Hello Dear Reader,
Like many people, I sat down last night and watched ‘Famous, rich and hungry’. The first of a two part documentary about poverty in the UK. Like so many people, I wept with disgust that thousands upon thousands of people in my own country are cold, hungry, unwashed and living in misery. There are so many reasons why people end up on benefits, why the benefit system of payments are flawed and why the cost of living is just beyond the reach of anyone not fit enough or lucky enough to have a job.
The reality brought on by this incredibly cold winter is that thousands of families suffered poor health due to malnutrition and through being constantly cold. On paper, families on benefits had just enough to live on…..only just. Where families and individuals were in dire straits primarily due to debt. Doorstep loans and pay day loans are legally allowed to charge 1800% APR. The shysters at companies who sell domestic goods to families who have bad credit legally charge 68% APR and over charge for goods in the first place. Energy companies are legally allowed to charge the highest rate for pre-paid meters which are always installed for people who already have debt to energy companies and are already choosing between eating and heating.
Families need to know how to be financially astute! The rich work their money and turn a penny into a fiver whilst the poorest turn a fiver into a debt of hundreds that they are unlikely to pay off. Savvy mums fill their shopping trolleys with supermarket value brands and turn them into simple but nutritious homemade food.
We Dear Reader, hold the answers.
We are the thrifty and frugal people. We get by and live well on as little as possible. We know to stock pile when times are good to get us through when times are bad. We know to buy bags of logs and coal all summer long when prices are good. We shop for birthdays and Christmas all the year round and we put a few quid (and I know for some that it’s hard to do that but you still do) away on every pay day as we know we have to save for what we need. The thrifty people turn their garden to vegetables and grow their own. The frugal folk make their own clothes, their curtains and quilts. Thrifty people buy their clothes from carboot sales, off ebay and from charity shops and we alter them to suit us. Thrifty people learn to knit and keep their children warm with homemade clothes.
The days of plenty are over. Food is never going to be cheap again! We have the answers and have to share them. We have to teach our friends, our families, our children how to stretch every pound. We need to share our cooking skills, our thrifting skills, our gardening skills and our craft skills. We are the modern day survivors! We need to share our skills.
Anyone can become unemployed. I don’t want to demonise the poor, the government are doing that all by themselves. What I want is for everyone to safeguard as best they can against the poverty we may all face one day. We already know we will have tiny pensions and may never get a state pension when we reach ‘retirement’ which also may not exist when we get there. We know that gas and electric are currently unaffordable for some pensioners and we may well be in that situation.
Everyone needs to get used to living under their means so they can save for the future which most of us may not be able to afford! Everytime you think of eating out, stop and put the money into a savings account or use it to pay off some more of the mortgage capital. Every time you want some paid for entertainment or new clothes, stop and put the money away and make do with what you have.
Menu plan, stock take, batch cook, buy a few extras when you have some spare money. Learn a new skills, dig up part of your garden and think of what you can plant there. When you walk in the woods, pick up kindling sticks off the path and make it a new pastime. Learn a crafting skill of you tube and upcycle something in your home to give it a new lease of life.
As I said, I don’t want to demonise the poor but the savvy, thrifty, creative eschew debt and live on less. There are folk with the tiniest incomes who stay warm as they know how to trap heat and wrap up. Plenty of people on benefits eat healthily as they know how to cook and can create a lentil stew or pasta bake. There are many pensioners feeding themselves, their families and their friends really well as they know how to grow veg all year round. I watched some young men, who looked like students, fishing off Plymouth Hoe and were landing mackerel and I saw one teach the other how to dispatch it and gut it. It was literally a situation of ‘teach a man to fish’. I over heard the same man telling the other how to sprinkle it wish salt and pepper and dust with flour and then fry it. He was sharing his skill. We all need to do this.
How can you do this? Make a film with your mobile phone of : pie making, hemming a skirt, casting on knitting, chopping kindling, cleaning windows with newspapers and upload it to Vimeo, Facebook orYou tube. If you don’t have a blog then email the link to me and I will put the tutorials up on here! If there’s something you want to learn, then feel free to leave a comment and I will make a film or find one for you. Then, we need to keep sharing this! Tweet what you see, link it to your Facebook page and share with your friends.
