The anti austerity survival guide. Hints, tips, advice and help for a better future.

Austerity seems to be a buzzword right now, everywhere I turn I see folks grumbling about rising prices, goverment cutbacks and a general feeling that the average man on the street is looking at an ever decreasing standard of living while the fat cats just get fatter.

Whilst I am not disagreeing with this what I do have an issue with is that many people seem to think it is some great conspiracy to make them miserable, everyone I speak to is happy to blame the government but unwilling to actually do anything about it other than grumble.

I decided to make this thread in an effort to make a positive effort to address the situation.

If anyone feels they are struggling then please say so, ATS is a vast community and there are many ways to learn new skills or information that could improve your situation.

On the other side of things I would like to ask any members to share there views on how to survive in an enviroment where abundance is no longer the norm.

I am personally in a less than great financial situation but have learned to adapt, mend, make do, upcycle, repurpose, re evaluate what is important, regain a sense of community ect.

With so much negativity right now I would love to see some real positive attitude adjustment and hopefully all be a little happier as well.

originally posted by: nonspecific


On the other side of things I would like to ask any members to share there views on how to survive in an enviroment where abundance is no longer the norm.

Where as many people consider 'abundance' the norm .... I personally think

sufficient to be more the norm and I don't crave *abundance*

I am personally in a less than great financial situation but have learned to adapt, mend, make do, upcycle, repurpose, re evaluate what is important, regain a sense of community ect.

I too do all those things mend, make do, adapt revamp, recycle etc. and

mostly not because I cant afford, but because it gives me a sense

of achievement and I can put what I have saved towards something that

will give others some degree of pleasure or a rare treat!!




P.S. I think your avatar winked at me??

a reply to: nonspecific

When you see TV shows like "Benefit Street" as aired last night, you have to realise that its folk like these that are giving those in need a bad name. We have folk in this country happy pouncing of the state which really means our tax payers money as its our money not the governments to give.

And yet we all moan and bitch how bad the austerity has been. Why should we pay for people to sit on their arses all day watching Jeremy Kyle. Why should a pensioner or disabled person get less money due to the fact that we have some real lazy "Bas54rds" in this country.

When you see shows like this and you see them drunk or off their faces on drugs and then plead poverty, I have no time for these kinds of people and if I had my own way, if you were able to work but just wanted to be a bum, then you should be made to work for £2 per hour to receive your dole money. That would sort out our welfare state and would mean more cash for those more deserving in our society.

We seem to be attacking everyone else but the problem itself. It should be TABOO to be a bum if your able to work and refuse to. I personally wouldnt give them anything if they refused work. See how many get jobs then!

Rant over

Hi..first of all great idea for a thread. Living in belfast all I see is negativity. This is mostly directed toward government yet as you say it rarely goes beyond more than a moan. To be honest I really don't think austerity has really hit as of yet. Most of those I know can still smoke, drink and go out for a party. But then again these people are living from wage to wage. If this was cut I really don't think they would cope and crime rates will go through the roof.

Anyway away from the negative. A few things I've started over the past couple of years. First is canning. I bought a pressure cook only 7litre. This allows me to can what I need. Then I buy meat etc in bulk and can it. It's amazing how much you spend on those everyday runs to the local shop. I would make soups for a few weeks ahead and other things I actually need....not loads of Jam.

Also I've started harvesting my own water. I have made a large natural carbon filter. The water tastes a lot better and also free. The price of bottled water is frightening.

When you are shopping for groceries I find it better to do it online. Write your list of what you need and stuck to it. Don't get fooled and tricked by these deals that save you 20p. Whatever you pay in delivery you will save in petrol and buying unnecessary stuff. Buy things like toilet roll, salt, bleach in bulk and start building a store room. I use an unused room toward the back of my house so I can keep the temperature down. Spices sugar and dried milk is also great.

Finally I've started buy silver coins whenever I can. I can't afford gold as it is quite expensive for a coin. Furthermore if it's needed it will be harder to break the amount held in a gold coin. With the silver it's cheap and it doesn't matter if prices go up or down because it's not for trading. It's guaranteed for WHEN the monetary system collapses.



Just a few simple things but important.

originally posted by: eletheia

originally posted by: nonspecific


On the other side of things I would like to ask any members to share there views on how to survive in an enviroment where abundance is no longer the norm.

Where as many people consider 'abundance' the norm .... I personally think

sufficient to be more the norm and I don't crave *abundance*

I am personally in a less than great financial situation but have learned to adapt, mend, make do, upcycle, repurpose, re evaluate what is important, regain a sense of community ect.

I too do all those things mend, make do, adapt revamp, recycle etc. and

mostly not because I cant afford, but because it gives me a sense

of achievement and I can put what I have saved towards something that

will give others some degree of pleasure or a rare treat!!




P.S. I think your avatar winked at me??

Thank you for your input, I think we have lost a lot of skills and attitudes over the past 30 years regarding survival.

I would love to hear any hints or tips you may have. Remember that what is obvious to you may not be to others.

As to the winking I would suggest you take a break and maybe get some fresh air, what exactly are you implying?

a reply to: flammadraco



There are elderly people today who *may* if they applied be entitled to some

benefits, but were brought up in a different era to have a degree of pride

and not expect hand outs.

Today people grow up with an *entitlement* chip on their shoulders!

a reply to: liteonit6969

Great advise, never realised we were talking about what we do at home to help out lol, but as we are;

* I have three chickens so have fresh eggs every day
* I bake my own bread (Massive saving)
* I make my own Jam/Chutneys
* I grow my own Vegetables (always give it away though as far to much)
* I never buy processed food and always cook fresh each day and save the left overs for my three dogs
* I repair as much as I can before buying new!

a reply to: liteonit6969

Good stuff and exactly what I was thinking of when I made the thread.

