How do you resist spending money on 'stuff'?

findingmyownway

Hi guys

Just wanted to say that you are all doing a great job on here!

Anyway, my question is this - how do you resist buying stuff so diligently? I love shopping for clothes and makeup etc. I generally avoid CDs and never buy DVDs but can easily spend £50 in the shops any day i go there! There must be somekind of mindset i can get into to reduce the spending but im not sure how to go about finding it. Any tips?

poppy_f1

i do go on mad spending sprees occasionally but always have a budget in mind and outwith those times i do stop and think do i really need it

GirlRacer_2

Even after having my LBM I'm still occasionally tempted with buying 'stuff'. I must say though that over the last few weeks I've started making a conscious effort to pay things off and get the same kick out of watching the debt decrease as I used to have from shopping.

If I do go shopping I budget for it and only take that amount of money.

southern_chick

don't take your CC with you when you go out, if you've only got a set amount of cash you wont be able to over spend

HTH SC XX

livinginhope

I find myself asking the questions,doI really need it? what will happen to me if I don't buy it? what will happen if I do buy it? and most importantly,can I afford it? if I still need/want it after the questions,then I get it,more often than not,I don't buy anything.

beanielou

Its really hard & I dont always manage.*Sigh*

ZTD

Take a list. If it isn't on the list, you don't get it. If you really want it, you'll have to put it on the next list.

MUSTBEFUNNY_2

Hi

Don't go to the shops!;) Honest! It's just tooooooooooo tempting. Too many beautiful things....but be honest do you really need any more fluff in your life?:rolleyes: :money:

clarab_3

Cant say Im great myself but my approach is: dont go to the shops. When i need something i withdraw what i can afford from the bank and allow myself to spend the lot, but no more.

frugalpam

findingmyownway wrote: »

Hi guys

Just wanted to say that you are all doing a great job on here!

Anyway, my question is this - how do you resist buying stuff so diligently? I love shopping for clothes and makeup etc. I generally avoid CDs and never buy DVDs but can easily spend £50 in the shops any day i go there! There must be somekind of mindset i can get into to reduce the spending but im not sure how to go about finding it. Any tips?

Oh I can so identify with that - I can (could) fritter away £50 with the best of them. If i feel a need to come home with a bag of goodies, i set myself an absolute max. of £5 (which I've budgeted for) and go into a great shop called 'Poundland' that we have in Lancashire (maybe its a national company?). As the name suggests, everything is £1 and lots of branded names - I save a fortune on everyday stuff like shampoo, cleaning stuff etc, but there are lots of good value bits of 'fluff' - even CD's (well... ok, you'd have to like Perry Como or Frank Sinatra to take advantage of the cheap CD's :rotfl: )

Pam

betti911

I've just avoided shops since my LBM. I tend to just to go tesco if I need something with a list. I did go shopping a couple of weeks back with some of my friends who have more money or plastic to spend than me and I really didn't feel like buying anything at all. Felt it would be throwing all the work I'd done since the start of this year away.