How to fall in love with saving money

cathybird

Not wanting to strike a gloomy note here or anything but, re what organic wanabe said, one of my friends said the other day to me: "Who'd look after you if you had a stroke and were disabled? No one!" Yes sounds like a nice thing for a friend to say Can't remember what brought it up. It's true tho, with no partner and no close relatives, I'd be stuck. And I'm not sure what I could do about that. That's assuming partners/close rellies can act as carers - which of course they don't necessarily. I wonder if there is some insurance I should have, not just for mortgage payments etc but also carer expenses, if it ever came to that (which of course I hope it wouldn't)? ...

cathybird

Well, gone over budget on the food again ... for the third month in a row. And it's only halfway through the month. I like food a lot though, and am saving a lot of money compared to what I was spending before, buying breakfast and lunch each day. So I don't mind too much. It's something to keep working on though.

Eco_Miser

You need to increase your food budget to match reality.

Either that or use a lot more willpower.

CDotX

cathybird wrote: »

Well, gone over budget on the food again ... for the third month in a row. And it's only halfway through the month. I like food a lot though, and am saving a lot of money compared to what I was spending before, buying breakfast and lunch each day. So I don't mind too much. It's something to keep working on though.

Jumping in randomly on this post I know. But I too spend a lot on food. And that's with me taking in my own lunch to work each day. I blame the nutrition required when actively going to the gym. Always hungry! Big foodie me :rotfl:

cathybird

Eco_Miser wrote: »

You need to increase your food budget to match reality.

Either that or use a lot more willpower.

Yes, probably It's actually working more like a guideline I put up to remind myself that it's there and that I shouldn't go over it and as far as that goes it is actually at least partly effective - I do have it firmly fixed in my head that I shouldn't buy any more groceries for Jan. So, maybe it's doing its job really, even though it doesn't appear to be. Something like that, anyway :rotfl: My spending on food has certainly gone WAY down so that's at least good, huh? :A

cathybird

CDotX wrote: »

Jumping in randomly on this post I know. But I too spend a lot on food. And that's with me taking in my own lunch to work each day. I blame the nutrition required when actively going to the gym. Always hungry! Big foodie me :rotfl:

Thanks, CDotX I don't currently have your really pretty good reason for eating lots tho!! I just love food and my eyes are bigger than my stomach and my budget. :rotfl:

ah the gym ... must get back into exercise. I bought a skipping rope last year and have done nothing with it because a) it's too long b) I have a small, cramped house and there's really nowhere with enough space to skip (I realised when I went looking). But I've just realised there IS space in the back yard and moreover it's a spot where the neighbours couldn't see me. So, that could well be a good idea. :j

mark55man

here's one if you don't live in a bungalow


set yourself the task of walking up the stairs a set number of times or set number of minutes and then increase your target gradually

Eco_Miser

cathybird wrote: »

Yes, probably It's actually working more like a guideline I put up to remind myself that it's there and that I shouldn't go over it and as far as that goes it is actually at least partly effective - I do have it firmly fixed in my head that I shouldn't buy any more groceries for Jan. So, maybe it's doing its job really, even though it doesn't appear to be. Something like that, anyway :rotfl: My spending on food has certainly gone WAY down so that's at least good, huh? :A

Spending WAY down is good. :T
Consistently overspending your budget is bad, because you get into the habit of doing so, then find your spending has been creeping up without triggering further warnings.
Better to set a higher budget, remind yourself that all treats have been included, then treat yourself when you come in under budget.
But you're only three months in, you may just need more time to acclimatise.

cathybird

Eco_Miser wrote: »

Spending WAY down is good. :T
Consistently overspending your budget is bad, because you get into the habit of doing so, then find your spending has been creeping up without triggering further warnings.
Better to set a higher budget, remind yourself that all treats have been included, then treat yourself when you come in under budget.
But you're only three months in, you may just need more time to acclimatise.

indeed, very true, Eco Miser But I think I am acclimatising (up to a point). If I'm still going over budget in six months' time, I'll know I'm doing it wrong. I do think I have always tended to "over promise", and that includes to myself. Also, I'm embarrassed to put a budget of £250, because it seems so ludicrously over the top.

cathybird

mark88man wrote: »

here's one if you don't live in a bungalow


set yourself the task of walking up the stairs a set number of times or set number of minutes and then increase your target gradually

I don't live in a bungalow, mark88man, and could make use of my stairs every day when it comes to getting exercise. Always been crap at climbing stairs, in fact, for some reason ... very slow at it, both going up (when tired) and when coming down (first thing in the morning) so it might not do me any harm to put in some practice and work the muscles concerned.