Tips and Quick Questions on “How To Start Being Old Style”

Pitlanepiglet

For me, really keeping an eye on the figures helped. Previously if I wanted something I just chucked it on a credit card and though "oh well what's another hundred quid", it didn't really have any value IYSWIM. Now I set a budget for the month and spending £100 out of that budget is a really big thing so I don't do it on a whim.

I have also banned myself from buying ANYTHING on a whim, I force myself to wait a few days and if I still want it then I buy if there is budget to do so. Quite a lot of the time I discover that I'm not terribly bothered after a few days.

I also try to buy something cheap ie ebay, carboot, local auction before looking at new.

Penelope_Penguin

coookiewoookie wrote: »

How did u all do it ???

We have a thread to help people who are starting out Old Style There are lots of links and tips to assist you.

As this has fallen from the front page of OS, I'll add it to that thread to help you with more ideas

Penny. x

coookiewoookie

thanks for all the support

BigMummaF

coookiewoookie wrote: »

How did u all do it ???
.... bought my children the top clothes , best branded toys, have a look in Charity shops--I've got the Offspring really good 'names' at a smidge of the price & also have the satisfaction of donating to good causes.
....convience/take away food etc ..have you seen the excellent recipes on the first page of every month's Grocery Challenge? <Hopefully this link works, plus there's links to other wonderful treasures to help reduce financial outlay.
I have realised the errors of my ways and im trying to cut back on everything , but i feel a bit jittery like im going cold turkey and that im gunna slip up and have a mass blow out and spend loads:o We ALL feel like this when we first find :money::rotfl:
....I have done some menu and im going to try and do a cleaning rota :T hopefully i can stick to it all These boards are absolutely over-flowing with like-minded souls & you'll find all the support you could only dream about. Can't help on motivation for the cleaning tho Still looking for that one mesen & probably not as much as I should be :whistle:
How long did it all take u to adapt to these new ways untill it was the staples of daily life / routine ? It really is surprising how quickly things sneak into your Life without you realising you are doing them, bit like humming out of tune in the queue at the check-outs T.i.a xxxxxxxxxx

I have a whole reference library of links to all manner of subjects that can be found on mse so if you're interested just ask. If I haven't got a clue, someone else will

Confuzzled wrote: »

....
i think one trap to try and avoid when cutting back is thinking of spending money as bad. sometimes it's very good. it's what, when and WHY you spend your money that needs to be examined and everyone has different reasons for being OS therefore if you want to squeeze pennies on your groceries all year so you can have a lush holiday in foreign climes well good on you etc etc! once we understand our spending WHY'S we find we can find suitable alternatives to poor habits and eventually it becomes second nature.

wish you the best of luck, i'm sure you'll do better than you think you can

All very good advice in the complete post earlier in the thread, but I wanted to say how I completely agree with the summing up you've made here Confuzzled :T I am not in a position where cost can be a secondary factor & look to these threads for ways to make what little I do have, work that little bit harder for me.
One particular thread I have found to be a great motivator is the No Spend Day Challenge. Perhaps some will say I am biased as I have been moving the thread over to the new month, but so many have said it helps them to identify their shopping habits. The January Challenge is HERE & you're all welcome to join the fun I assure you it will open your eyes to see just how easy it is to see where the money goes.

23rdspiral

Thank you for taking the time to write Confuzzled. I am not new to the MSE Oldstyle ways, though always have more to learn, but for some reason clicked into this thread for the first time in ages. I am so glad I did. Your post just sums up everything so very well. Thank you.


I'm sorry to quote it all, but I can't choose a best bit!

I really wish there were a way to bring a particular post to the ADMIN's or MARTIN's attention - this post is just excellent. Maybe there is and someone can do it? Well written, concise, fantastic advice, not preachy and very encouraging. Just Brilliant! :T

Confuzzled wrote: »

taking it easy is definitly the preferred option when you have to get the entire family on board and it's NOT being done due to crisis such as losing a job. i've found that when i first started out if i cut back too severely i just felt deprived and was prone to big blow out spends as you mentioned but now after many years of more and more trimming i sometimes look at cutbacks as a fun challenge, yep i said FUN!

