Am i the youngest O/S money saver here?

Telute

Yay :j - its nice to know there are other twenty-somethings around. I'm 25 and not the only OS I know - although thats partly to do with having completed a masters course last year at uni and all of us being absolutly broke for a year. I do find a lot of people my own age give me funny looks if I mention cooking things and as for sewing and knitting ...

liz545

laurajayne wrote: »

It'd be nice if this thread kept up, as I'd personally love to make some OS friends that were my age (I work from home, and don't really have many friends to be honest - I find it hard to meet people my age that I have stuff in common with )

Lx

Hi Laura - have you thought about joining a stitch & b!tch group? I occasionally go to one near me, we tend to meet in nice pubs or cafes, everyone brings their knitting/sewing/crochet and you can meet some really nice people that way! It tends to be a lot younger than your average craft group, and some of the women that I've met are working on some downright cool & unusual projects! Google for it - I tried to post a link but the swear filter kept censoring my weblink! I know it might sound a bit scary the first time, but everyone's really very friendly!

VickyA_2

Hello all! I'm 28 (29 on Tuesday :beer:). I began to be OS when I first moved in with my now DH. I'd got a little bit of debt and "found" Martin and this website back in 2004 and although I'd "tried" to cook from scratch etc, this site gave me the push that I needed. So much so, that I was able to afford to go back to uni to retrain to be a teacher.

Although I don't make my own bread (I'd only eat it quicker than it was made ), I ensure that everything else is cooked from scratch. With clothes I try to "make do and mend". The top that I'm wearing at the moment was from Ebay and seems to have been worn to death in the last year.

We make the most of what we've got, but through being confirmed MSEers we've saved up enough money to go on a trip of a lifetime to New Zealand later this year. Something that we'd never have thought that we could do 4 years ago. We don't go out much because we don't really know anyone round here AND if we do go out then it's not to get a complete memory loss!

I am one of the only OS people that I know, within my own age group. One friend's husband can't believe that we spend so little on food and "surely you can't eat well on that". Well, I'm sorry but we do.

Justamum

I'm 20 + 24! I could say I wish this site was around when I was in my 20s but I don't think many people had their own computers then (I certainly didn't) and I don't know if the internet was even widely available. Yes I know I'm old (I remember the first video recorders and first video games - pong anyone?)

This site has been a godsend for me since I found it. I even do flylady and the house is a hundred times better than it was before. I am trying to get my monthly budget down and actually seeing what we are [STRIKE]wasting[/STRIKE] spending it on has really opened my eyes. Nearly a third of it on unnecessary snacky type things.

I think it's really good that there are so many young people doing this - I was certainly never into the going out drinking and getting drunk thing in my youth either. I preferred to stay in and read or go out to the theatre.

My mum and gran used to be very OS. I think living through a war they had no choice. My gran never bought a loaf of bread or any marmalade/jams/pickles etc until she was in her 70s! My mum used to make everythng from scratch and all my and my sisters clothes when we were little. She buys ready made now though.

I will definitely be encouraging my own children to follow OS ways and I think there will not be a lot of choice for them in the future the way prices are going up.

ryandj

I am 27, and a MSE- old style and new style! I was in a large amount of debt after uni, and not just student loans, but have since turned it around!

Now I have picked up so many MS tips from this website, people always say how do you know that? My answer? Martin Lewis!

freyasmum

Hiya :wave:

I'm 22 and I would say I've always been OS.

I have lived in a tiny, ex-mining village for most of my life. When my mum and dad first got married they couldn't afford to move out and get their own place and so lived with my granny... So I have always had an OS influence arround me. When I was tiny, my granny was always baking and was always showing me and my sister different things. Same with my mum's older brothers and sisters; she's the youngest of 7. Even today when they visit, we end up swapping ideas/tips, usually about cooking

Now I bake with my daughter regularly (she's 20 months). When she was tiny I had her up in her highchair watching me when I was baking and now I include her in as much as possible. I want her to grow up in the same way I did; without wasting money and materials.

