NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

[Deleted User]

eandjsmum wrote: »

Morning Shipmates


As that was something that I had never seen before I am left wondering what else I can now take the opportunity to see. So far Ramsgate has made it to the list.
Jackie O Good luck with the op.

Hi thank you Hopefully I will soon be back up and 'bouncy' again :):)
if you go to Ramsgate try to have a walk around the Ramsgate tunnels which were the air-raid shelters for the town during the war Its an amazing place, and well worth the trip.They were re-opened last year to show folk how the people of Ramsgate coped with the air-raids and are full of WW" bits and bobs.The guides are very informative and tell you all about them.In the town there is a small cafe called if I remember the Village cafe and DD and I and the three DGS ate well for us all, including drinks for under £20.00.Opposite the cafe is a great bakers which do very yummy cakes .If you turn from the harbour as though you were walking up into the twon the cafe is on the right side of the streetNice day out and looking at the boats in the harbour is interesting as well.
JackieO xx

Goldiegirl

117pauline wrote: »

Good evening from sunny Arras!!

I am sitting outside an idyllic gypsy style caravan, just enjoying a cup of tea although the neighbours are rather noisy!! Think chooks and wild birds. The sun is out and it is a lovely evening....

These little jaunts to "ignore" (celebrate) OH's birthday are going well and this one is a real find. The caravan has everything and more than you could wish. We arrived to be given fresh eggs, butter and milk for our stay - can't wait for breakfast in the morning, fresh croissants etc, served in a basket on the caravan steps!!

So I find it much easier to NBI when we are at home because I know it is going towards our little trips. If I fancy spending on extras, I just remind myself that it could go towards visiting somewhere else, I have so many places on my bucket list.

However... has anyone else found that they hit a bit of a barrier after about four or five weeks when the little extra treats get bought more often? I rarely buy anything else but food and I have noticed since my spending diary, I am very frugal for a month or so then have a couple of weeks where the treats are bought more and more often. Then something clicks in my head and frugal brain takes over again. I need to work out why I feel the need to "treat" us to those extras.

Have a lovely rest of the Bank Holiday,
Pauline

Sounds lovely!

For me, NBI is about mindful spending - we are quite happy to live fairly modestly on a day to day basis, so that we can continue to have our cruise holidays.

However, there's a long gap between cruises, so we need some treats in between. We've worked long and hard to prepare for our retirement, and we're not going to sit here being afraid to spend a little money on a small treat from time to time.

When I worked for a big mortgage lender, I was involved in helping people draw up budgets, so that they could begin to clear their mortgage arrears. In all of those budgets, a little money was allocated to entertainment, as a regime that is to harsh is doomed to failure.

Therefore, I've always thought that if a person is lucky enough to be in a secure financial position, there's no point in continually denying oneself a small treat here and there.

We've earned the money - now is the time to enjoy it and not feel bad about spending it!

PS Jackie's Ramsgate war tunnels sound interesting - that could be a good day out for us

76rosie

hope everyone is having a relaxing day.

Filled my freezer yesterday from farmfoods, lidl and aldi.

Then wombled with my niece. Collected 19 pound in apgs.

I spend a lot of time trying to getting more interest on my savings and other free money.

Got sky broad band on friday. Now i m using my now tv package that came with my google chromecast.

I do try to get more from my necessary spending....

I like treats but i don't want to pay too much...

A good while to I retire so trying to build up some rainy day money.

PenguinOfDeath

In agreement with Goldiegirl here! She's put it in such a succinct way.
Reflecting back I've the past few months, my new job has given us the freedom to start spending how we want to, mindfully but progressively. Before I was wary of spending money on the house, too much on holidays etc as I wanted to ensure we had a lot of back up 'just in case', now the first this I do in payday is overpay a chunk off the mortgage and add to my savings, this ensures money is going to the right place first and it's easier to budget over the month rather than hoping some might be leftover. This has helped us replace a few worn out bits and pieces, and look to start the odd small DIY (or, get a man in!) projects I'm wanting to start, procrastination reigns however, mainly for fear of it going wrong and choosing the wrong materials /workman? How stupid is that? ...

On NBI front, for the past few weeks I have been making muffins for us to have for breakfasts at work using this recipe http://www.marthastewart.com/339779/healthy-morning-muffins They keep fairly well (when OH remembers to actually close the airtight lid...!) but do you think they would freeze OK?
Also found a sprouting potato so made leek and potato soup to have for lunches with some LO bread.

Week off for us both this week, going away for a couple of days but hoping not to spend too much apart from petrol and what we spent when booking, a few free activities locally and possibly a picnic or two on the cards too. Today has consisted of a nice bike ride out on country roads, having last night's takeaway... No deffo not perfect ... as lunch today and now I'm finishing off a library book due back this week while OH listens to the cricket. I

I'm having no luck on gumtree selling so have tried a few bits on fb, I'm off ebay at the moment! The back bedroom is still the storage area of 'things to be decluttered', at least they are earmarked now and not just lurking around the house.

