No Buying Toiletries in Jan 2011 !!!!

Kaz2904

Roshy, I'll dive in with my hints for extra pennies as Tara's not answered yet (she's probably at work). We started overpaying our mortgage 5 years ago when the kids were 2 and 4. Before we had moved into this house (8 months earlier), I was horrified about the level of mortgage we were going to have to pay. I went onto the debt free wannabe board and looked at their budgets. We then wrote out a realistic budget which allowed us enough money for food, gifts, pocket money for each of us, pensions for the littlies, etc etc. We had a £200 per month food budget and made sure there was a family entertainment budget.
DH won't look for another job and won't be flexible about his current job which means that he works Mon-Fri 9-5.30. I work shifts. The age that the kids were meant that someone had to look after them as they were still preschool. I went onto permanent nights which actually doubled our money. I get paid extra for working unsocial hours and I was no longer paying out hundreds of pounds each month for childcare.
I then made sure that I had a monthly savings amount for each yearly occuring bill like car tax/ insurance. I shop online for all insurances and pay them in a lump sum as it's cheaper. All purchases are made on a credit card which I earn cashback from. Vouchers are used religiously and the amount saved by using the voucher is then paid off the mortgage immediately. When we have a council tax or water rates free month, that money is put towards the mortgage.
Holidays were paid for by using Tesco vouchers for a holiday cottage in France.
We didn't go out very often, actually not a hardship because the children were so small and I was rarley at home in the evenning. We enjoyed spending our free time together but the house was a wreck too so when we did have to let the kids go to grandparents for a weekend it was generally spent ripping rooms apart and redoing them.
We have done the majority of the house ourselves, demolishing walls, ripping out bathroom and kitchen, replastering, retiling etc.
The readers digest book and google are your friends for this.
Become friendly with ebay! Get rid of all your excess stuff. Gok your wardrobe. Then, if you invest in more expensive brands that you enjoy wearing, you will not feel hard done by by having a smaller wardrobe. Clothes last longer as you are able to keep check on the condition of them. They are washed quicker as you have less. Clothing is replaced when it wears out. I found that a "uniform" helped. I have my "Mum" "work" and "fun" uniforms. I have summer dresses and a couple of dresses for evenins out. Invest in good shoes, they last longer. Buy them new from ebay though. My DM boots cost £20 brand new!
Use up your clutter!
Find free stuff to do with your spare time. It is so easy to go shopping for something to do but you're spending money and adding to clutter. Go for a nice walk instead. We have recently discovered geocaching and it's great fun!
Do your present shopping all year round, carry a list of people you've got to buy for and write down their gifts as you buy them. No overspending then.
Go Oldstyle, saves money!
Rather than buying yourself things, hint heavily when you see something you fancy. Someone, somewhere will be able to get it at a discount for you if they have enough notice.
(I could go on but I think I've gone on long enough!)

Sorry for being so OT guys, but it's close to my heart .

Feel really cold today but that's cause I'm on my bum on the sofa instead of doing my jobs! I will go soon, I promise. I want to get my stuff out don't I today? TTFN, Kaz.

roshydoshy

Thank you so much Kaz, that is really insightful. One point in particular stands out to me, about hinting for gifts - I am always told I am a nightmare to buy for (presents) as I always buy it myself when I want it - I will hold back on this now and ask for things for my birthday or Christmas (it's in June so halfway between Christmas and...Christmas so I should be evenly placed for what I like).
I do need to declutter my wardrobe, and have started buying 'for keeps' items, such as a leather clutch (ebay the one I have seen in the shops and get it for a fraction of the price) rather than a new one every time I go out from a cheaper shop that I won't use again! I have got 2 black suede ones now, and a brown leather, and a couple of sparkly ones that fit all occasions so must get rid of my chest of bags :eek:
Same for shoes, I have started to buy leather/suede classic styles so hopefully I'm cutting down on my Imelda Marcos similarity!
I know people say throw everything on ebay, people buy the most strangest items but it's just the motivation to do it - I will have to put my mind to it this weekend.

I also should do a carboot for the clutter I have too, and have begun survey sites again with the view, I will paypal balance what I can but the sites that only issue vouchers will be my treats to myself.

I am applying for a change of jobs as I am on a ridiculous wage for what I do, but it's not the ideal time to change - very few jobs in my sector!

I know it's off topic but it really is a help to me, and hopefully a help to someone else too!

