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[MSE Andrea]

This thread is specifically for discussing the Stop Spending article.

Questions and comments on the demotivator tool itself can be made in this demotivator discussion.

To discuss the article or ask a question: click reply

[Ches]

oops wrong thread

[MPwannasavemoney]

This advice is brilliant if you have a partner who sees things the same way.

I have been struggling for years with the OH to get her to see the reality of our overspending.

It has driven me mad.

I have been diagnosed with clinical depression now. Plus my only income is freelance I only have part-time income and there is no work I can find from December.

She does not want to see a counsellor with me, so the only way out is to divorce - I feel sorry for the 3 kids :-(

The only other alternative is to let the banks take everything back and see if she learns then, if so we just start from scratch.

[Lula-Hula]

Great article but, as the above poster says, will only work if you actually want to clear your debt .

I truly feel for those with partners who are either still in denial or just unwilling to change their ways. I too live in 'very expensive surrey' & think this location is particularly hard to make the changes in, so many here appear to be so wealthy & shopping, coffee & lunch out seems to be a pastime for many of the surrey housewives I know. There is a hugely competitive culture in this area & for those who are slightly insecure it is a trap.

A friend of mine with over £4,500 of CC debt has just booked a £2,500 holiday for next year on the basis that everyone else she knows went away this summer & she feels left out. She is a single parent who works part time but because of the property boom has plenty of equity in her house & is therefore unconcerned about the debt . Yes, I have given her the details of this site, & she now has a 0% card but is still paying just the minimum & has now effectively given herself more money to spend each month. I tried.

I faffed about for a good year after I supposedly had my lbm, thinking that I had changed my ways ... & only now am I really really determined. I still get pangs of 'Wanting' now & then but usually find someone on here to talk me out of it . Found a fab pair of boots I wanted in River Island for £90 ... just bought a pair off ebay for £14.95 . I am learning, albeit slowly

[brokeinwales]

Yep great article, but as others said you can read it, know it's all true, but still not really act on it.

Personally I found myself going through the lists and filing the tips into categories in my head:

- Not applicable (Surprisingly I found about half of the tips fell into this category: I haven't got a car, my utility bills are included in my rent, I don't have kids, so on, so on...)
- Do already (I alway fell vaguely disappointed reading these. I think I was secretly hoping the article would reveal lots of amazing relevant ideas I hadn't thought of yet that would help magically halve my expenditure! I guess most "spend less" ideas really are quite obvious!)
- Will probably start to do (the good ideas I haven't considered, or have considered but needed a reminder!)
- Probably should do but can't bring myself to! (I love my hairdresser even though I know I could get a student to do my cut for half the cost - I feel very guilty when I read this tip!)

Although it was a good reminder article, I did feel like I could recite a lot of it by heart. That probably shows that it's just tried and tested advice.

I get a bit defensive sometimes when I read the old chesnuts ("Why not take a packed lunch to work?" I do! Shut up!!) Anyone else get that?!