The Green Eyed Monster....

slackboy

Great Thread. I've recent become consumed by an irrational desire to buy a Saab Cabriolet. We have a car and don't need 2, but the pull of top down motoring is strong for this petrolhead.

We have savings to pay for it but my job is ending in march. I shall keep coming back to this thread and remind myself that I am only being a jealous magpie who covets shiny things.

Thank-you.

eco

It's not those in debt that get just a little jealous,I'm not in debt except for the mortgage but I am single and have to do it alone, my sister has a better car but I'm saving for a newer one, so I can hopefully take advantage of interest free or pay it in full, my other way of thinking is if I lose my job at least I've got more savings, but it ain't easy saving every month and telling myself I don't need treats. So your not alone.

vandanfc

eco wrote: »

but it ain't easy saving every month and telling myself I don't need treats. So your not alone.

How about a pin up of your new dream car ? Would looking at that keep you motivated to keep on saving and then when you get the car, save a bit more and then have a treat ?

My daughter (who will be 11 on Friday) wants an ipod touch, because one of her friends got one for Christmas. We have refused to buy her one, but told her that if she wants to save up for it, then she can buy one herself. She has a photo stuck on her savings penguin to keep reminding her of her goal. It will be a little while before she has enough money, and who knows by then she may have changed her mind, but if she hasn't she can afford to buy it for herself.

OuterNet

Too true! Try counting your blessings every day- this blog is great! http://threebeautifulthings.blogspot.com/

Otherwise, try a mini-treat. Instead of buying a new car, could you get your car valeted or offer to look after their new car whilst they are on holiday!! Or maybe a day trip where you treat yourself. Not sure if this is very MSE and maybe small temptations could give way to bigger ones though...

fascinated

I'm so pleased people are finding this thread thought provoking. I posted it initially to stop me going off and spending money online that i can't afford. It worked - I have spent nothing this week apart from £4.00 on some bread and potatoes which we absolutely needed. Fantastic.

It's true what you say OuterNet - when my car is nice and shiny it looks lovely (if you don't look TOO closely).

My husband and I were saying the other evening that at the end of the day when we are all safely tucked away in our warm house with the children we are absolutely fine. It is just when we have to venture outside the front door and see what others have that the green eyed monster rears it's head.

We are naive in some respects because we always assume when others buy something that they have paid with it in cold hard cash. We know from our own experiences that credit has been all too easy to come by in the past and it is possible to have everything today and spend the next twenty years of your life paying for it.

We are glad that we have jumped off the spending wagon and are able to see things clearly now.

All the best everyone.

Fasci xx

webitha

fascinated wrote: »

Thanks liuhut and Percy. Isn't it odd how we make so many assumptions? People are buying new stuff and going abroad so we ASSUME they are doing well. People keep old stuff forever and we ASSUME they can't afford to replace it. It really intrigues me.

Fasci xx

well you know what the saying goes, to ASSUME makes an !!! out of U and ME

fascinated

Too true webitha, all too true.

I'm feeling much more upbeat about things now. Just been to the bank to pay some money into my children's savings account and asked about overpaying our loan. They tell me it's not worth doing, won't save anything on interest and it's better to put the money in a savings account. I'll have to do some more research on that but might look into putting it into a cash isa or something similar and earn some interest.

See, I have better things to think about than my sister's new gas guzzler!

Fasci xx

tara747

IsoChick wrote: »

My immediate boss earns a whopping great salary, but you wouldn't know it. She drives a 10 year old car that breaks down a lot, lives in a small terraced house, wears very nice, but very old clothes etc. When she does spend money, it goes on fabulous holidays - walking part of the Great Wall of China, visiting Machu Pichu etc. not material things like clothes and cars etc.

That's more or less me! Well, my salary is not quite 'whopping' but it's not bad either. I only ever buy clothes in the sales, have a strict budget for everything, cook from scratch, bring lunch to work, save £x religiously every month (for house deposit) and all the other MSE stuff... but my big outgoing is holidays/travel and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my life, I've been all over the world and have a lot of brilliant memories and am constantly planning more trips, it's what makes me and OH happy.

My friends who spend all their salaries on designer clothes, bags, shoes, makeup and takeaway coffees are suddenly waking up to the fact that they earn about the same as me but can never 'afford' holidays. It's simply prioritising spending!

Edited to say: I tune out any green eyed monster (after all, my friends are beautifully turned out and groomed with the money they spend) by telling myself I have a limited amount of money and choices to make. I make my choice, I'm more than happy with - so I don't envy them their material stuff! After all, I can get most of it 'on the cheap'. But they do envy me my hols...

tara747

liuhut wrote: »

Interesting thread... one of my friends recently told me that someone had commented to her that I must be skint as I had an old car!!!! Now I'm not skint (because of this place!!!) but even if I did have a new car how the hell would she know if I paid cash or not...ooh it really p'd me off but it just goes to show how some people think xx

That person is destined to pay compound interest (rather than earning it). Foolish girl.

tara747

Norfolk_Jim wrote: »

The most wealthy person I know smells, hardly ever changes clothes, sits in the dark with no heating and eats cold porridge to save on the cost of heating the milk. They are very elderly and will soon leave it all behind for some distant relative to blow on tropical holidays and cars. You would think she'd buy an annuity and live it up a little. How often do you read of seemingly really poor people leaving an amazing sum in their estates

Now that is really sad. I do not intend to be like that!!!