Saving money to buy preps

[Geordie_Rob]

SD, with regards to your poor comments, I totally agree. We don't have much cash left at the end of the month, but its because we spend the cash through the month on stuff that can easily be cut back on if/when needed. Swimming for example is about £15 a family session including hot chocolate out of the machine afterwards & we do that weekly so £60 can be saved instantly if we needed. The £50 a month we put away for the wood burner is another instant saving. There are other things aswell, so we wouldn't ever starve as a family in normal times. It's more a case of we have a comfortable life right now & my wife (and myself to a certain extent) don't want to cut back if we don't need to. It's a case of priorities & what each person decides what theirs are. I want to spend as much time with my family as possible while the kids are young & sadly a lot of activities cost money.

However growing up, it was a different story. My parents didn't have 2 pennies to rub together (despite both working full time) & on some occasions a proper evening meal didn't exist because they just couldn't afford the food, though I will say those instances were thankfully few & far between. Porridge for breakfast & evening meal on the same day wasnt fun. School uniforms from charity shops because they couldn't afford the school prices & trainers with a brand that you knew were guaranteed to have your mates ripping it out of you for the rest of the term. We literally lived week to week & they were desperate for their next pay packet. That's how I know I'm not poor now & that's how I know I'll do virtually anything to ensure my kids don't have to go through it like I had to. Plus if I really needed the cash for essentials after I'd already cut back on the desire items & unnecessary costs, I would default on my debt payments & worry about the consequences later. Thankfully I've never ever missed any repayment & I'd only ever consider that as an absolute last resort out of desperation rather than something I'd do before cutting back elsewhere.

I'm not so sure about the opting out currently. If you tell a company to not use your data & the do, the ICO comes down pretty hard on them. A quick change in legislation due to pressure by energy company lobbyists however & your power as it was is gone.

Like Mary, I'd be interested to know if the tin foil thing works. I've wrapped my mobile up in tin foil before & rang it. It still rang.