cost whilst workers have had below inflation pay increases, or year on year pay freezes or even pay cuts (DB had his public sector salary cut as the council ‘restructured’). Those of us with diminished salaries are the lucky ones as we still have jobs. Currently 2.5 million Brits of working age have no jobs. Brits are turning to debts to pay the rent or mortgage, pay for food and pay for fuel to get to work.
The days of good mortgage deals and cheap credit are over. Once upon a time, we could move our mortgages from one provider to the next for a better deal. Now, mortgages and low cost borrowing is scarce and if you have a mortgage deal at all, it’s probably the best one you’re going to get for a while. Brits are broke and spend £166 million a day on interest on personal debts. Some in the UK goes bankrupt every 5 minutes and every 17 minutes some one loses their home. Debt is not funny and it is eating some families whole! (Data from money.aol.co.uk/stats collected between Nov 2012 and Feb 2013)
So much debt is self inflicted madness and it certainly is not normal. Brits borrow more money than anyone else! We, as individuals, borrow more than our mainland European neighbours, more than Australians, more than Canadians and more than Americans. There is a massive nationwide cultural problem with debt and the recent figures are not new, they’ve been much the same as a percentage for the last ten years so we can’t suddenly blame the economic downturn. It’s part of the national psyche and culture. People borrow money straight from school and leave college with massive overdrafts from ‘partying’. People borrow money for cars and holidays and consider them essential. I’ve heard it. “I work hard and I deserve a holiday”. Although I don’t dispute how hard anyone works, I would question anyone running up debts for non-essentials. By all means, buy a Nissan Micra and look after it and keep it for ten years, but don’t finance a top of the range saloon because it will look good on the drive and impress your friends. Of course, take your self off for a camping holiday that you’ve saved for but don’t think it’s normal for you and your family to take a £5K holiday annually and pay it back on a credit card. As Brits, in comparison to the rest of the world……….our borrowing is not normal!
The result is a debt hangover that is going to hang around for a long time to come. Those debts people have are not going to go away unless those people who have them make fundamental changes. Most Brits do not have a set budget or plan for financial eventualities such as a new car, in fact, many of them wait for a financial hiccup to happen and deal with it when they get there. If anyone wants that financial hangover to go away then they have to take the pledge to never borrow again. If they want that hangover to never come back then they have to change their habits and save money each month for what they want. Even I have investigated car credit and then changed my mind and kept saving. Even I have looked at long haul winter holidays to escape the misery of winter fog and lack of light and reconciled myself to the fact that I will never be able to afford it.
You’ll probably wonder where this post is going tonight and now you are chewing on food for thought, I’ll get to the heart of the matter. If you are currently wrapped up in two jumpers, with one light on and you’ve had bean stew for dinner then applaud yourself. I’ve been on a course today and passed and wanted fish and chips as a reward but talked myself out of it by the time I got home and we saved £10 because of that. If you are not going on holiday this year because you are saving up for one next year, then pat yourself on the back. If you are currently stripping your finances to the bone to pay back debts then cart wheel across the lawn as you have changed and you are making a difference.
I’m sat typing this, on our second hand lap top, that we bought with cash from cash converters. It isn’t the latest or the fastest but it was paid for in full on the day we brought it home. I’m sat on our ‘new to us’ sofas and they are not the most fashionable colours or style but they are the best quality I could afford and I paid cash for them that I’d saved. They took me a year to save for them and it’s that mindset that makes them the most comfortable furniture I’ve ever had. I’m reclined on home made cushions, made from remnants of fabric that I bought in a jumble sale. I’m doing all this because I changed and didn’t want to be a British statistic any longer.
I’m happily in the unfashionable, boring, unadventurous, dry my knickers in front of the fire, bean stew eating and home crafting for a hobby club! I like it there! I like going without to save for what I need! I like wearing another jumper and I like not being on the hamster wheel of debt.
Now Dear Reader, this is where I challenge you. If you are in debt I want you to pledge what you are going to do to change. What are you going to do differently? What are you going to stop doing? I’m on radio Cornwall on Sunday morning and I would love to read out your comments and if you don’t want to leave them here, then you can comment anonymously to [email protected] (title the email - for Frugal Queen) Who is going to pledge to do something differently to help them on the road to debt freedom?
I really look forward to hearing from you.
I also would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who comments, writes to me and sends emails to Radio Cornwall. I really love hearing from you all.
