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

meritaten

mandragora wrote: »

The difference between rich people and poor people?

Rich people live as if they are poor; poor people live as if they are rich.


That strikes a chord with me. Before the miners strike of '83 I took OHs wages (and the bit I earned) for granted. We bought into the 'boom economy' and thought nothing of spending it all.
That strike taught me the error of our ways - luckily I had been brought up by thrifty parents and with my extremely thrifty nan (who could teach most of us how to make pennies work like pounds). I wasnt completely out of my depth!
These days I am still penny pinching as if OH was on strike! never stopped.
and guess what - apart from a very small mortgage we have NO debt and if we wanted to we could go buy a brand new car tomorrow - CASH!
so yes - I live as if we were poor - but we do have a very nice safety net. and if that disappeared tomorrow - I could still live very nicely thanks!

FairyLight

Some great posts here.

To be honest, I've been driving myself (and OH I suspect) a bit mental with my MSE ways... finding it very hard / stressful to spend money on things that aren't absolutely essential, even if the money is there. I don't know whether its habit or a bit of anxiety but I just can't do it without going over and over it in my head! I miss being spontaneous with things.

Need to lighten up / relax a bit I think..! I'm a bit worried that I'm never going to be relaxed about money again

System

Thank you everyone for there posts,i'm so glad im not the only one who feels like this occasionally.
I do appreciate the roof over our heads and our health,but as i say sometimes it would be nice not to think about it all the time.

Even if i did have loads of money,i wouldn't necessarily want extravagent things,its just helps to stop the worrying at times.
I think this week,its been cold, kids ill, dog ill, the car needing new tyres and an expensive part very soon somehow! and it all got a bit much.
January is now over,the mornings are getting lighter.

I work one day a week in a charity shop and have volunteered there for long time,so at least can get a bargain and get my shopping fix,fixed! and have a laugh, but also realise often why we are doing what we do,sorting through peoples belongings,stories told to you of peoples last weeks and days,what they wanted,how we helped them die with dignity and only love matters then.


So tomorrow i have my sisters coming and looking at old photos of our family,some bring a tear to the eye of times past,other a laugh from curly perms of the 80's or a bad fringe!and apprecaite our family.

And hopefully when the weather warms up we will be off camping,i think cornwall so recommendations please!and i will treat myself to a proper cornish pasty and cream tea without the cream!,will they be offended!

I will leave you with this quote

"we would never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world"
Take care all of you and a warm welcome to the newbies.

meritaten

I love cornwall - and you have to have at least one cream tea 'with cream'! unless you are allergic!
but, cornwall is also famous for sea food - so if you really cant do the cream tea - do fish instead!
sorry - I cant recommend any particular part of Cornwall - they are all delightfull! I prefer the south - my sis prefers the north. but at no time are you more than 15 minutes from a beautiful beach!

Disflop

I too am finding it very hard at the moment to not 'splash out'. My husband died in December and of course I am going throughthe horrendous time called grieving,and one of the hardest things I am finding is stopping myself spending money just to make myself feel better. I know it is not the answer to anything - but that doesnt stop the temptation!

dandy-candy

Disflop i'm so sorry for you - I hope you are getting lots of support from family/friends.
OP have you a freecycle near to you? Picking something up from there is a lovely way to have a guilt-free treat! Also we have a chain of old fashioned sweet shops in London (can't remember the name) that sells sweets by weight from the jars like when I was a kid. There must be 60 or so different sweets and you can choose the weight you want so it makes for a great cheap treat and stirs up memories - chocolate limes anyone?

scrabbles_2

Disflop wrote: »

I too am finding it very hard at the moment to not 'splash out'. My husband died in December and of course I am going throughthe horrendous time called grieving,and one of the hardest things I am finding is stopping myself spending money just to make myself feel better. I know it is not the answer to anything - but that doesnt stop the temptation!

So sorry to hear of your sad news Disflop (((hug)))

sunflower76

Those missing magazines could try this site:

www magazinesubscription co uk

It finds all of the prices for lots of magazines and compares them. I've found a couple of cross stitch and card making ones at 6 issues for £5, so every month I shall get a 'surprise' in the post which has cost me less than a £1. Usually they come with a free cover gift too so I can stich or create something after I've read the magazine. This type of magazine has a good re-sale value on eBay too, if they contain charts for popular charactors. Just remember to cancel the Direct Debit!!

I always find sweets a treat too, either a bag from a discount shop where you can get the expensive treats for next to nothing (we have Cadbury Caramel buttons and Haribo cheap a the moment). Or a trip to the pick and mix shop is always a cheap treat (so long as I don't take my nephew).

As another treat I have a search set up on eBay for things within 10 miles of my home, less than £10, finishing within an hour and in the Home and Garden category. I click on this to bring up everything local to me and then filter by closest first. I've picked up some fabulous bits like that including pictures, mirrors, frames, and often I get them for 99p with no postage as I can pop round to collect.

DianneB

My idea of treating myself and breaking the boredom is the tried and trusted method of a trip round the charity shops, got a lovely elegant skirt for £3 last week perked me up no end and I shall wear it a lot, cheaper than a magazine even!!