OS Now & Then: 2005/6

[Deleted User]

I have been on here for only a few short weeks and what an inspiration you all are to me. I love the mix of young and older folks and ideas. This site is filling in for something that has been taken away from our society. Big thanks to Martin for setting the ball rolling

My aim for 2006 is have a much smaller larder stock. There are two of us these days and I still have a store that will feed dozens

My wardrobe has too many of those lovely clothes that I need to shrink into. I`ll see how it goes in 2006 and will bite the bullet one way or another by the year end

I already do masses of home-cooking but meal planning for the week ahead needs to come back into my life in 2006. Meal planning will stop me impulse buying and overfilling my cupboards

2005/2006 is a big transition time for us in that my OH retires in a few months. We are debt-free and I want to stay that way so budget preparation has started, thanks to msm. 2005 I spent as and when I wanted. Reading the threads here has made me re-assess and it has been like turning a tanker, but I am on my way.

Maisie

frizz_head wrote:

Bless ya heart Queenie - I hope you too have a fantastic 2006 - you have been a massive source of insipiration to me this past year, and also such a huge help when things were not so great for me.

Thank you so much for everything!


Frizz

I second that Frizz( to Queenie). I have just been diagnosed with early signs of breast cancer and her pm's to me are such a comfort and inspiration.

I face more surgery in January with hope even if I am scared.

The O/S site and all who contribute are a pleasure to 'know'.

Happy New Year everybody and keep on money saving.

Hope 2006 is a good year for all.

luv Maisie.

ivyleaf

I'm still very much a beginner but have reduced food bills, am recycling all recyclable waste (despite wondering if it's going to end up on a quayside in Djarkarta, as shown in a recent TV programme!), and cooking from scratch about 80% of the time - meal planning is difficult though, as I never know in advance what, or if, I'm going to feel well enough to cook! But I am quite sure we all feel better for eating so much more freshly-prepared food. I've just bought a SC too! Was going to try it out today with Creamy Rice Pudding, then realised it was too late unless we wanted to eat it as a Hogmanay midnight snack!

Also using fewer chemicals for cleaning etc.

Thanks so much Martin and everyone for all your helpful tips.

ivyleaf xxx :rudolf:

Sweet_Pea_2

Then:- OH did shopping, I did not know what things cost. Shopping weekly £80+
Now:- I do shopping, I compare prices, buy hardly any frozen ready meals, lots more cooking and freezing, and cooking from scratch, do bulk of food shopping at Aldi. Result, we eat much better and food bill is now £50-£60 pw. Aim:- more cooking from scratch and also meal planning as have not done this before.

I also recycle much, much more, have reduced our rubbish for the dustbin men. I have started a compost bin, also have a section of the garden earmarked for vegetable patch, OH has (started) a cold frame, have bought half price veg seeds, (thanks to squeaky's post) have strawberry and garlic plants in my porch.

I have stopped spending so much money on kids clothes (my weakness) have bought some kids stuff from ebay, (my friends are having a good time pulling my leg over this but I am taking no notice, as my girls are happy with the things that they have) and I have sold lots of things on ebay too. My aim is to ebay and car boot more and de-clutter our home! I wanted a new coat and bought one from ebay for £5 which I am really pleased with and would have had to pay at least £60+ for in the shops.

My aim for 2006 is to keep on Old Styling slowly but surely, trying out more things, (meal planning and hm cleaning products are next on my list) keeping much more of any eye on what we spend money on. We are in the lucky position not to have any debts except for the mortgage, the mortgage statement is now taped to the fridge door. Our savings will be put towards home improvements that we want to carry out, reducing our mortgage and building a rainy day fund.

Like someone else said, I love the blend of ages and personalities on MSE but Old Style in particular, I think I always had Old Style tendencies anyway but finding this board has made me feel free to indulge them without feeling like a bit of an eccentric.

Have a very happy moneysaving 2006.

skylight

Well, I was always savyish! Paid attention to my bills, insurances etc, but spent like a fish! Over spending on food shopping, buying the family stuff we didn't need.

I must admit that whilst I (and OH) were working full time in nice careers, we were spending within our means (well, not really, but we could pay back the CCs minimum every month!)

NOW: My food bill has been cut dramatically, meal planning, home cooking

THEN: Housework fitted in with when I could be bothered!
NOW: Small Changes! Followed this plan and everything is sorted - clean and tidy (still not to my mothers standards though!) And is much easier to deal with

THEN: Turn on the oven for cooking a SINGLE Jacket Potato (the shame.....)
NOW: No Way! Either its on for a full meal, or I use every shelf and cook cakes/pies etc. I even use the after-cooked warmth when in off mode to warm desserts for afters and the kids milk for their night drink!

