social

A Fortnight's Lost Income

A man holding open an empty wallet.
This is a story from my past, which taught me that when you have to you can do it! It was the day after payday and I had the cash on the table, working out where it would be going. There was a knock at the door so I hid the cash. It was an hour or so before I got back to my budgeting task. Unfortunately, I had forgotten where I'd put the money!
Advertisement

December 9, 2015

A man holding open an empty wallet.This is a story from my past, which taught me that when you have to you can do it! My family of 5 was managing payday to payday, any extra money we had went to the mortgage. It was the day after payday and I had the cash on the table, working out where it would be going. There was a knock at the door and I hid the cash so it wasn't in full view to answer the door. The caller was very involving, and it was an hour or so before I got back to my budgeting task. Unfortunately, I had forgotten where I'd put the money!

The kitchen was turned upside down in the search - it was all the cash we had for the fortnight. After I'd had a good cry, I set about planning how we would eat for the fortnight. We had a freezer with a good amount of frozen meat, and frozen vegetables floating around in the bottom of the chest, there were cans of soup, etc.

Advertisement

in the pantry, I would always buy flour in bulk, and oats, powdered milk, sugar, so there was enough of that. The garden produced some fresh greens, so we wouldn't get scurvy. The neighbour had a tree laden with plums and was happy for us to pick them.

We certainly didn't eat as normal (lots of fruit, store bought baked goodies) but I don't think the kids noticed as I went all out baking. I baked our own bread (usually we would buy sliced bread), baked sweet rolls and biscuits, and lots of plum desserts. To this day, I cannot enjoy scones as they remind me of hard times - what I would bake when we had little else.

The next payday came around and we had made it through. So I learnt that:

  1. You can do it if you have to.

  2. Your food stores are a treasure chest for hard times. Try and keep them stocked up.
About 3 months later, I went to cook a casserole and found the money in the casserole pot! I decided to put it in a secret 'hardtimes account' and try to put a little in each fortnight as I never want to manage on nothing again.

Comment Pin it! Was this helpful? 9

Comments

December 11, 20152 found this helpful

Hell of a story...thanks for sharing--that's awesome! Losing money sucks...but it's also cool when you find it again. Kudos!

Reply Was this helpful? 2
December 20, 20151 found this helpful

It's like having an extra pay day this year!

Reply Was this helpful? 1
December 21, 20151 found this helpful

Thanks for telling your story... I understand that sick feeling you get when you have so very little. Well done and I'm so happy you found it too!

Advertisement

And the feeling you get from scones? For me it's canned green beans. But they kept me from going hungry! :)

Reply Was this helpful? 1
December 22, 20151 found this helpful

Happy you found the money. Recently I did the same thing. Talk about panic. I did remember a short time later.

Reply Was this helpful? 1
Read More Comments
Categories
Better Living Frugal Living My Frugal LifeDecember 18, 2019
Pages
More
🍂
Thanksgiving Ideas!
🎃
Halloween Ideas!
Facebook
Pinterest
YouTube
Instagram
Contests!
Newsletters
Ask a Question
Share a Post
Categories
Better LivingBudget & FinanceBusiness and LegalComputersConsumer AdviceCoronavirusCraftsEducationEntertainmentFood and RecipesHealth & BeautyHolidays and PartiesHome and GardenMake Your OwnOrganizingParentingPetsPhotosTravel and RecreationWeddings
Published by ThriftyFun.
Desktop Page | View Mobile
Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Contact Us
Generated 2022-10-25 13:41:07 in 3 secs. ⛅️️
© 1997-2022 by Cumuli, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
https://www.thriftyfun.com/A-Fortnights-Lost-Income-1.html