How to cope when you have had enough of money saving!

meritaten

You do have to 'treat' yourself now and again! What on earth is the purpose of life if you are miserable ALL the time!
Get a jar and label it 'TREATS', put 20ps or 50ps in ..........then when the moneysaving drives you nuts - empty it and SPEND it! on whatever you want! or save it for a specific treat - whether thats a session at a hairdresser or going mad in a poundshop - that is YOUR treat money for being 'good'!
and as the advert says 'You deserve it!'

terra_ferma

I totally agree, sometimes you spend a few pounds more, but what you gain back in terms of morale is well worth it.

foodwise lidl for me is the best place for treats (you can't break the bank unless you go really mad)

I like buying cheap treats from waitrose (for example their jam is 80something pence and it's really lovely, I prefer it to more expensive ones), or from M&S (some of their sliced breads).
Even if it's just a couple of items each week, the few pennies I spend give me a great boost
Maybe you could give yourself a couple of 'free' items a week, extra to your shopping list?

I swap something better quality, but buy less of it, like more expensive sausages but smaller portions served with something cheap.

I like Having a great day out, whatever I can easily access (I love free entry to museums, also 2 for 1 offers, or just driving somewhere nice that's not too far but still a change of scenery).

(I must say I don't have a large family, so even what seems cheap to me may still be very expensive if it's for more people.)

BitterAndTwisted

I never get fed up of my penny-pinching ways now I feel that I've got a real handle on things. Small treats are built into the budget. Luckily I'm not a slave to chocolate bars but when I fancy one I'll flipping-well have one. L!dl's equivalent of Mars or Snicker bars for 25 pence scratch that itch.

I've also taken to window-shopping to satisfy my need to look at and touch nice things. Then I remind myself of what I can and cannot afford and go down to the charity-shop and see if I can find something like it.

Ditto the pound-shop. Lots of small, delightful things can be got just for the sheer hell of having a bag to carry home containing something new. Useful is a bonus.

All of this being potless business stopped being a penance some time ago and became a personal challenge. I'm rising to it and I utterly refuse to be beaten

Bronnie

If you get the chance to get into town on your own (no kids in tow, I mean) get yourself dressed up nicely, maybe have a good browse around one of the big department stores.

Next, head off for your pre-booked appointment here . There's no obligation to buy, all you have to do is say thank you and you'd like to think about it!

Then go and check out the perfumes and treat yourself to a sample spray of your new favourite eau de parfum .

Round off the trip with a cup of tea and a scone in the cafe.

xx

kittycat204

oh, i have a habit of going to TKMaxx and buying clothes then taking them back the next day. it is a genuine thing. often at the time of night i go the changing room is closed. buy a ton of clothes then take most of them back. it's nice to try things on at home anyway, with shoes and in my own mirror, better than in the changing rooms. it's good as long as i don't loose the receipt.

Alison_Funnell

I so agree about saving or allowing some splurge money into your budget. For me it can be a 99p (or the equivalent) Maccie D burger, a new mug for my cuppa, even a new pack of cheap knickers.

Also I love having a lovely bath, facial and slap on some body lotion. All at home and never expensive. A manicure and lashings of hand cream (I love one with glyerine in normally from the company A**n that shares a name with a river).

Watch a favourite programme or dvd but make an occasion out of it, make a mean you can eat while watching - pizza etc.

Get some books out of the library (or search project gutenberg) for free reading and make a point of spoiling yourself by creating you time.

They help for me. xx

Bronnie

Oh I forgot , what always cheers me up is watching, listening and singing along to music from my teenage years on youtube! David Cassidy anyone?

[Deleted User]

I actually enjoy money saving MOST of the time but do allow myself treats .... If I'm totally skint I look on all the freebie sites and its nice to get freebies in the post

My sister is on a much tighter budget than me and I know it gets her down , so any mega offers I send to her like a free lipstick offer etc and she does get a cheap takeaway from time to time which really helps

I also find the odd take away a nice boost as I don't even have to lift a finger to cook it and have found one with a £6 min spend for delivery so when I can afford it and feel like it I get one!

Managed to get lots of treats like the Tune Hotels 2p rooms & the Hotels4u offer so a night away is really good for the soul / morale

Plus I look out for really cheap girly treats like I am getting false lashes done at a salon next week for the first time ever and paid just £2.50 with Wahanda as you get £5 off if you review your purchase or £5 off when you join , so am even getting an armpit wax for free! lol

I think things like the BHS free fish and chips with a £1.90 drink offer helps , plus some good voucher deals like if you sign up for Groupon but don't buy anything they end up sending you £5 credit and I'm getting a free tub of Ice cream from Selfridges with mine which I could never do normally!

MSE really helps as there always seems to be a chocolate glitch on recently BUT I haven't managed to partake as yet but am getting my free L'Occitanne hand cream tomorrow so things like that help

Plus there are sometimes offers on MSE like a £15 John Lewis voucher for £1 if you sign up to Which magazine which you can spend in Waitrose , M&S did a free £5 voucher if you bought a xmas food item online & if you bought just the turkey butter it was worthwhile so could spend £5 in M&S on food items with your voucher

Maybe go shopping towards the end of the day and hopefully find some great 'whoopsie' items including meat joints etc and definitely look out for coupon offers on the vouchers board and I hope you can treat yourself to some nice goodies as it really does cheer you up as like someone else said 'You're WORTH it'! x

sophsnan

Bronnie wrote: »

Oh I forgot , what always cheers me up is watching, listening and singing along to music from my teenage years on youtube! David Cassidy anyone?

Got myself a lovely David Cassidy CD from the pound shop caught myself singing away in the car was 16 again :rotfl:

Mortmain_Dreamer

My first post on MSE! This thread is exactly the reason I joined.

I am thoroughly fed up with penny pinching at he moment. I don't mind the lack of money, in fact we seem to have a better quality of life and spend more time together as a family now.

What does get me down is the amount of time it all takes. I seem to live in my kitchen, constantly cooking to feed a very hungry family. Most of my friends seem to just throw something in the oven ready prepared, but I could never afford to do this for my hungry lot. I love cooking, but not constantly! If I'm not cooking, I'm meal planning or researching the best deal on something we need or mending clothes or fixing something else... I have to say that I am probably happier than I have ever been, I feel so content most of the time, but it is tiring.

So today is my birthday, and DH is cooking MY dinner for once...and a cake! I am so excited to have a meal put down to me and not having to clean the kitchen afterwards. And my best friend is taking me out for a meal on Saturday to celebrate. So as rubbish as it is sometimes to feel so tired from all this effort, it really makes the rewards more worth it I suppose.

It's great hearing everyone else's points of view, as I often feel quite alone in my quest to live debt free.