if you are goal oriented or slightly competitive you can set yourself completely reachable goals to get the high of making the achievement but you'll probably do more than that because you want to beat your best so far and that makes it fun

if the family members aren't very receptive you'll probably have to do a mixture of just not mentioning certain things to them, putting spin on new ways of doing things and getting them to suck it in for their own good though if this measure is taken i highly recommend giving them a goal to work towards as well that makes the 'sacrafices' worth it for them and they are more likely to help and less likely to sabotage your efforts.

i think with anyone moving from one end of a spectrum back towards another you will have to judge when (and with whom) it's right to dicuss changes and bargains and when just not to mention it but you'll figure that out quickly enough!

even if you only do one little thing each day, something maybe as simple as saving that last portion of peas you might have thrown away so you can sprinkle them in a salad or put them in risotto for the next nights dinner, that is something to be proud of for that day.

as for dealing with 'temptation' you could first try writing down what you've accomplished each day for a few days then read back through it and that can help with your motivation. if that's still not strong enough then allow yourself a mini splurge. me and my ex used to try avoiding going out for dinner but if it had really been tempting us for several days then we would often break down and allow ourselves to spend half the amount we would have spent on a restaurant for any thing we wanted from say lidl or aldi's. we would usually get some nice things with the added bonus of having enough for several meals!

somethnig i used to do was take a trolley, spend time in a shop admiring things, and putting things that i wanted in the trolley, just like a regular trip...except that before i went to the til i would carefully reconsider each item and think things like 'well i can get this next month i don't need it now' or 'it will probably be on sale next week and i don't really need it' or 'i already have something that is similar' etc etc and i would then put back those items i deemed i didn't need.

this gave me a sense of pride that i wasn't wasting my money but i still got the feel good factor of allowing myself (initially) to have it and for me it really worked. now i do this with online shops instead and i find it even easier to resist buying things i don't need, especially if i have to pay for postage!

one thing you need to remember though, sometimes spending the money IS good, if say you can stock up on something you normally use for a fraction of the price. i've got myself trained so now i tend to enjoy these splurges rather than splurging on things i don't need so i get double my 'money' for them in savings and retail therapy :T

i think one trap to try and avoid when cutting back is thinking of spending money as bad. sometimes it's very good. it's what, when and WHY you spend your money that needs to be examined and everyone has different reasons for being OS therefore if you want to squeeze pennies on your groceries all year so you can have a lush holiday in foreign climes well good on you etc etc! once we understand our spending WHY'S we find we can find suitable alternatives to poor habits and eventually it becomes second nature.

wish you the best of luck, i'm sure you'll do better than you think you can

Ballerinacaz

Ok, well I'm pretty new round here and just getting used to it, but can people tell me how to properly get started with an OS lifestyle?
What sort of things do you do daily? And what 'tools of the trade' are essential? And just anything else you can think of that might be useful to know?
Thanks in advance
x

jc2703

Try here ..... http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=346606

and good luck! Its addictive!

J x

nuttyrockeress

Hi Ballerinacaz

I have been on and off the Old Style wagon for a few years now, mybiggest comeback to OS this year has been the Flylady thread as I have never been one for clean and tidyness but this year I have vowed to do better!!

There are loads of threads on here to help you with day to day living and i'm sure that if you can't find an answer within the first few pages on OS you will find it by searching for an answer!!

If your not sure about something - ask! We're all human and someone will be along to point you in the right direction

HTH x

Ballerinacaz

Thanks for the link and your responses so far!

I'm looking into bread makers, and I've heard panasonics are the way to go, but (and this is probably a stupid question) but what can you make in them? I know you can do regular loaves and wholemeal loaves but aside from that? Can you do rolls and foreign breads like pitta? or is it just loaves?

And also, yoghurt makers? What is the difference between an easiyo and an electric one? I know with easiyo you can buy sachets, but that seems like it would be very expensive... is there a cheaper way?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to get my head round it all! xx

ifonlyitwaseasier

you can do all sorts, in my bm i can do bread, dough for rolls or oven baking loaves, fruit loaves, pasta dough, pizza dough, jam, etcetcetc
easiyo doesn't need to be sachets and you can make yog in a flask or a slowcooker as well,

you'll be fine, start slowly, maybe try making bread by hand to see if you like the flavours of hm bread.
try the mealplannign thread for loats of great ideas and definitely have a read of the grocery challenge as on the first page is a wonderful selection of recipes

Welcome to OS

ioiwe