How to fall in love with saving money

cathybird

tara747 wrote: »

This is absolutely spot on, and something that I've noticed in myself.

A few years ago, I got into the habit of buying lots of stuff on Grabbits and returning most of it (if it didn't fit/I changed my mind etc). It was weird, but returning it gave me as much of a buzz as buying it - probably more so, as I was getting money back. It is the 'constant change' idea.

I recognised what I was doing, and that's when I started eBaying. It gave me lots of little 'transactions' every week, and money was coming in rather than going out. Even though it was only a small amount each time, it was great to see my savings increase and it kept me busy. :rotfl:

The £10 a day challenges are great (though I don't take part) because there's a sense of achievement and a buzz about 'making progress'. I try to 'make progress' by keeping a daily spending diary - I've done this ever since I joined MSE almost 7 years ago, and it's the best thing I've ever done. ...

Brilliant analysis. :T

aw thanks *blushes* Tara747, it was you who mentioned eBaying and I think it is such a good idea, though I'll have to watch myself and not start poking around to see if I can spot any "bargains" :rotfl:Re wot I've said above, though, I do get restless and I reckon that's half my problem.

I have been meaning to read all the way through your spending diary - thanks for reminding me In fact I didn't really even think £1,000 a month was possible till I came wandering back onto MSE a month or so ago and saw what you were doing (plus I also looked at the "Save £12,000 in 2013" thread), then I added up the numbers and saw that it was possible So I have you to thank.

cathybird

Also, meant to add, going for a walk at lunchtime is a great thing to do - gets you out into the fresh air, you get a little exercise and you avoid the whole spending thing. Win win. I'd actually been thinking it would be a much better thing to do than what I usually do, which is wander down to the bustling food market round the corner, spot something fattening and nice, buy it, eat it, then spy, say, a jar of unfeasibly expensive temptingly presented chutney, posh chocs or balsamic vinegar, or something, and think "yum that would be nice" and buy that too! So, even though the British Winter is fast bearing down on us in all its glory I am hoping to do a bit more regular walking myself

tara747

cathybird wrote: »

aw thanks *blushes* Tara747, it was you who mentioned eBaying and I think it is such a good idea, though I'll have to watch myself and not start poking around to see if I can spot any "bargains" :rotfl:Re wot I've said above, though, I do get restless and I reckon that's half my problem.

I have been meaning to read all the way through your spending diary - thanks for reminding me In fact I didn't really even think £1,000 a month was possible till I came wandering back onto MSE a month or so ago and saw what you were doing (plus I also looked at the "Save £12,000 in 2013" thread), then I added up the numbers and saw that it was possible So I have you to thank.

Which one was my spending diary thread, do you have a link? I started a few threads way back and can't remember which was which!

And thanks for the praise, you're so kind! :A

cathybird wrote: »

Also, meant to add, going for a walk at lunchtime is a great thing to do - gets you out into the fresh air, you get a little exercise and you avoid the whole spending thing. Win win. I'd actually been thinking it would be a much better thing to do than what I usually do, which is wander down to the bustling food market round the corner, spot something fattening and nice, buy it, eat it, then spy, say, a jar of unfeasibly expensive temptingly presented chutney, posh chocs or balsamic vinegar, or something, and think "yum that would be nice" and buy that too! So, even though the British Winter is fast bearing down on us in all its glory I am hoping to do a bit more regular walking myself

Well, exactly. Going for a walk is free and healthy! Also, I find that it clears my head - better than joining the throngs in the shops!

cathybird

I went to buy a couple of small squares of different sorts of fudge yesterday at said market. "That'll be three quid," said the man behind the counter. "Three quid!" I squeaked. "Well this square of stem ginger fudge is rather thick," he said, poking round in the paper bag to show me. I got him to discard said square of (thick) stem ginger fudge and bought just the (thinner) bit of caramel fudge. It was £1.10 but oh, so worth it. That reminds me, I forgot to add it to my monthly budget overrun already :rotfl:

cathybird

dreaming wrote: »

Ha! This was me a few months ago. I prided myself on never paying full price for books/Kindle downloads but when I added it up all the 2 and 3 pound spends it came to rather a lot. Although I do still download to my Kindle I limit it now to £10/month and use the local library instead of buying. I also ask for book vouchers for Xmas and birthday gifts so I can still get my fix.
When I sorted my budget out for November (on the first of the month) I allowed £20/week for "odds & sods" but still had £8 left from the previous week so I haven't yet taken the cash out of the bank. This morning I have about £3.50 left of the £8 - plenty for a big bar of chocolate for Saturday night so I wont get the cash from the bank until next week.
I think it is the small spends which are harder to manage sometimes but you are doing well. Even 2 steps forward and 1 back is still moving forwards.