Thanks again x

Kaz2904

How about a visual aide memoir too? Get a picture of a house/ flat/ whatever you want to buy. Divide the picture into 120 squares and each time you have £100 saved, cross off another square.
I read a book called the automatic millionaire by Richard Bach and he talked about paying yourself first. So don't save what's left, pay your savings first and then live off the rest. It's a brilliant book but I lent it out and never got it back

roshydoshy

Kaz2904 wrote: »

How about a visual aide memoir too? Get a picture of a house/ flat/ whatever you want to buy. Divide the picture into 120 squares and each time you have £100 saved, cross off another square.
I read a book called the automatic millionaire by Richard Bach and he talked about paying yourself first. So don't save what's left, pay your savings first and then live off the rest. It's a brilliant book but I lent it out and never got it back

That is a good idea, I think I will do that! And even better that I can cross off 5 to start with! That's a great visual incentive thanks so much! :T

La_escocesa

Hi everyone :wave:

Just catching up with all the tips on this thread and resisting Lush every day...

Saved £4.75 by not buying a lip scrub and made my own - caster sugar, honey, olive oil - so simple and can't imagine it's v different to the lush one :T

Down with the lush stash!

balletshoes

I'll be watching this thread tomorrow ladies - Boots sale and I recognise some of these usernames :rotfl::rotfl:. Good luck - I'm the first to admit I don't need anything from Mr B tomorrow, but I'll be there anyway!

InaPickle

roshydoshy wrote: »

I also came home last night to a Phillips GoLite blue light system that I sgned up for on BzzAgent. Its selling at £257 on boots.com :eek: but we had to contribute £40 towards it. Its one of those lights that are supposed to boost your mood in the winter, send S.A.D. feelings to the bin, and improve jet lag. I will give it a whirl this week and if not it can go on ebay to boost my savings! If anyone wants a £100 off voucher for it, let me know - I have a few to pass on!

Have a good day ladies x

Ooh, I've been considering getting one of those, but it's a question of figuring out which one to get and, of course, the pretty hefty expense in getting one. Let me know how it goes (wouldn't say no to the voucher, pretty please! ) and what's BzzAgent?

Lol @ your dad raiding your stash. The next stage will be when it comes to near the end and he's asking about bath bombs etc., then when he starts asking about replacements, then comes out with the immortal 'HOW much?!'. :rotfl:

roshydoshy

InaPickle wrote: »

Ooh, I've been considering getting one of those, but it's a question of figuring out which one to get and, of course, the pretty hefty expense in getting one. Let me know how it goes (wouldn't say no to the voucher, pretty please! ) and what's BzzAgent?

Lol @ your dad raiding your stash. The next stage will be when it comes to near the end and he's asking about bath bombs etc., then when he starts asking about replacements, then comes out with the immortal 'HOW much?!'. :rotfl:

PM me your address and I'll send one over! BzzAgent is a testing site ( https://www.bzzagent.com ) and they periodically invite you to trials (most are free but I think because this is so expensive you had to contribute towards) and you have to spread the word. Last one I had was splenda (sweetner) and they sent me loads and lots of little packs to hand out to family and friends. If you're lucky and register now they may still be accepting testers you might get one for the £40 !

Gosh I know, I tried to tell him about the shampoo and he did blanch a bit but he's a bit stubbon so my parents will now be buying this! He says it's worth it as whatever is in the formula doesn't aggravate his scalp (him and my sisters suffer from easily irritated scalps, like dandruff I guess) so its his HG now :rotfl: so I guess that saves my mum having to buy different ones to try!

She's finding it funny too, winding him up that he has a mistress on the side who he's pampering for!

Kaz2904

roshydoshy, thanks for mentioning that the campaign was still open, I've just signed up to it. It's DH's birthday tomorrow so that can be his birthday present! I wasn't planning on buying him anything in particular so this is a result as he struggles out of bed in the winter. So happy now!

InaPickle

roshydoshy wrote: »

PM me your address and I'll send one over! BzzAgent is a testing site ( www.bzzagent.com ) and they periodically invite you to trials (most are free but I think because this is so expensive you had to contribute towards) and you have to spread the word.

I just googled it and joined, and it said that it was full , but hey-ho, perhaps something else nice will fallk into my lap instead (but cor, they are nosey - talk about a stack of questions!)

roshydoshy wrote: »

Gosh I know, I tried to tell him about the shampoo and he did blanch a bit but he's a bit stubbon so my parents will now be buying this! He says it's worth it as whatever is in the formula doesn't aggravate his scalp (him and my sisters suffer from easily irritated scalps, like dandruff I guess) so its his HG now :rotfl: so I guess that saves my mum having to buy different ones to try!

She's finding it funny too, winding him up that he has a mistress on the side who he's pampering for!

That's so funny - I would imagine that most blokes of a certain generation would go 'I'm not paying THAT for a shampoo', but if other thing irritate his scalp, then I can understand it. I've had problems getting a decent shampoo for my hair recently, and there is little worse than buying millions of bottles that then don't get used much, so really, it's probably saving a bit along the way!

Will PM you now. I expect a full review before I invest, mind!