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

Thefunkygibbons

I don't miss much as I did not spend extra money as the income increased

It would be nice to go out for a big meal as we did when there was 2 of us, but in reality the children cannot tell the difference between home and Miller's kitchen so a really expensive place would be lost on them

I don't miss the pub, although once smopking is banned it may become more appealing

James240

im still finding it hard to ween my self off going out every friday night with people from work.... i try to say im only going for a couple but i end up staying there until the end of the night.......although i misss going out midweek down the pub but i have managed to stop this by going to the gym nearly every night of the week.....


so i miss going to the pub during midweek lol

fairylights_2

I don't think I've thought about it, really ... it certainy makes interesting reading. The hardest thing? mmmm ... maybe not being able to go visit my parents as often as I'd like (it's 100 mile round trip, and if I can't afford the diesel, we just don't go). It's made more difficult because they're very good at piling the guilt on "we haven't see you since New Year, I can't imagine how much the children have changed ..."

The easiest thing? Drinking so much. Not that I'm an alcoholic, but I do like a drink. Now we might get one bottle a fortnight, if I'm lucky, and I got two bottles of vodka at Christmas (I asked for them instead of selection boxes) so they go together with the bulk pack of tonic water. My lovely dad even bought me a bottle of vintage port as a thank you for helping them out pre-Christmas, so I can have a little sip sometimes. I think my monthly spend on wine, beer and spirits may well have gone from £40 to £5, which is amazing. That said, being pregnant and then feeding my daughter, I couldn't drink anyway, so that helped!

I'm not a lush, honest

ozzyfan_2

sammyy wrote:

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

yeaaahhhhh! can listen to Kerrang again :j

thank you so much sammyy - you are a star!


:):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

8pnoodles

Moving into a shared house and giving up my car were strangely, I thought going to be the hardest things, but they were easy.

The hard ones were doing bar work on top of my full time job, and also my 3 week attempt at cycling to work last year instead of lift sharing (to save me petrol money). Both of these made me seriously ill last year. I get like this a lot I should have known better! 6 months on and I'm still suffering, having long ago given up the cycling and bar work. On the up side being ill like this means I don't care about never going out!

Gillby1

Well, this has certainly made me think...

I guess the easiest thing is actually the thing that's taken the most overall effort - food shopping! I enjoy planning meals and buying bargains, reducing my waste and using up leftovers. So although i spend lots of time making sure i save on food, i actually really enjoy it! I've halved my food bill to approx £100 per month for two people - sometimes less.

The most difficult thing, though ....

That has to be clothes shopping. I love it. Even though i tend to buy in cheap shops (Peacocks, Primark, H&M) i still over spend on them. I am good for most of the month, then i get a sudden urge to buy clothes. It doesnt help that i work in the town centre and am very close to shops at lunchtime. I guess i'll have to stop going out at lunch, and i'll have to leave my debit card at home.

I'm getting there, tho!

Gills x

Callisto

I found that giving up nights out and cutting out alcohol have been the easiest. I'm not keen on clubbing or trendy bars any more (at the grand old age of 26!) I prefer to go to friends houses, the cinema, or a nice pub or restaurant for a meal - once a month for a meal. I haven't had any alcohol since the 1st January, partly because of the expense, but mostly because I'm now on a healthy eating plan and don't want to waste my calorie allowance on booze.

The most difficult thing for me has been attempting to stop buying books and PC and XBox games. Have done quite well on the books, have only bought two since the start of the year (Martin's New Money Diet and a Terry Pratchett one that was in the sale!). PC and console games are our biggest weakness, me and boyfriend can spend ages looking in game shops - we try to buy budget titles (not the full price new releases), but usually come away with at least two EACH.

We're not hugely in debt, but really trying to save money for our wedding, so I must curb above spending on games etc. I think realistically we're going to need around £3 - 4k for our wedding plans as boyf has point blank refused to get married in a registry office or go abroad and wants a 'nice' civil venue...

Kevicho

Ive just cancelled sky, but will not miss kerrang, scuzz on the other hand maybe, but then again i have the internet and access to the many internet radio stations to keep me happy

Have not been going to my fave pub anywere near as much, and havent seen my sheffield friends as much either, but thats where the joy of msn messenger comes in.

Ive cut down a huge amount on beer, but last week i went out 4 times (paid for twice) and thanks to a win on the slot machine (26 quid from 4 quid) ands a win on the quiz (2 more pints!) ive spent less than 30 quid!

Tondella

The hardest daily struggles for me are spending on food and clothing. I haven't overspent on my clothing budget however i find it a real hardship to not dress as well as i would wish to. As for food, well i have good intentions but apparently no discipline at stopping buying "little things" that add up over the week. I have absolutely no money at the moment, because i have been tardy in cashing a cheque. I've got food in the house but man am i missing the freedom of choice to say "oh, I'll just get this". Still it's been a mini lightbulb moment all by itself and I'm going to really tackle these little spends next month.

smokey112

I don't really think there is anything - we used to have takeaway's a couple of nights a week - now it is once a fortnight maybe and to tell you the truth I don't really enjoy it - I get more satisfaction planning our weekly meals and cooking from scratch - my indian and chinese food it just as good as takeaways - cheaper and healthier too.

We weren't into going out much - prefer going to friends or them coming to us

I do miss my glass of wine at night - we decided that we where drinking far too much so have cut right back

We are looking forward to 2009 which is when our IPA for BR will be finished and dreaming of how quickly the mortage and secured loan will be paid off.

Ang
x