You've all changed my life :)

jools27_2

Not sure if it's changed my life, but has encouraged me to shop around for the best deals and bargains, plan my cooking, reduce the chaos in my house, and helped me to afford the nice things in life, like the holidays we never used to afford!

Cat501

"Meeting" so many lovely lovely people:j

Bargain hunting, particularly yellow stickers. It's a good thing I don't live any nearer Mr T, I'd be skulking about there every night:D

Stardrops, on the odd occasion I get any cleaning done:o

monnagran

Lots of new friends, lots of tips and a humungous amount of time spent on the computer. Must work on that.

Cat501

monnagran wrote: »

Lots of new friends, lots of tips and a humungous amount of time spent on the computer. Must work on that.

lol - know the feeling - I've swapped my FB addiction for an OS one:o

Rmeek

My list would read pretty much the same as yours clipperty! I have completely changed my outlook on the food shop and scout around for the best deals that suit what I want. I have managed to halve our food bill this month purely by meal planning, spreading meals further and shopping between lidl and aldi and only going to other supermarkets if I have to. I can not thank everyone on here enough for all the time they take to post hints, tips and advice. After recently entering an IVA (full and final settlement) we are now very aware of the effects of not planning and spending too much and we feel like we have been given a second chance at this thing called 'life'. The future is brighter

madnotstupid

love the idea of a fantasy shop - going to see how much I "could" be spending - keep me off ebay too

kim107

I spend lots of time on the forum (though mainly lurking and reading old threads ). I had to move to a lower paid job and I've picked up lots of useful tips on here that have really helped us to get by.

Since reading mse forums I have:
*Been cooking from scratch more. I rarely buy expensive oven chips now, I make my own potato wedges - costs pence! I've learnt how to make muffins to put in our lunchboxes. We now have a better diet with less processed foods and the grocery bills are cheaper .
*Bought a bottle of white vinegar and a big bottle of stardrops. I now use these for most of the cleaning.
*Last week, since reading the forum, I bought some old-fashioned dishcloths for the kitchen and have been using these and sterilising them in the dishwasher - it is saving a lot on j-cloths and better for the environment :T

Thank you to all of you who post on here and share your ideas to help others. It is reassuring to know that there are other people out there who are also struggling and that small changes to your everyday habits really can help!!!

carefullycautious

It changed my life knowing there were others out there doing the same as myself.

I have felt very isolated as all through the 80s people seemed to have so much more than us and I must admit to asking my husband where we had gone wrong in life.

We now know that it was mainly based on credit that people could do what they do. (exceptions being the many who are high earners or manage their money well)

Thank god we did not succumb to pressure to do the same.

We are now in the fortunate position of having no debt and savings for a rainy day.

The downside is seeing close relatives who are now in dire straits for making bad financial decisions etc

adelight

My list is very similar to yours! It's completely changed the way I view money and my future, probably more so than most people as I started reading and posting here shortly after starting university so it's shaped me as I've gone through that transition to being an independent adult.
I also fantasy shop but partly to decide what things I really want. If I keep adding the same thing over and over and checking up on the prices and I can think of outfits it will go with, then I know that I definitely want it and will wear it! I'm not so fussed about missing out on clothes and frivulous bargains anymore as I know I'll live without that junk in my life.
I actually use the internet less as I've picked up a few more hobbies and gone off gossip and clothes websites and social networking. MSE is one of very few sites I go on everyday.

savingforoz

This site has had a major and incredibly beneficial effect on my life:

1. Paid off my mortgage 14 years early.
2. Batch cook, menu plan.
3. Cooking everything from scratch.
4. Saving and investing.
5. Meeting like-minded people, both online and in real life.
6. Changing my whole attitude and relationship with money.

I can't thank Martin and this wonderful site enough. And there's loads more for me to discover - must get round to checking the coupons and discount boards.