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxxxxx
I don't know if I feel better or worse that someone is doing more debt than we Americans. Well not me- I have paid off 45K debt in the last 2 1/2 years! Just 40K on the mortgage and we are done! Yay! Oh and it is clean- out- the- frig night here. And that suits me just fine. Angela
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can you listen to radio Cornwall online? if so, what time? Aren't you like 6 hours ahead of us in the US on Eastern Time?
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We are gmt - I will put the listen again link up on my blog
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What am I doing to get out of debt? I am doing exactly what you have told me to! 1st day of each month I pay all my bills, put £220 aside for food for the month, 3 adults a cat and a dog, and we all eat well, no processed food in my house! I have a train season ticket for work, keep £40 for essentials and the rest has gone off clearing my debt. Since Xmas I have cleared my overdraft, paid off a store card plus credit card and am now saving for a flight to Thailand to go out to visit my daughter who is Teaching English in Bangkok. Two years ago I visited her and through the cost all on my credit card. Thank you froogs for getting me this far - I'm so glad I found your blog last Xmas. xxx ps what did I stop doing? basically stopped buying crap each month, new tops for work - make up etc. +
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I don't consider mortgage “debt” per se. It's a roof over your head so I don't believe it belongs in the debt category. As for the rest, I am astounded on the credit card offers we get — 8+ percent for a good credit rating — up to 22%. That is absurd!
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wow, that is great, Julie Lill!!!!! Ok, Froogs you need to come to the US and a spring in our step!! LOL
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wow. I never thought about it. Is there a “cultural” frame to the way we spend our money?? The frugal way of life that you share in your blog is the way I always lived: waiting 'till I have saved enough to buy something I really want and love, buy second hands clothes and car, pay attention to the food … and so on.
we 5 in the family are going to have wonderful holidays this year, with a trip to Highlands… but we had “home holidays” for the 4 past years.
We are happy like this -and no debt, no mortgage, and enough saved to face the future and be able to help our children if needed. It's not a so usual choice here in France: we have a lot of neighbours and friend who have to take it the hard way and change drastically their way of life because of economic crisis. I hope that my children will remember that one can be happy and have a good life with the frugal way, and that it will help them to deal with the actual -and probably future -economic crisis.
I'm happy to follow your blog and it always comfort the choices I've made a long time ago. Best regards
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Thank you Lee Ann! but it was actually reading Froogs blog last Xmas that made me re-examine my life. I went off the rails when my husband left me with 4 kids twenty years ago and lived in denial for a long time.Stupid me thought I could pay off all my debts with any compo or redundancy payment I would get from the Civil Service.Can't believe I was so stupid!!I still have days out every month but I pay cash for everything nowadays.
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There is a “cultural frame” to it, believe me - I was shocked at how credit is thrown at people here when I moved to GB. Credit is something that is hard to get and requires a chat to your bank where I grew up.
Regards, nic
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Hi, Froogs,
Wish I could add something positive, but with my husband made redundant for the second time in 2 years, at 58 years of age (and afrter applying for over 1,000 jobs) there seems little hope that he`ll get another job. Also his mother died 2 weeks ago - but that`s another story. After 6 months of living off our savings, and selling our possessions - things are going to get even tougher. We have no debt other than our mortgage, and just one elderly car (I sold mine to make a couple of mortgage payments) because we live 3 miles from a town, with only 1 bus an hour - there`s really not much else we can cut back on. The heating`s off - possibly forever - I only cook vegetarian, from scratch. We never eat out, holidays are a dream in the past - where do we go from here?
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Hi, Froogs,
Wish I could add something positive, but with a husband made redundant for the second time in 2 years, at age 58 (and after applying for over 1,000 jobs) there seems little hope that he`ll get another job. After 6 months of living on our savings and selling our possessions, things are only going to get tougher. We have no debts other than our mortage, we have 1 elderly car (I sold mine to make a couple of mortgage payments) because we live 3 miles from a town with only 1 bus an hour, we never eat out and holidays are something to look back on. The heating`s off - possibly forever - and I cook vegetarian from scratch. There seems no wiggle room. Where do we go from here?
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Hello lovvie - I can feel how hard it is for you both and the older unemployed find it so very hard. Where are you in the UK? How much is your house worth and how much is outstanding? Can you move to a one bed flat or the smallest accom. possible? If that's not poss - can you rent rooms out? look
http://www.spareroom.co.uk/Rent_A_Room
http://www.easyroommate.com/Rent_a_Room
http://www.fivenights.com
You say your husband can't work - do you work? Let me know where you are and I can give you some different advice - thanks xx
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Hi, sorry, didn`t mean to post twice - just wanted to leave out the bit about his mother dying!
