We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide
In today's Times (3rd May)...
Bargain_Rzl
Posts: 6,254 Forumite
...there is a feature on how to live more thriftily from day to day, stop living on plastic and get in control of your spending. There is even a week-long example of the writer, Sarah Johnson, recording all her spending.
Unfortunately, she doesn't exactly set a good example - on the last day of the week she blows £215 at the garden centre, taking her expenditure for the week up to £494.07 :eek: which she explains away with an "oops!"
Surely it's the casual "oops" attitude that the article is trying to discourage?
Unfortunately, she doesn't exactly set a good example - on the last day of the week she blows £215 at the garden centre, taking her expenditure for the week up to £494.07 :eek: which she explains away with an "oops!"
Surely it's the casual "oops" attitude that the article is trying to discourage?
Operation Get in Shape
MURPHY'S NO MORE PIES CLUB MEMBER #124
0
Comments
-
That sort of article makes me mad......just like those stupid ones I've read in the Mail about these stupid women who spend tens of thousands on Christmas, clothes, holidays etc every year. Chance would be a fine thing...!
But I don't think I suffer from jealousy here.....I'd rather have my little world with my lovely daughters, at least we have lots of love and no debts. Does all of that materialism make those people happy? What would happen if they lost it all? I know of a family who have lots of money and material things and spend much of their time worrying about losing it all! :rolleyes::snow_grin"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow........":snow_grin0 -
Well said ceegee!
At the moment money is going out fast but at least I know it is all for essential repairs etc. and I am trying to resist spur of moment purchases.:j"This site is addictive!"
Wooligan 2 squares for smoky - 3 squares for HTA
Preemie hats - 2.0 -
Sometimes I cannot help but think that such stories are deliberately placed to encourage higher consumption of the things that we don't necessarily need. Does an "oops" make it okay when someone has spent £200 on non-essentials? I think not!0
-
I could get on a soap box here, but will try to exercise a little restraint. When people win money on game shows and the lottery on the television, when asked what they will do with the money, nine times out of ten they say "we'll have a holiday". If it was me I would say "I'm going to go to B&Q to buy all of the materials I need to decorate my house as it hasn't been decorated for fifteen years due to lack of funds". It would be out of necessity and I'll have the pleasure of it for (probably!) the next fifteen years, whereas their holiday will be gone in a couple of weeks.
Blimey, don't I sound like a bitter old miseryguts!
I'm not, really!
What would other people spend their good fortune on, I wonder?:snow_grin"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow........":snow_grin0 -
If I came into any amount of money up to £200k I would put a deposit on a flat, or buy it outright depending on the amount. Nothing else.ceegee wrote:What would other people spend their good fortune on, I wonder?
If I struck it rich (share of Lottery jackpot) I would do the above and invest the rest to generate an annuity, hopefully enabling me to work part time and maintain my present lifestyle.
If I made megabucks (Lottery rollover) I would of course give up work, travel a lot, and find something really rewarding to do with my life. However I would STILL be buying BOGOFs at the supermarket, and I would STILL think the same things are a waste of money as I think now! You can take the girl out of the need to MoneySave but you can't take the need to MoneySave out of the girl! (Thanks MSE!)Operation Get in Shape
MURPHY'S NO MORE PIES CLUB MEMBER #1240 -
lswwong wrote:Sometimes I cannot help but think that such stories are deliberately placed to encourage higher consumption of the things that we don't necessarily need. Does an "oops" make it okay when someone has spent £200 on non-essentials? I think not!
I think it depends on individual means. If someone actually had £200 to spend on non-essentials, then I don't think it's automatically bad that they spend it in that way. For example, someone who earns £100k may well have plenty of disposable income to spend in a way that someone earning £15k would think was "outrageous".
I guess the most important thing is that we should all try to live within our means - whatever our individual level of "means" happens to be.Warning ..... I'm a peri-menopausal axe-wielding maniac
0 -
I totally agree with you. I would also go to B&Q and decorate the house and do all the jobs that have needed doing for years and also sort the garden out. Pay off the debts also and make sure that the majority of it is in a safe place for the future and also emergencys not holidays which as you say are gone in 2 weeks. I'd propably get a hiar cut too lolceegee wrote:I could get on a soap box here, but will try to exercise a little restraint. When people win money on game shows and the lottery on the television, when asked what they will do with the money, nine times out of ten they say "we'll have a holiday". If it was me I would say "I'm going to go to B&Q to buy all of the materials I need to decorate my house as it hasn't been decorated for fifteen years due to lack of funds". It would be out of necessity and I'll have the pleasure of it for (probably!) the next fifteen years, whereas their holiday will be gone in a couple of weeks.
Blimey, don't I sound like a bitter old miseryguts! I'm not, really!
What would other people spend their good fortune on, I wonder? 0 -
Not sure if this is connected, really. I guess I would do what I am about to do, but in a different way. With a child going off to university, I had decided on a radical change of life. Selling my house and most possessions [just keeping sentimental things], and want to get down to a couple of suitcases. I was going to find a modest place to live, and finish my masters and start teaching. If I were to win a lot of money I would go and do a gap year abroad, travel and so some charity work [although I would wait until my daughter finishes uni first, still need to believe she needs me around hehe]. See all the world, because I have spent most of my adult life working my butt off, single parent, no holidays you know the kind of thing....BUT, I met someone really special. So house sale etc still going ahead. Only difference now is that I am going to quit one of my two jobs and together we are going to enjoy the quieter simpler things in life. In my book, there can be nothing finer than that.....0
-
If the figure was 200k, I know exactly what I'd do.
* 66k - I'd pay my mortgage off
* 20k - I'd build the huge conservatory I have always wanted
* 3k - I'd pay any outstanding debts (not many really)
* 10k - New car for my wife (mines new anyway)
I think that'd leave around 100k to use as the basis for an annuity. This would make enough money per year to pay for a bloody good family holiday.
I'd still work, I'd still save, but my life would be MUCH easier.
cheers :beer:
PeteDebt-free as of 01.10.08. I will never have a CC again and I'm "in the black" :beer:0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 354.6K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.5K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 455.5K Spending & Discounts
- 247.5K Work, Benefits & Business
- 604.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 178.6K Life & Family
- 261.9K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards