Advice needed for new life

ExCityGirl

Hi,

I decided to register on this forum as I find it interesting and people very intriguing. I think you guys can teach me something which I really need to know...(if you bother of course ).

My story is very short: I was working in a city, making loads of £££ but I was not enjoying my life due to long working hours and back stubbing culture. My relationships with people outside work including my partner started to crumble and I became very irritable. So I decided to quit. I was lucky to find another job in a big company with a particular emphasis with work-life balance. So now not only I will have more meaningful job but will have some time to spend with my family and partner. However this choice came with a cost - pay cut. I figured that I am young and still can have a decent career and earnings by the time I reach 30 so quitting city is a risk but not a huge risk from my side.

I need your help / advice in regards to spending )). I can't fully downsize everything and switch to primark / topshop but I am sure there are some ways to live decently but frugally.

Oh forgot to mention that I have around a month to think about life and values before joining new team. So I read this little book called "Orchids on your budget" by Marjorie Hillis and was amazed by her approach to life. It was a great book but a bit dated.

Where do I start living frugally? I already downsized on a flat rent, cancelled my gym membership (company I am joining has one on-site) and gave away half of my clothes to charity. What else can I do? I do not want to just temporarily save money, I want to change my lifestyle altogether hence posting here...

What advice would you give to people like me?

Thx for reading!
ExCityGirl
:heart2:

Rowan9

Hello and welcome. Looking forward to all the replies you get and the advice given.
Can I say a big well done? I'm glad you've decided to join us here as well.
In my last job I worked with a guy who had been a trader on the stock exchange (is this the right phrase?). He got burned out and left just before 40. Having said that, he had no overseas hols, no big cars, did have a 2nd home in Suffolk though but got tired of watching all his colleagues getting tired out. He changed his job, as you have done, and got his life balance back. I so hope that you continue to do this.
W

ps why not join the Grocery Challenge for a start? maybe start reading the Daily and Tough Times, get to know peeps and pick up some tips?

suzybloo

Good luck and well done. The only bits of advice I can give you is read the old style as much as possible and take the tips and advice on board as much as possible that are relevant and do-able to your lifestyle - from menu planning to preparing for winter to knitting.
quick tip too is have a notebook at hand and note down everything and just ask!

Ches

Not sure that I am the best person to be the first to answer you as I am retired so different needs entirely. However, to start you off here's one or two things I do. Spreadsheet for all household bills and savings. I hate having to put anything else down apart from d/d's and holiday so I am obsessed with keeping to this. :rotfl:A set amount each week in cash for 'housekeeping'. My mantra is 'you can only spend it (money) once' so its always a trade off. You have to decide where your priorities lay. Clothes - I buy the best I can afford but probably spend less overall as they last longer (and in my opinion look better). I prefer quality over quantity and this goes for most things from furnishings to food. Don't know what else to say really except good luck.

I took so long to type I am not the first.

Hawthorn

As far as dropping quality of clothes goes, shop the sales and brandalley are pretty good. That way you can have nice quality for less price. TK maxx used to be good too, but I haven't been in there in a while.

Meal plan, and only buy what is necessary (unless you have storage space) Learn what are good prices, find out what's on offer and meal plan according to that.
Quick example for you, I use only colgate total toothpaste, normally around the £3 mark. Morrisons had an offer 2 for £3, so I went and bought ten of them. Five were almost free.

I do the same with meat - my family eat virtually no processed foods at all. Saw an offer where pork shoulder was £2.25 a kilo. I bought ten kilos, portioned it off and it's in the freezer.

A BIG asset for this lifestyle has to be a good sized freezer. I have a huuuge one and this allows me to stock up on real bargains. I also get whoopsies when I can.

Not wasting anything will save you a fortune in the end. Use up/freeze leftovers. Anything that looks like it's going past it's best gets used asap (and If I can't use it I freeze it)

Learn to love getting a bargain. When I get a good deal in the sales I always think 'booyah beat you again money grabbing business' - but only do this if you NEED it. That's also a big thing. Often what we want and what we need are two totally different things. Learn to differentiate between the two, and if possible put off a purchase for a couple of weeks. I used to be a bit of an impulse buyer and shudder to think how much useless stuff I got over the years.

If you think, hmmm the washing machine is 5 years old, it might be coming to the end of it's life, start saving for it before it breaks down, then when you do replace it, get it on sale if you possibly can. This applies to any big purchase. Also with big purchases check out reviews online. sometimes the more expensive items have worse reviews than the much cheaper one.

If you're not on a tight budget, get a jar and put a pound in every day - when christmas comes around you'll have £365 that you will barely miss over the year, and it could be used in those yummy january sales (if you're brave enough to shop in them anyway)

Take your own lunches and if possible drinks - love thermos flasks. It's amazing how much gets frittered away on shop bought sandwiches and coffees that we can do ourselves for next to nothing.

Good luck

Eyeore

Hi Excity, I too am looking forward to your answers here! I am in similar situation, we are v lucky in that OH and I have good jobs, work v long hours and quite stressful, and were looking to move to a house with bigger garden so we could grow more etc however I had a revelation whilst on day off today that most of the things I wanted to get I didn't actually need! just said to OH what if we stayed put for 5years and saved for what we wanted? Was v surprised when he agreed! So shall be formulating a 5 year plan (all being well) and will go from there! Am already os in many ways but many more areas to learn so will keep learning and hopefully be better off soon! Sorry not much help I know but am with you! Good luck x

squeaky

Start here:- The Complete 'Getting Started' Collection

And a list of current threads... started threads here on Old Style MoneySaving

desert_rose

One of the things I found helpful was to read articles by real people who had deliberately downsized, this led me to reading a few relevant books about alternative lifestyles and this then led to me becoming a more savvy shopper and dedicated frugalista who is now debt and mortgage free.

What's interesting is that more and more people are becoming less and less attracted to consumerism and like many of us, working toward simplifying life rather than complicating it with too much stuff and not enough time.

Its a gradual process for all of us but when you get to the stage where you can cook a healthy and economical meal from scratch, knit a scarf for a friend, create a box of birthday chocolates for a relative and run up an outfit for a new baby in the family; to say nothing of turning your hand to a bit of cheese and wine making on the way - you will have arrived!

notjustlaura

desert_rose wrote: »

One of the things I found helpful was to read articles by real people who had deliberately downsized, this led me to reading a few relevant books about alternative lifestyles and this then led to me becoming a more savvy shopper and dedicated frugalista who is now debt and mortgage free.

I'd be very interested to hear what books you've found helpful?

desert_rose

Martyn's three money saving books have to be some of the best on the market: Thrifty Ways for Modern Days, The Money Diet and The Three Most Important Lessons You've Never Been Taught.

Other books that I've found useful are mainly generic, library type reads on baking, sewing and knitting, gardening and general craft type books readily available from local libraries, car boot sales and charity shops.

Reading No Logo by Naomi Klein opened my eyes to the world of mass marketing and the psychological manipulation of consumer culture world wide and made me think long and hard about the bigger issues involved. This led to a light bulb moment and the realisation that it was all a bit of a con really - having more and more 'stuff' and more and more debt paying for it all.

There's some great articles on Spiked (google it) dealing intelligently and thoughtfully on some of these issues and others - highly recommended.

ragz_2

I'm interested as to why you thought that giving away half of your clothes to charity is going to save you money? Now you'll just need to buy more, perhaprs in future you can ebay your unwanted items or customise/alter them...

Well done on your decision though and the very best of luck.