Now and Then - April 8th

Oh Queenie, I love your posts, you've been an inspiration honey, really.

LMAO - my now and then is a matter of changing in TWO weeks!!!!! And I am shocked and surprised to discover how ace money is when you actually think about how you're spending

so here goes

<b>NOW<\b>
I only go to the Spar when I need milk. Otherwise I live on what I've got in the house while I do next month's budget
<b>THEN<\b>
I would go to Spar/Asda/Morrisons everyday to buy my fags and whilst there go 'Oh Heat, need that' and oh and oh and OH! And I'd walk out with a bag full of crisps and nibbles and 'bargains' I didn't want or need

<b>NOW<\b>
I have a set amount in my purse for the month and I am aware of every penny I spend.
<b>THEN<\b>
used to go to the cashpoint nearly every day and wonder 'Where the hell did all my money go?!?!??? OH well, need some more', take out twenty quid and toddle off without thinking.

I could go on, there are loads of nows and thens for me......isn't it great?

without all the brilliamt ideas on here none of my now & thens would be possible.so here goes


Now other half is changing job to higher paid montly paid job

Then would have turned it down as there would have been no way we could have managed to get by for a month without pay. have managed to save enough to get by from following advice on here.

Now Use cheap cuts and use my newly bought slow cooker. make my own everything.
Then Use expensive cuts partner was until today in the meat trade so got cheaper meat. Never enough time to make my own meals.

Now use my cheap mix washing powder/soda crystals and white vinegar.
Then grabbed what was on offer & chucked too much of it in the machine without thinking. Vinegar was for chips!
Now really enjoy not spending money.
Then Only thought about money as I never seemed to have any.

Now. am losing weight because we are eating less fat salt etc.
Then. Gaining loads because I was eating junk & so were the rest of the family.

Now. Have money in the bank and the bills paid.:D
Then would have thought what can I spend this week and spent it all regardless

Now. I'm obsessed with saving money and can't get enough of it, using vouchers, haggling and feeling no shame, I love it:j
Then. Not for me, I's be far too embarrased if i did haggle and they gave me a price I would accept it. Not now I haggle further. Got a shop soiled childs sedk and chair nice & cheap today. Poor lad had to keep running up and down to find the manager until I agreed a price:rolleyes:

So cheers one and all, I shall raise a glass of my cheaper wine to you all. have a sucessfiull April.:beer:

now .......using vinegar as softener in the wash(no one has noticed)
then.......used fabric softener.

now......needed a new simcard for my phone so got a free one from the web
then......would have bought one at the phone shop.

now......hubs is taking packed lunch to work because he loves the hm bread
then......was buying from the shop near work every day.

now......have saved sample shampoo,shower gel for holiday
then.....would have bought some specially

now - homemade washing powder

then - branded product

now - meal planning

then - buy anything that took my fancy

now - willing to try value products

then - mostly all organic/ expensive!

now - looking at what I spend, thinking before I buy, enjoying saving money and planning!

then - just spending, anything I fancied, not saving just thinking about buying more!!


This is now my fav website, previously would have been any I could spend on!!

Ok, my first now and then list ... warning ... could be quite long!!! LOL!

One of my biggest problems has been with impulse shopping, and buying stuff out of boredom/depression to try cheer myself up, resulting in a pile of stuff I don't really need, and certainly don't have the room for here! :rolleyes:

So ...

Then - browse websites looking for anything that takes my fancy, compile an order list (I can never buy just one thing, it has to be whole list of stuff, having browsed every item for sale) and proceed through checkout without giving much thought to what I was doing or spending.
Now - still browse, but more in a "window shopping fashion", and if I'm tempted to buy anything I'll put it in the basket then leave it for 24 hours before committing to buy anything. I've saved loads this way as usually the next day I realise I didn'twant/need it anyway so delete it from the basket and close the site down.

Then - online grocery shopping - go through the site adding anything that took my fancy (esp BOGOFs, offers etc) to the basket without making any specific plans to use it anytime soon, and ended up throwing lots away.
Now - try to plan as much as possible and have an idea of what I'm going to cook for the week, even though I struggle to follow a strict plan, and keep an eye on all fresh stuff and either use or freeze it before it goes off.

Then - either have a supply of ready meals/pizzas in freezer for the kids to cook on days I can't face cooking/eating (or use one of the many local take-aways!)
Now - cook in large batches on good days (using slow-cooker I bought thanks to MSE) and freeze individual portions to use instead. We've only had 3 take-aways in the last two months!

Then - bought expensive cuts of meat in smaller quantities, i.e. chicken breasts, chops etc
Now - buy cheaper cuts of meat for slow-cooker (stewing beef, brisket etc) and also buy large joints and whole chickens and either cook whole to make many meals or joint them myself and freeze.

Then - bought ready-made burgers, pizzas, chicken nuggets, frozen chips etc.
Now - make all my own which are much healthier, cheaper and taste better!

Then - bought ready made pasta sauces, pesto, dips etc
Now - make all my own with fresh ingredients - again healthier and often cheaper.

Then - bought ground spices in small supermarket jars.
Now - buy whole spices where I can in bulk packs, and grind/blend my own to use as needed.

Then - always bought bread from shop/supermarket/bakers
Now - make almost all myself, including naans, chapatis, foccaccia etc (still buy ciabatta though )

Then - would go to local shop to buy ready made desert/pudding if we fancied one after dinner.
Now - whip up a microwave sponge pudding in the same time it takes to go to shop and buy one (and for a fraction of the price!) and make HM custard with eggs/cream while it cooks. No end to the variations you can make by adding fruit/spices etc!

Then - I've always been pretty good at researching the best possible price before buying but never thought about vouchers/discounts etc before MSE.
Now - Search all the boards here and various websites for any voucher/discount/promotion and try to use one on every purchase and also wait for sales etc to grab a bargain.

Then - paid high prices for pre-paid gas/electric meters as I didn't know I could change them.
Now - Cut annual bills by about £200 by changing meters/supplier.

Then - paid a high price for basic broadband from premium company.
Now - changed ISP and got a better connection with annual saving of £195.

Then - paid full whack every month to Sky for all channels.
Now - bargained and cutback some channels, reducing monthly charges by half, giving annual saving of £240.

Then - never bothered with a credit card as I thought they were just tickets to getting into debt with :rolleyes:
Now - learnt you can use them to make money and have applied for my first one

Then - never had a proper savings account (or saved much money!)
Now - have 3 high interest savings accounts with each having something added monthly!

Then - spent everything I had.
Now - save as much as I possibly can and hate spending any of it LOL!



I could go on and on as MSE has changed the way I think and do things in so many ways, and I've only been here a couple of months!

I think for me personally though, it goes much further in that it has helped tremendously with my depression as I can now communicate with other people of a like-mind, and we all have similar goals in watching our pennies and making the most of what we have. I'm really enjoying some of the challenges, even if I struggle at times, and that in itself gives me something to work at and focus on daily .

Without MSE I'm not sure where I'd be right now, especially as I've had a whole heap of extra stress to deal with the last couple of months with one thing and another, and I truly believe I would possibly be in hospital by now, or worse

Thank you MSE and all you wonderful people that make this site what it is :T :A


OMG!!!! ... I didn't realise I'd written so much!!!