NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

purpleshoes_2

Just a thought that superdrug own brand hair dyes might also be cruelty free, all of their own brand products are buav approved, I'd be very surprised if the hair colours weren't. Well yesterday due to being stuck in waiting for some equipment for my boxercise classes I didn't get out till late on. Very quick sauna then went to pick up my new shopping trolley, same as my mums, was flat packed when I got it, you guessed it, put it together and the wheels fell off!!!! Have decided its not me, they click back in so just going to keep an eye on it.

Today I'm going to offload some stuff to the charity shop. I'm also waiting for a rent rebate that I applied for 7 weeks ago, 372 pounds, its been posted and I was told today would be the last day that it would come, within 3 weeks of it being agreed but if not today hopefully by Friday.

I'm going to spend it all on tat!!!!!!! Actually, I'm going to buy a couple of extra presents for my mum and brother, buy some more leaflets for advertising my classes and pay some rent on the studio I'm renting after Christmas to pt in.

Buy some fruit and veg from the fruit stall as well. I've done OK this year with refunds, got some PPI and CPP payments back, better in my pocket than theirs.

I just heard a smash bash rumble which means my ginger tom has jumped off the hall table into one of the shopping trollies.

tru

I'm trying to get mr tru to cut down on spending a bit - he doesn't just spend spend spend but I think it's a bit much. He had a good pay rise a while ago, he puts up with a lot at work though (small business, a large chain wouldn't dream of treating their staff the way his boss does, they'd be in too much trouble) so I do think he deserves his treats I don't want to push too hard on this tbh. So for now, I'm in on my own.

We're 43 and only recently in a position to put money into a pension - trouble is, we're too old to start one :rotfl: So I want to reduce outgoings for now while still supporting local businesses.

We already do a bit of bartering - carpets for car parts, eggs and veg for whatever people are offering but there must be more. Does anyone on here barter?

I've just used the Big Barn website to find local food producers, I knew of a few but have found a couple more. My problem is that I don't drive and the nature of these places is that they're out of town. Anyone else in the same boat?

Minimalist

cheeseontoastwithham wrote: »

No - I like Thatcher - she had principles and was honest with the people, it is Brown and Blair who you should be blaming (and Major who entered Britain into the EU)

What do you hate about Thatcher so much (and don't say milk or miners please!!)

You're just trolling us now :rotfl:

Sorry for taking the bait, fellow thread contributers!

The personal is political and all that...but I agree the focus of the thread is intended to be more on the personal side!! I managed to lose a more on-topic post in the process too...

Have a good day all

parsniphead

I have spent this morning looking at what I will need to spend this morning, what debts I have and how hard I can hit them to get rid of them. I need to start looking out of the box a little as I tend to get stick in my ways.

DH and I are looking at changing our diets drastically after Christmas and from the bit of planning I have been doing it shouldn't cost us any more and may be a little less. We are very good at sticking to lists but I always end up spending on top up shops. I'm going to work out a strict plan over the Christmas break and do everything possible to cut the cost of everything.

I feel so up for this challenge and feel that this thread is going to be a place of support and inspiration.

purpleshoes_2

Ive blocked cheeseontoastwithham, everyone is entitled to vote as they please but it saddens me that a nice thread like this has been derailed by someone who just wants to go on about how great Thatcher was.

Well, my trolley is full of clothes that Im going to take to the local hospice shop, some rag, some saleable, also books and magazines, its mad how we get attached to "stuff". I have two dresses ready to go that have been sitting in my cupboards never worn for about 8 years and Im still like, shall I put them in or not? I will do though. Also putting in a dress I really like, its a size 16 strapless floral dress from new look, got it second hand but its way too big now, so someone else can get the use of it.

I wont post the link as I dont know if it would be appropriate, but there's an organisation called social bite who employ ex homeless people and they are opening their doors on christmas eve in their Glasgow and Edinburgh branches, Glasgow Christmas Eve and Edinburgh Christmas Day, there's an itison deal if you give £5 you get a coffee in the new year and someone gets a meal. Social Bite dont make profit as far as I know, everything gets invested back into the business. So I thought I might buy one, think its gone really well and they've gone well over the 800 meals target.

carolbee

I too was enjoying the thread, I'm blocking too

thefrugalflirter

Phew! I finally managed to read the whole thread - mind if I jump on board? So much inspiration and motivation in these posts!

I've been trying to live a pretty frugal lifestyle for the past year and have been blogging about it too - but things definitely fell by the wayside mid-year, so I definitely need you all to help me keep on track!!

I'm hoping to ramp it up a gear in 2015 - I'd like to save enough to pay for our wedding in 2016 and a deposit for our starter home - eek!

A lot of our money seems to go on travel - it's a big passion of ours, but I'm hoping I can really tighten the belt in other areas to compensate! Food shopping is the main area I'd like to cut back on (we spend way too much for just 2 people!), so bring on the meal planning and store cupboard emptying! If anyone has any yummy vegetarian recipes I'd love to hear them, always looking for inspiration!

purpleshoes_2

I make a lot of soups, I made a curried parsnip, spinach, sweet potato and onion soup the other day. I tend to just fling whatever spare veg I have knocking around into a soup pot, add some stock cubes, boil and simmer and then whizz it up with a stick blender. Not had a disaster yet.

Carrot and coriander is also good and easy to make.

moments_of_sanity

I popped into WH Smith's yesterday and was sooooo tempted by the 365 Days Covent Garden soup book, it was £5 and I had to give myself a serious talking too as whilst I love their soups I can find recipes on the Internet very easily.....I am however, still sitting on my hands and bank card trying not to give in! :rotfl:

maria3104

tru wrote: »

I'm not getting into a political debate on here, it's not the place. But silly H&S laws, EU rules, etc have restricted people far too much for far too long. This site is about people being in charge of their own money, rather than the money being in charge of them. And threads like these take that a bit further by being full of info on how to stretch the money even more.

Price fixing is one thing that springs to mind right now, eg milk. Why do our laws (written by politicians) allow greedy supermarkets (the bad kind of capitalists) to rip off farmers when it comes to milk? Yes I know not all farmers are skint, but when you have farms that have been run by the same family for generations being told to sell their milk at a loss or lose everything, you get a bit angry at the world. You have people who want to support milkmen but maybe can't afford to because Iceland sell milk for 89p for four pints. So the milkman has to put up his price again because he's lost a few more customers, eventually he has to give up his business and claims JSA. Double whammy - he's now not paying tax but is also taking out of the system. Benefits bill goes up, government spending on something else has to be cut and we all end up losing.

That's just milkmen, imagine how bad it would be if it happened to every local business.

Hi

Thank you for this. The British Dairy farmers have received a hammering by all political parties. If something is not done soon there will be no milk industry left. We were once dairy farmers and the ever decreasing milk price killed our farm business. We could not continue for decades producing and selling at less than the cost of production. We do not whinge as in our experience, no one really cares, they are just thrilled to get 4 pints at 79p and I do understand this reaction. We all love a bargain. However I will not ever buy slave produced goods, or products wherre I have suspicions that the producer has been robbed. (Easier said than done). So hopefully 2015, ethical and frugal and I hope a year of not buying stuff. (Unless I lose 6 stone, then all bets are off)