NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

Minimalist

AnimalTribe wrote: »

I agree with you wholeheartedly on everything you've said. People with little income/unemployed 'work hard' to make ends meet and those who are ill 'work hard' to keep going. 'Purposeful activity' is a lovely phrase and I hope you don't mind me purloining it.

I too was a workaholic. I was well respected, known to get the job done, and reach an amicable consensus with difficult individuals. As a result I got more work, more of the difficult work, and got to deal with all the difficult people. I thrived on it. One day I realised what a fool I was. People were getting an easy ride and in a lot of cases getting paid far more than me. The best example was 2 project groups. One sat down and planned what they needed to do and ordered all the goods and services they required in good time. Their project delivered on time and on budget. The second project group jumped in to get the job done - they hit difficulty after difficulty, had to order stuff last minute and pay more for it. Since they were so disorganised they had to work late and at weekends thus incurring extra overtime, so they delivered late and over budget. It was the second team who got the bonus. Why? because they had to work late into the evening and were therefore seen by senior management who assumed that their task was more difficult because they were in a constant flurry of activity. The other group (who actually did have a more difficult job) got nothing. Yep, mine was the first group. How do you explain to your staff that it was the disorganised crew (who already got overtime) that got the extra cash.

I'm now purposefully active at home - taking care of the household and keeping costs down. I've much less money, but it's the best thing I've ever done.

Thanks, AnimalTribe - you're welcome, I'm glad you liked the expression. It’s great to hear that you’re thriving now you’re off the corporate hamster-wheel - I'd love to hear more about how you achieved it. Your experience in work sounds spookily familiar - I can really relate to your frustration with the “hero culture” thing, where long hours and constant fire-fighting are given rewards and recognition, while quiet efficiency and effective project management are overlooked.

I work in what I can only describe as a dysfunctional organisation (no proper strategy, lots of frantic activity but not much effectiveness) and I’ve reached the end of the line with my attempts to change things. I just can’t stand waste, and that includes wasted effort, where people are constantly overworked due to lack of planning, unrealistic resourcing, arbitrary deadlines not linked to any proper estimates of effort…you get the picture.

I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s just not worth the stress and aggravation, so I’ve now made the decision to take myself out of the situation. I’m reevaluating things, with a view to downshifting to fewer hours and maybe different work entirely in the long run - so any ideas / advice very welcome!

I’m not in fantastic shape financially for someone my age, for various reasons (supported my ex through years of semi-employment so he could break into his dream career, then left in a lot of debt when we split up…you live and learn ) so not working is not an option for me. But I’m currently debt-free, following some pretty extreme frugality about 10 years ago (sadly I didn’t stick to those good habits subsequently!) but don’t have much in the way of assets to fall back on.

My partner is in much the same position - we moved in together about 4 years ago, in my modest 1 bedroomed flat on the outskirts of town. Initially we thought we’d move somewhere bigger - we are very attached to our large collection of books and music, and with 2 salaries we could afford a bigger mortgage…but we’ve realised that we really like it here, and with some decluttering and reorganisation, we could have the freedom to earn less and spend our time more productively (for ourselves, rather than our employers).

We’re really just starting out on this process, but it will be interesting to see how far we can go. For example, we got rid of his car a couple of years ago…do we really need to keep mine?

I’m finding this thread really helpful - and hoping it will help me keep on track in 2015

black_cat

Primrose wrote: »

Apparently In 1912 in New York a woman called August Belmont,set up the society for the Prevention of Useless Giving, with members known as SPUGs (pictured), chiefly to encourage women workers not to pay into funds to buy presents for those ‘higher up’. In the words of Belmont ‘a SPUG is a woman who has vowed never again in all her life to give any Christmas gift that is not offered with a whole heart'.

Great link. Thanks, Primrose!

GreyQueen

Hi Minimalist, I wonder if you read the blogger MrMoneyMustache and his ilk, about early retirement/ financial independance/ living sensibly and sustainably? If not, you could be missing a treat. I also recently discovered 1500days.....once you're in one of this ilk, you can pretty much link through to others.

The desire to de-hamster-wheel yourself seems to be gathering speed.

I operate towards the bottom of the workforce but have many high-flying professional women among my field of acquaintance. Some are childfree, some have adult children, some still have dependant children. They're clever, hard-working, motivated and slowly going, to be vulgar, bats*it crazy with the ridiculousness of life.

merzal

I have been reading this thread with interest and it is definitely encouraging me to think about what I buy! Me and the OH are pretty good already, we enjoy bargain hunting at car boots and are happily saving lots of money this way! Also look out for the best deals when buying something and look for YS reductions in supermarkets.

