Am i the youngest O/S money saver here?

lyndseyann

hi mumzy.ive got 2 children as well a 7 year old and a 2 year old x x

Danni

I'm 21, and though I mostly lurk on here (I find it hard to keep up) I have found it very useful. I have one loan (that will be paid off by the end of the year) that I took out to cover the debts that were caused by splitting up with my partner/going into hospital/being ill and not able to sort out my finances properly. I also have a £100 interest free overdraft that I dip in and out of.

I'm not completely OS- I still have ready meals for when I'm not well enough to cook, as bulk cooking requires help from someone else that I don't always have, but I do know how to stretch a chicken, make homemade soups, homemade bread and things which I do on my better days. I also use Stardrops as my primary cleaner

I've just worked out my monthly budget and I have roughly £150 left over which is mine- before I went OS that would have been spent on takeaways, cleaning products and paying more for bills than I need to.

QuirkyChemistry

Hi,

I'm 20 and feel like I'm gradually turning into a housewife with the help of my new found love of cooking and the OS board. I've always been a bit tight fisted so I guess that helps. The scary thing for me is that I'm only a second year uni student. I think the OS board is brill though. I have learnt loads. Hopefully by starting young I will avoid debt (although my student loans will come to about £30,000).

Kaz2904

I'm 29 (well for about 6 weeks!). I have a 4 and a 6 year old. I work F/T nights. I am an O/S geek. DH despairs of my shopping budget!

Essex-girl_2

God I wish this website had been around in my 20's - not many people had home computers then & definately not internet. I am now 38 & I know that my life now would have been completely different.

I try not to think 'what if' & have regrets though & I think its great that so many young people do seem to be on these boards.

penguin83

Another in their 20's here. I'm 24 with 2 children who are 5 and 3. OH and I both work full time but I have found OS helps me with a routine. Long gone are the days of shoving something in the microwave when I come home from work and leaving all the housework till the weekends! x x

sammy_kaye18

Hi All

Another young one - Im 23, a mummy to my 3 year old son, step mummy to a 6 year old son, adoptive mummy to a 6 year old fur baby jack russell terrier Bruno, 3 terrapins named Randy , Toby and Julian and our latest addition 'Norm' the fish. Bf works full time (contracted 30 hours but theres plenty of overtime available) and i work part time (contracted 11 hours).

My boyfriend has debts equalling about £15K - he is paying the main ones off - which total about £10K but im paying small payments on the £5K one to keep them happy till the rest of his are gone and he can take over.

We live comfortably and happily. Our food budet is as low as we can get it and of our monthly budget I am left with £180 - £100 of which im trying to save for christmas so im left with £80 a month for whatever other expenses are needed and the last to spend on myself. I do all the saving schemes and point schemes i can.

I Bulk cook, bake, make my own bread by hand, make do and mend everything, am hoping this month to get my own veg growing underway, hoping to buy a new sewing machine this month to start making my own clothes again, and start crafting again to sell on Ebay.

Bills are being worked on to bring them down - mainly the phone bill! - we rarely use heating in the winter months now thanks to helpful threads on the OS boards. Our last quarterly bill was £103 for electric and £75 for heating which i didnt think was too bad

Love this site - im lost without it!!!

Sassamac

I've just turned 27 and married with 2 kids. I did a bit of the OS thing whilst living at home and uni, i.e. cooking from scratch, using leftovers etc. as much as you can when you're not actually running a home. But I wasnt 'into it', it didnt interest me it was just how I was brought up. Until I went to uni I thought everyone did that! It actually shocked me that a lot of my 18 year old friends couldnt cook.
It wasnt until I had DS aged 23, got married and got our own place, that I really started to take it seriously.
We have debts as my sig shows, but they aren't accrued through living a frivilous lifestyle. Its simply a result of moving house repeatedly when we were first together and having to buy / build increasingly more furniture (thankfully DH is great with DIY so we have OS homemade furniture too!) and living expenses. We have mostly been on a low income, and when DH had a good job / income, we didnt try hard enough to eliminate the debts we had (we had DD during that time which swallowed up more of the budget), then he got made redundant and we really struggled.

Likewise I cant imagine how people my age can afford to spend all their money on themselves, clothes, socialising etc. but I guess the answer is that their income is significantly better than ours or they dont have a family to support.

metherer

I'm 28 (~just) and have been using this site for a while now.

Married in June 06, DH is on long term incapacity as well as disability living allowance, so money is tight. I'm one of those women who would love to be a housewife, but unfortunately I'll be working til I'm old enough to retire.

No kids, so money doesn't have to stretch as far.

OS isn't something I DO, so much as a way of life. Its normal to me to have home cooked meals and not employ a cleaner, but try telling some of our friends that!!

Metherer

madge7

Hi!
I am 24, single, no children. I recently moved out of home to live with my sister in her house (I pay her a bit of rent!). I have to sacrifice lots now I dont live at home with no bills to pay for, Mum buying all the food etc! I am so glad to be able to come on here, esp OS and read eveyones tips and ideas.

Like you said ms london, dont know how people can waste their money so much! Esp people of our age. I used to be such a party animal but just lately I I dont have the urge to go out and do that anymore, I don't even drink that much now! Anyone else feel like that? My friends call me a geek because I love making cards, clothes and yoghurt in my easiyo yoghurt maker! he he I dont care though!

PS I have lots of debt too, so being on here is an inspiration!