As I’m on my soapbox, enjoy this recipe and then share it. It’s nothing fancy, you wouldn’t want it in a restaurant but you would want it to fill your children’s bellies and you would know you’ve fed them something nutritious and tasty.
Quinoa and Roasted Vegetables. (I can’t eat wheat but you could use Cous Cous instead)
Any veg you can roast - Courgette, tomatoes, beetroot and peppers in the summer. I used carrots butternut squash, mushrooms and red onions as that’s what I had. I cooked one cup of quinoa in three cups of vegetable stock. I always rinse, rinse, rinse and rinse the quinoa before I cook it. I part cook the veggie in boiling water first so they roast quickly as the oven is expensive to run (I have two ovens, I just use the small one) . Quinoa is really nutritious and also full of protein. Share meat free recipes so more people get some inspiration and ideas of what to eat and how to cook on a tiny budget.
I made a dressing to toss the veggie and quinoa in. A big squirt of runny honey, soy sauce, garlic salt and ginger (I had a job lot of sushi ginger from Approved Food and we’re working through it) some oil and vinegar in equal amount. It gave the dressing an oriental flavour.
Stir the dressing through the quinoa (or cous cous) and veggies and serve, hot, warm or cold. We’ll have some for supper tonight and some for lunch tomorrow.
Where ever or how ever you use social media, please promote thrifty living blogs. Please promote debt charities such as Christians Against Poverty and Step Change. Please promote the Money Advice service so people can get help with budgeting and money issues. Please promote and support community activities in your areas. If there’s a jumble sale, a car boot sale or you know of a charity shop, then tweet it, blog it and put it on Facebok. When you send a birthday card, send a thrifty recipe. If you see food reductions locally and might not want to benefit from it, snap chat, Facebook and tweet so others can. If you know of jobs advertised then promote those vacancies! We all need to share the skills we have
Please share these ideas. At the bottom of the post you will see Google + , Twitter and Facebook links. Please press these and share the frugal ideas to everyone you know. We have the answers and we need to share them. We have the skills to get us through tough times. People are living through tough times and we need to help them get through them.
We have the answers and we can help……………..who’s with me? I’m determined to spread the word and who’s up for the challenge. I challenge you to teach one person, one new skills once a week. Come on…. we can do this.xxx
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxx
Please nominate http://www.frugalqueen.co.uk for: blog of the year, best thrifty blog and best food blog - nominations close at midnight 14/3/14 - keep frugal living in the spotlight - thanks lovely readers.
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I am dreadful at teaching but I have been through hard times and came out the other side, knowing. I am in!
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Froogs I have to agree. Mindsets need to change and leading by example is a great first step. However I will share my ideas through here as my blog was hacked and I try to discourage my children from posting images of themselves so I must follow the same rule.
I have a friend who is always in a financial crisis but is most reluctant to change a few behaviours. Simple change can bring peace as well as keeping the wolf from the door.
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Hi Froogs! Thank you for this. It was spot on and exactly what I needed to read. I try to have as many “teachable” moments as I can with friends and co-workers. The emphasis being on teach and not preach although sometimes I can't help it and preach too much. I bring my lunch as much as I can. Sometimes it is only a couple of slices of bread and a nob of cheese because I had no time to cook (i.e. I was disorganized and grabbing what I could as flew out of the house). But when people look at me funny (while they carry a $10 lunch they just bought), I'll say something like “I am saving for a vacation. I used to pay $10 for a lunch and after x amount of days I had spent enough for a weekend trip.” Trying to put little nuggets in their head to get them to think on a long-term cumulative basis. Make the money they fritter away mean something to them. It has worked for some people and that makes me happy. ~ Pru
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Wonderful post, Froogs. I feel blessed that my family taught me many domestic skills, which have saved me some significant $ over the years. Sadly, many of the domestic arts were removed from the school curriculum decades ago, but financial literacy is the latest buzzword in curriculum. Some hope I suppose. Here is a recipe that I tried tonight-delicious, and I will definitely make it again. I used some substitutions and chose to serve marked down meat on the side but this would be perfectly fine as a vegetarian entree, with perhaps a side veg or salad to accompany.
http://ctonabudget.blogspot.com/2014/03/recipe-review-warm-lentil-salad.html
The main ingredients are affordable: lentils, onion, celery, carrot.
Your dinner looks delicious! It's something we'd enjoy.
