Do you miss anything from your "old life?"

randomer

Do you miss anything from the old pre OS life?
Personally after years of chaos I'm on top of the weekly shop which feels great.
I've found some great buys in charity shops.I don't eat out anymore and don't miss it at all.

On the down side I don't really see how we can economise on shoes and no holiday has left me rather weary. I'm wondering if it'll kick in as the winter sets in.

Interested to hear from other OSers.

ragz_2

I don't think OS is about depriving yourself, I think it's about making do and spending as little as possible, while still being happy. Obviously if you're really in debt then you have to put up with having nothing for a while, but if you are just doing it to save a bit then there's no reason you should feel deprived.
Have a holiday, just not a really expensive one (if you can't afford it)
Buy your shoes through cashbacjk sites or when on sale so you get the best deal...
etc etc

thriftlady_2

Please don't assume that everyone who contributes to this board is in some way compromising or making do:). I'm sure I'm not the only one who found this board because of an interest in cooking and not because of my financial circumstances.

I suppose one could call my old life 'my pre children life' when I worked. I don't miss anything at all from that including having more more money-2 wages rather than one. Looking back I don't remember feeling any richer and although I didn't bake my own bread I still cooked everything else from scratch.

misskool

I don't because sometimes I spend weeks eating rubbish and takeaways when I'm too busy at work .

I'm OS because I love being in the kitchen, cooking, and making stuff. I love finding a bargain and making up odds and sods so nothing goes to waste. I don't have to scrimp (and I sometimes don't), but I enjoy being a tight so-and-so!

larmy16

My OS ebbs and flows. Sometimes I am really gung ho about it. Slow cooker, bread maker and Easiyo all on the go.At other times everything goes pear shaped.

I do it for financial reasons. I am self employed and cannot afford to take time off very often. I do like to go for a meal occasionally but as my favourite thing to do is pottering around at home, it is a very cheap pastime.

I love making things out of other things and doing up bits of furniture (all junk or charity shop bought). People who visit say my home is very cosy and yet I have very little that did not belong to someone else originally!

valk_scot

Not really. We hardly live on the breadline but it's nice to feel that we're in control of the finances rather than just lurching along. We go on amazingly good holidays that don't cost a fortune (we camp a lot and go to France in the summer for five or six weeks every year) and we have what shoes we need, just not £100 trainers. I've always been good at cooking, crafty and never had much interest in having the have the latest craze or fashion plus I'm pretty committed to the "reduce, reuse recycle" ethos anyway. So in many ways I was an OS thrifty person before I ever knew it.

Reverbe

I might miss the tv when it goes soon. Flatmate has cancelled the cable and we can't get tv without it.I do miss nicer quality food and the days when I didnt have to examine every purchase in detail.I miss nights of sleep without nightmares.

Aside from that nothing really and it is great looking for bargains and finding os pleasures. Never ate out or went out anyway and didnt have a social life.Never holidayed.Used to buy a lot more magazines but I don't really miss those. I do wish I had more money cos then I might actually meet some friends to spend time with. But I do feel very lucky.

I could become homeless soon if flatmate goes bust and has to lose his flat cos he can't afford the mortgage so right now I guess I am feeling lucky every morning I wake up and still have somewhere to lay my head.I will also miss the football if I have to give this up.I am covered for this season but might have to give up going if I become homeless.

helyg

I'm not actually sure that there was "life before OS"...

I've always been frugal, I was brought up that way! Same goes for cooking from scratch etc. When I went to university I had to watch the pennies as I was living on a grant, I worked as well as studying in order to make ends meet. Then within 6 months of graduating I was buying my first house, so needed to be careful. Then we got married and the kids came along so all the money went on them! I did used to spend more money when I worked FT (up until DS2 was born) but I was still pretty careful and cooked almost everything from scratch.

I think I must have been born OS!

[Deleted User]

As helyg says I too can't ever remember a time when I wasn't OS.I was born during W.W.2 and grew up with rationing and shortages.When I married in the early 1960s we had very little money anyway, and when we started a family in 1967 even less.At the time we rented as that was what you did but as our family grew slightly larger by 1969, then we had to find a house instead of a flat.
We decided to try and get a mortgage to buy a place, and after living on next to nothing for about 18 months raised enough deposit to buy our first ramshackled-falling-to-bits-money-pit for £6580.00 which seemed a fortune in those days as my husbands take home pay was £112 per month and our mortgage was £60.00 per month.
After three years the price of the house had risen a bit, so we sold it and made sufficient profit to buy our second house which was in far bettter condition with less repairs to do. By then the wages had risen and things were a lot easier,but I had always been frugal all my life, and to me wasting money was just dreadful so I carried on OSing and recycling and over the years we paid off the mortgage and accumulated extra cash behind us to cushion ourselves against the bad times which do come and go in cycles. The present credit crunch is nothing new.In the 1980s mortgage interest rates soared to 15%, because of my money management over the years we coped o.k. but quite a few of our friends sadly lost their homes because they over extended themselves.I have always kept my old mums advice in my ears
1.Pay the roof over your head first,most important.
2. Pay your utilities next,heat and light ,if you can't afford a phone then have it taken out.
3. Whats left divide into three
one third for saving,rainy days sounds old fashioned, but we all get unexpected bills at times.
one third for food, writing everything down daily of what you really need and sticking to it is a great way to get through.No big superstores in my young days so we only bought what was needed.
and one third for 'Happy cash' brilliant this as it gives you a nice boost to spalsh out sometimes.
No matter how little I had left I have always done this .The last third to be spent on what ever you wanted to yourself personally whether it was only enough to treat the family to a doughnut or enough to buy something that you really needed or wanted.This way you never get to feel downhearted or depressed because your a bit short of cash. I use my 'happy cash' now for treats like the cinema, or save up for a holiday or to buy my children or grandchildren a treat.
I have used this system for over 60 years and its never let me down yet. Everyone has their own way of doing things and this is mine .:D

CCP

I'm another one who's never really had a 'pre-OS' lifestyle: my dad is a keen cook so I was bought up to cook most things from scratch, and my family was into environmental causes long before it became fashionable so recycling/reusing is second nature to me, too. I guess I was OS before I even came across the term on this forum!

The only thing I sometimes miss is seeing something in a shop that I like - food, clothing, jewellery (particularly jewellery - I'm a sucker for earrings!) - and just buying it, without thinking whether I really need it. Luckily I've generally got enough money that I can still treat myself occasionally, and I think I actually enjoy it more as it's a special treat and not something I do on a regular basis.

I know a few people who are unemployed or on the minimum wage and that helps, too (although it sounds mean), as it reminds me just how lucky I am.

rosieben

I don't see OS as 'doing without' at all; its a case of choosing our priorities and surely that's what almost everyone does and not just OSers?

I spend what I want to in terms of broadband (a lifeline for me when I am hit by black dog) and my books, art and craft materials. I choose how I spend my money. If I want to spend £80 on a pair of shoes I will save for them, and the same with anything else that I really want.

I found this site, and OS, when I was about to go bankrupt some years ago and money was very tight. I was so grateful for the money saving ideas and tips, it really helped me through a horrible bad patch :T Things are much easier financially now. I love being in control of my money, spending on what I choose to buy, not what the admen have scared me into believing I must buy.

I dont miss anything from my pre-OS days. Especially I don't miss the 599 different sorts of chemicals in my kitchen cupboard - microwave cleaner anyone? , I don't miss sleepless nights when a big bill drops through the letterbox unexpectedly, I don't miss juggling my last few ££ as I limp to the end of the month.

I love OS! :j