Don't get into debt!!

katecheshire

Maybe it should be compulsory to read this website before you are allowed to get any sort of credit :rotfl:

seriously folks !! it does start to make you think about what you spend - or don't spend. Keeping a spending diary has been great for me - do I really want to keep being reminded about spending on something I didn't need? All I have to do now is get the OH to keep one.

chocolatefish

For me, learning to budget properly and honestly has got me out of my measly debt of a couple of thousand and helped me to avoid it since then.

You cannae argue with the figures!. Mr CF and I are not in debt, but we do live by an SOA that we manage through M/soft Money. We check our bank balances daily, update our spending records on MM and account for every single penny that we spend by receipts / spending diaries. In this way we make sure that we are living within (and below) our means, even when we have a reduced income for any reason. I guess it's about developing good money management habits, and making them part of your daily life.

Any big purchases - and by big I mean over about 50 quid - are discussed in advance and agreed on. We are honest with each other and we have regular financial and life planning goals. So when we consider 'big' purchases or spends, one of the criteria we use is "will this take me / us towards my / our goals or away from it?". Doing it as part of a couple helps us to stay honest about what we might want to buy - I might be able to talk myself into certain uneccesary spends, but it's harder to convince someone else!!

*zippy*

Stop thinking "I deserve it" and "I want to give my kids the best"

Like CFC everytime I buy something I work out how long I have to work to earn that, it really does shock me sometimes.

misspoppy

I think a proper spending log to cover your bank account and a budget is the best way to manage your money that way you always know where you are.

Why I was young and got my first house we were paid weekly and withdrew the cash from the bank and put it into envelopes for each bill, then on saturday mornings go to the bank and pay the bill when it was due.

this progressed to writting every bank transaction down so I could look in the book and see a true reflection of our finances, we were at our most affluent when we did this.

Dithering_Dad

I was just nosing about in the bowels of MSE and came across this thread.

Whatever happened to Sloppy Saver?

rog2

Dithering_Dad wrote: »

I was just nosing about in the bowels of MSE and came across this thread.

Whatever happened to Sloppy Saver?

I think it could be another SS. The original spelt his/her name Sloppy_Saver and unless he/she has taken English lessons, the word 'Dumbass' seems to have disappeared from his/her vocabulary.

Most, if not all of Sloppy_Savers posts have been removed.

Toto

Ooh I dunno, I think this sloppy is the same person pre-dumbass

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=383973

if you look at this thread you might see what I mean. 2 people called sloppy saver making references to taking over the forums? I think not.

solventguy

A couple of techniques I've used:

1) Pay for stuff in cash. If feels a whole lot different going to the bank machine and taking out a lot of £20 pound notes for those trainers that you want, as opposed to swiping a card.

2) As someone else has suggested, think about purchases in terms of how long it takes to earn the purchase price. Work out how much you earn (take home earn) each workday. Are those trainers really worth a day's work?

3) Get a savings account where your interest is paid in monthly. You might get a slightly less interest this way (although rates overall have been going up), but it is tremendously reinforcing to see the bank giving you free £'s every month. And every time you pass up a purchase, and put a little more in, they give your more.

4) Avoid the shops. If you don't need to go in, you can avoid a lot of unnecessary temptation.

Tesco_points_addict

CFC wrote: »

I used to work out how much something would cost me in time working to pay for it. It used to put me off impulsive extravagances...by the time I'd worked out how many hours pay it would take to buy it, I usually thought - hey that's not worth 16 hours work, 16 hours of my life for that! Especially as I hated my job at the time.

Me too, I still do this now, its really scary to work it out!!!!!!:eek:

Dithering_Dad

Hi Toto, I haven't seen you in ages. How are you getting on?