Hardest/easiest thing to give up to become debt free?

JAMIEDODGER

morning all....

for me the hardest thing to give up has been going out. as a single mum and stay at home parent, i have found i really do miss going out, letting my hair down with my mates and having a boogie and a drink! i last went out in october (i think) and am not planning to go out until beginning of april for my birthday. my friends are good and will come round and chill with me and have a drink and a laugh...but i still miss the clubbing!!

the easiest thing has been cutting down on the food shopping and buying unneccesary rubbish..i now think before i buy anything! i do miss the act of shopping but not as much as i miss leftover money at the end of the month! i tend to now head towards the freebies board to curb my purchase addiction!

something i thought was going to be really hard was stopping my expensive haircuts and having my nails done. i havent actually missed that at all its been easy....a mate now does my hair..for free and i give myself a manicure every sunday (on my pamper me night lol)


whats been easy/hard for you? have you found some thing easier/harder than you thought it would be?

id love to hear (maybe im just nosey!)

5limJim

I dont think you're being nosey, its got to be the same for many others, everyone wants to know what other people spend their money on, and more importantly what they are cutting back on...

Like you (although being the opposite sex) I have found the going out part to be one of the hardest sacrifices... I had to wean myself off the whole weekends, especially in a strangely more expensive than people would think Newcastle (hey, we dont all wear flat caps and walk around with greyhounds on a lead).. But, fortunately there is always a different friend who I can go to each week to try to break up the weekend, and the costs saved staying in do make a dent (thats not to say that alcohol doesnt make a welcome appearance still though)...

The manicures havent been too much of a problem for me so that part was easy, though maybe its because of these talons that I'm still a single guy...

I think I've just had to learn to sacrifice what I can where I can, and am at the stage where its not really bothering me that much (Yet!). I used to be a total gadget freak, and have quite easily trained myself not to go out and have to buy the latest gadgets....

I think you've got a good little setup there, and a good vision of when you're going to be debt free.... Keep Going!

Lottiepots

The hardest thing for me to give u has been buying new clothes... I used to buy new things quite a lot hence the reason I got into this situation..

The easiest things have been cutting down the amount I spend on a night out... Still go out and socialise just don't buy the whole pub a drink once I've had a few.. also made a lot of savings on food shopping and present buying with shopping around for the best bargains..

When I think about it I don't even notice the clothes thing anymore but that was the hardest initially!

frosty

the hardest thing for me is not using the car during the day,I decided to try and save petrol money and wear and tear costs,I used to drive every where,my petrol costs have gone down from £50 :eek: a month to just £10 :j ,you soon get used to walking instead of using the car I dont feel like I need an oxygen mask at the end of my walk now :rotfl: .my husband misses going to the PUB
I miss my trips to the hairdressers,my mum now cuts our hair she used to be a canine beautician :eek: my husband misses the PUB
The shopping has been the easiest thing to cut back on.
My sons miss the fact that I am no longer a walking cash machine :rotfl:
All my husband says is (yes you guessed it)I miss going to the pub.
I AM STILL WAITING FOR HIM TO HAVE HIS LIGHT BULB MOMENT :idea:

ozzyfan_2

the hardest thing to give up has been the car, couldn't afford to get the MOT done last year & finally sold it last week

the easiest thing to give up has been sky, apart from Kerrang I haven't missed it at all!

loubie_lou

apart from Kerrang I haven't missed it at all!

Hey OzzyFan! Not sure where you are in the country but you can get Kerrang on the Radio 105.2 (Its located in Brum - you can get it in most of the midlands though). It's not as good as the TV channel but I can put up with it!

ozzyfan_2

thanks loubie_lou but I'm in Devon & can't get it, I'm going to have to relocate now!

maybe I could get it on digital radio though? if you can I will have to put a radio on my "things to buy when I'm debt-free list"!!!

dinkylou

Yep, I pretty much agree with the others on here.

The hardest thing to give up has been going out on a weekend so regularly.

I do still go out but since I took up acting and dancing again in the week (a very cheap hobby!) I quite like having the weekends to relax.

that way im not itching to go out clubbing as much.

sammyy

Ozzyfan,if you go to the Kerrang website you can listen online.

highguyuk

I cant give up Food!!!

Now, I know that sounds bad. Im not overweight etc but I find it really hard to resist eating when Im out. If im in town ill pass shop selling drinks etc when I know im not completely desperate - often get some and found ive forgotten about it in a bag.

If I just cut down those things I'd save a fortune...

summerday

I used to go out clubbing loads, esp in my student days, but the past couple of years I have just found it a real drag and don't enjoy it at all, although a lot of my firiends still go. I know it's most likely me getting old and boring though lol! I must admit it has helped save money since I went off it though, even more so since I often babysit for parents who go out and pay me for looking after their little ones!

I do miss going out for meals in restaurants, when OH and I got together 3 years ago we used to eat out a lot and really enjoyed it. To be fair, we often used to use discount vouchers, but it's still far cheaper to eat at home. Now we mostly just eat out for family birthdays.

I buy most of my clothes from charity shops now, which doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would- there are lots of good condition clothes in them from high street shops I would have otherwise have bought them from new. I love working out the likely new price they would have been and the savings I have made.

We would love to go on more holidays, but we set ourselves a budget every year for travel and manage surprisingly well, always looking out for good deals etc.

When I really think about it, there's not that much I miss since we started cutting bac k, I think my mentality has changed to fit in with it which helps!