Carol in CT
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Froogs
I forgot to comment: interesting that you partially cooked the veg before roasting, by boiling them a bit. Did you then drain the cooking water into a measuring cup and repurpose this cooking water to mix up the veggie stock? I do those type of things so as not to lose any of the vitamins left behind in the cooking water. I do the same with the water used for steaming in my double boiler type steamer.
Just a thought.
Carol in CT
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Amen, great post. Is it possible to link this documentary so we can see it down here. No one in Oz seems focused on this subject and most leave all the charity to organisations like The Salvation Army. Door Knocking and road side collections are common. What i find difficult, working full time and having a “special needs” family (that take up a lot of time) is finding those who need help. I dont see them in my community, though i am sure they are there.
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I totally agree about teaching others, spent a day last week teaching my oldest daughter (28) how to can dried beans, instead of buying canned pintos, she can process and use her own. Definitely a huge savings!
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This made me very sad to think what is happening in my birth country.
I expect the program will be shown in Australia at sometime, Lynda probably on SBS. I don't come in contact either over here except when I used to do voluntary work for Vinnies, but they seemed to get a handout & not education on how to manage with the money they had.
As I said very sad.
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Even the most cynical benefits basher could not fail to understand the poor don't have a chance with the door step lenders and even our own courts bleeding these families dry. Growing up I knew a few families who were struggling and they stole food, went to court, got fined and the circle went on. It has to stop!
Your so right about passing information on, it's not just about cooking a cheap meal it's about any money saving advice or passing on information about where to go for the best advice. We're in very sad times.
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Froogs - this possibly the best post you have ever written (and I have read every one of them).
I am not in the UK and have not seen the program you refer to.
It is not only people in dire situations - it is everyday people with jobs and commitments who need to be 'taught' these skills. I do try but will definitely redouble my efforts after reading this.
Thank you.
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I'm afraid I didn't watch it, after seeing the link the previous night. Whilst highlighting the problem is good, why chose 'celebrities' who have no idea what it is like to live on what most of us do, let alone the really poor. I feel it would have been better to pair them up with some Jack Monroe style people who can live on £3 a day (or less) or Thrifty Leslie who does it for £1 a day. Surely that would help more?
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I watched this programme too. The contrast between the famous, rich people and the poor they went to live with was enormous and highlighted the gap between the haves and the have nots in the UK. Such a pity they hadn't sent in some of the people who run our country to spend time with the poor. It was interesting that a couple of the rich and famous said they now understood that people can end up in this situation through absolutely no fault of their own. There was a man who had lost his job through ill health and was living on next to nothing in an effort to choose between keeping one room warm and eating. He was too proud to confide in his family so they hadn't realised he needed help. I can understand this because last week I finally confided in my mum that we had been in terrible debt. I hadn't told her until we cleared every last penny because I felt it was our problem and didn't want anyone feeling they should help us out of it. Although programmes like this are upsetting and make me angry too, I'm so glad that they are televising the problems with poverty in the UK. I read that, after the first programme, the Food Bank groups were bombarded with phone calls and offers of help. It makes me so angry that GREAT Britain has to have any food banks at all and I will only feel this country is moving forward again when the last food bank closes. But thank goodness we have them or so many people would be starving. You're absolutely right though Froogs, we need to share our frugal tips as much as we can because none of us know what's round the corner. A close friend of mine has just had to give up work to care for her sick son. Keep up the great work Froogs and let's all keep spreading the frugal word x
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Excellent blog. Thank you for the 'Feed a family of 4 for £40' recipes - we're looking forward to trying the lentil chilli. Just finished nominating you for the awards. x
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Everything I learnt I learnt from my family - from my mum, and my nana. How to make homemade pie, how to make a cheap carbonara pasta, how to cook in bulk and freeze. And as I've learnt new things, they've learnt from me too (I converted my parents to shopping at aldi for example). It starts at home, and will carry on for as long as we want to learn.
I don't think I have skills to teach really, but will be interested to learn new things.
Xxx
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Many years ago I was alone with two small children and on benefits. Three huge differences,in my eyes, were. One there was nowhere I could borrow money,no payday loans store cards and the like.So appart from maybe “club books” there was nowhere for me to run up debt. Two I had no bank account so could not accrue bank charges by going overdrawn. Three I received a giro once a week,so even if I ran out of money I never had long to wait before I had cash in my hand again. Put simply make payday loans etc illegal and pay benefits once a week and you iliminate a lot of problems.
