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

Phoolgrrrl

We use tesco points for treats. We have mag subscriptions each, pizza express vouchers, dvd vouchers and cinema tickets. We also got a hi life card with points which gets you bogof meals. For about £20 in clubcard voucher we can go out for dinner and a movie.Register your clubcard online and it tells you if you have any unused past vouchers.

Coupons for takeways are good. Sign up for mailing lists of pizza hut la tasca etc.

If you have an orange phone on wenesdays you can text and get a code for bogof cinema tickets and bogof pizza express, plus you get free garlic bread or doughballs each. On your birthday you get a coupon from pizza express mailing list for free bottle of wine. The codes can be combined so my birthday this year, 2 starters, 2 mains, 1 desert, 1 coffee and bottle of prosecco for abt £10!

We also buy wine on offer like 3 for £10 or in Lidl.

It depends how tight your budget is, we build in money for takeaways/meals out. We also have loose change jars.

the.fantastic.mrs.fox

I feel every body on here's pain.
I remember shortly after DH went to uni sitting in the car park in town so close to tears because I'd spent £3.50 on junk. He wasn't bothered but I felt rubbish.
Now, because I know I'll need to go shopping to make myself feel better, I go to the charity shops in the area once every three months or so and look for things to change up the house or my wardrobe or even just a book I've wanted. It satisfy's the urges without feeling too guilty.

scrabbles_2

red_devil wrote: »

oh to win the lottery and be able to buy something without looking at the price tag.

I don't think I'd splurge now, even if I could afford to. I don't know how well I'm going to be able to explain this without sounding preachy, but I'll have a go.

To me, the most important money saving lesson you can learn is that you are not DEPRIVING yourself, you are EMPOWERING yourself. It will depend upon your own circumstances, but you might be empowering yourself by freeing yourself from debt, preventing yourself from falling into the debt trap, saving towards a dream or whatever. Once I got my head around this all of those little economies I had to make became a lot easier to bear. It's only very recently that my OH has resisted the urge to splurge. We were just chatting and he said his dream was to own a sailing boat like his uncle's one day. And I said to him, why not start saving with me? He made some comment about it's not as easy as all that and I asked him. do you dream of beers and takeaways and cable TV? No, of course not. Do you dream of magazines and trainers and brand-name foods? No again.

So then, why are you spending all your money on that instead of chasing what you do want in life?

And then it finally all clicked for him.

The fact is, you make your own decisions. Choose what's important to you and work around it. When I first started scrimping it was to pay off debts. It was a real slog at times but was it harder than waking up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night wondering how to pay my bills? Of course not. Otherwise I'd still be in debt, still waking up in the night! Is it easier to scrimp than to get behind on the rent or council tax or whatever? Well for the few seconds that the urge to splurge is upon you it might not feel that way, but really we all know that it is. But these are still choices. There is another way - but you know it's more difficult and you're choosing not to take it.

I don't enjoy some of my thrifty 'chores' but I do find I can minimise them by being organised and efficient. Also I found these a lot easier to cope with once OH was on board and started to do his share. Even spending money all I liked there would be lots of things I wouldn't particularly want to do that I'd have to anyway.

When I scrimp I don't feel like I am depriving myself of anything. I feel that I am a few pence closer to achieving my aims, which are to get a nice sailing boat with my other half for when we're older and starting to slow down (this is the ultimate, in the distance goal), to build up some savings so that I am less dependent on an employer, or my health, or any of the other circumstances we take for granted on a daily basis (this is my 'working' aim - I am working towards saving 3k this year and at least 6k next), and to be less in thrall of the big corporations and to make intelligent choices that give me a bigger share of my hard-earned money (this is my 'every minute of every day aim'). At the moment I have some squared paper taped to my fridge - there are 3000 squares, being coloured in one by one as I save.

For day to day 'treats' we have started to keep pin money from ebaying for guilt-free spends. But we rarely use it. I do still have treats, but they are modest ones. I love to hunt through charity shops for bargains. I can't remember the last time I even looked at first-hand clothes, shoes, books etc though. When I look at them I can't help but mentally calculate the difference between new and charity shop prices. I enjoy getting a good bargain and the thrill of the hunt! I do have a holiday but we have an absolute budget of £500 including spending money and it's a bit of a game to see how well we can do on that. I also realise that I am very lucky, as I have a hobby that pays for itself by selling some of my completed items.

I would recommend getting a book like the Tightwad Gazette from your library. Not to read the tips so much (many of them are fantastic, but a lot is out of date now in all honesty) but because it really motivates you to change your mindset from one of deprivation to one of control and positivity. I really think the cold, dark nights are getting to all of us - borrow this book, tuck yourself up in a blanket and read it. Hopefully it will make you feel better

Florenceem

Mortmain_Dreamer wrote: »

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.

I do get where you are coming from. I had 6 babies and very little money. Now all 6 have flown the nest. Yes it is tiring but looking back - wouldn't have changed it. I still cook from scratch and penny pinch - threw the first Mr out and now am married to my soul mate/love of my life. It always helps to think/remember - at least I can spend all that time/put in the effort to cook - so many across the world don't have that priviledge. For millions - it is not a case of what shall we have for dinner - but - will we have any food today?

Carissa

I've found a way that works for me... every time I come across a BOGOF, or 3 for 1 deal etc, I put the free one/s in the cupboard under the stairs. I've managed to build up quite a collection in only a few months! When I need to use the stuff from the cupboard, I 'buy' it from myself and put the money in a little tin. I would have spent that money at the shop anyway so don't miss it from my purse. I find that at the end of the month I have enough money to treat ourselves to something nice that we couldn't normally afford.

BitterAndTwisted

Happy birthday Mortmain Dreamer!

If I ever needed an intelligent and totally inspiring post to keep me on my straight-and-narrow journey it would be Scrabbles'!

Gailey: please try not to compare your own life and your own family's finances to what you imagine other people's are. Unless you ask them and they answer honestly you cannot know. Some people on the surface appear to earn more than you but that doesn't mean they are better off by any stretch of the imagination. Lots of people have credit picking up the slack for the things that other people see. You have a family to raise and no income from a job, therefore you will probably be making worthwhile sacrifices to be with your children and give them a decent and happy home life. That's worth so much more than any money in the bank. You'll see that investment being paid back with interest in the years to come. Others may not be so lucky.

taplady

scrabbles - an excellent post:T

Byatt

taplady wrote: »

scrabbles - an excellent post:T

Totally agree; very inspirational. :A

phizzimum

For some reason I was really tempted to buy a magazine this week. Spent ages looking at them in the supermarket but couldn't bring myself to blow £3.50. The articles are never as good as you think they're going to be and I learn more tips on this forum, but there's a certain appeal to sitting reading a magazine on the sofa! Had a look at some trial subscriptions for 3 mags for £3 - it's not exactly a quick fix tho!

Trow

Tesco has a freebie magazine - I'm sure other supermarkets do too, as does boots. Try those instead!