NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

DianaMattos

Help me!! There are a pair of biker boots that I have wanted for ages sitting in my basket on eBay. I ordered some from New Look a month ago and they were too small and so I sent them back, and they didn't have any in a bigger size. They would be a luxury and I am not spending anything on clothes/shoes for a year from tomorrow. I have been umming and ahhing for a while...

CEW

DianaMattos wrote: »

Help me!! There are a pair of biker boots that I have wanted for ages sitting in my basket on eBay. I ordered some from New Look a month ago and they were too small and so I sent them back, and they didn't have any in a bigger size. They would be a luxury and I am not spending anything on clothes/shoes for a year from tomorrow. I have been umming and ahhing for a while...

I would ask myself a few questions such as the following:

Can I afford them? Will I use them enough to justify the cost? Do I already have enough pairs of similar boots? Do I really love them?

Once I had answered the questions honestly to myself I would then make the decision.

If I decided to buy I would see this as the last of my buying for the next year. If I decided not to buy I would congratulate myself on starting my non spending a day early. Either way tomorrow is a new day, a new year and a new you

Chez x

I_want_a_baby

Morning all,

Loving this thread as always :-)

I've been thinking about the no supermarket challenge and how I want it to work for us:

Meal plan for the week ahead thurs - weds to fit in with local market - put a weeks worth of food budget cash into purse on weds eve.

Milk delivery from local dairy - up and running & working well.

Meat from butchers - best local butcher for miles my sister works at and can get us any of their meat at the catering price less 20%. I'm embarrassed to say I've not bought from them in ages due to sheer laziness. Text sister to order weds eve and collect thurs morning.

Veg etc at local Thursday market. I think I should be able to buy all veg, cheese, fish, possibly even some items like foil etc from the discount stall - I need to have a good look and suss out what it sells.

Fruit & veg ongoing - we will be growing lots of fruit and veg on our land, I'm hoping this will provide lovely organic food, for very little money and exercise too!

Anything else - for the odd single item needed, to avoid visiting a supermarket I will buy in the local village shop. I will pay over the odds but save fuel and support a local business.
Finally I am going to try waitrose for anything I can't buy above hopefully only once every few weeks.

The only two caveats I have is I am not sure how far our budget will stretch - but the only way to find out is to do the above!
And health must come first - a takeaway would use the same amount of money as it would to buy two weeks fruit and veg at the market or two weeks worth of tins/packets from waitrose so I must choose to eat better over convienience and laziness!

I'm on maternity leave from now so I should have plenty of time to plan/shop/cook which I intend to use wisely doing this rather than waste watching tv!

I shall report back with my progress! It's extremely convienent that the challenge starts on a Thursday too!

IWAB x

ETA : also I must stick to only buying what is on the list and I must take bags with me!

Plus! Where possible I must try to make foods myself rather than buy them. Treats such as biscuits and cake, pies, possibly crackers, try making different types of breads etc. I already make my meals homemade and don't buy ready meals but can expand on what I do.

savingqueen

oh my goodness, I will never read all the thread at this rate . I am reading backwards and from the middle onwards (read the 1st half) and finding it difficult to comment because there are so many posts floating around my head!

Re haircuts. I have fairly long wavy hair which is finally calming down as it thins with age and I have been trimming it myself with the last few years. I abhor the hairdressers, all that silly chitchat about holidays and none of them get how I would like a natural look, I like my wavy hair and don't want to look like a poodle with a bow thanks very much. (no offence to the poodle dawgs out there woof woof) I would be too embarrassed to go to the hairdressers now with my hair looking so natural!

I dyed my hair for about 25 years without a break and about 3 years ago I stopped dying in. I am fortunate at nearly 47 to still have my natural colouring with a few shiny strands of shimmer. I figured I would like to remember my natural colouring before the greys became a major feature and I went back to the dye. However I have decided not to dye my hair ever again. The hassle, the expense and the chemicals... not for me. Some of my friends look horrified when I mention all this.

I don't do fake nails, lashes, tans or any of the things many do in these there parts. I do wear light "grooming" makeup but have cut that down to the minimum and when its all gone will shop around for the best in terms of ethical/natural products with best value prices of course. I used to be a rep for a certain cosmetics firm and still using up the last of my stash.

mumto2monkeys_2

Talked down the house insurance this morning.