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Thanks Froogs for the wonderful recipe. I've fallen in love with a couple of your and added them to my menu. I've begun to embrace the meat free idea, even though by comparison meat is a lot cheaper and of high quality here in Australia compared to the UK.
In regard to the programme you mentioned, perhaps you could contact your other frugal bloggers, get together a proposal for the producers of that one to discuss living a lot closer to ones means.
The idea of people choosing between eating and heating in somewhere like the UK is a horrible thought. I'm sure it happened across the Atlantic from you. Here in Australia it can get cold, but overall, not that cold, but what you've described does happen here as well, and particularly for welfare recipients. Power costs have risen dramatically here in the last couple of years. The way houses have been built here mean that a lot of money floats away because of poor practice. Modern homes have better building codes that help preserve heating and assist in cooling, but these are new builds and the buyer can add to the rating by spending more money. You can be sure that social housing has the absolute minimum, so costs are carried by the resident.
Keep fighting the good fight.
Cheers
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The problem with the programme was that should have addressed their debt problems getting a debt charity to help them get somewhere. Then you Froogs to show them how to eat on the cheap and healthily! I dont think it needed celebrities it p*sses me off when the real problem isnt addressed.
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I can't see the programme, not being in the UK, but maybe they chose celebrities- the rich and famous- to open their eyes to how much good they could do, both themselves and through influencing others. Yes, “the government should do something” but it is surely up to us all to do our bit- what ever we can- to help those in need. There have been wealthy philanthropists in the past, many of whom founded charities that are still in existence, that would have been the “celebrities” of their time. There are film stars and the like who do a lot more than just look pretty for the camera. Most of them don't shout out about it though, chosing to do good quietly. Hmmn, nobody who knows me would believe that I just stood up for celebrities- I loath reality tv and abhore the wages paid to “stars”- but it is we the public who put these people in the position they are in, so if anything can motivate them to use their money to help others, perhaps there is some good there.
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Absolutely a brilliant post. Won't repeat what others have said but in agreement with all. Can I just ask you to amend one thing, Froogs? Couscous is wheat, so no good if you are wheat intolerant, but QUINOA is actually a seed, so is tolerated much better. So in fact, your recipe is fine as it is - but may confuse some folks about the wheat/ cows-cous thing. Lxx
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Totally agree with Tracey, I was shouting at the telly - they needed more ongoing and practical help; they needed Froogs to help and guide them in a no-nonsense way.
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Well said Froogs. I suggest you put your ideas for communicating into action. Why not write up a story board/script idea for a programme that addresses everything you have highlighted and then get in touch with the BBC or Channel 4? You and Jack Monroe could team up and make a series that would really help a lot of people. No sensationalism, but your own brand of compassion, common sense and your teaching skills.
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I think that's a really really good idea!
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Just read above comment - brilliant idea! I always wish blogger would put a 'like' option on the comments. You would make a great team!
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(And just re-read your pst and realised I had read it wrong the first time. sheeesh sorry Froogs. I read it the other way. ) No amendment needed. Idiot. (me)!
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I didn't see the programme this week, but I certainly heard about it in the staffroom! I totally and utterly agree that we should share our skills with each other and teach folk how to budget, cook and live within their means and prioritise their spending. It is totally about being proactive. Can I say though, please don't forget the local food banks…if you have any spare cans, soap cereal, toilet rolls etc….please send them in, nothing to fancy as often they have no electricity on their keys, because the reality is their is some really hungry kids out there.
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My nan would pour off the water that the cabbage was cooked in into a cup and when it had cooled a little would drink the cabbage water for the vitamins. I was lucky as a child to learn her frugal ways, she was born in 1900 and had lived through both world wars with all the shortages and rationing, nothing , not one thing was wasted. Rubber bands discarded from the postman were picked up from the pavement and saved in a drawer along with lengths of string from parcels, the brown paper was folded and reused inside out to send the next parcel. Thin sponge was cut into circles and two pieces sewn together leaving a small opening to place the small ends of soap in to make it last to the very end. When our socks fell down because the elastic had worn out she made garters from elastic which we would cover by turning over the tops of our socks.