I also remember when we were growing up we weren't constantly taken to all the latest attractions and having a fortune spent on us. If we went out we went a run to somewhere in the country and all the kids could play in the water, or run around in the fields exploring wherever we wanted, we'd have a barbeque, and just sit and talk and have fun. Nowadays many people think that going out should involve shed loads of money. Again, I will be bringing my daughter up in the same way I was. I want her to be appreciative of the things she gets, not spoilt because of what she won't get.

Bargain_Rzl

freyasmum wrote: »

Again, I will be bringing my daughter up in the same way I was. I want her to be appreciative of the things she gets, not spoilt because of what she won't get.

:T That's the way I was brought up, too. I'm 29, and a lot of people seem to think that kids being spoiled and not appreciating things is a modern problem, but my mum has told me of a time when I was 4 and went into playgroup showing off a new dress (which my mum had made from a Clothkits kit ) and the playgroup leader later told my mum that it was so rare and really nice to see a child appreciate having new clothes. (I am the eldest in my family, but my grannie's next door neighbours had daughters just a bit older than me, so most of my clothes were their cast-offs!)

I don't claim to be totally OS by any means, but the way I was brought up means I know how to budget, don't like waste, and appreciate the taste of home cooked food - I am a much more adventurous cook than my mum, though!

For me, it's frightening that so few people our age (especially those with young kids) seem to possess basic home-making skills, and know nothing about thrift or nutrition.

Having a generally OS outlook makes me feel secure. At the moment, I have a decent income and OS is a lifestyle choice, but I know that if my circumstances were reduced for some reason, I'd manage.

P.S. ms_london - sorry I haven't replied to your PM yet! I've been rubbish at keeping up with things lately...

Over_the_Rainbow_2

I'm 29 and find this site fascinating. I'd heard about it but didn't really think it would teach me much but since I got a computer I'm hooked and always logging on seeing I can learn for you guys it's excellent!! Like most of you I was brought up not to be wasteful and whether it's because it was ingrained in you from birth or out of necessity, it's so nice to see that there are all of you likeminded people out there.

I'm proud to be an OSer and see it as a way of life and encourage friends and colleagues to do the same. Most of my friends are in similar positions to me anyway and have to economise full stop. Forget catching up on soaps round the water cooler, we're busy discussing who has found the best OS advice and sharing our own ideas and creations! I'm even getting concerned at work about making a round of drinks and wasting 8 tea bags in one go (that's a waste isn't it?) and am seriously thinking of bringing in (my charity shop) tea pot to brew up in - don't really care if they think I'm potty it's wasteful

Bibbitybob

I'm 21 this year, and definitely edge towards the OS lifestyle. I've had a mortgage since I was 18, and just about to buy a place on my own for the first time. I'm recently single with no kids.

I can completely understand what others mean when they say they feel old before their time, I'm exactly the same. So many people are surprised when they find out how young I am once they've spoken to me a while (I look younger, act older!) and I'm happy with that. I run a household and my own business. But being freelance means no guaranteed income, so I'm really looking forwards to budgeting every penny and bulk cooking as cheap as possible once I'm in my new place! No-one else to rely on, or to mess up my plans lol.

It's really lovely to hear there are other OS-ers out there in their 20's. Where abouts do you all live in the country? We should have an OS 20's meet!

Vicki01

Hi everyone
hope you dont mind me joining in on this thread! I'm 20 and have been looking on this site nearly everyday for the past 6 months! (Dont post much as you can see!) Just wanted to say how much help it has been and I'm even starting to convert my OH who is in quite a large amount of debt! Like some of you have mentioned earlier, I'm always being asked to go out for drinks etc and when I say I can't because I've got no money the usual reply is 'thats what an overdraft is for'. This is why I'm soooo pleased to see so many of you on here in your 20's!

I might start posting a bit more often now


Vicki