no spending for a year?

Mistral001

EdgEy wrote: »

Yes, indeed. You come across as a bit of an evangelist trying to convince people to not spend £2 on a coffee, because to them, it's "only £2".

Social costs almost make up more than my food budget. I spend about £15-£20 a week on food - one trip to a restaurant can be about £10 just for a main.

I sometimes will spend more on a couple of pints with someone in the pub than I would spend on a whole week on food. At first I thought it did not make sense. Now I accept it. You cannot expect your friends to be as frugal as you if they do not need to be.

Kerfuffle

spookybuffy wrote: »

It's now the 11th Jan and lets see how everyone's getting on. Any big no no's yet? Any good habits working? Is it becoming easier for you? how many people are having a no spending?

Hi spookybuffy,

No, no big no no's for me :rotfl:( reminds me of Jim Trot from Vicar of Dibley).

I've only been doing grocery shopping, and any other shops I keep out of to avoid temptation. I'm actually lucky in the fact that I live in a very small town and whilst I can get most things here it's easy to resist temptation as we're not constantly bombarded with things to make us spend.

I haven't been keeping track of NSD but looking back through my spending diary I can see I've only had 3 spending days, so that's 8 x NSDs for me.

I did go into the charity shop looking for a belt, and spent ages trying them all, but for some reason they all seemed to fit on the last 2 holes (how did that happen ), and they just didn't look right. Anyway I was in conflict with myself as a new-to-me (pre-loved) belt would have been a want rather than a need, so in the end I didn't buy anything.

This journey has been okay so far, no major hurdles, I'm hoping to get to the end of January without having any un-neccessary spends and then I'll see how I am about doing it again in February.

Well done to everybody else doing this challenge, if you've had no purchases then that's brilliant, if you have made purchases that were a hic-cup don't worry about it, it's all a learning curve and it doesn't do anybody good to go cold turkey, it's all about Baby-Steps. :T

Dark_Star

Meant to say before - for long distance - there are the Travelodge (& other) offers for £12- £19 per room. Bargain ! You get to see far away friends without breaking the bank. Combine with low cost coach/train fares if you can...

True friends will understand & happily come round for a home cooked dinner or bring a take away & split the cost if you can or you provide dessert.

Have a wine/beer tasting at home - everyone bring a bottle & see if they can guess what it is/good/bad/yuk etc...some cheapo wines from Aldi/Lidl outdo the posh ones...

If your "friends" are unwilling to see things from your point of view then how true a friend are they?

No point trying to keep up with the crowd & be a one of the flock of sheep going bankrupt just because "that's what everyone else does". If they earn megabucks & you don't, then bluntly...cut down the socialising & enjoy what YOU can afford. It's your life, not theirs.

We've all been there & sometimes everyone turns up because they feel they have to as "everyone" will be there but given a choice of a comfy sofa at home & a good natter....many would prefer the sofa to the pub.

I did a writing course a few years ago & several of us kept in touch. Every few months we'd gather in someone's house & yak about stuff we'd written, life the universe & everything & take turns to host it. Much fun was had by all & wouldn't have been anywhere near as much fun if we'd met up in a restaurant/pub etc.

I do think you can be frugal & have a social life, you just have to change the lifestyle a little bit by bit & weigh up whether you want to go to the pub/club/restaurant or whether you'd rather have a group dvd night with nibbles etc.

A lot of people would be happy to host different events at home & if they're not - do you really want them spending YOUR money in the pub ?

Just trying to be objective, please don't take anything I say as a "lecture" (used to get enough of those from the parents;)) but have just seen several friends fall into the debt trap due to keeping up with the crowd...

Finally....

This is a thoughtful Australian article from 2007:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/spend-spend-spend-its-no-way-to-happiness/2007/09/25/1190486307021.html

Nothing seems to have changed on any part of the planet..

(For those confused, a "doona" is a duvet)

Lady_Tara

Dark_Star wrote: »

This is a thoughtful Australian article from 2007:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/spend-spend-spend-its-no-way-to-happiness/2007/09/25/1190486307021.html

Nothing seems to have changed on any part of the planet..

(For those confused, a "doona" is a duvet)

Very good, and so true

rubytuesday

Thank you for your posts Dark Star which I have enjoyed.

Nothing evangelical about it - well not preachy anyway just some good tips.

Anyway we can all do what works for us.

My not spending is focused on things that are unneccassary and I can do with out.

Unfortunately Marks and Spencers chocolate florentinines do not fit into that category and no doubt I will continue with the odd meal out.

Dark_Star

Unfortunately Marks and Spencers chocolate florentinines do not fit into that category

some things are medicinal though...:D & if ever on bogof or b1g1f then it would be very un-mse to let that slip by....:p

spookybuffy

very well said dark star.

determined_new_ms

blinking nora! I take my eye off this thread for 2 minutes...

really lovely discussions going on, lovely to hear others perspectives.

For me as I have said its more about minimalism. I guess I'm in a fortunate position, we paid off our debts in Oct 2010 and since then have saved quite a lot over a year. Having been able to save, while not going without - although we don't live an extravagant lifestyle! - has been a god send for me. It has meant I have been able to give up a job that I was unhappy in and take a lower salary. While being able to save £500+ a month has been great it has made me realise I don't need that much money and the personal cost for it now I have a cushion has been too much. Really looking forward to this new chapter! I haven't bought any stuff this year other than groceries (and tobacco really need to stop as if it wasn't for smoking I wouldn't have spent anything!)

I am, however, prepared to spend money on the things I want to "do". Yesterday we went to the qualifers for the 2012 Olympics for the women's category - lovely birthday present from my even lovelier oh - and we had a meal out & had a couple of drinks. I do look for the best deals always.

Nothing to declare on the WOS! x

Kerfuffle

Thank you Dark Star for all your tips, there's a lot of information there to take on board.

AdmiralX

I believed I could avoid costs but they come every 7 years: The oven stopped just a week before Christmas and I had to order a new cooker to arrive after New year. Meanwhile family needed dinners and we bough a small conventional oven. The new cooker needed a relocation of point to be safe. The electrician made a mess and broke the wall and had to plaster and paint - no compensation. Then we bought new washing machine because after 7 years it is uneconomical to cover it. Disposing old appliances and connecting new costs as well about.
Family discovered the small conventional oven cooks crispier pizzas and better cakes than the fan oven and the latter makes factory noise, we would have been better bying a conventional one.