At what point is the saving not worth it ?

CrazyIndianZA

A lot of these threads are truly inspiring and reallly makes me realise that I need to save more.

My question for you, is at what point is the saving not worth the time and effort ? One of my biggest non fixed expenses is my lunch/fruit/snacks at work (£100-£140pm depending on hours). From my point it is a necessary evil because if I look at my day today, the first bit of "free time" I've had all day has started at 22:30.

My other question for you is whether you think excercise and exercise related costs are a necessity or not (I'm talking gym memberships / martial arts clubs etc) ?

Gemmzie

I think that even on a DMP or with the last resort of bankruptcy - it ain't a prison sentence and even prisoners get leisure time!

It's all about balance.

rchrisp

how come you're spending so much on food at work?

can you not make a decent meal each night and take the leftovers in for dinner the next day?

bandraoi

Pay yourself a notional hourly rate, when the time taken at the hourly rate exceeds the money saved, it's not worth it.
I tend to value myself in the region of £5 - £10ph

For instance free clicks to me simply aren't worth it, 10p or 20p for 20 minutes work, is far below worth being a time saving to me.

CrazyIndianZA

rchrisp wrote: »

how come you're spending so much on food at work?

can you not make a decent meal each night and take the leftovers in for dinner the next day?

I don't actually eat dinner..Friday evening is my first meal at home for the week.

firesidemaid

it all depends.

i can save a few hundred a year here and there - if i chose not to bother with any of the money-saving/making ideas or just one i would save nothing or very little.

therefore i choose to do as many as possible so it adds up into thousands per year. stoozing, ebay, coupons, quidco etc

different people find different methods suit them better. i don't think i'll ever get my head round matched betting (or find the time:rotfl: ).

CrazyIndianZA

Gemmzie wrote: »

I think that even on a DMP or with the last resort of bankruptcy - it ain't a prison sentence and even prisoners get leisure time!

It's all about balance.

Erm, what is a "DMP" ?

Gemmzie

Sorry, a debt management plan - where you agree with your creditors to make lower monthly payments on debts because you can't afford to pay them.

CrazyIndianZA

firesidemaid, I do all the quidco/cashback stuff, tend not to eat at expensive restaurants and don't really go out partying (too old to care ). There is the nagging feeling that I am still wasting cash but I am wary of going the other extreme.

My Dad scrimped and saved for most of his life, working 7 days a week until (Sunday was 1/2 day) he was in his late 50s. He missed out on a large portion of his life

CrazyIndianZA

Gemmzie wrote: »

Sorry, a debt management plan - where you agree with your creditors to make lower monthly payments on debts because you can't afford to pay them.

Ahhh, compromise agreement I think we use to call it (back in .ZA)

LilacPixie

Personally I don't think gym memberships are important or a nessesity. yes excercise is good for you but you can get excercise by leaving the car at home and walking the mile to see a friends or visit the shops or whatever.

whoa on the amount you spend at work tho thats £35 ish a week see yo me I would think that visiting the fruit market on my day off and buying lots of fruit then taking it into work was worth it. I would also think that spending an hour once a week batch cooking some nice lunches for the next week. The way I would see it is if i'm saving £30 a week then I am needing to work 3 less hours to pay the essensials KWIM