We got married earlier this year and did everything on a budget. Reading Animal Tribes post made me think of this as I had my wedding bouquet made out of road maps. To me I couldn't see the point on spending lots of money on things just for one day! My bouquet now takes pride of place on our table and to me is far more meaningful than the mass produced things in shops. My wedding dress has prob been the best bargain, again I didn't want to be spending silly amounts on something just for one day, it cost me £20 (and shoes were £2) and I absolutely love it, people even said they thought I'd had it specially made! I wouldn't have enjoyed the day anymore if we'd spent more money and because we were so under budget mum paid for our honeymoon.

When we moved into our house last year we bought everything second hand and are now slowly replacing them using our tesco vouchers (so far washing machine and cooker on double ups) as I did not want to get into lots of debt.

This thread is giving me lots of ideas and I'd love to come on board!!

Thanks everyone!

black_cat

GreyQueen - I love Mr Money Moustache, but the forum's a bit hard core! Great motivation and inspiration, though.

katkin

I'm just catching up with the posts above and these echo with me so much too.

Burnt out from my job, treated poorly by management and now ill due to the stress of it all. I'm hoping of an offer of redundancy to get off the rat-wheel and try and start again doing something healthy and worthwhile that provides enough for a frugal and minimalist lifestyle.

I also don't have much in savings (though squirrelling money away madly just now) but my mortgage is buttons and nearly paid off and my outgoings fairly low. I can live cheaply and creatively really well.

It's just making that transition from the well paid job - how do you do that without getting into debt / poverty?

It's all very unsettling, but also an exciting time of change.

Thanks so much to you all for keeping us afloat on this turbulent sea!

Minimalist

I've just come across a website by a writer called Neil Boorman which I thought people might find interesting:
http://www.brand-aid.info/ I'm not sure it's completely up to date, but has some useful points.

His book, Bonfire of the Brands, is out of print, but available on Abe Books for just a couple of pounds, http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?kn=bonfire+of+the+brands&sts=t&x=0&y=0

I've just copied the following extract, as I think it's so pertinent to recent discussions on this thread:

Take the one week Debrand your life challenge

If you have a problem with shopping, you’re obsessed by brands, or you just want to make life cheaper and easier, try following these tips for a less branded lifestyle.

1. Avoid advertising
Have you ever started reading a glossy magazine feeling good about yourself, only to finish the thing feeling fat, unfashionable and poor? Advertising images are specifically designed to present idealized images of people with new products. It’s a fact that the more ads you see, the more dissatisfied you become with your own life. Studies prove that less you look, the stronger your self-esteem will be. Watch less TV. Stop buying glossy magazines. Block pop-up ads on your computer. It’s amazing how much better you’ll feel, and you’ll be less inclined to go shopping to cheer yourself up.

2. Separate wants from needs
In many ways, branding is used to manufacture need when there is none. It’s easy to get stuck on the shopping treadmill by mistaking the things you want for the things that you need. Try working out what you actually need to survive comfortably and you’ll see how much money we waste on non-essential items. Do you really need a new pair of trainers, a new bag, a new phone?
Every time you’re waiting in line at the till, ask yourself do I really need this stuff? If the answer is no, put it back on the shelf. Life goes on.

3. Shop around
Brands often tell us that the more money we spend, the better quality we’ll get, but that’s often just a myth to get us paying more. It’s easy to find cheaper versions of expensive brands online, in markets or second hand, be it clothes or gadgets or even food. And they’re often just as good quality. It takes a bit more effort, but once you get used to paying £5 for a t-shirt, you’ll never go back to spending £50. See the links page for a list of non-branded suppliers.

4. Plan ahead
Brands rely on us being too busy or too lazy to plan ahead. Most of the stuff we buy each day is due to lack of planning, like bottled water for instance.
Try to plan before you leave the house each day and you’ll rely less on impulse buying. Try to buy your weekly essentials in one go, or better still get it delivered – you’ll need to visit fewer shops and be less tempted to splurge.

5. Have a clear out
Rummage through the back of your closets and you’re bound to find stuff that you’ll never use again. How long before the stuff you bought last week becomes redundant too? Clearing out your junk is a useful reminder that the things we ‘invest in’ rarely turn out to be as useful as we once thought.

