Luxuries you mourn and those you don't miss

Honeybee_2

I was mortified at the thought of giving up my expensive face products, but....


I discovered that I could get them at a fraction of the price on ebay, all that's wrong is damaged boxes, hurrah!:T

laughing_cow

I miss:

1. Going out for spontaneous cocktails - I hate having to mentally 'do sums' before agreeing to go out with anyone. And putting off seeing friends until after next pay day.

2. Facials/massages. Ironically though, the other day I felt really achy and stiff and if it wasn't for my debts I would definitely have booked a massage (£45). Instead I went to a yoga class at my gym (free with work) which solved it completely anyway. And I felt virtuous for going to the gym

3. Spontaneous and lovely holidays.


I don't miss:
1. Magazines. I used to spend a lot on mags, but I never really have the time
to read them thoroughly, so they are a waste to me. Also, now I'm spending less, so many of the features - eg clothes, fancy hotels etc seem so irrelevant.

2. Takeaways - used to be about once a week. Now, less than once a month - I enjoy them so much more now though.


This MSE stuff is working on me now though. I've just had a weird breakthrough moment. My friend has just invited me on a last minute cheap holiday. If I EBay, don't go out for a month and raid some of my personal 'pots' in my ING savings account, I could do it. I've rarely turned down the opportunity to go on holiday, but this time I found that I really didn't want to. Firstly, because it's a cheapie holiday, I'm not that tempted to have to stay in all month and struggle for the sake of a week in Ordinaryville (I'm sure I'd feel differently if it was a fancy spa holiday ). Secondly, (and here's my real 'lightbulb' moment), I don't want to raid my ING accounts when I've only recently got them all going. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm getting a kick from seeing my payments hit the account and I am really enjoying watching the piddly amounts of interest all add up, knowing that one day I will buy something really nice with the money.
:eek:

Molanole

yeslek wrote:

i also miss not being able to go to all the gigs i once could
i have to plan ahead and think, can i afford it.

i'v also missed out on a few cos i refuse to use my credit card and the tickets have sold out by the time i'v managed to save up.

i cant complain too much as i still allow myself these luxories like i had before, jsut no where near as many.

for example, last year i went to about 6 gigs between oct and dec, this year i'm going to two.

Me too. I miss going to gigs. I've never really been a pub goer, I'd much rather go to a gig instead. It's one of the reasons I moved to London in the first place. Mind you, I went through my first two years here going to at least a gig a week and did all Summer Sundae, V and Reading Festivals on three successive weekends for two years running. I've even been known to have the odd "week of indie" going to a gig every night except the Sunday. Can you tell why I'm in debt maybe??

I also feel bitter that I am stuck in a job I detest as the salary is too much for me to turn down. Still, another two years and I'll be outta here!

I don't miss that gut wrenching feeling when you get to the cash point and it tells you that once again you only have ten pounds left of the overdraft with three weeks until payday :T

laughing_cow

Molanole wrote:

Me too. I miss going to gigs. I've never really been a pub goer, I'd much rather go to a gig instead. It's one of the reasons I moved to London in the first place. Mind you, I went through my first two years here going to at least a gig a week and did all Summer Sundae, V and Reading Festivals on three successive weekends for two years running. I've even been known to have the odd "week of indie" going to a gig every night except the Sunday. Can you tell why I'm in debt maybe??

Yes - with you on the gigs. I'm lucky, as I occasionally get freebies through work, but long gone are the days when I'd just log into ticketmaster and order a pair of anything I fancied with the expectation that someone will come with me. Now if I want to buy tickets, it's got to be something special, and I have to make sure I've got someone to go with, and it's someone who will pay for their ticket upfront.

summerday

Hmmm... I miss what others have said about just going into town and buying a few clothes and maybe having lunch out without thinking about the cost. Now, I go out with my spending money in cash, and I can't go over that.

I miss having more and better holidays. I shouldn't complain too much though, as we just came back from a 5 day trip to Switzerland that was heavily subsidised through Clubcard deals tokens, and I've already booked cheap flights to Italy next year, but we are doing it all ourselves, I found several 1 and 2 star hotels that we will stay in, it will be a real budget trip! But who cares, its the sights we want to see and most of them will be free.

I miss the meals out and takeaways like others have said- although we use vouchers the odd times we do, even using vouchers it usually costs more than you expect.

Bagpuss741

bobbadog wrote:

M&S king prawns with that chili sauce. M&S in general.

I certainly am not missing that postman-induced stomach dread though

Same here, M&S food hall:o

bobbadog

Bagpuss741 wrote:

Same here, M&S food hall:o

It taunts me, it does. I work opposite the big one in Oxford Street, can nearly see it from my desk. I nearly popped in at lunch to get a crunchy brown roll to have with me soup but had to resist. Those adverts 'it's not food, it's M&S food' with chocolate and meaty things have me dribbling

ti1980

The food from M&S is one of the main reasons why I still work there.
I am so used to the food that I couldn't imagine having to pay full price for it all. I would still shop there if I didn't work there but wouldn't get the bulk of my shopping from there.

dinkylou

I miss being able to go shopping (not food) and buy what I like without having to worry about if I can afford it this month.

I miss being able to go out every weekend and forget about how much it is costing me. I also miss being able to go to any gig I fancy, no matter the cost.

What I don't miss is silly magazines that dont make me feel good reading them, spending hours in front of the TV (sky)and being in my overdraft every month!!

pms

I dont miss worrying about money to pay off credit cards as I now know exactly how much I need to pay and when I need to pay my bills.

I miss my speedway trips, always a good laugh but would cost £200+ for a long weekend or last minute decisions to go to an away match somewhere.
Have limited myself to local matches this year which has been hard.