Anyone else sick of scrimping all the time? Should I just blow it & get a credit card

krisskross

Do you look at the discount vouchers bit of this site? Honestly Tesco are giving stuff away with the vouchers they issue totally free. All the MSErs on there are so good about sharing and sending vouchers to people who can't find them, and working out the way to maximise the savings.

Since I have been haunting that board for the last few months I find i save about £10 a week off my shopping bill. Save that for a month and you can have a lovely treat. Some people have got so many toiletries free that they carboot them.

twinklybev

Hello,Thank you so much everyone for the advice & generous support just sent OH off to offy for that wine. Take care & best wishes fellow MSE's.:D

twinklybev

Hello,Thank you so much everyone for the advice & generous support just sent OH off to offy for that wine. Take care & best wishes fellow MSE's.:D

MSE_Martin

Twinklybev don't despair. Of course its tough - but once the debts start to disappear I hope it'll get easier. There are some great posts above - just wanted to add my tuppence worth, wish you the best and say we're all here

Martin

Actiongirl_2

twinklybev wrote:

Thank you , any suggestions for cheap treats or free leisure stuff to reward for my & hubbie if we don't blow the budget each week?

I buy my boyfriend Kinder eggs for a treat. He loves the chocolate and then gets a real kick out of regressing to 10 yr old behaviour to make the toy inside. Seriously, it is the gadgetness they love!

On the iron front, we sold our expensive irons at the carboot. The tesco £5 job actually irons better and has lasted longer than any we have ever had.

On the wine front, the Tesco Chilean Merlot/Chardonnay/Shiraz/Malbec etc are all below £3 and utterly fab for a cheap bottle of plonk (and from a girl with expensive tastes, this is a good recommendation!):beer:

Have you got anything in the wardrobe still with the label on? I took some stuff back last week which I bought to wear for an xmas party, hadn't worn and had been in a bag for ages. Because it was the end of the sales, I came home with 4 times as much and my CC was £10 in credit! :T

Good luck.

Headintheclouds_3

I can only speak for myself - as someone who paid off a large CC debt with inheritance and then proceeded to run the whole lot up again - but I'm only focused when I have a challenge...paying off debt. If you are debt free it's really tempting to get the credit card out and damn the consequences.

Perhaps you need a challenge or a goal - saving up for a treat, as others have suggested; I have to say that a quick read through of any of the DFW threads is enough to make you rethink any purchases on credit.

Good luck!

tomstickland

A credit card doesn't create money though. It just allows you to spend it now and pay it back later.

janiegs

Don't suppose you live on Merseyside? If you do, you can have my spare iron.

SarahNeedle1872

southernscouser wrote:

Go on. Get a credit card. Spend as much as you can! It's great fun! Until the bill arrives and thats an extra thing you can't afford to pay! But thats alright coz you can get a loan with a lower APR and monthly payment! Result! :beer:

But you still want to buy things! The credit card! You can afford to pay it off coz the loan is cheaper so you've got money spare. Only you don't pay it off! You need the money for that night out! Oh well there is always next month!

Fast forward a few years and welcome to my world and £34,000 of debt! :eek:

Go ahead and spend! Trust me you won't feel any better about things! :doh:

That is the best piece if advice u'll ever get!!
The people who 'swan off on their skiing hols' fall into one of three categories:
1) Those who earn an obscene amount of money and can afford to holiday when and where they want.
2) Those who would like to earn an obscene amount of money, spend as if they do, then spend the next 25 years paying it off.
3) Those who have no debts and/or are sensible, and save up to pay for their hols before they go.

I would love to say I was in 3, and one days I will be.... Once I get out of number two!

It is tough having to save for things, and very tempting to go and credit to pay for it, but you are VERY lucky/sensible not to have debt, so unless u can be disciplined with it, don't get a CC.

Congrats on ur debt free status!!!:rotfl:

miggy

Are you on freecycle? http://www.freecycle.org/
You can ask if anyone has an iron they don't want, or there may well already be one up for grabs. Worth a look - just don't get tempted by all sorts of stuff you don't really want!