A frugal life is an easy life!

As summer comes to a close, rip off Britain is alive and well, it's been one of the hardest that I can remember.

HOLIDAYS (Or lack of):
We are all so tired, now six years since we could afford a holiday, a week away that doesn't involve paying out hundreds of pounds for a hotel bedroom that has added a dado rail and has declared itself top rate, bumping up their prices in the process.
You can go to [insert european destination here] "from" £XX per person... Only it never is that price is it!

One late "deal" I checked out, at lastminute dot com, the headline price didn't include a case (who goes on holiday in just the clothes they are wearing?) and declared sprog2 [who is 2 years old] as a junior and almost full price for the flights, hotel, etc.
For mum & dad and a 2 year old sprog it was the best part of £1500 for a week self catering.

We could holiday in the UK?
Have you seen the prices for a bedroom in the UK, that was £200 for a week in early July, but now it's over £450 for the same room a week into the school holidays, this is without costing for petrol, meals, "Things to do" and relevant parking.
It's a joke.
I watched a few episodes of those B&Bs on channel 4 - where fellow B&B owners shove an asparagus stalk on a plate and dream about the public paying £100 for a room for the night as being "good value" - nonsense the lot of them.

We could go for a day out?
Paying top dollar for parking, petrol racing up in value, blatent profiteering by the petrol sellers, as I've caught out our nearest forecourt, putting up the price 3 times on the same delivery, then smiling when you chastise them for it... as if it's some kind of light hearted banter!
Resort tickets stretching the finances - tickets for mum & dad, granny and a sprog will set you back the best part of £100 for a few hours of being trapped inside blackpool pleasure beach, eating and drinking is out of the question as the prices are way above what's being charged outside their theme park... don't worry though, the same old rides painted in the style of their sponsors, nikelodeon, will ensure a wonderful day out... not.

Everywhere we go the parking is more than an hours wage, we are even charged for parking so we can walk around a reservoir!
There's only so many times you can go for a walk in the hills locally and see the wonderful views, many don't even have that option, what are they supposed to do?

PETROL
I swear if I hear "It's the government taxing it" being used as an excuse by an attendant for putting up pump prices one more time, I'll shove the pump handle where the sun don't shine!
I shouted down a shell forecourt attendant the other week, as I'd driven past not 30 minutes earlier and seen a price of £1.32 per litre. It was now mid afternoon and now was charged at £1.35 per litre, at the time more expensive than a motorway forecourt in a remote area in the lake district... the attendant thought it was funny as "it went up 15 minutes ago!"

Juggling bills:
I save in one area, I lose in two others, one step forward then three steps back.
We saved £200 on insurance for the year, then lost £240 a month in income.
We are budgeting just to break even.

Cannot afford to pay of a modest overdraft, then hit with £1 per day charges instead of % interest. Price per month increased from around £7 per month to £20, that's over £150 per year extra to find unless we can skint ourselves and pay it off.
All this while the weekly shop increases in cost.

There's only so much one can recycle in the garden and around the house to prepare for winter and do over the summer.
Summertime used to be a wonderful carefree time of year, some sunshine and a break for us all to have time to recharge the batteries.
We can tolerate the poor weather, that is, until the planned "day out next month" goes tits up when yet another bill lands on the doorstep and swallows up the money we'd have spent stretching to some fish and chips or travelling, or both!

We are exhausted here, I don't mind telling, something has got to give, it's not nice seeing the better half spend her entire two weeks off work, her main summer holiday, running around the place trying to chase her tail, making the best of things.

We tried a day out at the trafford centre, getting stung £10 for 5 "luxury ice creams" that weren't upto the standard or size of the poundshop's own brand ice cream.
We had to pay £3.50 an hour so the little 'un could be pushed around in a plastic car buggy for a bit of fun, I had to surrender all my details (information harvesting) and lay down a £20 deposit incase I went home with the thing... god knows how most people can afford to shop there?

The mother tells me it's all spent on credit cards then people take 2 months work paying it all off... so what happens to their monthly bills then?
I think she might be right.

Is it so wrong to want to take the two year old out once in a while and be able to afford to not skip a monthly payment so we can pay for travelling and eat when we get there?

Businesses overcharging for everything, whilst customer service goes down the pan. Promised call backs that never come.
Saving money with the left hand and a week later watching the family finances pot get lighter as some business raises their charges.
"Admin fees" that are just a way of making yet more profit, does it really cost £25 to change an address or some other minor detail? 

Where will it all end? There's only so much people can take, something has GOT to give and soon...