Do people ever think you're 'odd' for being old style?

snugglepet20

I am not 'old style' as such but I do use discounts and special offers, shop around, use tcb, meal plan and shop at Lidl. When I think back to how I used to be everything was convenience. Takeaway or meals out almost daily, buying lunch at work instead of making it and endlessly buying things that I then forgot about etc. Other people still do this and think it is normal yet they wonder why they have so much debt - it's mad really!

Emm-in-a-pickle

My neighbour is lovely, and doesn`t mock but rather envies how I shop/stock up on things. Yet, she has all day to herself when her kids are at school in town. She takes them in by car, passing 3 supermarkets, but never thinks to pop in and look for `whoopsies`. She does a weekly shop after picking them up on Fridays, and ALWAYS moans about having them along while she shops! She just gets the stuff they need to last the week - and it frequently doesn`t!! It used to be `knock at my door, please can we borrow.... an egg/ cup of sugar/ a few teabags, etc. till tomorrow?` Now it`s a bag of sugar/box of teabags/etc., and get me one back when you go shopping!
I`m not mean, but it`s SO regular!!
She`s not `hard up`, but doesn`t cook from scratch and use up leftovers, fills(and empties!) her freezer week by week, and when she comes here and smells cooking always says it smells gorgeous and asks how I do stuff - but she never tries things herself.

BitterAndTwisted

sonastin wrote: »

I give my brother and sister-in-law tips and suggestions of easy OS things to do because my mum always tells me how hard up they are. They don't seem to pick up on the ideas and my mum also trys to tell me how they wouldn't have time to do the things I suggest might be a way of saving money. As its a bit of a chinese-whispers thing, I don't know if they actually have enough money to splurge on the convenience lifestyle or if they really do think it is so much quicker to open a jar of pasta sauce than it is to open a tin of tomatoes and then throw in a handful of herbs and save themselves £1+ on the cost of dinner. Either way, I have little sympathy for their financial hardship if they'd rather take their girls out to expensive activity centres and buy them sweets and biscuits than spend a morning baking fairy cakes with them at home.

I suspect it's an inability to see the big picture for some. Lots of small incremental savings can add up to a much larger one. Plus, it takes come convincing that change doesn't always have to be for the worse. And, of course, some people just don't want to because it might take the tiniest bit of effort or planning.

miss_emmajane

I have to agree for some its choice and others need. I am twenty-five so perhaps that plays a part because a lot of my friends aren't saving for a house, or thinking of the 'big picture' like you say BitterAndTwisted. My Mum recently took ill, and can no longer work due to a heart condition - it really made me think of what her circumstances may have been like if she didn't have a house with the mortgage paid off and the outcomes of her clever ways with money - really made me see the 'big picture' and now I am so into it, I fully enjoy it And when times are hard, the way I live/prepare gets me through.

BitterAndTwisted

Emm-in-a-pickle wrote: »

My neighbour is lovely, and doesn`t mock but rather envies how I shop/stock up on things. Yet, she has all day to herself when her kids are at school in town. She takes them in by car, passing 3 supermarkets, but never thinks to pop in and look for `whoopsies`. She does a weekly shop after picking them up on Fridays, and ALWAYS moans about having them along while she shops! She just gets the stuff they need to last the week - and it frequently doesn`t!! It used to be `knock at my door, please can we borrow.... an egg/ cup of sugar/ a few teabags, etc. till tomorrow?` Now it`s a bag of sugar/box of teabags/etc., and get me one back when you go shopping!
I`m not mean, but it`s SO regular!!
She`s not `hard up`, but doesn`t cook from scratch and use up leftovers, fills(and empties!) her freezer week by week, and when she comes here and smells cooking always says it smells gorgeous and asks how I do stuff - but she never tries things herself.

I wouldn't mind the asking of questions and the wistful envy but I'd draw the ruddy line at having someone come round to borrow stuff. The lazy bint has a car, so there's absolutely no excuse. The next time she pops round I suggest the word you should be using, or rather the two of them should be "Hell, no!"

maman

sonastin wrote: »

I give my brother and sister-in-law tips and suggestions of easy OS things to do because my mum always tells me how hard up they are. They don't seem to pick up on the ideas and my mum also trys to tell me how they wouldn't have time to do the things I suggest might be a way of saving money. As its a bit of a chinese-whispers thing, I don't know if they actually have enough money to splurge on the convenience lifestyle or if they really do think it is so much quicker to open a jar of pasta sauce than it is to open a tin of tomatoes and then throw in a handful of herbs and save themselves £1+ on the cost of dinner. Either way, I have little sympathy for their financial hardship if they'd rather take their girls out to expensive activity centres and buy them sweets and biscuits than spend a morning baking fairy cakes with them at home.

I've heard that before and often from people who have far more time than me!:rotfl:

It's surprising how often posters tell you on here that they 'work full time' as if that's an excuse. I think that working full time is a good reason for being OS. I always found that meal planning and keeping a good store cupboard/freezer was far less time consuming. I could whizz around the SM with my list in no time rather than wandering around thinking what to have or throwing random stuff in the trolley that would get thrown out. I also didn't have to pop in to shops mid week for expensive top-ups.

I'm fortunate in that I don't have to be OS but I do it because I like to cook from scratch as it's healthier and I hate being ripped off. The money I save I can choose what to spend it on. I enjoy that!

Rage_in_Eden

When I was out at work definitely and certainly my BIL and SIL thought I was odd - until they realised how much in debt they were and were overspending to the tune of wasting half their food shop a week. They also went down to 1.5 wages..... They now shop at Aldi and I think they think they are the only people to have shopped there in the history of the world :rotfl: They are still quite materialistic though so I do wonder how long this new found fervor is going to last. We've bought them Alvin Hall books and good standard i.e. none name, cookery books which have disappeared. Frankly I couldn't care less now. If people want to mock they can but even when we've been really skint we've still ate well and paid our bills even if I earn less than a quarter of what I did going out to work I haven't got the stress which makes a huge difference.

jeanniebeanie_2

I have had sarcastic comments about my shopping at Aldi (I adore Aldi no matter what anyone says) and I have also had comments about my charity shop cookbook buying addiction such as "charity shops stink" or "how could you read anything second hand- you don't know where it's been?"

The last comment being from someone who borrows books from the library!:rotfl:

BitterAndTwisted

I had workmates who were genuinely shocked when I admitted to getting the bulk of my grocery shopping at L!dl. They had this preconceived notion that the goods had to be of poor quality because they were less expensive. Numpies, the lot of them.

[Deleted User]

We've been considered oddballs all our lives and it doesn't bother us one little bit, We have our own agenda and priorities in life and if other people find us amusing so be it! It is odd though that we are the first ones most of them come to for advice and solutions should anything in thier profligate little lives go wrong. Let them have thier new wardrobes, hairdos, nail jobs, cruises , holidays in exotic places,new furniture, kitchens, cars etc. - hell, I've got wellies and a compost heap, it doesn't come any better than that, unless you have a lurcher too - then life is heaven, Cheers Lyn.