Still have a long way to go. I still use the tumble dryer and need to vinegar/bicarb more!

Have a great 2006!

THEN: Chuck everything in the bin
NPW: Recycle as much as possible. Our garden is to small for a compost, but I save it and pass it to my neighbour for his!

Queenie

charlotte664 wrote:

....

THEN: Chuck everything in the bin
NPW: Recycle as much as possible. Our garden is to small for a compost, but I save it and pass it to my neighbour for his!

I also have a small garden, but bought a compost bin from the "council" when they were having a big sale of them a few years ago. It's neat, takes up little space and I haven't looked back.

In the kitchen I have an enamel mini "urn" which I put all our teabags, eggshells into (veggie stuff gets wrapped in newspaper - the freebie papers - then straight into composter.

Hopefully, if your garden is seriously postage stamp size, your neighbour will return your kindness in ways which will benefit you for *your* thoughtfulness.

MATH

Wow - you've all had so many achievements:T I've been OS for more years than I care to remember so don't have any dramatic now and thens to post but I love reading all yours.

JAMIEDODGER

i have made loads of changes since joining the boards in may. there have been times in my life when ive had to be very careful with my money and have learned to live on next to nothing but this has been a "whole attitude" change.

then = threw away all my rubbish for the binmen and recycled nothing.
now = i have a composter and a large recycling bin. i take may glass to the glass bank and the rest is collected by our council. i have dramatically cut our volume of rubbish left out for the dustman every week. i use items with less packaging and use calico bags for my shopping so i dont take home loads of carrier bags.

then = although i liked a bargain, i mainly shopped at tesco for food thinking they we the best value for money.
now = i shop at the farmshop for my fruit and veg, butchers for my meat, i go to lidl for other bits and also use another shop which sells food at reduced prices and big bottles of squash for 99p, i still use tescos...but for the bogofs

then = made very little myself
now = make my own, bread, pizza, cakes, biscuits, quiches etc i also bought chicken so i have a fresh supply of eggs for my baking

then = always paid charges for being overdrawn or late
now = am gradually clearing my debt with making double payments on my credit cards each month

then = always managed to pay for christmas with cash, but usually spent to much and with no proper budget, running out at last min to buy things i had forgotten
now = had christmas done dusted and wrapped up by october!!!

then = sat in my house wondering how on earth i was ever going to find the money to decorate and buy things to make it look nicer
now = have recently finished front room complete with "new" (to me) leather 3 piece suite and chocolate brown carpet, new curtains (matalan) and a few decorative bits and bobs.



thanks all sooooooooo much! heres to you guys and a continuting OStylee 2006 :beer:

apple_mint

As they say ... what a difference a year makes!

Joined MSE in March and ....

Then: spent around £90 a week on shopping and still popped into the village supermarket and spent money on buying 'special offers' when I simply went round to get some milk
Now: Shopping bill is around £50 per week - basic items bought from supermarket, fruit and veg from Farm shop and meat once a fortnight from the farmers market. No popping out for extra's as I've learnt from OS to freeze a week's supply of milk. Aim to get this down even more over the next few months.

Then: we were eating unhealthly, buying ready meals and were totally unaware of those nasty hydrogenated fats that were clogging up our arteries
Now: food is cooked from scratch. We know our meat is well reared and we have the added bonus of food that ACTUALLY tastes good!

Then: would pop a ready meal in the oven - real cooking was doing the Sunday roast
Now: I have over 50 recipe books (from car boots and charity shops) and a range of notebooks in which I write recipes (from OS and libary books). I'm not afraid to experiment and my cooking and baking skills have definately improved over the last 6 months thanks to everyone on MSE OS! THANK YOU EVERYONE! OH never wants to go out for a meal or takeaway - he much prefers our OS meals and has taken over the breadmaking role - we haven't bought a shop loaf since April.

Then: rented a house on the edge of town. Stayed there because it was convenient and too difficult to move even though we didn't like the house
Now: Moved into a house in the country. Car booted a lot of our excess possessions (and got £300 to buy a big fridge with) or gave the rest to charity (recycling). Love our new home - a big kitchen to cook in (with a table in it which is now the focus and heart of our home ... even teenage daughter stops off, sits down and talks to me there as I'm using it as baking table (she also waits for bits of cookie mix!) ) - and we have lovely walks down into local woodland, peaceful and quiet and well away from the stress and traffic of today's life.

Then: bought expensive cleaning materials
Now: Vinegar and bicarb of course ... OH won't use anything but vinegar now when cleaning windows! Have been making my own washing powder but slipped and bought some washing tablets over the Christmas period ... I promise to try very hard to stop doing that!

