What can you do without?

Ben84

Satellite and cable TV. The freeview channels and BBC channels are plenty for me.

I don't buy kitchen roll either. Newspaper does everything like cleaning up spills and draining fried food just as well. However, I do of course still buy newspapers as I enjoy reading them (I also do quite well saving money with vouchers from them too).

Fancy cleaning products. Mostly they're expensive, polluting and just not needed. I get better results than most the specialist products give with soda crystals, ammonia and borax.

I hardly drink alcoholic drinks either. I don't enjoy them enough to justify the cost. I prefer coffee really.

valk_scot

MoaningMyrtle wrote: »

What do people think of this decision?

When children's pet rabbits and guinea pigs died we decided not to buy any more pets. The main reason was the cost of bedding and food.

I think that seems very reasonable. If budget is very tight then it might come to a choice between say you eating that week and having to pay emergency vet fees if the pet gets ill and that's not a good choice to be faced with. People should be realistic about the cost of keeping a pet and not just see the cute furry bit. A pet doesn't just cost food and bedding after all, there's often chipping, insurance, holiday kennels/cattery/small animal boarding, neutering, vaccinations and regular health checks to be considered in the case of a bigger animal.

We just adopted a new kitten from the rescue and even laying aside start up costs of vaccinations and neutering and the required donation to the cat rescue he's still going to cost us £20-£25 a month index linked in insurance and food etc for the rest of his life. And we've got two others as well. We can afford this and there's plenty of other things I'll cut down on before I couldn't have a pet but as I said, one does have to be realistic about these things. So I think you're being very sensible about considering the costs. :T

pinkypig

Doing without quite a lot at the moment so here goes!

bin liners - use free carrier bags instead
scourers - use those nets of oranges/onions etc
range of beauty products - Mr M savers baby lotion (9p for 500ml) now does hands face and body!
conditioner - haven't noticed the difference
fabric condition - ditto
eating out - invite friends and family around instead, so much nicer and a fraction of the cost
new clothes - wearing what I've accumulated over the years before OS (far to many and I now feel a bit ashamed!!)
Anything shop bought that can be homemade (cakes, biscuits, soup, bread ect). Takes a bit of time but tastes lovely and def. much easier on your purse.
unnecessary trips in the car - actually plan ahead now to cut down on mileage and fuel.

Amazed myself with the difference a few changes and a bit of forward planning makes to your bank balance at the end of the month. Thank you OS friends you've change my life :beer:

kitschkitty

I've never had cable or sky TV as I think it'd be a complete waste of money for us.
Don't buy CDs any more as I never listen to the hundreds we already have, I prefer the radio and spotify etc.
Rarely go to the cinema as DVD's can be picked up super cheap (and everything comes out on DVD so quickly these days anyway).
Don't have an ipod if I want to listen to music on the go I use my mobile phone.
I rarely bought fabric conditioner, but do use vinegar now - it really does improve the wash.
I buy hardly any cleaning products these days, as you really don't need half a dozen different things for most jobs.
Very rarely buy magazines or papers (can get it all free online), ornaments, collectibles etc any more.

frogpasty

A TV, when my last one died I realised that I had no interest in the endless repeats and brain-dead reality shows that fill our screens and that 95% of all my viewing was programs I specifically targeted, either DL-ed, DVDs or on demand. The "puter" does for all my media needs.
Washing Machine: I'm divorced, I'm a man, I don't have a lot of washing and get equally good results in a £1.99 bucket as a £300 Hotpoint.
BT landline: Personally I hate BT, over many years as a customer both business and (dis)pleasure they have been obstinate, arrogant, and elusive(when complaining) but very free with price increases. I am now completely mobile, I pay for what I use and I use what I pay for.
New clothes(with the exception of shoes, socks and underpants, even I won't wear 2nd hand underpants and that's saying something!). Charity shops yes but the addition of a 2nd hand sewing machine and a bit of practice means that I can modify many things that woudn't originally fit my fine and manly frame to do just that. I just got a fleece jacket that looked brand new but was far too baggy for me, half an hour of trimming and sewing and I now have what looks like a brand new fleece custom taylored to me for a fiver.
Wallpaper: No I don't have a substitute, I just hate decorating!

LameWolf

frogpasty wrote: »

New clothes(with the exception of shoes, socks and underpants, even I won't wear 2nd hand underpants and that's saying something!).

