What everyday goods do you now consider a treat?

[Deleted User]

I don`t knit any more, I like good quality wool and it is now a ridiculous price so I don`t even make childrens items. A cardi for a 3 year old can cost £12-£15 so no-way

We don`t eat out at all as I can make much nicer for cheaper at home

We don`t eat grapes, too expensive

I don`t buy luxury specialist loose teas now

no magazines but I still buy books, they cost 1p plus postage and are often a real bargain

I don`t bother with new clothes either as I still have a wardrobe full and anyway, working on the allotment is my main hobby so anything does

My shoes will have to do, I have dozens of crocs that I got in a sale and I wear them all year round +/- socks

I don`t wear tights unless I am going somewhere special

We don`t go on frivolous days out in the car but we will go out on bike rides instead

all in all, I quite like it and feel healthy through cycling and eating all our own veg

freudianslip

hair treatment. I am sitting here with an egg yolk and olive oil mixture on my hair. I've been told it leaves hair smoothe and soft. All I know is it has set hard upon my head.

I think I have taken 'protein treatment' too literal! lol

Kimitatsu

For us we dont do take aways any more, I have found several really good recipes and we do our own at home. I dont buy clothes for myself on the high street anymore, ebay, or second hand are just fine unless they are in the sales.

I buy new for the kids as they grow fast and can be hard on them, and always buy them new shoes (which cost a fortune in themselves)

Books I always check if I can get them secondhand first although sometimes thats not possible!

spike7451

I have shirts that I still wear that I bought in the 90's!!The is nothing wrong with them & they are still fashionable for my advanced age!

happy35

i still buy a lot of fruit even though it is expensive, i would really miss it if I stopped buying it and it is healthy but am shopping around for offers.

Still buying meat but less of it and making it stretch further, OH and DS like their meat but I have been buying cheaper cuts and slow cooking. Chicken now serves 2 meal whereas would have done a main meal and then been picked at during the evening

I find that I buy a lot more of Sainsburys basic items than I ever did before and to be honest there has been nothing that I/we dislike

Still been buying DS innocent smoothies are on offer at Morrisons for £2 but get 4 portions of his 2 a day out of this so not too expensive at the moment and he would prefer this to eating fruit in the morning

Bought myself some of the new Kenco instant coffee that tastes like fresh and it is lovely, only have 1 cup a day but is more expensive so class this as my little treat.

We have a takeaway about once a month now, as it is nice to come in from work and not cook now and again but have really cut down on eating out. We did eat out about once afortnight but this has now become a rarity.

Living_proof

I don't think there's anything I go without that I would have bought in the good old days. I just buy more wisely, and not at all if I don't think I'm getting excellent value. For instance, I love fresh pineapple, and notice a whopping great big one in M& S for £3, but bought the same size in Lidl for £1 last week. The only things I have to buy each week are milk and fruit, salad and veg. and if something like cauliflower is £1.19 or so, I leave it on the shelves for someone else! We eat out once a week for lunch, and this is much better value than dinner but I wouldn't want to go without this as a treat. I buy all kinds of toiletries from CS and car boots and have far too much stuff and have had to join the Challenge to stop myself! I do very much limit what I spend on petrol and have cut out non-essential journeys which is a little sad. I did try turning the heating down but I found this was counter-productive as I can't work properly if I am cold and my lack of success in lost sales was costing me more than the fuel bill. I plan every food shopping trip to avoid over spending on trifles and there is seldom any waste in this house. I know it is much more difficult when you have a young family and if you are working full-time then shopping the way I do would become impossible. I had been doing this long before the recession as a matter of necessity, and now I don't really need to be frugal but it has become ingrained in me. It's almost fashionable to be parsimonious now!

BitterAndTwisted

I used to eat quite a lot of fresh fish once upon a time. I can't remember the last time I could afford any. I had a look in Tesco last weekend and could have wept at the prices. I'm sure ounce-for ounce gold is cheaper.

Haircuts are a thing of the past. The last time I had a trim back in September at Supercuts a dear friend paid for it.

Clothes, shoes and boots. Every single thing I've bought in the last five years has been second-hand bar some undies at M&S which were got with a Christmas-present voucher. However that isn't so much of a loss as I have a lovely wardrobe with some very good quality items which I could never have afforded new, even back in the days when I actually had a decent income.

Take-aways and eating out. I only ever do this once in a blue moon when friends treat me.

One thing I will not sacrifice until I really have to is proper ground coffee. I bought about 9 month's supply at Approved Foods a while back at about a third of the cheapest I could find which was at Lidl, so I'm all set until Christmas. HOORAY!

DonaldTrumpsHair

One thing I cannot compromise on is good quality hair spray - can you imagine the state of me without it? (he he, only joking).

Very much enjoying this thread. We do most of our shopping at Aldi, especially store cupboard stuff and try to base our meals around what we have in.

When we do run out of salad etc (which I don't find Aldi so good for, espeically the leaves), I go to our Waitrose and am astounded at the prices. They have always been very high, but are now extortionate.
It actually makes me very angry, because a lot of local people - particularly the elderly have to go there.

Over the years, myself and my dear wife have been terrible hoarders, for all sorts of bits and bobs and we are now in the process of trying to use all these things to make changes around our house.

Today for example I have been painting some wicker chairs which might have gone to the dump but are now shabby chic or so my wife says. I got the tip off here, watering the paint down. They look very nice and I am quite proud of myself.

My best money saving tip, is keep yourself occupied, whether reading or some kind of hobby (like using up hoarded odds and ends) and then the prices stay out of your mind for a while at least!

snookey

Going for a meal out is a treat as it costs so much. Im very carefull buying food and always look out for bargins. I was buying on line eg asda but they dont have the whoops bargains that you get when you shop in store.
We are on a diet at the moment so fruit and veg is a main food and is expensive.

meritaten

freudianslip wrote: »

hair treatment. I am sitting here with an egg yolk and olive oil mixture on my hair. I've been told it leaves hair smoothe and soft. All I know is it has set hard upon my head.

I think I have taken 'protein treatment' too literal! lol

try jar mayonaise instead hun - just put it on dirty hair leave for a few minutes then wash off with lukewarm water and shampoo once.
DONT use hot water to wash it off! makes your hair smell eggy!