oh yes I agree, they do add up Though they don't add up quite as much as going into bookshops and emerging 10 minutes later with £50 to £100 worth of books, as I used to do. :eek: But that's why I plan to post the total here, so I can see it (and so I know other people can see it). That way maybe even I can start sticking to a books budget

At this point I may as well confess I think I owe my local library money *hangs head* I should find out how much and just pay up. It's probably not much but I haven't even gone there for about five years because I have in the back of my mind that I have a library fine I ought to pay.

cathybird

Anyone else see this?:

Food waste report shows UK families throw away 24 meals a month
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/07/uk-households-food-waste

"There has been no progress in reducing meat and fish wastage, with Britons still throwing away the equivalent of 96 million chickens every year."

Feel free to disagree but this makes my heart ache - birds that probably had a pretty miserable existence, and for what? I sure as hell don't waste chicken.

The worst of the rest is bread (freezes incredibly well), potatoes (they last for ages!!!) and milk (also freezes). !!!!!!? ...

"Every day in UK homes we throw away 24 million whole slices of bread." Mad!!!

Anyway, just thought I'd share. I throw some food away myself but not stuff that keeps easily. I don't get it.

egoode

I've found this thread really interesting to read. I know for me I've always been more of a saver than a spender however 5 years ago when my mum passed away I completely switched and became a spender and it's only in the last 2 years I've gotten back to saving as much as I used to. It quite amazing how much our emotions can affect our spending. It also didn't help that during that period I had 10 months with no work but thankfully my previous saving efforts meant I was able to support myself with no issues during that time.

Like you I've also got an addiction to books and something I often spend a lot of money on, when I moved recently I realised I had been given and bought lots of books over the years that I hadn't gotten around to reading yet so I've decided I can't buy anymore books until I've read all the ones I haven't read yet. After that I'm going to set myself a budget for each month and try to stick to it.

cathybird

egoode wrote: »

I've found this thread really interesting to read. I know for me I've always been more of a saver than a spender however 5 years ago when my mum passed away I completely switched and became a spender and it's only in the last 2 years I've gotten back to saving as much as I used to. It quite amazing how much our emotions can affect our spending. It also didn't help that during that period I had 10 months with no work but thankfully my previous saving efforts meant I was able to support myself with no issues during that time.

Like you I've also got an addiction to books and something I often spend a lot of money on, when I moved recently I realised I had been given and bought lots of books over the years that I hadn't gotten around to reading yet so I've decided I can't buy anymore books until I've read all the ones I haven't read yet. After that I'm going to set myself a budget for each month and try to stick to it.

oh I'm glad you've found it interesting, egoode!! I've found it really helpful to write it all down and do a bit of reflecting on why I do what I do. Re books, I have loads I haven't read, in fact so many it would take years to read them all :rotfl:Maybe I ought to have a rule that I should read, say, five or 10 books I haven't read from my own collection before I'm allowed to buy a new one? ...

cathybird

tara747 wrote: »

Which one was my spending diary thread, do you have a link? I started a few threads way back and can't remember which was which!

And thanks for the praise, you're so kind! :A

Do you know I went back over your posts and I couldn't find the one I was looking for! But you were talking about having saved over £70,000 ... Maybe it was the "How much can you save" sticky? I could be getting confused :( :rotfl:

Eco_Miser

cathybird wrote: »

I wonder if the reason people spend rather than save is it alleviates boredom a lot better

Interesting thought, I don't spend, and I don't get bored — except on those rare occasions when nothing is happening, but I have to keep concentrating for when it does. Otherwise, I let my mind wander and avoid boredom.

cathybird wrote: »

If I go on Amazon and buy a book for the Kindle I get the satisfaction of all that information in the book there at my fingertips - it feels like a new and weighty addition to what I have in my life. Whereas savings obviously is a lot slower, unless you can put something towards it every day. But most people are going to add to their savings once a month, when they get paid. What do you do for the rest of the month to feel as though you're making progress? Look at your savings pot every day? But it doesn't update till you add to it or the interest gets paid on it. So it doesn't feel as though you are making progress.

I have a spreadsheet keeping track of my savings. One of the things it calculates is how much interest has been earned but not yet added to the account. So yes, it does update every time I look.