I totally agree - there's just something indefinably yuk about the idea of second-hand undies._pale_ I do make mine last until they're literally falling apart, though; and the only new clothing I've had for well over a year is a t-shirt Mr LW bought for my birthday because he thought the slogan on it was apt: "Though she be but little, she is fierce". :rotfl:

thriftwizard

There are pets and there are pets... we've run through an entire menagerie as my kids have grown up, including chinchillas & cockatiels, and much though we've loved having them & caring for them we are not planning replacements for any of what I'd call the ornamental animals. But here on the edge of open countryside, a cat is a working member of the household; we have town mice, country mice and all of their sisters, cousins & aunts, who would all love a cosy billet underneath my kitchen cupboards! And the chickens, again, are loved & cosseted but basically working animals; I have had to buy eggs about twice in 9 years and our compost is like rocket fuel for plants. But although there are feed costs, we don't do yearly vaccinations - our cats have all had the first set, & been spayed, then take their chances, as they don't ever go into catteries. The youngest we have lost one is 14, and she couldn't have been saved even with thousands of pounds worth of treatment.

Vetinary Insurance; please forgive me if I'm about to tread on any sore spots here. Our vet bills are paid as & when & I keep money aside to cover them. Our vet is very good & will allow people to pay in instalments when necessary, gives a discount for "rescued" animals & doesn't believe in prolonging agony with expensive tests & protracted treatments for hopeless cases, which is what he says insurance is mostly used for; in his words, "It's not usually kind, humane or in the animal's best interests, it's mostly about giving the owners time to come to terms with the inevitable." So we don't insure our pets. Please don't think I'm an uncaring owner; this was a decision taken in conjunction with the vet, who knew that we would take on rescue animals & give them a good home, but not if we had to fork out hundreds every month against something that might never happen. We also use secondhand cages etc. without a second thought; thoroughly disinfected & checked over for faults, sometimes used for a different species altogether, i.e. a broody bantam in a rabbit hutch, and have never had any problems doing this.

Archer0710

I have found this quite useful, I am definitely getting my head round doing without things:

Magazines
DVD
Cd's - these we do without by downloading etc

I don't buy ready meals, I don't like them, they often give me stomach pains and I can do better from scratch.

I rarely buy cleaning products. I have a steamer and ecloths and this has saved me a fortune in cleaning products. I am better for it as are the animals. Tbh i only buy cilit bang otherwise as I have worktops that mark too easily and it's the only thing that gets the marks out. If it was my own house I'd change the worktops and negate that problem.

Anything fake floral smelling / surfers net etc is banned

DH and I now use the same shampoo and showergel. We bought a better brand and it's saved money and cut back on clutter.

We also stopped buying poor quality / high priced animal food and out dogs have a raw diet. It's halved their food bill and they are better for it.

Patchwork_Quilt

"Vetinary Insurance; please forgive me if I'm about to tread on any sore spots here" Thriftwizard, you sound like a very responsible owner with happy pets. I'm sure no-one would object.

We're doing without the cinema, although there's a film I would love to see. However, it's £8 ish each a ticket for two adults and two students, plus the petrol to get there and a bag of M1nstrels. That's a £40 trip.

faerie~spangles

More things I no longer waste money on.

Magazines - stopped buying them in the 80's

Newspapers - OH buys the local rags. I stopped buying Sunday Times when the schiit hit the fan. We get all our news online.

CD's and DVD's - anything I want to listen to or watch I can find online.

Designer ? - No chance of me ever feeling the need to purchase whatever. Unless it's Crocs or Doc' Martens

Latest gadgets - No, our phones are PAYG (bricks) and we put a tenner on the about every 3 months. OH has an iPod touch that my daughter bought him for his 40th. He got a new laptop last year.

I have always adopted my pc's/ laptops:rotfl:

Our tv died and I adopted my neighbours.


New clothes - I simply refuse to pay full price for, so its the charity shop or in the sale. Primark rocks for vests and t-shirts.

OH takes his lunch to work, I'm slowly converting him:T

Branded foods? - Not since the 80's

I have never paid for any pet I have adopted. My current KC registered Labrador needed a new home, I took him in when he was two. He's now in his twilight years.

My last cat was living rough in a hotel carpark, she was going to be PTS. I brought her home and had her for 22 years.

Most recently I adopted a massive tank and fancy goldfish.

I cook from scratch and come up with some wonderful concoctions at times (not all of them successful:rotfl:)