NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

[Deleted User]

Thank you everyone for my Birthday Wishes... I'm feeling loads more positive again (maybe it was a temporary blip because of the big birthday).

My NBI has enabled me to get in top of my finances and savings and for the first time in years I know exactly how much I have left to a) pay all bills b) save and c) I now have enough over to start getting out and about and buying a few bits without having to worry.

So next month I'm planning another day out to somewhere different so I can get a bit more confident driving. I don't particularly like driving and get nervous if its somewhere I don't know.

I was the one that also mentioned Mersea as I live near there now. I've spent the morning contacting friends and replying to birthday messages and its made me realise I have great people around me.

VJsmum

sorted the fridge and the veg box and made golden veg soup and broccoli soup - using frozen chicken stock and some made veg stock (with the trimmings) along the way. Made a manky ish aubergine and a slightly out of date jar of cheese stuffed cherry toms into a Greek style dip.

Lunch was a use it up meal of hummus, the Greek dip above, a going out of date pack of pate, "traffic light salad " ( lettuce, radish and carrot ) and a YS loaf of bread (9p :T)

Do you know what, it was bliddy lish and has certainly cleared the stores a little. I am going to make "Plant based Pixie"'s mango coconut and veg curry, which uses up more getting past it's best veg and can go into the freezer. It will use up those slightly wrinkly mangoes that have been in the fridge a week or two.

I inventoried the freezers and have got out some fish pie mix which will be made up and refroZen for later in the week - using up more potato stores. Tea is going to be the first bbq of the year - we have a patio heater come bbq come pizza oven so it should be ok to sit out (using free wood to fire it) - this is also going to be stuff I found in the freezer (some burgers, some chicken and some bread rolls).

I am so chuffed to do this - rather than go and do a full weeks shop (OH has been despatched to the SM with s list that should total no more than £20, rather than spending the £100 or so a full weeks shop would be).

Thanks to this thread, (and others - wasn't sure whether this should be here, Konmarie, or make do) I am really learning not to just "shop dos it's Friday" kind of thing.

WeeMidgie

I've not been feeling 100%, have had no appetite for cooking all week, so today I decided to have a wee treat to tempt me for lunch, something needing minimal prep. I went up to Morrie's and found a rtc chicken curry and rtc Moroccan bulgur salad, heated them together in the wok with some frozen peas. Yummy. Enough left for another meal - so two "treat" meals working out at 85p each.

Tonight it's hummus and oatcakes for tea. Tomorrow a friend is coming to collect something I've been storing for her, and we'll go out for a bowl of soup at lunchtime. That will come out of my weekly pocket money.

The blessings of NBI - I mentioned in a recent post that I had saved enough to go away for a self-catering week up north in May with 2 friends. I'm also adding NBI money every month to long term savings. With possible redundancy in a year or two's time, and 4 and a half years to state pension age, the more I can sock away into the rainy day fund the better!

weesmiler

Hi JackieO...

I am indeed a weegie ::D
Thanks for the wrap idea, I might give that a go. Normally I like to make up my sandwiches on a Sunday night and freeze them for the week. I wonder how well wraps freeze...I will buy some next week and find out!

I'm struggling just now with a sore pelvis. I went for a wander round the shops yesterday and I'm suffering for it today, so I think my days of browsing the shops are over for the time being...it will only help with NBI I suppose!

Weesmiler x

pm2326

NBI has meant that since this thread started I've managed to clear my natwest £2500 credit card.

When I get paid on Wednesday I'll be clearing a natwest loan, a small credit card balance with lloyds and an HP agreement for my sofa! This will free up another £100 a month!

This leaves me with a loan of about £2500 and another for £400. The £400 loan is due to finish in August so I'm going to try and clear the other loan by the same date.

RicardaRacoon

Hi everyone

Had a spend day today, but only a small; coffee, muffin and water when I met friends. We meet in a caf! on Sunday morning and do some knitting, though today wasn't my day and I will have to spend quite some time tonight undoing the mess I created with the hat when I didn't paid attention... First I had too many stitches, casted some off and ended up with missing ones...
So eventually threw that into a corner and finished knitting a little sheep for a friend. The print out of the pattern then went straight on to a friend who now also wants to knit sheeps...

As I missed my train home by some minutes I had a stroll through the shops and found a darling pair of shoes, a bit 1950ies style. Will go back to the shop next week and see if I still like them and if they fit.

That brings me to why this tread helps me. I was guilty for mindles shopping for years. Food went more or less well, but I had no problem spending say 50 quids a month on book of which I would only read a third. Or buying shoes that match none of my clothes and then go out and buy a dress to go with them....
Ever since I think a bit more about what I buy I try to buy things I really want and know that I will use. I still buy relatively many things, but besides some small mispurchases every now and then these are things that are put to an use.
So means less stuff cluttering up my space and more money to go towards nice things like holidays or my rainy-days-fund.

