Are you more frugal than me?

Kitcaboodle

Where I used to work, half a dozen members of staff clubbed together and bought a reasonably expensive coffee making machine (they had to get it electrically checked by the company before they could use it). It probably cost them about £160 but (at City of London coffee prices) it soon paid for itself and started saving them money. They were able to have good quality coffee for much less that way. Only problem is stopping other people who didn't pay from using it!

valk_scot

I work from home atm but I do remember watching my collegues rush off every lunchtime for an hour to get coffee, baguettes etc and come back three quarters of an hour later dragging bags of this and that, totally breathless and with only a few minutes to gulp down their expensive lunch. I on the other hand would have put my feet up in my office or the coffee room, eaten my HM rolls or whatever (and I can make a sandwich or tub salad just as well as the big sandwich chains), had a peaceful cup of tea and read a book or magazine, chatted with anyone around (there was a lot of useful chat in our coffee room) and done a few rows of knitting. Far more relaxed. There's huge advantages to NOT going out to buy your lunch you know!

I'm a M&S sale person when it comes to clothes. I took DS (14) up the other day when the reductions were on and for £60 I got him kitted out with the basics for the next few months or so with things that he really liked. DD fits George clothes better but Hubby and I are M&S shaped too. I find their clothes to be decent quality and worth the money, especially at half price! I'll cruise around most of the supermarket ranges though...Tesco and Tu from Sainsburys are good too. I very rarely buy anything from the "posher" shops. £20+ for a t-shirt or flimsy top that will be out of fashion in three months? You have to be joking. Good basics and some nice classic accessories look better anyway.

I don't feel resentful or down at any of this tbh. I feel in control and good about myself because I'm being sensible with cash. I do think twice about every penny I spend but that doesn't mean I won't spend it iyswim. The cheaper alternative isn't necessarily the best buy after all. I'm prepared to spend more on decent quality meat and be creative with it for example, or better shoes that fit well and will last longer. What I do try to cut out are the impulse buys and the unnecessary items. Need clothes? Check the wardrobe first. Need food? Check the freezer. Want a day out? See what you can do with that costs nothing and you can take a picnic. Use coupons and discount codes, take care of what you have so it will last longer, learn to mend and adapt items, check out what you can get for free, like free council passes for kids to swim in the holidays, free courses etc. Have friends round for meals, communal BBQs, communal outings. Club together for bulk buying if you can and someone has a card for one of the cheap C&Cs. ETc etc. None of this is particularly rocket science but once you get into the way of it you may never go back, even when the financial situation improves again. It's good to be in control and not be wasteful.

ceridwen

Must admit to being a bit puzzled about the wig..I've never used a wig personally - but would imagine they need various bits of "maintenance"/replacing at intervals???

My hairdresser is £13.50 a go about every couple of months to cut my hair. I know people mention that local Colleges provide free haircuts by their trainee hairdressers - :think: - well in my area they arent free - they charge £4 for the cheapest of the two levels of students there. If I were desperate for money I could go there instead (that would work out at about 50p per week).

....though in my case - if I were desperate personally - I'd use the hairdresser in my local LETS Scheme and be paying LETS Credits instead of £s actually:D

adelight

:O How expensive was your hair dresser?!! I do my own highlights/occ low lights(costs ~£15 a year max) and my dad cuts it, my mum has cuts & highlights at the hair dresser and it's still only ~£100 a year.

There are lots of extremely frugal/OS people on here who barely notice they're being that way, because it's done to be enjoyable and it's just natural

Bitsy_Beans

Get rid of the wig and look for a mobile hairdresser who will give you a wet cut in the comfort of your own home. Mine charges £12 and she does a very thorough job. Like the others have said I don't see how a wig is cost effective (or comfortable).

Don't get jealous of other people. They might be spending beyond their means and quite frankly I wish Starbucks was wiped off the face of the planet. They are way overprices and just how many coffee outlets does one town centre need anyway........ooops going off on a tanget there
It's not about having what you want but wanting what you've got. I don't think even if I won the Lotto I'd be happy to spend £7 a day on lunch - you can take the girl out of the tightwad but you can't take the tightwad out of the girl Try and enjoy the simple pleasures in life - and leftovers, surely the best thing as you get to enjoy a meal cooked by you a second time around.

