Hello Dear Reader,
I had a great time with Tracy Wilson on her programme, this morning. Thanks to everyone who sent emails and to those of you who called into the station. It was great to read out your ways of controlling your spending on Christmas. It was dreadful to hear the news that some families run up debts of £5000 over the Christmas holiday, I’m sure that must include a ski trip? Massive presents? I really hope people do not get into debt for Christmas and I accept that it is a difficult time for families with children, especially with pester power and the power of advertising. I’ve loved the comments that you’ve left for me and some of them really resonate. The advertisers would have you believe that Mum has to go to Iceland because you really need lots of party food. Marks and Spencers would have you believe that you need new clothes, new make up and lots of ready to order and collect food. Boots, and the ‘here come the girls’ campaign would have you believe that swathes of women are crowding round mirrors curling their eye lashes, straightening their hair and fake tanning their legs as they get ready to go to yet another Christmas party.
In truth, most of us just enjoy the time off work. I like to get out for a blustery beach walk or a hang onto my hat walk on the moors. Best of all, I like being snuggled up by the fire with my family.
I hope you enjoy the programme with Tracy Wilson where I am her guest. To Listen again, click HERE and move the slider to the last hour. The next time I’m with Tracy is Sunday 29th September when we will be talking about feeding a family nutritiously on a micro budget! We’ll be looking at food poverty in Cornwall where 20% of children often go without meals and parents will frequently go hungry to feed their children instead of them. I’ll be taking in food and samples of some staple recipes such as chick pea falafels, kidney bean and carrot burgers (Jack Monroe’s recipe), lentil/shepherdess pie and sweetcorn fritters along with other frugal recipes.
I’m also off to a volunteering project that I’ve been trying to ‘get into’ for weeks as I go off once a week to Cornwall One Parent Support to teach about living well frugally, budgeting, menu planning and making do and mending. I’m really excited about this and I’m meeting with some of the organisers of the charity to find out how I can help and what I can do. I’ll keep you all informed about this later.
I hope you enjoy the radio programme and let me know what you thought about it.
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxxxx
Looking forward to listen to you on the radio. Christmas really is lovely when you do it all cheaply as it brings it back to the real meaning of it all, rather than the over commercial/ have it all perfect for lots of money/ debt and stress.
Christmas dinner needs to be nothing more than a posh Sunday lunch, as it's all about spending time with loved ones and it really does no one any good getting into debt just to give expensive presents to keep up with the 'Jones'- after all, this teaches your children nothing except that they have two stressed parents after xmas working all the hours God sends to pay their over drafts back!
I love Christmas and budget for it, starting on January 1st. It's not a stressful time for me as it's all simple and planned.
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I love that you find time to do all of this. Hope the vertigo is keeping at bay.
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Volunteering will fill your heart with happiness, enjoy.
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Froogs, I cannot fathom someone spending that kind of money on Christmas. Although I do have a friend who was wondering whether he should perhaps lower his budget of $500 for gifts for his infant son (which I, of course, encouraged him to do)- I cannot imagine what an infant would do with $500 dollars worth of anything.
Our family has always focused mostly on our traditions which are either free or of very little cost. We love to decorate, but that is free as it is done with decorations we have had for years or received as gifts. We always go out to feed the local wildlife on Christmas Eve which is often kitchen scraps or a bag of birdseed is quite cheap here. We sing carols and attend services which are all quite free.
We do splurge on food, but our meat prices are different here. I was interested to read how your prices go up at Christmastime. We usually have fabulous sales on traditional meats - turkey can be had for pennies a pound and we often put a couple extra in the freezer for later.
Thank you for letting me ramble on. I am a long time reader who is only now beginning to comment (have no idea why I never did before!). I love your blog - thank you for sharing with us.
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Superb as usual on the Radio Froogs - I'm looking forward to making Christmas bits and bobs together! FMx
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Hi Froogs! Just started listening to the program and I just had to comment that you have such a lovely voice! ~Pru
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As always, Fab post. X
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Hello again Froogs! The radio program was absolutely brilliant. Christmas is now firmly in my mind and I need to hustle a bit to ensure it remains frugal and fabulous. 12 weeks is plenty of time to accomplish both.
Another comment, I am horrified at the level of children who go hungry in Cornwall. That should not be happening in any country!
Please keep us posted on your volunteering efforts. It sounds like a wonderful charity.
Pru
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Hi Froogs,
Could you tell me how I can hear the programme in Ireland - I'm a bit thick when it comes to all this interwebradiotechnydoobry stuff! All I know is BBC Player cannot be had for love nor money if you're not in the UK!
Kate
x
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Well done Froogs sharing your knowledge and talents with the less fortunate.
I cannot imagine spending that money at Christmas either - I like to keep it simple.
Just love your blog and comments.
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Click on the word here and then just press the button on screen move the slider to the last hour
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I have no intention of getting into debt this christmas - I have been saving all year and I know there's enough there for presents and food 🙂
Part of my new life is being debt free (apart from a small mortgage) for the first time in years. I have a budget and we will be sticking to it. Any leftover money each month will be saved for those rainy days when a bit extra is needed.
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Great broadcast, Froogs. I've only just finished listening as my broadband kept dropping out and would only play about 5 minutes at a time. Frustrating, but worth persisting to the end!
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Thanks for the pre-scary 'festive season' prompts to get myself together and not get sucked into the consumer merry-go-round having today discovered I have managed to pay off my credit card!. I can only do two paid days work due to health issues so spent some time off looking at edible gift made with love. Favourite things so far are Blackberry Vodka; Blackberry Vinegar, Chilli Vodka, Bloody Mary Salt, Spiced Apple Chutney, Cheese Biscuits - endless lovely recipes; Chilli oil. The main ingredients I have picked or grown…or will get on a mid-week day trip to France for a couple of quid. All very simple but I will have to ask around for bottles and jars…
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That's fantastic news that your going to be helping out with COPS so much on-line advice becomes irrelevant when it's US based or depends on having national chains to hand.
It's fantastic for them to have advice from someone who lives in the region that knows that public transport is the pit's and unless you understand menu planning life get's unsustainable pretty quick when you only have access to a small co-op/spar shop day to day. Liz and Tony are a fantastic couple that work tirelessly and have improved the lives of hundreds of children and there parents over the years, there is little sympathy for single parents at the best of times especially in today's society.
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