NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

vulpix

I'm doing it,Happy Birthday:)

Welcome aboard new sailors.This thread is the reason I began to post too.

NBI has enabled me to pay off a couple of thousand off the house,have a lovely Christmas and take the whole family to Germany for a short break.Future plans are a trip to Oxford and a trip to York.Also an Air Ram vacc.

Mr V and the girls and I had a very pleasant afternoon in a local market town.A couple of purchases for youngest DD from the chazzer and some cheap greetings cards.

Iv'e done it !!!!!!!!!!! sanded the wardrobe door and given it a coat of paint.Also sanded an Edwardian oak fireside box ready for varnishing.

Vx

suki1964

Congratulations Vulpix. I've been following the saga of the wardrobe from the start. Such an achievement. Well done you :T:T

I don't know how much I have saved or actually achieved atypicalblonde as money has been flying out of late. However with hubby not working since November we have still managed to keep our heads above water without dipping into savings and my own personal saving pot is hovering around the 500 mark ( I do like to keep it around a grand, just for my own peace of mind). Might not seem a lot but on zero hours and paying the day to day living costs I'm doing well. The biggest change for us is that hubby is slowly coming around to the idea that we don't need stuff and has stopped spending for the sake of it and has also welcomed the changes I've made to the meal plans, he will now eat vegetarian meals and is happy with a good soup and sandwich meal. He's also more open to shopping for second hand which he would never do in the past and now bypasses the connivence food aisles when in the supermarket


So a lot of small changes without drastically changing our lifestyle A lot of room for improvement but Rome wasn't built in a day

Mint1955

NBI got me into thinking more about what I was taking home when this thread first started as we were selling up and moving abroad so we really didn't need anything else coming into the house.
Now we live a simple life and things are not so readily available and there is definitely not so much choice so that makes it easier still.
But I still hanker after a microwave which I know I really can manage without as I hardly used it in UK. But my big one is a tumble dryer as here in the winter it stays damp for days and a pile of tumble dried clothes and towels would be lovely.
So I need to be strong I really don't need them they both will probably be used very very infrequently but like anything you tell yourself no you can't quite let it go....... Well maybe for the Summer the TD will be forgotton until at least December and the microwave well I will just have to find another way to melt butter or chocolate for baking, warming the plates for dinner in the winter, defrosting stuff in a hurry etc etc
Soon I will be devising ways of keeping everything shaded from the hot sun, food covered so crawlies don't get in and finding cooler spots to sit in the garden to read. But all that will ensure I am still in NBI mode.
Great thread thank you xx

emslovesmickey

NBI has let me save over 1500 in three months. It's also made me think about shopping for the sake of shopping, and how to occupy my time in a more productive way for myself. It's a really nice change to see how much money is in my bank account ready to put in my savings at the end of the month, rather than seeing how many days I have between when I run out of money and the next payday.

I did spend money yesterday, buying a drinks bottle (£3), a lunch cube (£4) and some bananas, kiwis and apples (£3) I've just started going on my exercise bike again and it's made me mindful of eating healthier. It's so easy to snack without thought in my job, so if I do a little bit of preparation and take fruit instead of chocolate, hopefully it'll work. Small steps and all!

[Deleted User]

Good morning fellow matelots a grey day at the moment in Kent .

aril, twas I who lived in Mersea,and was actually there from 1965-spring 67,living at No 1 Fox Cottages (behind the Fox pub in East Road).
Huge garden with the dreaded chemical toilet(I was a city girl who had never seen one of these)in a shed in the garden. :):) beautiful place to live though, and only 30 seconds from the pub :):)Then real life, and being pregnant with my eldest DD broke our idyllic life and I longed for daft things like hot and cold running water and a proper loo so we moved back to London :):)

Well I was almost tempted to splash the cash yesterday as I kept looking at food processors on the John Lewis site ( terrible temptatious site it is too :):)) and was on the point of trundling up to Bluewater to buy one when said eldest DD texted to say she was coming for coffee in the afternoon, so that saved me around £90, and I have lost the urge to buy now :):)