6. Stop shopping for leisure
Try finding other things to do over the weekend beyond shopping. Chances are you may not know what to do with yourself at first, and you might feel increasingly anxious and bored, but stick with it. Play sport, do art, go to the country, visit your mates… anything but shopping. I promise you, these things become more interesting and more rewarding as time goes on.

7. Cut up your credit cards
Living within the means of your pay packet as opposed to your overdraft turns non-essential purchasing into a luxury rather than a habit. Just like Mother used to say, you’ll value things more when you’ve saved up for them.

8. Live simple
Brands complicate everything in life. Even the simplest purchases – which coffee, which underwear, which toaster? – can be racked with status anxiety.
Once you stop worrying what your brands say and mean, life gets so much simpler. Keeping your life clutter-free can become just as addictive and shopping, but it is so much more rewarding.

9. Forget about glamour
None of the above points sound very glamorous. But then glamour is really just another myth perpetuated by brands. It’s important to remember this when you’re barraged with aspirational ads day in, day out. Will you really become more glamorous with Beyonce’s brand of hair dye? In any case, the people who appear to have achieved real glamour – Posh & Paris – are miserable wretches themselves. And they don’t use home hair dye kits anyway.

10. Understand the triggers
This is the tough one. If you’re habitually buying into brands, it’s probably to medicate another issue that’s rumbling on in your life. Most psychologists agree that conspicuous consumption, habitual shopping and constant striving for wealth are symptoms of deeper emotional issues. Perhaps this is a time for self-reflection? Psychologists often joke that the best thing a lottery winner could buy is therapy.

11. Be realistic
Trying to live brand free is like keeping to a low fat diet – a little bit of chocolate cake once in a while isn’t going to kill you as long as the bulk of your diet is healthy. Buying branded when you really need to isn’t the end of the world, just don’t expect that purchase to change your life. And be careful not to slip back into the old routines!

From http://www.brand-aid.info/site/?page_id=8

[Deleted User]

I went into Bon Marche this week and bought myself two pairs of jeans, much needed as mine are old and getting tatty but still lots of 'work' life left in them, just not so good for going out in public in them. As always the question at the till was Do you have one of our loyalty cards? NO say I. Oh says the assistant, it could save you money, you get lots of offers and lots of reductions if you have one, shall I sign you up? NO say I. But, it will save you money TODAY, it doesn't take long..... at this point I feel that honesty is the only way to get her to listen so I said' I don't want one BECAUSE you send me offers, I only buy what I need and what I can afford I'm a pensioner and I would love to be able to get anything I wanted but I can't afford to, not even at however much off it's offered at so I don't want a card!' Oh goodness said the assistant. how disciplined you are..... I gave up!!! paid and went home, without her card!

Minimalist

GreyQueen wrote: »

Hi Minimalist, I wonder if you read the blogger MrMoneyMustache and his ilk, about early retirement/ financial independance/ living sensibly and sustainably? If not, you could be missing a treat. I also recently discovered 1500days.....once you're in one of this ilk, you can pretty much link through to others.

The desire to de-hamster-wheel yourself seems to be gathering speed.

I operate towards the bottom of the workforce but have many high-flying professional women among my field of acquaintance. Some are childfree, some have adult children, some still have dependant children. They're clever, hard-working, motivated and slowly going, to be vulgar, bats*it crazy with the ridiculousness of life.

Thanks very much for the suggestions, GreyQueen - those sound really interesting. I've not heard of either, so off to look them up and add them to my weekend reading list!!

I've (belatedly) come to the realisation that my job's not my life - it's not a vocation and I could have a much richer life (quality not £££s) if I wasn't putting all my energy into it!

Sounds like you are much further down this path, or maybe had the good sense not to get yourself in that bats*it crazy state in the first place

GreyQueen

I got ME in my final year at uni, that scotched a lot of plans. I wouldn't recommend it as a lifestyle choice, but I had to play the hand I was dealt. Plus I have a life-threatening chronic illness and am kept alive by medication.

Those things either destroy a person or cause you to evolve a philosphical mindset.

Mind you, never having had much, I am easily contented, and can't advise on how to downsize from a well-paid career because I was never there in the first place.

I'm currently amusing myself playing with boiling water, baking soda and vinegar to give the ol' kitchen sink a schoosh-out, whilst enjoying a new combination of my pj separates (each top and bottom bought from the 50p chazzer, nothing matches, yesterday was penguins on the top and tartan on the bottom, today is floral jacket and plain pink bottoms).

I have a John Sandford crime thriller and a bar of chocolate, too; life is very peachy indeed. :rotfl: