no spending for a year?

rubytuesday

Ooh be careful what you wish for Ms Determined!

Ok I know you're not wishing really but you never know!

Kerfuffle Turkish breakfast is feta, grilled hallumi, salad, tomatoes, boiled egg, Turkish bread, jam and honey in one of the many Turkish Restaurants my way.

I need to get some food for tomorrow today but other that will not be spending.

I will also try and bet round to putting some unopened perfumes of the girlies and old perfumes of mine on eBay.

spookybuffy

got an email today saying a swap from readitswapit been accepted. Im very happy, just hopping the postage charge dont put me off :lovethoug

determined_new_ms

ok very please with myself today. Went into town with my BFF as she has some vouchers and wanted to get some things. I tried on a cardi in the M&S sale - only because she was there - but although it looked really nice I faithfully put it back. I soothed my need for things with a free L'Occotine product.

I did have lunch out with my friend but it was a rare treat and gave us a chance to have a good ole yarn.

Sadly I received my sewing machine today and it hasn't got a spool stand or pin. I have emailed the person on ebay and asked if they have it and could they send or we will need to have a discussion about returning it. Am sooooo sad though have been so excited about getting it and spent about an hour today trying to work it out, you tube tutorials, then googled and found instruction manual - some people are so helpful! Someone had photobucketed all the pages of the manual! GUTTED!!!!

superman909

spookybuffy wrote: »

With new year coming up i've been looking for something to do and I been reading online about how people have had a "no spending for a year" in the u.s and you pay for your bills, emergency stuff and thats it. No clothes, dvd, cds, games, take outs or eating outs, going for days out or lush iteams. Has one one tryed "no spending for a year"? is it possible to do it here? and still stay sane?

You may look back at it and think "I didn't enjoy that year at all, or as much as I could have done if I spent a bit more" and you may feel it is a "year wasted". However, that might not be the case.

Things you could do first would be obvious things like make sure you have your money in the best savings accounts that are suitable to you. Then, I would sell a few things on eBay, in the paper or whatever, and finally, do a less extreme thing of what you mentioned: rather than eat out for lunch, simply make a sandwich (if you work that is).... rather than pay for dvds, cds, games, rent them by looking for free 30 day trials or whatever with big name companies. For clothing, consider selling stuff you don't wear, and then buy new stuff, or at least go bargain hunting for stuff that you can afford and that suits you. For your birthday, if people buy you presents, consider asking them for a gift card instead so you can choose luxury items that you would usually buy. For days out, definitely look at free days out - you can have fun and spend next to nothing - how boring would a year be without having at least one day out every month or so? Like the OP said, London is fantastic for days out, and so are most places in the UK to be honest - if you live near the countryside, pay a visit, and so on. Join cashback sites, etc. too.

rubytuesday

Well I haven't left the house except to visit my elderly neighbour so have racked up another NSD and finally got round to listing stuff on eBay.

It's such a faff to begin with but gets easier.

I already have one bid but it ain't much

rubytuesday

Ms Determined have you sewn before or is this a new thing?

I keep toying with the idea of getting a cheap sewing machine but absolutely loathed sewing at school and was dreadful at it!

determined_new_ms

no its a new thing, haven't sewn since I was at school but really want to make some roman blinds for my kitchen. I do make alterations & mend the odd item byt hand so I think I could turn my hand to it -clearly not be making dresses standard!

loobylou232

Okay, a quick catch up.

Friday - three sick children, had to buy more paracetamol and ibuprofen suspensions and also bought a magazine to cheer us all up. Total spend about £12.
Today - escaped the sickness and went into town to RETURN some perfume sets that I do not need and a gift I didn't want in Boots. Had to exchange the gift as no receipt so got some leather gloves. Unwanted gift scanned at full price for some strange reason (I know it was bought half price and told them so as I am honest like that!) and the lad on the till just let it go and put the balance owed to me on a gift card. Also picked up Christmas sales orders from Boots and Tesco and like others wonder is it necessary? To be fair, those orders are mostly toys for childrens' birthdays, Christmas next year, so don't feel too bad but my children definitely have too much. Still one more order to pick up at Wilkinsons (lego) and will have to resist a Babyliss Big Hair at £20 (still reading Grabbit!) if they have one - will I be able to? I don't know. Marks and Spencer order still not dispatched from 2nd Jan so am hoping (really!) that it will be cancelled as they will surely have run out of everything by now. OH had a new suit on that order though that he does need so to get that would be a money saver in the long run. And that's me. Up to date, no more shameful confessions to make and gazing through to see light at the end of the tunnel. Like Kirri, I can't wait for the sales to be over and the temptation to pass. I really need to cold turkey grabbit though! Night all, sleep tight. x

loobylou232

darwins_mum wrote: »

Evening all, can I sign the pledge please?
Reduced circumstances has made me more determined than ever to knock my poor attitude to spending on the head. I Really need to get a handle on resisting the temptation to spend unecessarily. I started 2011 really well then went wild in June and just didnt really stop. Charity shops, ebay and amazon seem to be my downfall at the moment. I had a kindle for my birthday after giving away 90% of my books. I have bought about 80 e-books in 3 months - loads more than ever before, partly compounded by our library now operating on reduced hours (poor excuse).
I have already pledged to only spend £100 on clothes for the year - my wardrobes are currently bursting, as is my shoe stash. I am trying to train myself to want less, and not give in so easily to my wants.
I am sure with support on this board we can all achieve our targets. Everyone has started so positively so far which is a real inspiration- lets keep it up.
With the support of MSE I gave up cigarettes and alcohol last year, so firmly believe in the power of supporting each other.
Good luck y'all
DM

Sign up to get free kindle book e-mails daily with these folks http://www.ereaderiq.co.uk/ . They send alerts when kindle editions become free on Amazon and then you can 'buy' them for nought.

darwins_mum

Thanks for the tip LoubyLou232, I was pointed in the direction of ereaderiq earlier by another kind poster. My new obsession I think - it will take me the next 10 years to read my new free books. Great money saving idea. Just another reason why I love mse.
Have a great day
DM