She arrived and while I was doing things with the perculator, she popped over the road to the shops as she wanted to buy some odds and ends.She must have spotted my tiny shopping list on the side as when she came back she had bought my cheese,tomato's and mushrooms and refused to take any cash for it so now my shopping list is empty again.So yet another NSD yesterday and definitely nothing to buy today.:D:j

When I told her that she had saved me from JL her reply was
" Well Mum you know what your like when you go there, you will always spend too much anyway "
Very true as I do like the store, and the staff, and get very tempted :):)

So my food purse is still intact and only 9 more days to go until the end of the month

I'm off to youngest Dds this afternoon for dinner and shall see my gorgeous grandson Ben as he is home from Uni.I'll probably bake him a chocolate sponge cake this morning as its his favourite
Have a good and NBI Sunday chums
JackieO xx

weesmiler

Morning everyone!

I've been much more mindful of my spending since joining the thread too, but my one weakness is still buying food from cafes/takeaways at lunch time when I'm working, and the odd takeaway/fast food meal at weekends. I always take a packed lunch to work with me, but come lunch time I just don't fancy my homemade soup etc, so end up buying things elsewhere.

That being said, I only have 36 days left at work til I go on maternity leave, so could challenge myself not to buy any more lunch time snacks and see how much I save.

In terms of clothes etc, I've been really good, bought some socks yesterday for wearing with trainers and binned the old ones I had as they had holes in them. But again, being pregnant has helped because I'm not buying normal clothes anyway. Bought a few maternity items in the sales in January and have rotated the outfits quite well. I may well get use of these things again if we have another baby in future.

My biggest achievement has been not buying more toiletries! About a month ago, I thought I'd need shampoo and conditioner by now, but I've still got loads left,and no need to buy any. It's my birthday in May, and my stuff will probably stretch til then, so could use vouchers etc to buy my favourite things when they run out.

Any packed lunch tips would be welcome, as I just get so bored with the same old sandwiches!!

Happy Sunday everyone xx

[Deleted User]

weesmiler (love your name btw ,my late Mum used to call me that when I was little I'm guessing you're a weegie )

How about a wrap instead of a sandwich, my DD makes wraps for the boys and herself instead of sandwiches,wrapped in foil they seem to keep cooler as well

76rosie

Love this thread too.

Always thinking how I can make my shopping cheaper. How I can extend the life of what I already have.

I question everything I buy. Also a big extreme cheap skates fan so love any jeff Yeager tips.


The only shopping I am going to do is hunt down some of the cheap asda stuff mentioned on the elite thread. Possibly make a list of a small top up shopping. Then on Monday I will look for ys in morries.

May spend 10 quid this week and petrol to go to work.

vodkawitch1

Morning

Far more careful with the spends since joining this thread
doing more at home too, like sewing and minimizing. I did spend £4 in cs yesterday we have one where everything is £1. Got m@s jeans, M@s jacket for me and Wallis dress and skirt for DD. sometimes it is all rubbish in there but yesterday it was good. A@di £30 food shop done so shouldn`t need much now till next weekend. Using cash for everything is helping me budget.
got my DS 40th birthday on Tuesday but already got his card and pressie.
Hope everyone has a nice Sunday.

PenguinOfDeath

76rosie wrote: »

I question everything I buy. Also a big extreme cheap skates fan so love any jeff Yeager tips.

Oops, I read that as you liked skating and we're after any cheap Jeff Yeager branded skates! A quick google has now educated me, I definitely still have morning brain!

I've not done amazing well at not spending this week, bought lunch on Friday and had a top up shop and a couple of treats bought throughout the week. Bad habits to get into but I think I've devised a way of doing the weekly shop during my lunch hour (one one or two days in the week) so it stops we wandering into shop randomly AND gives me more 'me' time at the weekend.

Catching up with a friend today so it won't be a NSD but it will be well worth it

I've done some energy price comparisons and it looks like we could save over £100 but all I've read recently is about their shocking customer service so I'm wondering if it might be a false economy