NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

girlinayellowdress

So here is to stage one, starting January 1st. Ideas will be added if I see tips from others on here etc.
Sort toiletries by use into carrier bags and store in box, only have one item of each out at a time.
Go through the boxes I've already packed and decide are these items REALLY needed. Continue packing what is needed but does not need to be out.
Run the freezer down and live off contents for as long as possible before doing a proper wholesale type shop of ingredients for baking and freezing by then also there maybe berries etc to freeze.
Use mse for frugal tips not "bargain" tips.
Seriously look into the yarn spinning to keep my mind sane.
Treats are Royal Albert, Pens and old books only if it's a must and under £5. Plus if I bring one thing into the house then 5 items must leave to the charity shop the next day.
Take time out during the day to start writing a journal for the year of the ups and downs. Possibly put a similar one online if I need my online "fix" instead of surfing online shops.
Use Pinterest more and maybe set up a folder we could all contribute moneysaving ideas.
By the time DS and myself get to move it's going to be a huge upheaval especially with his autism and my mental health condition, so anything that I can do now in advance is going to be an extra foot forward. We will be virtually on our own when the time comes and hopefully downsize to a more rural area (middle of an awful city at the moment). But making these lists are already putting me on a positive footing.

Slowdown

Ahoy there shipmates!

What a good job HMS NoBuy is a mighty craft and can stay afloat with you all aboard! It would seem that the more who climb on, the more buoyant we become.

So good to see so many like minded people together. I am pleased that so many of you are of the same philosophical mind when it comes to making your own decisions about what you do and don't want, and you don't want corporate giants making your minds up for you.

I have had a tremendously busy weekend, but thankfully it didn't involve too many pennies rolling out of the bank. Nothing unplanned was purchased and would you believe I actually walked past my favourite coffee shop on Friday. And I had a token for a free cuppa! I contemplated it, then decided I wasn't desperate enough yet and moved along.

So only a few more presents to buy then I'm done. We are actually away at Christmas (thankfully my mum is paying!), but of course there are always costs involved in a jolly up, but its all planned.

Something I noticed today when watching a couple of adverts was the way they encourage our independence at the same time as trying to increase our dependence. On the one hand they try to persuade you that your dependence on their product is essential to your happiness and wellbeing and on the other that your own independence increases if you have it. Right down to items such as toothpaste. The advert shows that if you depend on their product to give you that gleaming Hollywood style smile, you will be able to stride through crowded streets laughing on your own, at your own ridiculous grin. Who needs other people when you have a smile like that? You can be be independently dependent. What power!

It's well past my time to hop into my hammock. So sleep well my shipmates, let the lullaby of the seas rock you to sleep.

Kind regards
Slowdown:)

Tamara_2

Interesting comments about garden centres - the plants seem to have become almost a by-product compared to the piles of over-priced 'gifts!
We tend to visit independent nurseries to buy the plants we can't grow ourselves (and they're much cheaper).

GreyQueen

Tamara wrote: »

Interesting comments about garden centres - the plants seem to have become almost a by-product compared to the piles of over-priced 'gifts!
We tend to visit independent nurseries to buy the plants we can't grow ourselves (and they're much cheaper).

Yeah, I'm a very keen gardener but I don't even bother with garden centres; they're just great money-sucking-crp-selling whirlpools of tat, and overpriced tat. You can get just about everything needed for gardening from skips/ asking around/ repurposing/ boot sales and get the other bits like seeds from Wilko/Lidly etc.

[Deleted User]

WeeMidgie wrote: »

So I would be living on savings for 3 years in that situation, till the state pension kicks in.
plus a house downsize - now cured of my book obsession as a consequence.... the clearing out took months!

I intend to treat 2015 as an experiment in ultra-low-cost living, as a rehearsal for the future. Agree about essential replacements when repair is not possible.

I use a weekly cash envelope system for spends, which suits my little brain, and regular bill payments go out of my bank account by direct debit on 1st of the month.
!