[Deleted User]

Well having lost my hair to chemo about two years ago I never went the route of a wig as I thought they looked to hot,but thankfully my hair grew back fairly quickly (and curly) but I go to a hairdressers house once every 6 weeks and get a trim for £6.00 which I think is reasonable.I haven't been to a hairdressers for years,I haven't the time to be honest .
Although I am retired I lead a very busy life with my family,hobbies part-time Uni course ect.When I go to Uni i always either take a bottle with a cold drink in it ,or if its cold an small thermos travelling mug filled with my own coffee.I don't think £1.75 is a good price for something I can make for a fraction of the price .For that sort of money I can make a couple of meals at least for my freezer.Not so much frugality as common sense. I live alone and at the moment this week I am experimenting with living on a £1.00 a day,mainly to use up some of the food I have in my store cupboards and freezer. Today is day four I started on Sunday and so far I still have my £7.00 for this week intact as I have been nowhere near a shop and by that I have not bought anything.As for clothes well true I don't need to 'dress to impress' as I no longer work but I reviewed my wardrobe of stuff back in the spring and need no new clothes this year at all.In fact the only new thing I have bought is a pair of shoes for the wet weather which were needed as my old ones were leaking I only have one pair of feet, so I have shoes for all occasions in my wardrobe ,half of which rarely get word anyway.
At the moment I am saving my surplus cash some for Christmas presents (although I have got a few already from careful shopping over the past few months) and next years holiday .
I like to have a week away in the spring with an old friend and two weeks in the summer with my DD,SIL and tribe of five children We hire a house for the 8 of us and have a great break away.I pay half and DD pays the other half .Helps her out a bit as she has lots of calls on her cash with the children.We jointly save our Tesco vouchers over the year which this year amounted to £226 then have a huge shop when we get to our holiday cottage.
As a previous poster remarked its not a competition but an onging blog ,passing on hints ,tips and recipes to others on how to make your money streeeetch a bit more.Most of us on here have different reasons for our frugality .For some it is desperate need ,some its habit and some like me would just prefer to spend our hard earned cash (or in my case pension) on other things.
Supermarkets are there to make money and with marketing they will happily relieve you of yours, unless you think carefully and work out what you need as opposed to what you think you need.
My DD took me for a fancy coffee the other day in Maidstone as a treat whilst she was going for an interview for a job.The coffee was fine but the muffin was stale and horrible.She went off to her interview and when the young lady came to clear the table she asked if all was well I told her 'yes coffee great, muffin rubbish'.She looked shocked and said 'well they are fresh every day'I replied they may be brought in fresh but they were by no means made that morning. I told her to pick one up and feel it (we had left them )she did and said 'your right' Doh ! I do know the difference between fresh and stale.I filled in a form of complaint, but said I wouldn't but a cake there again.She probably binned it for all I know, but Cafe Nero won't get my custom again(not that I paid, DD did) and it wasn't cheap for two coffees and two stale muffins .

SallyForth_2

Your office sounds a bit odd to me. What you do is commonplace in offices everywhere; where more and more people are packing their own lunches and cutting back on the expensive coffees and eating out (unless it's a special occasion) I wouldn't worry, why waste your money!

lauren_1

It can only be a good thing that frugal has become a competitive sport now.

Linda32

Dora2010 wrote: »

Sometimes I get very down and feel resentful that unlike my colleagues I cannot afford to go to the high street for lunch or buy coffees at Starbucks. I also grow bored of eating leftover dinners for lunch but cannot justify spending £5-7 for lunch unless I have planned it in the monthly budget.

Life is hard at the moment but I know things will change. By nature I am quite frugal, unlike hubby! I always look for a cheaper alternative no matter how much I like something.

Hopefully I will pick up more tips from you guys on the forum.

Hiya, bear in mind that your colleagues might not be able to "afford", to go to Starbucks every day either, just because they do.
I'm redundant at the moment, but when I was working I surpose I could have afforded it, but I'd never waste my money in that way :eek: :eek:

For us, Starbucks/Costa Coffee/Lunches out are a treat at the weekend in exchange for working all week :T

Try something else for lunch, you don't have to use leftovers, if you batch cook, which I, and alot of us on here do. Then keep these batches for various evening meals.

Try making up different things, a big box of salad with Tuna/Mackeral/Cheese.
Sandwiches/Wraps every other day.
Home made soup
This way you get a variety without ending up having "sandwiches every day"

Think of it as a way of life, not denying yourself, since being redundant, the only thing I've actually wanted is some mascara, I don't actually need that

Sparklyfairy

One thought that got me through in my early days of saving money without the treats is that the money in my pocket ALWAYS feels better than that coffee/top/shoes/handbag (that will be out of style!) ever would!