NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

mumto2monkeys_2

I got irrationally excited when my mum gave me a butternut squash she didn't want to bring home with me.

Hmm, soup? Risotto? Freebie!

Picklepot

GreyQueen wrote: »

I am neither surprised nor disbelieveing; I have met a Robin Hood before now. And Gernomio and a Toyah and a Sade (none of them the original articles).

LOL really I shouldn't start this..but last one promise! i used to know a girl with surname GOODALL, she wanted to have a double barrel when she married as she didn't want to loose her maiden name, thankfully someone pointed it out she might want to reconsider before she tied the knot with Mr Knight :0

Effyb4

Hee hee. I worked with a teacher called Miss King (with a first name of Jo).

Daisychain1

Crikey :eek:...4 days and 70 pages later and I've finally read this thread from start to finish. Just wanted to say hello and a big thank you to Slowdown for getting me thinking about my spending habits for 2015.

I generally think of myself as fairly money savvy however, I am very easily led and often end up falling into the trap of a quick coffee with friends here and a meal out with the OH there. This has to change as I would like to clear a small amount of debt in 2015 in order to allow me to (hopefully) reduce my work hours. Therefore I think this thread is just what I need to keep me on track. I also very interested in simple living and would like to start making steps towards this starting from the new year aswell.

So if you'd let me jump on board these will be my simple living/ buy nothing plans for tomorrow.

Catch up on housework and generally get more organised
Visit relatives
Do an inventory of cupboards and hopefully stay out of the SMs until mid January (except for bread and fresh fruit/veg)

Good luck to everyone on your journey.

DC1

[Deleted User]

Quick peek into the good ship 'Hang on to your cash ' :)on my way to quiz night tonight I managed to snaffle five minutes computer time from the boys so just a quick Ahoy and wishing you all a healthy and peaceful New Year in case I can't get any time tomorrow.I am in London tomorrow night with relations.I haven't been in my own bed at home for almost a week so I am looking forward to Thursday morning being back at home and sorting out lots of stuff.Definitely no shopping for me as I have so much stuff already in store and someone gave me a large box of groceries tins etc as part of my Xmas present plus a couple of sainsbobs vouchers.So my cash has gone ito cold storage for as long as I can.
Happy New Year to one and all, I must fly as I'm getting grim looks from a small person who wants to get online Cheers everyone or as my old Mum would say
'Lang may your lum reek, wie 'ither folks coal ' :):)
JackieO xxx

Slowdown

Hi there me hearties.

Glad to see people still scrambling up the gang planks at this late hour. I have one eye on the hour glass as we tick towards 2015 and another on the horizon checking out the storm clouds.

I'm actually quite excited at the prospect of setting sail and I'm gathering my kit and wits as we speak.

It's good to hear from those who are becoming aware of the ads and their effect on our buying of 'stuff' and the feeling of satisfaction we get when we know we are not going to fall for it.

Today I went to waitrose with my £10 off a £40 shop voucher. I spent fractionally over £40 and got the ten off. I was pleased because
A) I want to use waitrose as it is a shop owned by its workers
felt like I'd got a good deal and
C) managed to include a vase that was half price (£7.50) for my friend's 50th birthday present.

I know waitrose is expensive compared to most shops but the main aim of starting this voyage was not centred around money saving but around not buying needless items and living more in tune with my values. Of course saving money is an added extra and one I am looking forward to doing too.

I have not bought a single item in the sales this year, most unusual for me so I'm warming up already.

Keep up the good work everyone. 1 day until anchors aweigh!

Kind regards
Slowdown

[Deleted User]

Good Luck on your voyage, I'm staying in my own little coracle in my home stretch of river, I'm more likely to stay out of trouble that way.

fairy3

Just reading and running...

Seems like all shipmates are shaping up before shipping out.

TudorRose thank you for the tosco tip that sorts out my £8.50 vouchers so only need to add £1.50 tomorrow if the offer is still on - my last Slow cooker died a grim death after a baked potato incident but it was around 30 years old! Also enjoy your curry - great minds.

Bobarella

Picklepot - I completely get you on the change in perspective. Our car died back in August. Prior to that a good day out would invariably start with an hours drive at least. We explored a lot of the Kent coast over the 6 years we've been parents and I don't regret the many happy hours the journeys brought but, fast forward to 4 car free months (through choice) & this holiday we've been walking or taking son on his new bicycle to our little park 10 mins away. It has a river, rocks to climb on, trees to climb up, a resident kingfisher which we delight in spotting, a small playing field where we've watched son meet local kids for random games that kids make up. And numerous birds to watch.
Today we added a mile or so to our route & spent 2 hours in Beckenham Place Park as well. It has hundreds of green parrots which make it seem a million miles from traffic clogged south London. Total cost for the day £4 for some crisps, tangerines & a bag of donuts. We took water with us. The simple life is fast becoming my favourite.

Floxxie

Er, this post is going to look out of sorts with the rest of the posts, as there are so many of them! However, thank you for your kind words regarding my escape. There was nothing brave about it. In fact the hardest thing was letting go of things and having to face how much money had been spent in obtaining them.

I don't yet have my own thread but will post on here and in March I shall make a start in a blog (or two). The great thing about threads such as this is that it gets me thinking and when I think, things happen. So we had the 'no buying from supermarkets' and I wondered where I was going to go. Last week, I was heading towards one of the supermarkets and bumped into a friend of a friend who told me she was off to collect some veg and potatoes from a couple of farmers and would I like to go. See...complete solution. Introduced by a local, I can now pop along myself and collect veg that has literally been picked from the field and at a ridiculously low price

My other problem, which has concerned me since I have been in NI, is obtaining goods from a number of websites who seem to think I live abroad and therefore want to charge an enormous amount of postage or not send the item at all. I even ventured onto one the sites mentioned in a post on this thread and was going to vent my dismay at the announcement that the BT postcode is considered offshire by the Royal Mail (er no it is not) when I remembered a thought I had of getting various natural products in myself and selling them via a website. This is my second idea for 2015. Later on in life I hope to be able to produce the goods myself.

Thank you to the person who mentioned using an old pillowcase as bread storage. My lovely (new but reduced) replaced breadmaker is ready to go, but I was struggling on where to store the bread without having to eat it all in one sitting or having to buy cellophane or other storage means. I realise that I have a long way to go to think outside the box and use what I already have, but this certainly made me think so I have retrieved a cotton bag that I was given as a freebie from my old library, I think.

I also ended up watching a TED programme on building a house from waste materials. Who knows, this thread could help me achieve the ultimate: building a house with nothing. OK, maybe a bit far fetched but I believe anything is now possible :T

It really is a brave new world here!