How Sad am I .....

Mindy_2

... but I have gone from dreading the credit card statements coming to eagerly awaiting their arrival so that I can go onto my snowball and update it and then change my signature on here.

We're paying the Reading FC card off at the moment and I was really excited to find it on the mat this morning! :j

And now I've changed my shopping habits I love going into Lidl to shop - I used to rush in and out of Sainsburys grabbing what I thought we wanted with no list in my hand and ending up with stuff that had to be thrown away at the end of the week. Now I write a menu for the week, do my list according to what we already have and then browse around Lidl - although I do admit to a few mistakes as I ended up with somthing like Primula cheese spread rather than cream cheese, but it didn't matter too much.

Does anyone else have anything that pre-MSE they hated but now gives them a buzz?

NStavrogin

Mindy wrote: »

... Does anyone else have anything that pre-MSE they hated but now gives them a buzz?

Well. It wasn' t so much that i hated saving money pre MSE, it was the lack of knowledge and willpower to do so.....!

Thanks MSE:T !

immoral_angeluk

lo I know exactly what you mean. I look forward to statements coming through so I can update my sig and our 'debt board'!

lswwong

Hey Mindy!

Just want to send you big support for what you are doing now. Hope you won't find it patronising (I really do mean well), what is so empowering for you now is that you have completely changed/turned around your consumer behaviour. I have had a similar change in the past and am so much happier now being in control of my expenditure/consumption.

What used to bug me pre-MSE was the lack of shared opinions/info on consumer topics. Like, I would see an ad advertising something that sounded a good deal but deep down I was not sure whether there was a catch or not (and did not know enough to work it out for myself).

Now I come to MSE and lo and behold, someone has started a thread about anything and everything already

The MSE bit that helps me most is the CallChecker. My phone bills were not high but now they are tiny, leaving me more cash to do the things I want (well, like putting away more for my retirement savings - not the most exciting but means something to me). This resource is not available anywhere else. I used to feel a bit glum about my phone bills here and there but now I don't worry at all!

One habit that I have started since joining MSE is my prices spreadsheet - just a list of things that I buy normally e.g. fruit juice, tissues etc with the price I paid for them, how much they would cost per litre or per 100 sheets and where and when I bought them. This has only come about because of MSE - it has given me the power and discipline to do it. Would you believe, a litre carton of cranberry juice is only 57p in Tesco and 72p plus in Sainsbury's? Not apparently before I started the spreadsheet! My OH thinks I am a nerd but I am proud to be an MSE nerd

Love,
L xxx

OberonSH

You know you're a true MSE'er when you have spreadsheets, tables and budgets to cobble dogs with, and get twitchy if you can't instantly update them the second you make a saving.

GirlRacer_2

I know what you all mean. Now it's yippee the gas bill and I've got too much in my gas pot to pay for it!!!!

Or when a family member needs something and you stop them buying it cos you can get cashback by going through Quidco!!!!!