NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

emslovesmickey

pm2326 wrote: »

Evening everyone

After reading the last few pages I think I must be odd...I've never shopped in Boots never mind looked in their sales only time I've gone in is if my normal chemist didn't have my tablets in but no longer on medication so no need now.

I've done a lot of thinking since Xmas about my current financial position and life in general and have decided to make a serious attempt at retiring early.

I'll be 41 in two weeks time and I want to retire by time I'm 55 at the latest, it depresses and scares me slightly me that I'm supposed to work until I'm 67...my dad died 2 years ago and he was only 72, if history was to repeat itself that would leave me 5 years to do everything I wanted to do. Bit extreme thinking I know but no-one knows the cards we will be dealt.

So in keeping with this thread I won't be buying unless it's a must...if I'm careful with money I can repay unsecured debts by August this year, i think that's a good place to start.

Can I ask you what you actually want to do on retirement? I always worry about waiting to do what I really want to do till then. I think it's cos when my boss retired and moved to Spain it wasn't long before his wife took ill and died, and it also happened to the husband of someone I worked with shortly after they retired. I guess my point is, if it is something you can do sooner why wait?

dND

Not gone AWOL, honest – just spending so much time catching up on the thread that I don’t have time to post!

Generally happy with my spending levels. Not been out to spend since last Monday which was just 2€ for a couple of coffees for myself and a friend. Money has been going out on direct debits but as they are essentials, house tax, telephone etc., I don’t count them as a spend for the purposes of this thread.

Oh I lie , I just remembered I had to purchase 2 copies of my birth certificate. Having reached the big 60 :eek: suddenly it seems I need to prove it. My current birth certificate was issued in 1961 and is beginning to fall apart. I need it here frequently for identification purposes so the thought of entrusting it to the post and then a large organisation and expecting to get it back in a short time was begin to panic me. (I panic easily). So I'm sort of looking at them as an investment as I'm sure I will be needing to show them more and more frequently now

I’m feeling pleased with myself after braving the French government online site and changing my ‘habitation and foncieres’ taxes (roughly equivalent to council tax) over to monthly payments rather than getting a bill for the year payable November/December. There will be spends today though; I need to fill the car and I am out of veg. I’ll kill two birds with one stone though, I have to pick up a friend from the local(! 30+ miles away !) train station and we will need to stop for food for them.

I do like the flexibility of this thread. The ‘no SM’ for one equates to ‘no un-necessary’ to another or to stringing together NSD’s for yet more. A bit like the Horizon diet programmes at the moment. Everyone is different so we have to identify where and why we spend and then apply the right fix for us. And a bit like the diet programme I’ve realised I have problems in all areas so following just one fix never works long term. :eek: But knowledge is power as the saying goes and understanding what is caused by which habit, is a major breakthrough.

Talking of understanding why, did anyone watch the programmes, “The men who made us spend” a few months back? If it comes up again I would recommend a watch. It showed how the marketing people use fear to make us buy. Very enlightening and I now look at adverts and for that matter newspaper and magazine articles very differently.

Right need to get back to another aspect of not buying – decluttering so I have space to sort and collect together all like groups of things. For example, I collected all the toothpaste I’ve bought on offer and tucked away into whatever space I had. Now they are all in the same place I realise I don’t need to buy toothpaste for at least a year. Before I’d take the ‘last’ one from which ever hoard I thought I was storing them in and then panic that I had to buy more. :rotfl:

Keep on sailing everyone, land will be sighted eventually. :T

DawnW

emslovesmickey wrote: »

Can I ask you what you actually want to do on retirement? I always worry about waiting to do what I really want to do till then. I think it's cos when my boss retired and moved to Spain it wasn't long before his wife took ill and died, and it also happened to the husband of someone I worked with shortly after they retired. I guess my point is, if it is something you can do sooner why wait?

For me Ems, it was more that work took up so much of my time and energy that very little was left for anything else I had a 'good' job, quite well paid, interesting and lots of travelling, but the hours and stress were ridiculous. And over the last few years, it just got worse and worse as we lost staff, had to take more work on, and finance issues exacerbated. I got to the stage where I kept a notepad by my bed to jot down possible solutions for work problems in the early hours, as I turned them over and over in my mind. And it was never just one problem, but a matter of juggling them, dealing with the most urgent issues and crises day to day while others were simmering away in the background. Life really is too short for that Especially as these were just corporate, financial, staffing or reputation damage limitation issues - nobody's life was at stake!

But don't wait to do what you want to do - whatever it is, if you get the chance to do something interesting or exciting, do it

[Deleted User]

Good Morning shipmates well for the first time ever yesterday DD and I trundled off to Bluewater and I spent not a dime, and she (had some cash left from various gift cards ) spent only £14.00.

She was really pleased as she had three cards from various times of last year (she gets them from work as a bonus for sales ) and she wasn't sure how much she had available.Turns out she had over £46.00 altogether and the main concierge lady amalgamated them on to one card for her :):) result was one very cheerful DD.
We had a good look around the shops but nothing tempted me at all.

