Do you bore your friends?

brummiebabe

I tell EVERYONE about MSE & I'm sure most people just don't get it!!!

My sister asked me to look at her outgoings - recently divorced, struggling a little etc..just by shopping around re: car insurance etc etc could have saved around £80-100 per month!! However, "not got round to it!!" is the only answer I get! Instead is doing overtime to 'supplement' her income!!

As we've all seemed to realise..people have to be at that point in their lives when the lightbulb goes on!!:D

fairylights_2

mountainofdebt wrote:

One thing I would love to know is why I can pass on the advice I get off this site about saving money on utility bills to my mum but she won't take a blind bit of notice until she hears the same words coming from Martin himself!

My parents are the opposite - they listen to me and say they'll do it, then see Martin on TV and think it's a big con ... quite how, I don't know. Maybe the Daily Telegraph told them not to change yet. :rolleyes:

tattooed_lady

Well, I try not to go on about MSE too much cos I'm sure people think I'm a loon, but I have managed to get my sister to BT her credit cards to a 0% one for 9 months and to re-think her utilities etc but (in my opinion) they overspend way too much and don't budget properly. They have one child and both work full time and earn more money than us but are still heavily overdrawn every month, whereas I only work part-time, OH full time and we have 3 kids and seem to budget better. I dunno, I guess she needs her 'lightbulb' moment and until that happens I won't be able to help her!

tomstickland

MY friends have various levels of interest, but I don't tell them too much unless they ask questions. I think that they can appreciate that there's loads of info out there, but I can act as a sort of 1st point of call for them.

ozzyfan_2

I try not to go OTT when talking about this site but its hard not to get excited about it & I don't think many of my friends quite get it yet!

my family are more enthusiastic though, my 12 year old wanted to join MSE the other day but I had to tell him to wait till he's a bit older as I could see him causing havoc in the Arms

110frankie

Some people welcome advice, others don't. Have you noticed as well how some people talk about debts with despair in their voices while others almost boast about their debts?
Weird.
I treat saving money and living within my means as a hobby. Yet I do not live like a miser, We live quite well, just don't have debts and money worries and have a lot of fun finding bargains.
Luckily my beloved is as tigh... er... mise... er "careful" with money as I am, so we do it together.

Avogirly

At first my parents thought it was funny, but now they are beginning to come around to my way of thinking, expecially as they see how well I am doing at budgeting and reducing my debt, I've even taken my Mum bargin hunting round Asda, she loved it!
Through Martin and MSE I have managed to budget and move out of home and in with my boyfriend, and yet still pay off debt.
At first I found it really hard as I am the type of person who wants to do/have everything but now I am more focused and have my goals and plans laid out, not only regarding my financial situation but my whole life!

(Just off for a little cry!)

dinkylou

I do bore one or two of them but they know that I mean well.

The only person who wont take advice and really needs it is my sister. Shes at uni and is spending far more than she gets in, even with a part time job.

I know what its like as I've been there but she s very stubborn and thinks she has money to burn.

I've tried saying that she should look at this site and that it's a battle with money even after uni. I still think she thinks a well paid job will fall in her lap and all will be solved.

Parents bail her out all the time. Guess she'll learn the hard way in time, just wish she'd learn from my situation not do the same.

Bargain_Rzl

I don't know about boring but everybody at work thinks I'm mad.

I was quite moneysaving pre-MSE, and the other day I mentioned (in context) to some colleagues that when I was a student (1996-99) I lived on £3k a year and didn't get into debt. Their response was that I can't have had any fun or had a life

Admittedly I was a student in a cheap area (York, walking distance from uni and rent in the vicinity of £40 a week) and lived with my parents in the holidays, but I just don't get it. I thought I lived a very comfortable life. In fact I used to live quite well on £400 (after rent) for each ten-week term (£15 a week food/£15 a week pocket money/£100 a term treats & extras) and have £200 surplus for the holidays. I didn't spend all my time in the pub but I had one or two good nights out a week, and spent the rest of the time making the most of life's free pleasures that come along with being a student - my free internet access, free access to course books (library), etc. In fact I think my only major outlay was my TV licence which kept me occupied a lot of the time :rolleyes:

I am also constantly surprised by my mum, who despite teaching me all my money management skills, never has any money herself (though I don't think she has any debts) - she doesn't see why I like this site so much, and is convinced it wouldn't save her any more money than she's already saving. She has a modest income of about £16-£17k, a small mortgage (on which she's currently only managing to make interest payments) and only really herself to support (my brother is home from uni in the holidays but my father contributes to his costs). Admittedly she has a car (old runaround) and pets (dog & 2 cats) but I am sure she could live less close to the edge of her means than she does. She hasn't even compared utility companies

thriftychick

People around here tend to be quite well off and so wouldn't understand the joy of paying more than a minimum payment off their credit card or receiving a freebie through the post. Their loss.