The house is on the market - and has been for some time with no takers. I`ve just signed on for jobseekers, cos the zero-hour contract that I`m on as a carer hasn`t provided any hours since mid-May
Renting rooms - no, I`ve got a problem with strangers in the house.
Oh, and I live in the North West.
It`s ok, it`ll either work out or it won`t - and I`ve always been good at making every penny stretch till it squeaks!!
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My husband drives a 2008 Toyota RAV-4. I drive a 1998 one. We love them. We plan to drive them as long as possible, and Toyotas are the best cars in our opinion with almost never a problem, unlike our American made autos. We think of cars as transportation, not as status symbols. So we aren't cool, and we like it that way. The best looking car is a Paid-For car!
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Everyone has talents and abilities. Can your husband do online business of some kind? Can he mow lawns, or cut and sell firewood? Do either of you know how to do something that you could teach in community school classes? Can you open a shop on Ebay and resell thrift items? Can you sell at flea markets? It doesnt sound like much, but today folks live on multiple streams of income. Can you write? Can you sing or play music by the subway? Think outside the box. I know that if you pray and open your mind to new ideas that God will help you. You and your husband must work as a team to win. Hugs!
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Hi Froogs,
I really love reading your blog and have found it very helpful in so many ways. Your blog on Wednesday mentioned that your next blog would be focusing on the kitchen and frugal food. I don't know if there has been a problem with my computer but I seem to be missing the Thursday blog. Would it be possible for you to post it again as I love getting fresh ideas for meals and dealing with the kitchen in general. Thanks xx lojo
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Hi Linda - good advice and thanks for it - passionforvintage - xxxx where more or less, exactly are you? near gateshead>? near tyneside? if you are both unemployed then sign up with an agency as long as they have work! the benefits system isn't fit for purpose as it doesn't allow people to do a few days work or a couple of month of a week without it completely mucking up an application. Have you applied for benefits through the job centre to cover your mortgage interest payments, have you applied through the job centre for benefits to cover your council tax? No one likes strangers in our houses but when you are up to your neck in shit you can either shovel it or stand it in and neither are pleasant! How long has the house been on the market - I would have the estate agent gently by the throat by now demanding what I needed to do to sell it! Do you have a garage you can rent out for £15 a week? It will keep fuel in the car or pay for food. Lodgers, especially builders are great if you can rent a room to them sun/Mon/tue/Wed/thursday night and you don't have to do anything for them other than change the sheets and clean the room on the weekend. They like to share if you have a twin room and they usually have the room for £30 a night - that's £150 a week which is what you could earn for care work. They leave the house for 12 hours a day and get back exhausted and sleep. As neither of you have work, think like a teenager - any crappy job of 5 hours here, or two days there, or a sleep in night shift here or there will do. I'm really surprised that a care agency can't get you work on sleep ins or nights as no one wants to do it. It might seem daft but there is always cleaning work and printing your own adverts from your pc and putting them through doors or wealthier areas can get you a few days work. The same for your husband for gardening with a leaflet drop around a more affluent area. If I were in your position I would be leafleting the holiday cottages in looe, polperro, wadebridge, padstow and leafleting the hotels. Most of the hotels and agencies here have no English speaking Poles or Latvians as they are prepared to shovel shit any where. I've been in your position and have shovelled the same shit xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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I've got plenty to write on that and will devote all next week to frugal food and meal planning and shopping. Never fear! xxx thanks for your comment xxx
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Hello Froogs, I've been an avid follower of your blog for a long time, but have always been a bit shy about saying hello. As you've pointed out before, advertising and marketing conditions us into feeling like we have to get into debt in order to 'keep up with the Jonesus'. The lack of financial education in schools doesn't help. You call yourself boring but to me you're really quite different from a lot of people and in that way you're unique. The financial crisis that the UK has experienced is slowly turning a lot of people into thrifty, frugal folk and I think that that is a brilliant, fantastic thing. I live in Bristol and a lot of my pals make do with what they got, they create beautiful homes with stuff they've made with their own hands and they wear second hand clothes from clothes swaps and they still look amazing. I hope this tidal wave continues and that when the economy recovers people don't rush out and grab more credit just because they can, Sam xx
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Hello there - just had a mooch around your lovely blog xxx I have a bone to pick about the financial education in schools bit and have written about it at length. They are taught it - maths. What families need to teach to their children is to combat society and not follow it like a sheep - which is hard. I too really hope this tidal wave continues too - Dearly Beloved is from Bristol! Lovely place xxxx
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I was in Lidl half an hour ago. I went in for milk, oats, digestive biscuits and multivitamin and came o it with exactly that - nothing else!