Between this the Kon Marie and MMM threads I've gotten so much inspiration lately, I love reading about everyone's adventures and picking up tips on the way, even if I don't have time to contribute to them all

pm2326

PenguinOfDeath wrote: »

On NBI front, for the past few weeks I have been making muffins for us to have for breakfasts at work using this recipe http://www.marthastewart.com/339779/healthy-morning-muffins They keep fairly well (when OH remembers to actually close the airtight lid...!) but do you think they would freeze

I would think these should freeze fine, it's just a small cake in theory and I freeze cakes all the time. If you're really unsure why not freeze just one, wait a week, defrost and taste

pm2326

Having been out and about on Saturday I've not been out for the last 2 days...means purse has stayed firmly shut, but I've not actually spoken to anyone !

All meals have come from the freezer, I can actually move things around a little now. Used up last of fruit bread for breakfast so I've defrosted the remaining dough mix and cooked, sliced and refroze it ready for use.

Lidl is selling lamb mince this week at half price so want to get 4 packs. I'm going to try a new method of storage, I'm going to transfer them from original packaging and put them in ziplock bags, flatten them out and store them in the bottom shelf of freezer.

Have planted up a pot of lettuce, used a living salad from Lidl that I bought 2 weeks ago, also planted up a pot of rocket that's been growing from seed on my windowsill. Have some still indoors to use while waiting for the outdoor stuff to recover from the shock of being moved!

PenguinOfDeath

pm2326 wrote: »

I would think these should freeze fine, it's just a small cake in theory and I freeze cakes all the time. If you're really unsure why not freeze just one, wait a week, defrost and taste

Now this is the kind of awesome mind I come on here to learn from! So obvious when you point it out

[Deleted User]

Hi chums I have been (whispers ) spending cash today 1st and 3rd of June are my DGS birthdays so I had to buy them presents which I got today in case I get stuck in hospital, longer than I expect. I go in this Friday but I'm not sure how long for, plus we went out en famille tonight for a meal at the local Brewers Fayre(I did have a £15.00 voucher which helped )But I have spent a huge amount of cash but I don't regret it a bit.my DGS are the lights of my life and they are all good lads.Henry is 14 on the 3rd, and his Mum and I have clubbed together to get him his hearts desire an Xbox One .Very expensive and he knows that Christmas will be a lean one but every child should have his greatest wish come true at least once in his life.I know he is going to be one very happy young man on his birthday and also his younger brother Mikey who will be 11 on the 1st June.

My EDF refund helped to fund these present so its not too bad, but having spent the best part of £490.00 today I am feeling rather broke now :):) but DD gets paid on Wednesday so I will get almost half back from her.No more big expences for a little while at least, and belt tightening is the rule of thumb in my house (well at least until our hoilday ) good job it was all paid off before last Christmas :):)
I shall go and hide in the lower decks for a few weeks I think
Cheers everyone
JackieO xxx

alice-mary

SLOWDOWN, I really do thank you for starting this thread back in December! Although I rarely post on here, I do read it regularly and I took on board most of the advice from the many people who do post.
I have been on board since January and due to NBI, I have been able to do the following....

I have just come back from a lovely long weekend in Galway (a BEAUTIFUL city):D, where I spent 3 nights in a hostel, ate out every day, spent many hours having the craic :rotfl: in various excellent drinking :beer: establishments, saw some amazing scenery and historic buildings and watched/listened to and danced:dance: to some talented musicians.... and I came home with euros in my purse and cash still in the bank!:j:A:j

It was a good friend's stag party and I was the only girl, so I stayed in a different room from the smelly/snoring lads:eek:, so that hiked up the cost of the hostel a tiny bit.

As I said, I have been NOT BUYING IT since January and it really is worth the effort! By my day to day NBI, in addition to last weekend, I have been able to already pay for the accommodation for the actual wedding, have bought my outfit and have decided that the leftover euros will be the wedding present.:D The happy couple will be off to Italy for their honeymoon, and as they don't have a wedding wish list and already have a comfortable home, when directly asked, they reluctantly said that the only thing they could think of was help towards the holiday!

So, I will continue with my NBI on a day to day basis.... it will build up a nice amount fairly quickly and if the mood takes me, I could finally replace my freezer (which died last summer), decorate my lounge, go away for a short break again, buy a bicycle, replace my sofa and armchair....The list goes on but while none of the things on it are urgent/necessary, I am still NBI and will see where it takes me next!

Thanks again everyone,

Alice
xx

PenguinOfDeath

Lovely No Buy day today (well, apart from parking which I don't count like petrol, and OH bought a couple of umm, refreshments...).
We visited a small town I've never been to despite living 15 miles away most of my life, had a nice wander through the main street and along the river and ate a HM picnic whilst watching the ducks. The sun even came out! Can't beat that!