A quick question?

Great_Hairdresser

:mad:Does anyone get insensed about how much money they have wasted?:mad:

I am managing to do a food shop on £30 a week, when I have previously spent £100 weekly!!!!!!

I have saved £300 a year on utility bills by shopping around.

Rather than going shopping which was my usual sunday ritual, I have sorted out 2 bin bags of stuff to put on e-bay.;)

I am currently paying off over £10,000 of debt I have spent on useless rubbish (most of it going on e-bay now):eek:. I could have paid that off my Mortgage!!!!!

My OH keeps telling me I have gone tight, but I just think its good sence - that I havnt always had!

Please tell me its not just me that gets really annoyed about the amount of dosh I have wasted!

Thanks:A

Cat_Addict

I do - I wish I could have it back! Even the spending I have done sort of over the last six months while I've not been on MSE. I comfort spent and it's such a short lived pleasure, I'd much rather have that money in my bank account right now.

But what's done is done, and the important thing is to carry on the right way now otherwise you do get quite bitter.

My kids don't understand when I'm always looking for whats on special offer or buying stores own brand and worrying about the cost of things. They think I should just buy whatever whenever and not worry about it!

beemuzed

Cat_Addict wrote: »

But what's done is done, and the important thing is to carry on the right way now

Couldn't agree more with this - I do regret all the wasted money over the years - but regrets won't bring it back - just enjoy the feeling that you're now not wasting any more!

Belisarius

I am not a spendthrift, and have never built up debts that way, but what I really regret is all the money I wasted being addicted to cigarettes. If I had carried on smoking when I gave up (July 19) I would have spent £436.18 on cigarettes by now! I could nearly live off that for a month! I know for a fact I would be in a far better place financially if I had never smoked. So, I do get what you mean. Well, we live & we learn! At least you can sell your stuff on ebay ... don't think I'd get much for my motivational jar of cigarette butts :rolleyes:

milliemonster

Oh yes, I could cry when I look at the debt we have racked up over the years, we would have been mortgage free by now if we hadn't have been so stupid with money but no matter how I wish I could turn back the clock I can't

What bothers me more now though is my family have no idea of the debts we have and as we both have very good well paid jobs, it's very difficult trying to be frugal so we can pay off the debt when my family don't understand why as all they see is we have a good income so should have no need to be so tight, how do you get around that?

Reverbe

Certinaly makes you think. Over a year I was in a book club that chose books so obscure or brand new that you had to buy them and I never used to buy books unless I knew I was going to read them more than once. I still am trying to sell some of them which have been listed on Green Met for over a year..

Then there is the money I spent on Tetley teabags when there was Mr S Basics out there for a fraction of the cost, the magazines I have spent most of my life buying every month and things like going over to see my man of the time in Seattle and also when I was due to marry him and move over the wasted ticket I had bought before I got dumped for his ex.

I prob won't get a pension and wish I had all that money back so I didnt have to worry so much nor scrimp and save when I do have a good income.

I do enjoy the pleasures of finding simple things to enjoy and saving money tho and that is something I wish I had had to bring me a little smile now n then for a long time.

esio_trot

milliemonster wrote: »

What bothers me more now though is my family have no idea of the debts we have and as we both have very good well paid jobs, it's very difficult trying to be frugal so we can pay off the debt when my family don't understand why as all they see is we have a good income so should have no need to be so tight, how do you get around that?

I suppose you could always be at least partly honest and say that you've overspent for a while and you're just bringing things back to level again.


----

As for me, yeah, totally regret wasting so much cash when I left school/went to uni etc but I don't worry about it too much. It's taking me, and will continue to take, a while to get things paid off but the way I see it, I know where I went wrong and it's lesson enough not to do it again!

Ishtar

Yes. I regret not saving more when I was working. Instead I blew most of it going out partying and shopping for things I probably didn't need (and most of those things have since been taken down the charity shop or put on eBay). One thing I did 'waste' my money on was a brand new car, which I'm still using now (it's 7 years old), and which I've looked after. So, I've still got that to show for it, and I'm hoping that it lasts quite a bit longer as there'll be no new cars for a while.

If I knew then what I know now, I'd have made provision for the leaner times that are now facing us. Still, hindsight is a wonderful gift and I suppose it's what you do now that matters.

steerpike

Don't beat yourselves up over your mistakes.

Life is too short for regrets.

Everyone makes mistakes - you have one life - live it.

ClaireN75

Oh, don't! We don't live in an English speaking country (i.e. no English language library) so we've bought I-don't-want-to-know-how-many-books to feed our bookworm habits over the years. I look at our creaking bookshelves and feel sick. I can't call it a waste exactly but when I think of the probable price we'd get if we sold them versus the prices we paid... speaking of which I really need to put some of the least worth keeping on Amazon.

Great_Hairdresser

Thank you so much for all your lovely words, it really does make me feel better.

My friend has invited me out shopping on tuesday, I declinded and asked did she want to come to mine for tea and a chat instead.

I am going to make a cake (would NEVER have concideded it in my old life) and am really looking forward to it.

Its tru e- the simple things in life truly rock.

Thank you all xxx :beer: