What do you spend the money on?

mirakl

To be honest we just couldn't make ends meet if it wasn't for being OS.

shell2001

Well as they have just put up my gas payment by £44 a month the money I saved from the food budget will pay that! why is it when you think well I have got a spare bit of cash from that to pay off xyz or do so and so with someone comes and snatches it away!

Nix143

So I can keep my house basically

I ran up massive debts and now my life circumstances have changed and I can't cover the repayments and so something had to change

Thank God for OS - not only does it give me practical help in making the most of my money it also gives me spiritual health and has shown me that budgeting doesn't mean doing without and in most instances living this way feels better for me on the inside

newleaf

I have got just under 8 years to go before retirement, so I need to clear my debt and build some savings to see me into a comfortable old age!

Bargain_Rzl

Well, OS hasn't really cut down my outgoings on food - pre-OS I used to spend around the same, but it used to go on yellow-stickered ready meals :eek: whereas now I spend about the same amount on ingredients to cook from scratch.

If I spent more on food I would have less to spend on doing the things I love.

Sarahsaver

I have not got spare money that is why I am OS LOL;)
THings may change now I am married as we have just opened a joint account. If I have spare money because of that I will use it to pay off debts and for things like taking the children out to the cinema, train trips and so on.

thriftlady_2

Wine and cookery books:D
We don't really have much spare money although we are comfortable. The reason I am OS is so that we can survive on one income. It's quite a good income, but if I didn't cook everything from scratch we'd be struggling (especially with the wine budget :rotfl: ).

pudding06

I realised when I found MSE that if I wanted to
A) not rackup any more debt
b) not lose the house or go bankrupt
c) clear my debts before I retire

then I will have to go OS!!!

And were just about clearing our bills at the moment.

After all it was not living OS that got me into trouble in the first place.

I used to be very OS when I was a SAHM :T I just went mad when I started working.:mad: What a nightmare. If you could turn back the clock you'd do it so differently.:eek:

purpleimp

I've always had OS type tendancies and have always had an eye for getting things on the cheap!

These days though although we are on a reasonable (well reasonable for where we live) wage our outgoings are really high and as soon as we think we'll have a flush month (by which I mean having £40 left of the overdaught in the bank by the time paydaycomes round) a massive bill comes in and we're poverty stricken again! And we end up raiding the coppers for our bus money

We're newly married and DH is worried about his cholestoral and his weight so I'm trying to cut out the processed foods and make from scratch when I can, cutting back the salt etc,I've also decided on making hampers etc for every one for christmas to reduce costs, but DH bless him is very set in his ways about some things and as such can make being OS a bit difficult! ( I love him but I could wring his bluddy neck sometimes)

hazzie123

At the moment I`ve only being doing OS for about a month,so haven`t really seen that much extra cash flow through my fingers.But I have seen so many ways to save money on what before I would of certainly wasted.

There is no more take outs and processed food,everything is made from scratch.

The heating will stay off as much as possible saving on the gas bill.We now put an extra jumper on and make our own hot water bottles from empty fabric conditioner bottles filled with hot water.

We have been sorting all our old junk out,if it hasn`t been used in 6 months it`s unlikely to be used.So it`s either sold on Ebay or bootsale or ends up on freecycle/charity shops.

Cleaning products have been reduce dramatically,All I have in my cleaning cupboard is,bleach,bicarb,stardops,zoflora and white vinegar.All of which are very cheap.

I have also built up enough confidence to ask friends/family and co-workers for their junk.I`ve asked for shoe boxes,to cover and use as dvd/cd storage boxes.Old clothes in any conditon to make draught excluders.Old cooking tins/storage tins.I asked everyone to let me know first if they are thinking of throwing anything out,I usually find a use for it.
Those who I have asked think I`m barmy but I just smile and think of how much money they are wasting and how much I`ll be saving!