Impulsive spending..

roobee13

Hi Kitty,

I know exactly how you feel. It's so easy to get carried away! My worst habit is a certain online auction site - I'll buy a few second hand dresses and next thing I know I'm £25 down. I'm currently reigning it in though!

This site is amazing for tips and advice and everyone who's posted so far has given you some great ideas (I too will be adopting them). Due to a lot of changes this year, I am debt free and learning to live within my means. It's tough but feels so much better than being in debt. I agree with another poster who said it's like setting yourself little challenges!

I find the money mantras particularly useful, especially as even if I can afford it, when I ask myself if I need it, the answer is usually no!

Good luck, looking forward to seeing how your spending diary goes

Kitty777

I was having a clear out last night, and managed to find a cute little coin purse that I forgot I had

That is going to be my purse from now on..no more cards. And things like point cards can wait, I will just save the receipts and do them at the end of the week or something

robin58

gfplux wrote: »

Glad to hear you have stopped the scratch cards.
Did you know that according to stastitics the lower the income the bigger the gambler.
Remember gambling is for mugs.

I realized that scratchcards and doing the lottery was a mugs game many years ago.

I came to this conclusion one day when I was waiting for a friend to do a bit of shopping in Sainsburys.

Was sitting on a bench near the kiosk and in the 10 minutes I was there, I saw about 15 people getting lottery tickets.

Now this was a time when it was still £1. People were buying in £10 to £20 lots at a time.

It was then I thought if this is the amount which is being sold just in that time scale at this one kiosk, how many more tickets were being sold at other lottery sites over the whole of the UK.

My mind just calculated a big figure of tickets being sold and not winning anything.

Put me off from then on doing any big purchases of lottery tickets.

Used to do the odd £1 ticket now and then but since they went up to £2 they have not had a penny of my money.

robin58

Kitty777 wrote: »

I was having a clear out last night, and managed to find a cute little coin purse that I forgot I had

Please don't be in front of me when I am at the till.:D:rotfl:

ionafan

Kitty777 wrote: »

I always seem to have this worry an emergency will occur so always take my card...uh oh

Get one of these pre-paid cards on which you load, say £20 (enough to get you home). Put it in a plastic bag and staple it shut *all round* - but obviously not through the card itself! Take that with you at all times as your don't-touch-except-in-a-real-emergency backup.

If you are tempted to spend some of the emergency money on frivolities, hopefully you will be reminded of your mistake when you try to rip the plastic and one of the staples sticks in your finger :rotfl:

StrugglingYouth

Hermia wrote: »

I keep my notebook in my purse (it's tiny) so I have it with me when I am shopping. It's handy because if I do see something like a very generous closing down sale I can whip the book out and at least get something I have been saving for.

I have not bought a coffee machine as I know I will do the same as you! I think kitchen gadgets are one of the worst areas for making terrible mistakes.

The coffee machine thing worked the exact opposite for me. I used to get a starbucks each morning, roughly £2 a go. Had about 25 each month..totalling £50. Occasionally id get something to eat also so the actual cost would have been higher.

Bought a coffee machine that takes those nespresso pods for £99. Each pod including delivery costs about 30pence. So each month I have saved £42.50. Two and half months and I saved the initial costs.

But then again, I dont buy coffee out of my house now. So it works for me.

ashleyriot

rockm87 wrote: »

Emergencies are rare, and true emergencies hardly ever take card!

QFT.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=QFT

fatpiggy

A friend of mine used to be exactly like this. Spending money she didn't have (and definitely couldn't afford) on the lottery, gadgets, catalogue goods. Put the money you would have spent on the lottery into a sealed pot and you are guaranteed a win! Limit yourself to £5 per day and only take cash. Find something else to do other than trot around the shops. It actually beats me how women in particular seem to love trailing around shopping centres at weekends. I HATE it! People walk so slowly for a start, the musac drives me mad and I'm always on the alert for pocket-pickers (not that they'd get much out of mine ) I'm the master at entertaining myself for free or very little. A nice walk down one of the local canal towpaths is one of the best. Uses up a few hours and burns some calories. Lovely!

spender

I am another one who agrees that purchasing a coffee machine saved me loads. I love my Nespresso capsules and enjoy trying new coffees, good coffee at a fraction of the cost. I have not used coffee shops since.

I also never shop on an empty stomach and make sure I take my lunch to work.

When I have an impulse moment, I ask "do I want it or do I need it, and what would be the consequence if I do not get it?" Most of the time it works, or I think I will think about it and then go back and get it (but invariably this gets rid of the impulse).

I had years of overspending and wished I had saved the money instead and now later in life I have realised that you don't actually need many items to live!

Kitty777

Thank you all for your replies

I never shop out of my means, If I honestly don't have the money then I don't spend anything :P

It has been and up and down week. A clearance sale in asda through my off scent.