For Finally Forgoing Frittering

Saver-upper · 26 July 2014 at 4:48PM

Who will join me?

I have looked around the boards for a couple of days,and I can't find a challenge quite like this.If anyone can show me,please do,otherwise I will start here

.

For nearly 12 months,I have been keeping a spending diary.Now,the last few weeks,I have become VERY aware of just how much I am wasting on the stupid little things that I really could live without.Things that have just become an expensive habit.

I was becoming aware of the fact that I was getting into a (sometimes daily) habit of going to the local shops (ie garage),and buying snacks (mainly an assortment of chocolate

).Sometimes I would go to the local shop with the intention of buying "milk and bread"(should cost £2 for one of each),and coming out with very little change from £5 note.:eek:

I got cross with myself one day last week,where I went to Tesco to buy milk,apple juice,scones,jam.Actually came out with all those,plus more unnecessary rubbish(junk food),and only 77p change out of £20 note :mad:.

After that day,I thought I must add up how much I have frittered on chocolate,and bready-snacks (this month it has been bagels

).
Well,I have just done a tote-up now,and in the month of July,I have spent close to £90 on rubbish :eek::eek::eek:.(Could even be abit more because ATM I don't have my grocery receipts to hand,so can't itemise,but have added up the spends in my book entitled "snacks","rubbish",or "McColls".

So,who else would like to join me in kicking the waste?It could be anything YOU consider to be waste-junk food,Starbucks at work,new books because it is easier to buy when you see in the shop than going to the library,magazines,etc.
It would be lovely to have some company.:beer:

If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply!

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Saver-upper · 26 July 2014 at 8:22PM

Anyone??

I have been having a little think,and what I will do,is actually set aside the cash I know I would have spent,so I can physically see what I have saved.For example, it seems I spend,on average,£3-4 every couple of days on snacks at the local shop.So I might pay a few pounds across whenever I feel tempted to go out to the local shop/Tesco/etc just to buy "rubbish.
If I set it aside,seperate from my purse,it becomes a physical reminder of how much I would have spent.Then every couple of weeks I think I will add it to my sealed pot.

Buffythedebtslayer · 26 July 2014 at 10:48PM

hello

I have noticed I am terrible for this, I pop into shops all the time and buy things I don't need.

Although I am on holiday and don't shop as much or shouldn't as I won't be pooping out during my lunch hour! I am dreadful on Amazon.

77p here, 1.86 there. I have cut down my subscribe and save orders for the animals but the kindle........that is a different story!

So I pledge to confess spending or tell when tempted

thank you

xx

Saver-upper · 26 July 2014 at 11:13PM

Oooohh,welcome Buffythedebtslayer (I have read parts of your diary,it is on my subscribes list).Thank you for coming out to play

.Well done with cutting down.I look forward to your [STRIKE]confessions[/STRIKE] conquests.

We are going on holidays in two weeks,and I wonder if that will affect my impulse-buying.Maybe I won't do any.Maybe OH will buy all my treats

.Maybe,with him being around, my chance of being nagged by 4 kids for ice-cream/sweets/souvenirs/toys will be halved :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Sazzie23 · 27 July 2014 at 12:34AM

Saver-upper wrote: »

Anyone??

I have been having a little think,and what I will do,is actually set aside the cash I know I would have spent,so I can physically see what I have saved.For example, it seems I spend,on average,£3-4 every couple of days on snacks at the local shop.So I might pay a few pounds across whenever I feel tempted to go out to the local shop/Tesco/etc just to buy "rubbish.
If I set it aside,seperate from my purse,it becomes a physical reminder of how much I would have spent.Then every couple of weeks I think I will add it to my sealed pot.

Hi saver upper

Yes know just what you mean, not sure the best way for me to do this , as it's late and I'm tired so I'll try to come up with a plan tomorrow, but I think you can count me in.

You'll probably know from the NSD challenge I'm rubbish at posting regularly so maybe this will help me focus again.

Sazzie23 · 27 July 2014 at 12:37AM

I also think there might be folk interested who don't check the challenges pages? Are you allowed to post a link on the DFW main page ?

marmiterulesok · 27 July 2014 at 6:07AM

Saver-upper I did have a look at your thread,just before going to bed.I'm mostly very good about not deviating from my food budget,but sometimes glitches still happen.Also,my food budget is quite low,as I batch cook,make my own cakes and bread and don't eat meat.

I stupidly bought a magazine the other week-what a waste of money that was. I never usually shop for magazines,but was feeling a bit flush,so thought that I would treat myself. There was an article that caught my eye.I probably could have read the article online.

As for having a coffee/snack/getting the odd lunchtime sandwich-it just doesn't happen,ever.I'll take water out with me,and a banana usually,sometimes a piece of cake.

One thing that makes this so easy for me is that I live on my own.

Do you have a food budget?One other way that you could use all the money saved from 'frittering',and say,depending on the amount put aside,use it as budget money for another week (almost like getting a week free,if you see what I mean).This is what I do sometimes.

I plan to keep an eye on you...:)

marmiterulesok · 27 July 2014 at 6:31AM

I've just been reading your first post again.

Well done on keeping a spending diary.Do you shop using a shopping list?That can help enormously with avoiding impulse buys.

£90 spent on 'waste' is a lot of money.That's just over £20 a week.What would/could you have done with that sum if you hadn't spent it ie what else could you be doing with that money?I think that having an extra £90 a month is a huge bonus.I presume that you haven't gone into the red spending that £90?You don't mention that anyway...Do you use budgets for food etc?That could be a way forward.We all like chocolate from time to time-can you maybe buy on special offer or in bulk,so that there's always some in the house?

I don't live in the UK,so don't really know what £22 can buy in snacks/chocolate.I think that trying to cut out completely any spending of this kind is going to be quite hard.Can you not decide on having a smaller amount of cash each week to spend on the odd treat?Even spending £10 a week is an improvement.If you set the bar too high,you might just find it too hard,and slip back into old habits.

Just a few ideas.Good luck!:)

parsniphead · 27 July 2014 at 6:43AM

This is definitely an area I need to sort out so I'm in. I do meal plan but always seem to run out of one thing then end up buying £20 worth of stuff when I shop to replace it. What is it with £20 notes. I'm not successful with spending diaries but perhaps if I have to confess on here daily it will help.

Buffythedebtslayer · 27 July 2014 at 9:24AM

parsniphead wrote: »

This is definitely an area I need to sort out so I'm in. I do meal plan but always seem to run out of one thing then end up buying £20 worth of stuff when I shop to replace it. What is it with £20 notes. I'm not successful with spending diaries but perhaps if I have to confess on here daily it will help.

I hear you on the £20 notes or actual shopping total! I try to plan as really am only buying lunch and food for the animals. The bulk of the food comes from Amazon subscribe and save to try to stop me over buying and buying stuff which has broken the Pets at home addiction!

However on the way home from work the other day I accidently popped in to the Aquatics shops and the nursery/pet shop

and I spent 15 quid in the aquatics shop and 24 in the Petshop.

Frittering in the extreme!

I also spent 34.15 on clothes, well.......ok true confession.

shorts, a dress, underwear, then a container for my pet food and 4 spinner flower things for the garden as Mum likes them.

Technically all this is budgeted for as I have pots but these are wants not needs.

well that's my confessing down.

Have a good Sunday XX

parsniphead · 27 July 2014 at 1:20PM

I have ended up buying a three pack of Toffee Cr1sps today because I would have had to pay 50p for using my card in the shop when buying the items I wanted. I get really annoyed when shops do this but I would rather get something than pay 50p for nothing.

For Finally Forgoing Frittering

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