Then: OH and I had two contract phones costing £25 a month each and a Sky subscription costing another £20 a month!
Now: both on PAYG (free sim cards - found on MSE of course!) and barely spend £10 a month between us on mobiles. Stopped Sky and found that we didn't miss the programmes - also found that the box acted like freeview and we found that we are watching a whole new set of programmes on channels we never bothered looking at before. In additon - because we value our time more we don't couch potato anymore. We make lemon curd, chutney, jam, meals for the freezer, repair things, read more books from the library, go for walks etc etc etc.

We still have a long way to go ... paying off debts, budgeting more, trying new things (I'd love to change my job and get away from the stress and do something more creative) but what fun we have had over the last year

BWZN93

Interesting thread!!

Money

Then: Was clueless about money and a student

Now: Want to become a Financial Advisor and am on the way to becoming debt free

Food

Then: Spent around £50-£60 per week on just food for the two of us and ate a lot of junk, pre-processed stuff and didnt really care either

Now: Spending around £35 a week for two plus cat, and that includes washing powder etc, and 2006 will see the budget stay at £35, but also include things like gifts and make up etc. Food is now home cooked, even down to burgers and pizza's and we are eating a lot more veg, as well as me forcing the boyf into things he previously dismissed, like sausages and salmon.

Organisation

Then: Was a student who could barely organise herself to get to uni, never mind a budget and keeping on top of cleaning and ironing

Now: Working full time, there is never more than one load of laundry that needs to be ironed, budget in place and not been overdrawn for over 3 months, and things get done in a timely fashion. I Intend to start studying again this year and actually do it properly - setting aside time for it and actually doing it.

Pure £££

Then: Car insurance was expensive, the cat wasnt insured, and taxing the car would always be a suprise that ended up being paid a day or two late

Now: Car is fully on the road, the car insurance costs are cheaper by shopping around, the cat insurance is arguably one of the best on the market and not expensive, and the savings account has £50 per month deposited so things get paid without killing the budget (this has only just fallen into place though - 2006 will see this organised and working fully)

Home

Then: Was living in a rented student house that really was the pits, with 8 other people and no peace and quiet and arguments over who was putting yet another £20 on the electricity meter, Electric cooker that was broken and invariably left on all night by some idiot, washing clothes etc at the laundrette, seeing rats in the house, and Living in between a busy train line and a busy main road, and not even being able to park outside the house without a permit.

Now: Living in a rented 1 bed flat of top quality and very fair price and a decent size, that was unfurnished so I could put my stamp on it (without the help of loans etc either - just simply wages). I have a washer/drier, a lovely bathroom, gas/elec by bills, a GAS cooker (lovely!), on street parking for free and a private car park coming soon, and proper security features such as burglar alarm, CCTV, and intercom and door buzzer. I only need a large bookcase and TV stand then the house is pretty much complete, and none of the stuff I bought was that cheap.

Boyf

Then: Was lazy, often annoying and stubborn, and not quite sure what he was doing with himself.

Now: A vaguely improved model of smarter appearance, that washes dishes, hoovers, takes care of the cat (and the poo), takes out the trash, runs errands and has now accepted that I am the boss. He signs whatever bit of paper I tell him to without question, asks me if he can do x, y, z first, and has accepted the need for him to find a full time job, which is his first task of the new year. Has also stopped using the Lloyds Debit card and is now using a cash card only from my work and intends to pay off his debts too. :j

Ethics/being green/karma/health

Then: I drove everywhere, I didnt do anything to help 'the world' and I certainly didnt recycle. I went to Yoga twice, it was a 5 min walk away from home and drove there.


Now: I recycle cans (which is usually only boyf's beer cans :rolleyes: ) keep packaging to a minimum and get the bus to work, as well as walking to places if they are close enough. I joined freecycle, and bookcrossing, and donate blood to humans and £ to a charity I like. I also intend to start helping out at and RSPCA place over the next year if they want me, even if it is only one morning a month to take a few dogs for a walk. Im starting swimming and walking more too.


To sum: 2006 is about improving on what I begun last year when I found MSE. New Year 2005 wasnt one of the proudest moments of my life, I was turning 25 and had lost my way and was out of control. Finding MSE has helped me gain some control, knowledge and become a bit more concious of the world we live in. 2006 marks the start of a whole new me and ive never liked myself more if im honest. I hope that it really is the year that I finally become a 'responsible adult' that is in control and has a direction in life and convicition to do it all, even if I fall on flat on my face and have to start again. Bring it on 2006 :beer:

Jo xx