The people in front of me in the queue spent €187…€187!!! and their trolley was mostly full of cr*p. I saw no toiletries, cleaning stuff, loo rolls or even booze so come on I mean €187. That is ludicrous!
Just thought I'd mention it 😉
K
x
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know what you mean about Db's public sector salary, we havn't seen a wage rise for 4 years and after restrucure our salary has been put back to what we earned in 2009..its been hard. Still we have an income so I am learning to be grateful for that. Some people may wonder why I had a four children but in previous years things weren't as bad, we had two holidays a year then and luxuries such as haircuts and new clothes. Now every penny is counted. I do feel upset that I can no longer take them out of school for a small weekend break in the uk, we never took them out for 2 weeks in the sun.
Holidays are now going to be the privilage of the richer families. They will be dicating to us what we can eat next.
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I was in Lidl half an hour ago (spent all of €2.93) the couple in front of me sept €187…€187 on what looked like mostly cr*p! I saw no cleaning stuff, loo rolls, toiletries or even booze which might have explained it but come on €187!!!
Just thought I'd mention it 😉
K
x
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Thanks for visiting Froogs, I am honoured! Yes I guess children are taught maths aren't they, I have drummed it into my daughter AVOID DEBT at all costs but it's only from my own experience of struggling. I didn't know DB was from Bristol! Yes it's a nice place to live and what's great is that people really don't care about whether you have a car, how big the car is, what you are wearing etc etc. In fact if you say you found an outfit from a car boot sale, “round these ere parts”, people look at you with great admiration in their eyes! I knew from your blog that you had worked in Bath before, my fella is from Bath. Hope you have a lovely weekend, take care Sam xx
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I'm not European, but I think the practice should be global, thanks! every time I read, I admire you, thank you for helping us with the wise counsel and help us think differently, you are part of my story, I tell you I made a wage increase, any savings will go because I want to buy a machine sewing with cash, I have learned to live frugally, and practiced that word in my life makes me very happy.! A Hug
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I looked at your blog and really enjoyed it, I will be a regular visitor from now on. Thank you.
Pam in TX
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Thanks Pam that's so kind of you, I will check our your blogger profile too 🙂 Sam xx
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I am cutting out the extras. I am not buying any more books for the foreseeable future. I am sticking to the local library. It might not sound like much of a saving but believe me I was buying a lot of books! I cut right back and wasn't going out at all, so I think that's why I started buying books. The thing is I've been buying so many books that I might as well have gone out. So I'm cutting out the books and still not going out and I will put the money toward my credit card. It will be paid off very quickly. I owe hundreds not thousands and I mostly spent that on books! Bizarre. What was I thinking?
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Hi Froogs! As always a wonderful post. This isn't specifically on topic but I was thinking about your radio show. One thing that I really wish everyone would understand is that sooner or later you have to bite the bullet and face up to the hard stuff. It might be an illness, it might be a layoff or a salary cut, or it might be something wonderful like a new baby or a new house (with all of the wonderful maintenance). Life is a very long puzzle with lots of challenges. It is far better to start today and just do something. By doing one thing it is easier to do another and then another. It doesn't even matter if you are debt-free. In fact it is easier if you don't “need” to be more frugal/live a simpler life. Start by looking at your life and considering what you really value. Then consider doing something simple like not wasting something, which helps the environment (and saves money!). Just start with something.
I feel for those who are at the end of their rope. I am so thankful that me and my family and friends are ok. So for those who are doing ok, bite the bullet now and cut back a little so that you will hopefully always remain far from the cliff.
Thanks for being an inspiration,
Pru
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I don't use a heater even through the winter. Granted I live in Queensland, Australia which is sub tropical but nevertheless the temperatures do drop in the winter. All the folk I know use “nanna blankets”. These are often hand knitted, or crocheted, and you keep them on the sofa and as the evening draws in you put them over your knees or round your shoulders. A different one for each family member. It's nice and snuggly sitting in front of the tele under your “nanna blanket”.
To warm the bed in the winter I fill my hot water bottle. Nice and snuggly too, and probably a bit old fashioned, but it works for me.
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