No Buying Toiletries in April Challenge!

lostinrates

lynseydee wrote: »

That would be strange. There is already one member on MSE who lives in the same town (more like a big village) as me and we've joked we could have walked past each other and not known it :eek:

I'm to the south of Bath and Bristol...

Mags30

VikkiJD wrote: »

Yeah im more of a 'spend too much money on rubbish' kind of person, or shopaholic if you want to put a label on it :-)

I do have a loan and a mortgage which takes a chunk out of my wages each month, and being a single parent to a 4 year old doesnt help. I just need to kick the spending habit and free up that extra cash to start saving for our future.

No savings as of yet, again working 40 hours a week and being a single parent with a mortgage etc means there is no spare cash at the end of the month. I feel if i stop the silly spending on clothes/toiletries/etc i can pay off my debts quicker and start to build up some sort of savings fund.

So, i am starting this now!

Will buy a diary to monitor spends, that way i cant ignore it can i!!

Been reading some of the messages on here and the sense of community and the ideas that get bounced around are fantastic, i would go as far as saying inspirational!

Check out this thread:)https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2246399

lynseydee

lostinrates wrote: »

I'm to the south of Bath and Bristol...

Not too good with geography. I live in Calne which is not far from Swindon.

lostinrates

lynseydee wrote: »

Not too good with geography. I live in Calne which is not far from Swindon.

LOL, miles away....to the east from me. Funnily enough we're looking at a property there though.....not sure about planning and stuff, but we like it. I like those bronze animals in the town..like the piggy///:o:o

do you like the area? It would be a biggish move for us, involving a business start up, and serious planning needs...with disruption for a good few years. we're hoping he proximity to swindon would mean dh could maybe come home at least one night a week instead of going a full four nights a apart each week.

Kaz2904

Hi LiR and Lynseydee and the vicster. I too am in the south west, I live about 4 miles from the pier that burnt down!
Wonder how many MSE'ers are in WSM? I know some of the Docs I have worked with are on here but don't know if they use the forums?
I love living down here, it's a beautiful area.

VikkiJD, if the clothes and other spending are spiraling then I would recommend you check out the What are you wearing thread. Umm, also the declutter 2010 thread which is on the old style board. Old style is fab for learning to reduce your grocery spends.
As you are a single Mum working 40 hours a week, I would imagine that your time is stretched to the limit. Perhaps the flylady thread would be useful for you too. I don't post on there but I do look at the list and try to follow it. I don't always do it on the day but I do try to do it in that week. It's a way of keeping a finger on the pulse and making sure the house runs itself to a degree.
The declutter thread is very useful too.
I know that I found my limited time was helped vastly by decluttering my house. I did my wardrobe (well, floordrobe ) first and found that it massively removed the stress of being able to find anything to wear. My clothes are in better condition too now. It is easier to keep on top of the washing and ironing. Things are put away now so they don't get creased/ mucky/ dusty etc before they are worn. I also now only own stuff that looks good on me and I enjoy wearing (apart from my work uniforms but that's different lol!). I have been able to ramp up the brands that I wear to buying jeans from French connection and yanuk etc. This is because I know what I need and buy just one pair in the sales. My FCUK flares were £34 from £75 but I wear them to death!

Oh well, nothing to report as used up today. Glad to hear that some of you have reached splutter stage.
I'm off to work shortly with cake and nibbles as it's my birthday halfway through the shift.
See you tomorrow ladies.

lynseydee

lostinrates wrote: »

LOL, miles away....to the east from me. Funnily enough we're looking at a property there though.....not sure about planning and stuff, but we like it. I like those bronze animals in the town..like the piggy///:o:o

do you like the area? It would be a biggish move for us, involving a business start up, and serious planning needs...with disruption for a good few years. we're hoping he proximity to swindon would mean dh could maybe come home at least one night a week instead of going a full four nights a apart each week.

Do you mean the piggies in The Parade? Have you seen the big head down by the library :eek:

I quite like living here, originally moved from Newbury. The only downside is moving from Newbury took a bit of adjustment as I was used to having pratically everything on my doorstep.

Swindon is only about 30 mins away (17 miles) so the commute would be good for your dh.

What sort of business are you looking to set up?

lostinrates

lynseydee wrote: »

Do you mean the piggies in The Parade? Have you seen the big head down by the library :eek:

I quite like living here, originally moved from Newbury. The only downside is moving from Newbury took a bit of adjustment as I was used to having pratically everything on my doorstep.

Swindon is only about 30 mins away (17 miles) so the commute would be good for your dh.

What sort of business are you looking to set up?

I'll have to try and see the library next time...business is complicated...rural enterprise....land based...why I go through so much hand cream doing it as a hobby

Newbury is lovely!

tara747

Happy birthday Kaz!!!!!!!!

trudij

Im starting to get the feeling we south westerlies should have a meet-up....

alfiecat

hello everyone and welcome newbies. been on a self imposed ban from here as i am supposed to be revising for exams (only 2 weeks to go!)
have used up a couple of thing, but have also sinned:( but only slightly
These are things i have used up:
small hotel freebie of body lotions WIBA was a lovely lotion but not available in the shops
SMall clinique superdefense cream WIBA no i didnt like the smell, it has a high SPF and it did smell like suncream - wish i had saved it for my holiday.
Avon summerglow - WIBA was a small size so only got a few applications for my arms out of it. Was a very pale colour which was ideal for me, but not enough to see how effective it was. It did have a very strong fake tan smell.

NEals YArd freebie from MArie Claire - used this a couple of times - horrible smells like toothpaste and made my skin tight. have donated to my mum to see how she gets on with it.

ANd now my confessions....
went into poundland to see if the PURE rumours were true, and they are! got botanics everyday lotion and a body lotion for a £1 each - bargain i coudn't resist.
Still am spending so much less than i normally would and am enjoying the challenge of trying to get through my stash.
one area that is not moving is my lipstick stash - am making a big effort but just don't seem to getting through the stuff - am i the only one.