Trying to avoid the supermarket today, though not entirely sure what we have to eat tomorrow... DH is wanting a luxurious dinner to welcome in the NY. He's more likely to get beans on toast .

Feeling positive - big change ahead. Less is more!

dumpling

natnat13 wrote: »

Can I ask your opinion on something if allowed? Someone on fb was talking about musclefoods. They do a meat package for new customers, meat is good apparently, it's £75 with free delivery and does look good but I'm not sure about outlaying that much. I'm rural so never in the supermarkets to get YSs. Has anyone else used them?

Hi there, I buy most of my meat from musclefoods as the quality is excellent. My local butchers is very nice but ever so expensive so I used to always buy Tesco meat. I tried out musclefood after finding out about it on a deals website and haven't looked back. I even bought my Christmas turkey and New Years 4 bird roast from them and the turkey was amazing, we are having the 4 bird roast tomorrow and I expect it to be lovely.

It can be a bit dear if you don't have any special offers but I expect as a savvy money saving expert you would be looking out for a good deal anyway . Personally I recommend the chicken breasts and the rump steak, both lovely. I have been using this company for over a year now and have never had any problems bar getting onto the website at times after a deal goes live.

purpleshoes_2

I think the fireworks at new year started at the millenium, they go on for hours around here and at my mums, my cats are terrified by them, thankfully this year people haven't been letting them off weeks in advance. They do before guy Fawkes though. I'll probably be in bed by the bells, don't tend to stay up through it, will see my brother for a wee while later. Got nothing I need to buy in the shops apart from more cat food but may buy myself a bottle of de alcoholized wine, still don't feel like drinking alcohol.

I food shop most days, always little and often, tend to buy a lot of yellow stickered food, if I see stuff my mum could use I'll give it to her and vice versa although I am starting to use everything that's in my store cupboards just now, going to top up with fruit and veg for Jan and see how long I can make meals out of what's left in the cupboards.

I shoo in aldi, home bargains, farmfoods now and then and very occasionally tesco,, was reading something a step dad had put on social media about his son being employed on a zero hours contract and having to walk 4 miles for a one hour shift, that and workfare, there's a company in my home town, huge chain worth millions who employs people on both, think that will also be influencing my buying decisions next year, its a pub chain but they aren't the only ones, will try and buy local as much as I can although there's not a lot of choice but can only try.

lilian1977

DianaMattos wrote: »

Help me!! There are a pair of biker boots that I have wanted for ages sitting in my basket on eBay. I ordered some from New Look a month ago and they were too small and so I sent them back, and they didn't have any in a bigger size. They would be a luxury and I am not spending anything on clothes/shoes for a year from tomorrow. I have been umming and ahhing for a while...

Could you set yourself a challenge to have raised the money to pay for them through your own Ebay sales by the end of January? Buying them now obviously...

purpleshoes_2

I don't do fake tans, lashes, nails, never used fake tan. I don't mind going to the hairdressers, have had some fab ones over the years, but I'm going to stick to cruelty free dyes just now and that means super drug. My hair is currently a few shades darker than my natural color but I like it. I said before on the thread that I use mua make up by superdrug, its cheap and cruelty free, I also use their face packs, dry shampoo which I only started using this year. The only splurge I do have now and then is a massage as I'm a fitness instructor and I creak and that's either groupon or local college.

I do my own nails but might get a shellac one day, who knows. This year I might wear more make up as I've got loads to get through:)

I do a boot camp as a participant and so many of the young girls who also do it have fake tan which often drips off and HD brows. I remember back in the day it was shaders and toners and sun in, some girls did wear make up to school but its a much bigger industry now, I see 14 year olds who wear more make up than I do. I've never worn much make up, haven't worn foundation for nearly 30 years and I've gone to several nights out make up free, I have sensitive skin so lipstick and eye shadow/liner is as much as I bother with most times anyway.

peony40

Hello, I'd like to join you all this year too, please?

My main problem areas of spending are on books which I never read. The other day I was tempted to buy a large diary planner but I thought no, I have plenty of notepads which I can use instead.

I will need to have some planned for expenditure this year as we are moving house and will require basic furniture such as beds and white goods. But all unplanned expenditure will be avoided this year which should save a lot of money.

Good Luck all.