Just caught up on my finances, have been a bit lazy these last days and not properly updated my journal. But am now up to date and feel much more confident about the whole business.
Most things have been quite good this month, only food bill was quite high, but the blame goes on loads of chocolate for Easter. Meals out have also been high but went to a relatively expensive restaurant with friends but it was well worth it and a nice treat. Plus invited a friend when we had a chinese meal out.

I'm doing something at the moment by the way; I write all the things I buy from my pocket money budget (clothes, cosmetics, books, crafting, cinema etc.) in a list and highlight all the things that I think are really worth having spent the money on in green and all the mispurchases in red. Basic, every day things like toothpaste, sewing tread, basic tights (you know, the things you just have to spend money on) stay white. When I now go over the list there is only one red thing which was less than a £ and the rest is green!

Have a nice evening everyone! Will now go and get dinner ready as it will need time in the ofen.

janb5

Vala-Mal-Doran wrote: »

Hello all,

just my second post on this thread but finzlly caugh up on all of your posts.

I cant begin to thank you all for your useful posts, you have all contributed to my more mindful spending, iv managed to ignore the urge to buy or mooch around the shops. I dont know exactly how much I have saved but I certainly have more left in the bank than I do usually. Its also helped me be ok with not having the 'right' food item in the house. Normally when missing something id pop out at kunchtime and pick it up but iv been holding off and doing without. It was hard at first, i would actually worry about it but now I have a certain calmness, like 'oh well', its never been a disaster to not have spring onions or creme fraiche etc. Its made me more inventive too

pm2326 Is it maybe worth asking at work if anyone wants to swap with you? Someone might like a newer mower in return for a slightly older one but one which you are happy with?

I thought this was a fantastic post ( as are many!) and really resonated with me. I used to rush everywhere making sure I had all the `right` ingredients for a recipe when with a little bit of lateral thinking, I can make my money last longer. I was becoming complacent that because I had switched to Lidl then I could buy what I wanted, clearly ignoring that I still could cut down further. Thanks to this thread I feel able to make some more changes which will help my budget considerably.

katsu

I'm another one going between here and the Marie Kondo thread.

I've not been doing very much MK ing but am inspired by that thread and this one to be more conscious of what comes into the house and ensuring I really love and want it.

I'm down to one pair of jeans which had been mended already so I went shopping for a new pair then in a second shop found some on sale so returned the first pair to the first shop as I decided I didn't need 3 pairs. I was very proud of myself for not just keeping them.

katsu

I had some time shopping whilst away and although there were lots of bargains I kept saying that they were only bargains if I needed them so I avoided buying loads of craft bits as I didn't have any specific projects I wanted to make.

I'm really happy with my sale jeans and with the smaller amount of purchases from being away. I did treat myself to some new clothes so I'm not sure I saved money compared to my normal spending when away but I went less crazy in the shops butting because I'm there and they are bargains so that has to bea benefit of this way of thinking more mindfully.

Lynplatinum

Ahoy there shipmates

welcome aboard Hoiploy - this thread; the Make Do and Mend thread and indeed Martin and this site have saved me from bankruptcy at my worst and given me inspiration and hope and ideas (from Bday pressys to planting seeds for cheaper food!!) Its a fab friendly place to be!

ImDoing it for me! _ I am 56 and in February went to the Cinema all by myself for the first time! There was a friend I could have invited but I would have to have offered to pay for them. As it was I thoroughly enjoyed the film without interruption; spoilt myself with large ice cream and hot choc fudge sauce; had an interesting conversation coming out of the film with a nice young man about other science fiction films! Last year I went to my first National Tr!st place on my own - ended up having a really cool conversation over a cream tea - having lingered and looked at what i wanted to see! It takes getting used to being on your own but it does have advantages - dont rush into something - I did and ended up regretting it. Plus there is always friendly conversation on here!:T

This and other threads have enabled me, since January to: save up for a £360 trip to Belgium; pay off a 'club book' of £250; pay off a CC of £350 (last years holiday!) and stay out of the red.

I have also got a LARGE collection of stuff ready for e-bay (dug out from hidey holes!)- I think it is on this thread that a lady called Purple Shoes said she had got rid of loads on e-bay!! Well its me next!

NBI has made realise that spending to compensate for feeling fed up is not helping the solve the problem. It is just a sticking plaster and a rather unhelpful and unsightly one at that. All you end up doing is moving stuff around, cleaning it, dusting it and generally feeling trapped by it.

I refuse to be manipulated into buying carp I dont need with money that I have much better uses for (once the last £3,000 of debt is gone I will next tackle the mortgage!).

Much more fun is having enough money to pay outright for little trips out to cinema and NT and long weekends away with friends (Belgium) totally guilt free!! Yea!!! :j