As to the online shopping I agree, we try to do a bulk shop every few months online so we are never out of food by a long shot, We have been lax latly though somthing that needs to be rectified.

We are lucky in that we live near a few big supermarkets, I tend to visit one a day around 7 oclock to hit the reduced isles for cut price meat and fish for the freezer, I aim to have at least a months worth at any one time. I also pick up really cheap veg and salad often down to 10p for a bag of potatoes or 9p for a cabbage ect.

If bread is not 25p for a good loaf then I simply do not buy bread!

a reply to: eletheia

Totally agree with you. Its a very "me, me me," generation now.

I have over 300 staff and ideally like to employ folk over 40 as they have a different work ethic. These youngsters of today make out they are doing you a favour by coming to work.

Personally I'd bring back National Service, that would teach these kids a thing or two!, never did our grandparents any harm! And would teach this generation values as its quite obvious to me that our education and some of our younger parents have not got a glue anymore!

a reply to: flammadraco

Glad you got your rant out of the way!

Chickens are amazing if you have the space, I used to rescue battery chickens, great for fresh eggs and eating all the scraps.

I had around 25 at one point and a couple of ducks when I had the space.

Another thing I have found has gone out of favour is bartering with friends and neighbours, chickens and there eggs are awsome for this!

a reply to: nonspecific

25 chickens!!! lol, i have a bad enough time with just three

They are like dogs with feathers!

a reply to: flammadraco

Um...

Here's a tip for an austere time:

Be realistic about the level of benefit cheating. Its a tiny, near insignificant number of people, when compared to the number of people making a claim. Furthermore, much less money disappears through benefits scams, than gets stolen from the taxpayer by way of poorly written contracts between government departments and their suppliers, private companies, and the tax dodging that those companies, and many others involve themselves in with virtually no significant or meaningful opposition.

Someone has to be getting paid off to let that crap continue!

originally posted by: flammadraco
a reply to: nonspecific

25 chickens!!! lol, i have a bad enough time with just three

They are like dogs with feathers!

I had the land for it at the time although even with 4 kids and bartering around 130 eggs per week is a challenge!

Duck eggs were the best, I also had a large nettle patch just so I did not have to pay for spinach.

a reply to: TrueBrit

Totally concur with your comments, but it's an issue. I won't say what I do but I run a business across the UK and my customer base is predominantly working class people and I see these lazy gits everyday, believing that we tax payers owe them a living for sitting on their backsides.

But as you said there are massive savings to be made, for example I've heard one goverment dept spends £80 on a ream of paper (500 sheets) compared to £2 for the same thing in the high street.

We have people in charge of budgets worth billions and yet have no experience either in business or education on how to handle this. Yes your right that there is a lot of bad decisions being made at goverment level and yes this needs looking at, however the folk I see moaning most about the goverment on a daily basis are those already on benefits and thus the reason for my comments!

Don't get ill or lose your job. Pretty simple really. Move back in with your parents? Don't have kids

The welfare system needed overhauling, but really it should be aimed at people who are capable of working, but CHOOSE not to.

Instead you get the spiteful IDS spouting vitriol about all benefit recipients and taking delight in making many Labour supporters suffer. That's their ideology, it's nothing more and nothing less.

If you are a penny better off working than you are receiving welfare payments, then you should do what the majority of us do and get off your butts and work. If you CHOOSE not to, then do not expect any assistance from the state.

If you are in work though, you should be recompensed fairly and this should mean NOT relying on the state for tax credit hand outs. Let's be honest, tax credits are NOT welfare hand outs, they are subsidising business, pure and simple.

As for making do and mending, there is nothing wrong with that and indeed should be encouraged. However the skills and mindset has been lost over the years and is a product of our consumer society.

a reply to: TrueBrit

Hi

To be honest I'm all against the cuts etc as I see it as trying to create a blame for the dirty deals that are going on in the world right now. However living in an area where employment is so low you really see some realities that create a rod for the elite to use on the rest of our backs. The use of depression by a lot of people for entitlement for disibility allowance is disgusting. I know this for fact as I know a lot a lot a lot of people doing it. This gives people like my wife a lot of trouble as she is bi polar and literally struggles through every day. So I just want to say that there are people like those I mentioned who are playing the system and creating some of the problems we are facing.

Although this is a minority it is still enough to give genuine people in need a bad name. It disgusts me.

Anyway back on thread.

I find that too many people buy far too many clothes. I buy a few pairs of cheap denim and wear them until they are rippes so bad you can almost see my arse cheeks.

Holidays are a big annoyance for me. My mother in law goes on 3 holidays a year....yet still borrows money and cries poverty. This sickens me.

I have decided instead of going on a 2 week holiday and possibly spend 2000 to 3000..I would prefer to buy some silver and take a few local trips to the forrest or beach. The money spent on alcohol fuelled holidays I'd shocking.

Also one rule I live by is to show generousity to others....but don't be taken for a fool.

Like it or not, we are a consumer society our economy survives on people buying stuff and using services. We stop doing these things the economy goes into slow down. Austerity has also been used as an ideological tool to decrease the size of the state, no one can complain as the majority of voters want this. So smile and keep your head up

originally posted by: woodwardjnr
Don't get ill or lose your job. Pretty simple really. Move back in with your parents? Don't have kids

The things you mention are the negative side of prosposed austerity, As I said in the OP I was looking to try and create a thread that can be benaficial to those who may be struggling, to reaffirm the sense of community that we once had and share our own expertise and experience in an attempt to make the most of what will be a trying time for many.

a reply to: nonspecific don't forget to smile? It could be worse.