(I could hear slight whispering in my m,ind "No Spend,No spend " from a chorus of my virtual shipmates :):)

DD bought a pair of black trousers for work and a floaty scarf in M&S. We came out feeling very proud that we hadn't spent much.I had said to her before we went make sure you have something to eat then the food outlets wouldn't tempt us.So we never even stopped for a coffee :):)

Came back to my house, and I said have a rummage in my freezer and see if there is anything you can use.

She did and did me a favour with taking some bits that have been there for awhile .She has to go 6 weeks between Xmas pay day and January pay day so I don't mind as its helped her streeetch her stocks indoors.She has a tribe of permanantley hungry growing boys to feed:)

I'm really pleased as I thought I might buy something there but what I saw didn't seem to warrant the prices being asked.
NSD today as well as I have a hospital appointment this afternoon for my pre-op medical.I take a bottle of water with me when i go to the hospital as I can't abide vending machine drinks at a pound a pop !!!
Tomorrow I am going to the hairdressers for a trim as I am disappearing behind a mop of hair, so I will have to spend then and I also need some fresh fruit as I am down to my last pear :)But I'm really happy with my spends this month at least
Onwards and upwards chums .
Any ideas what I can use my mammmoth bag of lentils in ?? apart from spicy lentil soup, or to bulk out soups and stews with
JackieO xxx

vulpix

Mornin all,

I have been awol with the lurgy and life.

Youngest son has parted from his girlfriend of 4 years .

I had my storytelling training yesterday for voluntary work at the library.Was going to food shop whilst I was out but as I was on the way Hubby called to say we had a house viewing in 1/2 hour!!!!!!!

The house wasn't too bad so he ran round with the hoover whilst I raced home.Youngest daughters room was the pits so I just chucked everything in her wardrobe.She spent all last evening sorting it out!

I have never shopped at Boots or Next either.Someone I used to work with dressed head to toe in Next every day,she always looked nice but it isn't really my style.I did used to buy Next clothes for the kids from the charity shops when they were little.They were good quality back in the day.

My youngest gets her clothes from supermarkets and primarni as she is growing and also wears a school uniform 5 days a week.She likes fashion and quality doesn't matter too much at the moment for her.

I have lost the bit of christmas weight plus an extra couple of pounds.I still havent looked at my clothes properly.DD1 did buy me a black vest from primarni for £1.50 but this hasnt solved my problem.I feel like I have nothing to wear.

I have identified my problem though.

I dont really know what suits me now I have lost 4 stone+.

Now I dont go to work I can be more casual but dont know how.I haven't owned any jeans for 30 years.

All the clothes I have are either evening wear.I hardly ever go out but would be able to dress well if I did!

Smart daywear

decorating clothes.

I have bought combat type trousers but don't know what to wear with them.Both my daughter and husband have said they don't like me wearing a hoody.

consequently I look over or under dressed.What do you all wear when you are not at work but not gardening/cleaning etc?

Laters Vx

suki1964

Dahls are nice if you have any curry spices

nursemaggie

dND Would it help your birth certificate last longer if you got it laminated?

Wantobeasaver

Have been reading this thread with interest, and thought it was about time I joined. I desperately need to save money; either to put down a house deposit with my boyfriend or to have a safety net if things go pear shaped with him (sounds negative but have been burnt before). Have made a good start: no more buying lunches at work and like many of you decided to skip the Boots sale. Was v.tempted by a Soap & Glory set but put the £5 I would've spent in my savings account instead :j

starsandmoon

Hi. Ive been reading this thread since it started and I would like to hop aboard. However I have a very spendy time ahead although it has all been budgeted for and saved for. I have my mums 70th were Iam paying for a posh meal for 7 of us and I have bought her a bead for her bracelet which was also in the sale. Then there is my DDs birthday then she has a school trip to Paris which I have been paying off and we have booked our summer holiday but I have a second job I do every other Sunday which pays for this.

Today in work is pay day. I was talking to a colleague who said their wages pay off the overdraft which then builds back up again as the month goes on so a never ending cycle. They had a cup soup for dinner the day before pay day as they had no food in! They earn a really good salary as well.

Today I have my dinner all sorted (leftovers from last nights tea) and Im not going out which means a NSD.

I have noticed how school influences my DD who is 12. She isnt a brand snob and is good with money (has saved £100 for her spends for Paris) but she wants certain make up brands and lusts after the latest trainers. Luckily she can see through a lot of it. For example she got an I Phone 4 for Xmas and she was thrilled. Some of her friends got an I Phone 6! These are 12/13 year old kids and there is a lot of theiving in school.

vodkawitch1

I don`t need anything today and as its so cold I am staying in and doing a bit of decluttering. DD will pop in later so I will make some pasta with a little grated cheese for lunch. I have my sister coming to stay with me next week for 2 weeks. she lives in West Cork and it is a lovely place but completely wild in winter. She like to break the winter up and we have some theatre tickets which we got for Christmas presents to use up.
Plus she is very frugal
Have a nice day everyone.
Vulpux - I had the same problem when I took early retirement two years ago - I now wear trousers or jeans, thin long sleeved tops under a tee shirt usually in a plain colour like teal or maroon. Seems to work.