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

Linda32

Do you buy coffee or lunches out when at work/uni, if so, just add the cost of those up for the week. I should sit down first though

adelight

:eek: am having trouble imagining how one could run up £6k in OD in 2 years but never the less, MSE is the place for you zippychick suggested some good threads, debtfreewannabe board will probably help you the most but joining the GC and reading the meal planning/lunch threads will help you cut down on food costs.
What are your living costs like on your sandwich year? I know it varies massively, but if you can, just put every penny you earn towards that over draft!

rozmister

My living costs during my sandwich year aren't too bad but I am on a meagre wage (expenses only) and supplement my income with a second job. I get a small amount of student loan (1/3 of the normal amoutn I get) and an allowance from my mum. I am aiming to pay off at least £100 a month until I finish placement and then at least £150 over the summer. When my loan payments go up to their normal level I can easily pay £800 out of it towards debts each payment I receive. I think with some budgetting and frugal living I could have my debt down to about £1000 by the time I graduate in June 2012.

As for how I ran up so much debt, it doesn't bear thinking about. In my first year I took 3 overdrafts and maxed them all out by the summer. I was out drinking roughly 5 nights a week costing about £30 a night. I think most of the money went on alcohol, a fact I'm definitely not proud of now. When I first came to uni I had some mental health problems and I think my overspending was part of a bigger risk taking pattern of behaviour. I'm fine now on that front after working through my issues last year with professional help.

When I think I could have had the £5000 of debt I'll pay off when I graduated as savings I feel really cross with myself but I spent the money so I have to pay it back!

I'll have a read of those threads tonight guys thanks

rosieben

might be something of interest in the Complete Getting Started Collection too.

There's so much information here its easy to become overwhelmed, might be an idea to concentrate on one area/idea at a time ... baby steps

Fruball

Start by halving your use of any consumables such as washing powder, shampoo etc. You'd be suprised how little you actually need to get things clean Thats the equivalent of getting everything for half price, or put another way; buying 6 months worth and getting 6 months worth free! If you do that with washing powder, softener, shampoo, conditioner, bubble bath, shower gel, toothpaste etc thats a BIG saving!!!

Also, save leftovers, no matter how small - for instance, 1 sausage doesn't seem like it would be worth saving (I would have just eaten it ) but now I would save it and make a tomato sauce for pasta and chop the sausage into it

Dinner for me the other night was a few left over wedges, 1/4 can beans and a few tbsp leftover cooked peas - all of which I would have previously either snacked on or binned.

It sounds simple and not like a big saving, but all those very small savings add up to a LOT over a year

sonnythecat

well done for being honest with yourself; I really do wish you all the best. At least with two jobs you've got no time to spend your money lol

foxgloves

When you are about to spend money on something, a good idea is to ask can I make it myself, cook it myself, borrow one, improvise with something I've already got, swap something for one, go halves with someone on one, get something as good 2nd hand, etc, etc. If you don't usually cook from scratch, learn. It saves a fortune as you can batch cook & freeze the extra meals. If you don't go in charity shops, go in occasionally. I recently got a dress I almost paid full price for online for about £4 and a brand new purple Monsoon handbag for a fiver. If you start thinking Old Style, like this, you will become an Old Styler. I rarely even buy new bedding anymore....found I can pick up vintage cotton sheets in lovely condition on ebay. Once you get going, you really take pride in your new skills. Good luck with it. It's helped me pay down a fair bit of debt from when i was a naughty spender, so it's well worth it x

laloopi

The main thing to do is write down absolutely everything you spend money on for a little while to understand where your money is going. Then organise your spending by category to see how much you are spending in each category (e.g. food, eating out, transport etc.) and aim to cut down each as much as possible.

Simply writing down every purchase gets you spending less as it makes you think twice. Also, If you can get hold of Amy Dacyczyn's Tightwad Gazette, I found that very inspiring to get me started.

EltonJohnFan

Hi all,

I'm relatively new to frugal living, but I've been listening to my grandparents who grew up in the 30s and lived through the Second World War. They tell me about what it was like for them, how hard it was for the ordinary person and how they thought up some rather extraordinary ways of doing things and my grandmother told me that you can make a meal out of nothing, if you're got a good imagination and plenty of potatoes, onions etc. I'm the sort of person that hates waste and I want to cut my outgoings and expenses to the bare minimum and live a simple, but happy life. I'd really appreciate some advice on shopping and dealing with money especially as they're the two main expenses in my life. I grew up hearing the phrases "waste not, want not" and "never a borrower or lender be" and I'm really keen to find out more about all of this. I know this might sound silly but the whole thing's actually quite exciting for me! I can't wait to get started on being more thrifty and reaping the rewards of not buying into a lifestyle or following consumerism, can you help?

Sagz_2

"if it's brown flush it down, if it's yellow let it mellow"