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I live in Sussex if anyone of Froogs readers would like help to learn to sew, knit etc I am willing to help. I made a decision this week to help a colleague. They have had a horrendous time due to illness, loss of income and consequently had visitors on their doorstep of the unpleasant kind. They have a young family. I went armed with a good two weeks worth of food and tried to leave it by front door without being seen. One of the kids spotted me. For me using some of my money saved for a new mattress on food to help someone in need was a good thing. I know that no matter how pants things are they are going to have a good three meals a day. I felt food was better than cash. Most of it was value range and I got a lot for my money. I buy it and to be honest it is fine. I also have great pleasure in making as many things as I can myself. My partner has made some amazing shelves out of old scaffold boards. He came home with a day light lamp on a stand that he found in a skip. I have a pile of patchwork quilts to keep us warm. We have clothes on our back, a roof over our heads and healthy frugal food in our tummies and we have love. I consider us to be rich. That is all you need in my mind. I have managed to clear a hell of a lot of debt this year by following this blog and mending things, upcyclling, collecting things people have offered( three oak trees worth of wood for free) and it has been fun, liberating and good for the soul.
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Froogs, I agree with everything you say. I was brought up to be frugal, thrifty and self - reliant. The problem we have here in the States is a combination of poor impulse control, maxed out credit cards, and people who are used to instant gratification. I am not saying this is true of everyone. Some people genuinely cannot help being caught up in hardship. I have been there myself. The problem we have here is people have no knowledge of practical, money saving skills anymore. I was brought up by parents who grew up in the Great Depression and they always said they barely knew a Depression existed because they grew their own food, made their own clothing and had a great practical skillset. I was brought up the same way. A lot of people I know have never raised a garden or outside of home economics class have never sewn anything. I know how to raise my own food, can. freeze and preserve. I have a knowledge of medicinal plants and wild edibles. I can sew, knit, and repair garments. I know how to stretch my food as far as it will go without monotony. Until recently, people have considered me a quaint oddity, but as the price of everything continues to rise and paychecks don't rise accordingly, I have people coming to me for advice and knowledge all the time. People like you and me are the new ” Wise Women” of this modern age and I feel we have an obligation to help others.
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What a good idea spreading the skills around. I just took your advice and posted a frugal recipe for cashew, broccoli and cauliflower korma. First time I have actually worked out the cost of something I make bit by bit. Surprised myself how cheap it is! x
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What an eyeopening show!
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Thanks for this post, Froogs. We do need to share these skills with each other. I do what is called “urban foraging”. I pick nettles, chickweed, hawthorn berries, figs, apples, dandelions and rosehips, all foods I find in the city or on the edge of the city. If you are careful where you harvest (not right next to the road or from a place where you know they are using a lot of pesticides) you can add much needed nutrition to your diet for free. Today I made a lentil soup with carrots and tons of fresh nettles. Totally cheap and super nutritious!
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Episode 1 is available on Youtube.
Where I live here in NZ we have a lot of poverty, fortunately also a great supportive community- there are shared meals at the community centre, a community garden where produce is available for those who need it, and a local shop sells bread and milk at cost.
I am appalled by the application process for a foodbank parcel the mother of 3 went through, how humiliating! people complain about our welfare system, but we are treated with dignity and respect. I have had to get a food grant from WINZ ( our welfare agency) in the past being on an invalid benefit, and have never felt demeaned. A referral to the foodbank will be made if you have exceeded the years available hardship allowance.
We also have free milk and fruit in schools and some schools do free breakfast also.
Even so, things are getting tougher everywhere even for middle income families. Sure, in some cases the trouble is of their own making, but by sharing skills and ideas we can improve our own and others' lives.
Thankyou Froogs for your wonderful blog, and your caring and kindness- I have told several friends and family members about it xx
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I watched and LOVED the programme. I totally understood that it NEEDED the celebrities involved to get more folks watching and understanding, and to raise funds for Sport Relief which was why the programmes were made.
I thought both nights programmes were brilliant and loved the change in attitude from the celebrities. I guess a lot more help will have been given to these particular families after the programmes by their new temporary 'housemates'.
Anything that brings the appallingly bad benefits system to the attention of more of the population is good in my book. A follow on programme would be really good with someone like Jack Monroe or yourself going in and teaching some good basic cooking skills to help the programme participants with food and finance even more.
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