I picked these bits out of your post because that is exactly how we made it into a comfortable retirement and by comfort I mean home, warmth, food and fulfilling hobbies

We lived 3 years on savings and my small state pension

we downsized, eventually to a house that costs a relatively small amount to maintain but that gives us room for our hobbies. I spent a year intensively on ebay then later going to charity shops for clearing

We lived for a year before the 3 years as though we had much less money

The cash envelope system was indeed invaluable as it has been several times in the past, one monthly withdrawal in the 70s and 80s and that was that. No money left=no spending

I see that several want to start on new years day. What is wrong with right now? Before getting sucked into the jolly christmas hype. When we were oh so hard up then we made all the christmas toys and stopped giving presents to adult extended family

parsniphead

I was clearing out my bedroom yesterday and getting rid of loads of stuff and rubbish. Half way through I realised I hadn't replaced my bin. It was a little wicker one but the bottom fell out months ago. I had just started to think about going to fetch a new one from the shops when I thought of this thread.

So now I'm going to get on of the big , black pots I grow my tomatoes in and cover it with some fabric which I have lots of. Sorted free bin.:)

WeeMidgie

Kittie, thanks for your comments - it's great to hear from someone who has trodden the same path. And yes, haven't waited for the 1st day of 2015... started the envelope system some months back, and the frugal ways a few years ago - but the envelope system is such a help.

Christmas has been largely home made this year, I've made brandied plums for an aunt who loves them, using plums from my sister's garden. That's my most extravagant gift (used Aldi's brandy), and at the weekend my Christmas gift to a friend was several hours helping her de-clutter. In return, she's going to help me hang some pictures. Increasingly I'm getting people to agree to a gift amnesty, or a swap of labour. Another friend, we're meeting in the local Waitrose cafe for a free coffee and a catch-up!

It's different for those with children still at home, and it's good to be at this stage in life when it's so much easier to ramp down the seasonal hype.

Analysing how I buy food, I do better with e.g.frozen fruit & veg, can use just what I need and no waste. It's all trial and error depending on your household size and individual requirements.

Parsniphead, love your repurposing idea for a new waste basket!

lessonlearned

Great creative thinking there, Parsnip.

Well I need to get cracking this morning, that Christmas shopping won't do itself. However, I for one definitely won't be getting sucked into overspending.

Don't fall for the hype.

Steer a clear path through the choppy waters of Christmas commercialism and stay well away from the rocks of New Years debt.:rotfl:

[Deleted User]

Hi everyone - hoping I can join you all on this lovely thread!

Absolutely LOVE the title of this thread and the ideas that people are coming up with! I am already stopping myself from buying something by remembering the title of this thread - I am NOT BUYING IT lol!!!

It's working so far, and usually I would have waited until the New Year to try and accomplish hopes and dreams (get rid of debys, lose weight etc) but am finding that I am starting already! Today I have cleared one of my 2 credit cards, 2 weeks earlier than I had hoped, purely by not buying anything else for Christmas or going mad on food shopping, clothes shopping, toys and gifts. The feeling is amazing. I have a notepad and budget what I spend on what and when and have really tightened my purse strings!

I have also started shopping shopping online and doing top-up shops at my local Li*l and I am no longer going around the shop and impulse buying. I have been able to check my cupboards, fridge and freezer, make a list and then only order what is really needed, keep within a certain amount and ten get rid of items if I go over. In my case I used to spend approx £100 - £120 per week on shopping for a family of 5 plus a dog. Now for the past 4 weeks I have spent £45 MAX in Morries online, with free delivery and qualifying for teir Xmas bonus, and then a further £5 max for other bits in Li*l. I have also sourced cheaper dog food online with free delivery and my lab doesn't notice the difference and wolfs it down!

So now when I think about wanting something from the shops, fancying something different for tea, or browsing online for stuff, I stop myself. This is what I plan on doing for the whole of 2015, and I firmly believe I can live more simply and cheaply. I have subscribed to this thread and am looking forward to reading through other's posts and hopefully we can motive each other over the next year!

Purple :-)

Primrose

I was sharing the decluttering dilemma with a friend who has a massive declutter to do, aiming to selli stuff on eBay but who works such long and tiring hours that there never time to get round to it. So the clutter remains permanently in situ getting her down.
I think sometimes you have to go for a quicker fix to get the stuff out of your hair and taken to a charity shop. Job then done, even if you don't raise any money in the process. Somebody else perhaps more deserving eventually gets some benefit from your action and you're at least you're not staring at a daily irritant which can feel quite liberating.